Government Green for Going Green

On top of the $8000 tax credit for purchasing a home in 2009, additional tax credits are also available for energy efficient home repairs. Get a tax credit of 30%, up to $1500, for windows & doors, insulation, roofs, HVAC, non-solar water heaters, and biomass stoves. Some items have no upper limit (30% of cost regardless). These items include:

• Geothermal heat pumps
• Solar Panels
• Solar water heaters
• Small wind energy systems
• Fuel cells

These tax credits have been enhanced by the latest stimulus package by extending the deadline to 2010, allowing an upper limit of $1500 rather than $500, raising the tax credit amount from 10% to 30%, applying to installation costs, and removing the $200 cap on windows. You can learn more about these great opportunities for renovations and home buying options at EnergyStar.gov.

Note: The $1500 tax credit cap is for combined cost of repairs done in 2009 and 2010; it is not $1500 per year.

Earth Our

I don't know how many times I have seen this video, but I cry (or at least try to hide from crying) every single time. I'm not a highly emotional person, but one thing that will bring me to tears is an unexpected act of human kindness. This video is about Earth Hour, a global movement to promote the awareness of climate change and our impact on the environment. One undeniable impact we have is from the electricity we use, no matter how it is generated. Check out the video below and participate with all of Nashville on March 28th from 8:30pm to 9:30pm by shutting off your lights and connecting with your community. Team Green will also be hosting a downtown Flashlight Hike!

Housing Funds

Yesterday I attended a Home Buyer Education class with the Nashville Housing Fund. Fortunately my Realtor (Marti Klecka) and Loan Counselor (Connie Eddy with Countrywide) have been great about informing me of every step in the home buying and loan processing process, so I had a heads up on a lot of the info. I still learned a ton! There are so many options out there for first time home buyers, I wanted to share a few things with you.

1. First time home buyers qualify for an $8000 tax credit to go towards either your 2008 or 2009 taxes, depending on when you buy your home in 2009. This is a tax credit, not a tax deduction. That means that $8000 is added to your tax value once taxes are complete. If you had to pay $1000 in taxes, for example, you will receive a check for $7000, or if you received money back, you will get the full $8000 in the mail. You must be a first time home buyer, purchase in 2009, and fall within a certain income range. See if you qualify!
2. First time home buyers looking to purchase in Davidson county can qualify for a $7000 Home Down Payment Assistance (not to be paid back until you refinance or sell your home). To qualify you must fall within a certain income range, the purchasing house must be your primary residence, complete home buyer education class, and your home loan must not exceed 35% of your gross income. Purchaser only needs to bring 1% down payment.
   
3. Through the same organization, Nashville Housing Fund, you can also qualify for the Home Ownernership NOW program, which is a loan for up to $8,500 towards your down payment. The amount you can borrow and the interest rate you receive is determined by your income level. This loan must be paid back with $50 per month until the full amount and interest is paid back. Similar guidelines to the Down Payment Assistance apply.
4. Many home buyers qualify for an FHA loan, which is a government insured loan that requires only a 3.5% down payment. Debt-income ratio must be less than 31% of your income, but with good or excellent credit this ratio can be increased. Ask your loan counselor to "run your clues" to see what price loan you can get.
   

My roommate wants me to share a home energy tip. Insulate your water heater! This can save 4%-9% in water heating costs.

"Unless your water heater's storage tank already has a high R-value of insulation (at least R-24), adding insulation to it can reduce standby heat losses by 25%–45%. If you don't know your water heater tank's R-value, touch it. A tank that's warm to the touch needs additional insulation. Insulating your storage water heater tank is fairly simple and inexpensive, and it will pay for itself in about a year. You can find pre-cut jackets or blankets available from around $10–$20. Choose one with an insulating value of at least R-8. Some utilities sell them at low prices, offer rebates, and even install them at a low or no cost."

More information can be found on the US Department of Energy: Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy website.

Doody Duty

I have to admit. I haven't been in my yard much over the past few months. I adopted TG in September and then had a roommate move in, also with a dog, in January. It was so cold that I didn't spend much time out there, and now I have come to realize that there is a TON of doggie do-do (if you will). I researched a few options for composting dog feces and this is what I have come up with:

*Note about all below suggestions: Absolutely do not bury or use composted material anywhere near a vegetable garden or any plants that you intend to eat from, due to E. Coli in dog feces.

• Hole in the Garden Method: You can simply dig a hole somewhere in your shrubbery or flower garden to bury the feces. Make sure the hole is 4 to 6 inches deep. Cover the hole and start a new one every now and again.
• Home-made Underground Bin: Take an old trash can, drill as many holes as you can in it (sides and bottom). Make sure you have a lid. Dig a hole a little bigger than the can itself, put a layer of rocks in the bottom of the hole, wrap can in hardware cloth, then place your can in the hole. Fill in sides with rocks until the can fits tightly. Start scoopin' your poop in your composter and add a septic starter. Adding dried yard clipings, leaves or hay will also speed up the process. You can decorate the lid if you feel so compelled (see above)!
  
