Photo courtesy of Eric I. E. at Flickr.com.

On February 13th, Congress passed The Economic Growth Act of 2008. This new law will give a one-time boost to the pocketbook for many Americans. The average taxpayer will receive a $600 check in the mail ($1200 per married couple) after filing their 2007 returns. For more information about the refund size and eligibility, click here. This $600 rebate is in addition to any refunds that taxpayers are due (a rebate is a gift, a refund is money that is returned to taxpayers who overpaid).

Congress hopes that you’ll go spend your $600 right away to boost the US economy. The stimulus package is intended to get consumers spending money - perhaps even more than the $600 that’s being returned to our pockets. But, splurging on a new big screen TV or a designer handbag isn’t the wisest way to spend this windfall. Instead, consider all of the ways you could multiply your savings:

1.) Save electricity:
Add insulation and seal air leaks in your house to cut your heating and cooling bills.
Audit your energy usage and identify where power is being wasted.
Replace your appliances with higher efficiency models.
Replace alkaline batteries with rechargeable options.

2.) Save gas
Service your car - a tune-up can save you gas and prolong the life of car components.
Switch from gasoline powered tools to electric tools (ie; electric leaf blowers, electric chainsaws, and electric lawnmowers).

3.) Save water
Upgrade faucets and shower heads to low-flow models that cut your water bill.
Switch to drip irrigation technology and save on landscaping
Install a rainbarrel
Install a greywater system

Here are a list of some of our favorite conservation products:

The Kill-A-Watt power meter - with this monitor, you can evaluate just how much power each of your appliances is using. It’s great for spotting ways to save power, and it can also identify your vampire electronics.

Solar Battery Charger. After replacing your batteries with rechargeable batteries, you can go one step further with this off-the-grid charger. It’s perfect for camping or just charging batteries in your windowsill.

1.5 GPM Low Flow Showerhead - this showerhead has a novel design that oxygenates water so that the trickle of water it uses doesn’t feel reduced at all.

A 50 Gallon Recycled Rain Barrel - It’s the perfect size for watering a garden for one rainless week. (1 inch of rain on 100 square feet of roof will fill this rainbarrel - if you have a larger roof, you may want to consider multiple barrels).

edit: Here’s the latest information about when the Tax Refunds will be processed. According to the article, mailing dates are going to be based on the last 2 digits of your SSN.

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This entry was posted on Thursday, February 28th, 2008 at 5:05 pm and is filed under Gardening Tips. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.