• Purchased Underground Bin: Here is a site I came across that does basically the same as the method above. I'm not endorsing it by any means, but it's somewhere to start in terms of your own reserach: Doggie Dooley.
• Above Ground Bin: This would be similar to the other ideas, only above ground. Combine dog feces and straw (or used natural cat litter derived from plants, as long as you remove the cat feces first). The material will need to reach high temperatures in order to kill off parasites. Temperatures of 130 - 170º F for several days are needed to destroy pathogens.

Let me know if you come up with any solutions as well. Whenever I buy my own house I'm going to implement as many green pracitices as possible (my goal is to have 0% trash disposal even)! This is definitely one that I'll try out.

March Madness

Sorry for not blogging in so long. I believe my last entry claimed that the weather "felt like mid march" and now it actually is mid march! Don't get me wrong. My life and job has not been lacking in blog-able material, but rather the opposite. So much has happened that I haven't had a spare moment to write any of it down! So here you go, I'm going to spew two months worth of events in order to catch up.

Recap on my "Financial Independence Plan:" Ok, so I got myself into a huge mess with the 1997 Nissan that was supposed to alleviate my car debt. There were so many things wrong with it that after only 2 weeks of driving it I had the seller pick it up from me to make major repairs (timing belt, brake fluid leak, check engine malfunction, antilock brakes malfunction... and the list goes on). Two months later and the guy STILL had the car. He is now making payments to me to buy it back and I have managed to put every drop of money I have into my bonneville to pay it off. As of today I currently own the title to one and 1/6th cars (the guy owes me just one more payment and the Nissan is his). I have also decided to consolidate my student loans and look into buying a house. We'll see where all that goes at a later time.

Engage Green: Team Green has hosted two Engage Green Workshops since my last post. In February we discussed Recycling: How, What & Where and in March we discussed Gardening 101: Vegetable & Herbs. Minus some technical issues, both workshops were a huge success. In fact, at the last workshop we nearly doubled our attendance!

• At the Recycling Engage Green we learned that over 90% of the items Nashvillians throw away can be recycled or reused, including paper/cardboard/magazines, plastics #1-7, tin/aluminum/steel, plastic bags, and styrofoam. Plus food items, with the exception of dairy and meats, can be composted.
  
• At the Gardening Engage Green we learned that the best way to start a vegetable garden is to use a raised bed the first year and to add compost, not manuer. Start with a small selection of plants and build up the soil quality. Once you're ready to build an in ground garden, make sure that the area gets at least 6 hours of direct sunlight. Remove all of the grass down to its roots (and shake off the dirt because that dirt is the most nutrient filled). Do not till, but rather mix up the dirt and compost by shovel or hand, and be sure to mix deep into the ground. A tiller can only reach as deep as its blades, so when the plant roots grow deeper than the tilled soil it is often difficult to break through the compacted lower layers of earth. A very helpful tip I learned was to only water for about 10 or 15 minute intervals. That is, water for 10 minutes, stop for 5, water for 10, stop for 5, water for 10. When continuous water is left on, it is not able to be absorbed by the plant roots and simply becomes run off that is used no where and builds up your water bill.

Next month's Engage Green (April 7th) is Community Supported Agriculure and will focus on how and why to support local, organic, and community farming. Hopefully each presenter will bring some of their own produce to share! We'll see though... no promises.

Team Green Events: Phew! I have done quite a bit, including Breckenridge Ski Trip, January Backpacking, January Adventure Mixer, Flag Football, North Carolina Ski Trip, Valentine's Horseback Retreat, February Backpacking, and Mammoth Wild Cave Tour. During that time, Laurel also led the Costa Rica trek. Major trips that I am gearing up to lead are Outdoor Rock Climbing: Red River Gorge (Mar 20-22), New Faces Mixer (Mar 24), Charit Creek Spring Getaway (Apr 4-5), April Backpacking (Apr 11-12), and Chatooga White Water Rafting (Apr 24-26)... Plus Laurel and our TAG members will lead Midnight Ice Skate (Mar 20) and Overnight Mountain Bike Tour (Apr 11-12), to mention a few!

Team Green Interactive Update: I have also worked on making the Team Green Myspace and Facebook cleaner looking and easier to use. Plus we created a Team Green Twitter Account. If you become a Team Green Twitter follower you can get immediate updates on when events are posted, when new spots open up on booked trips, what event we are headed to that night, and when new membership specials becomes active... right from the source!

That's all for now. I need to get back to work and make some more things happen!

Yard Composting

Tennessee has such interesting weather. Being a Michigan girl, I'm used to eight inches of snow and frozen mud, ice on the windshield every morning and extra layers. This weekend I mowed the yard in sweatpants, a light fleece, and flip flops! It felt more like mid march to me, but not as shocking as two years ago when I moved here (that year I was wearing shorts, a bikini top, and flip flops because 60 degrees was still beach weather in my mind!).

I have an acre sized yard with tons of really old trees, so it takes me nearly three hours to pick up all the limbs and twigs, then ride the mower around the whole yard. Other neighbors hire help, so their yard is clean within a half hour or so. I noticed that they bag up all of their yard scraps and carry it off to a dump somewhere, to be preserved there for all time. Did you know that nothing decomposes at the dump? Item on top of item on top of item restricts the necessary oxygen flow and sunlight needed for organisms to break down the materials. Therefore, your grass and leaves, which will decompose in less than a week if mulched in the yard instead fill up space at the dump and never make its natural cycle back into the earth.

Lawn care specialists claim that it's best for the grass to remove decomposing debri. This may be true. Your yard most likely will be greener, and the reason for this is because decomposing grass and leaves release nitrogen into the ground, which (for some reason) is not good for plant life. However, this is only temporary. Once all of the nitrogen is released, the material is broken down by worms and insects to become rich soil, which then feeds the plant life and fertilizes the ground. This is known as "yard composting."

I learned about it at the Team Green Recycling seminar during the summer, but the first time I realized it was when I moved to Tennessee. My roommate and I had mowed all of the leaves into several large piles, raked up the piles into smaller piles, then filled WHO KNOWS how many trash bags with the leaves and cut grass. It took us FOREVER! Not knowing where to put the bags, I tossed them ontop of my grandmothers former garden and sort of forgot about them. Meanwhile, my neighbor simply mowed their leaves into strip piles in their yard and by the end of the winter all of the leaves were gone and their yard looked effortlessly clean. This summer, deciding to make my own garden, I started to rip up the ground tarps that my grandmother had placed ontop of the soil to keep it from eroding and realized that all of the old leaf bags had busted open over the years and a very rich dark material was in its place. I saved probably a hundred dollars on fertilizers because the decomposing material contained more nutrients than any store bought, pesticide filled, hormone induced cow manure.

As for the branches, sticks and twigs, I pile them up near my bonfire pit and every so often invite friends over to help burn the wood. Although I may be emitting carbons into the atmosphere by burning the wood, it's far less than the methane that would be emitted from the dump. Plus the ash left over from the wood is great in the garden especially around tomato plants. So, the circle of life and death repeat itself over and over... and as an added bonus, I spend a little extra time outdoors helping it all along.

Independence

Yes, I know this is "Keeley's Green Blog" but something very exciting and nerve wrecking has been consuming my time this past month and I wanted to share. To fudge it as a work related blog I'm going to use the theme of "independence" as in "Nashville's Independent Radio." That works right? It also has to do with money, which has a greenish hue to it..!

So what's the real theme of the this blog? Gaining financial independence for the first time in my life and starting off by eradicating my car loan. By the way, if you're interested in a 2005 Pontiac Bonneville, check out craigslist.com and search for it! I'm still trying to sell. Until then, I've purchased a 1997 Nissan Altima through another craigslist poster and sure enough there is a world of things wrong with it. I've learned more about cars in the past two weeks then in my entire life! Fortunately all of the issues seem managable to fix. Heck, I even changed out the ignition rotor cap all by myself for only $8! Among other things my brake fluid is leaking, there may be something wrong with the timing belt, the check engine light OBD II sensor does not have power going to it (which means I can't read the code for the check engine light) and my ABS is malfunctioning... found that out when I almost crashed it on day two of ownerrship! Nonetheless, I'm determined to love this car and make it purr!

I'm also a math geek and keep expense sheets for evething, including my monthly budget and now I have one for the "Actual Value" of my 2005 Pontiac. I purchased the car from CarMax in 2006 with an original ticket price of $12,000. Since then I have done regular oil changes and have switched out the windshield wipers almost twice a year, replaced all four tires, had a sensor replaced in the computer, and put all new brake pads on. Since Oct 2006 my $12,000 car purchase has already totaled up to $10,431 with alsmot 3 more years still left on the loan payments! Paying $283.09 per month, I still owe $9625 on the lifetime of the loan, making my total value (not including future oil changes or maintenance) $20,062! That's $8,000+ more than I had bargained for! Don't get me wrong, the car is FANTASTIC and very comfortable, but I don't have any money. I wish I had understood finance a little better when I signed the papers on it! So, I'm selling it for $6500 and taking a $2500 loss on it. I'm still saving money in the long run. If I sell this Bonneville in the next month, I figured that I can put almost $5000 worth of repairs into my 1997 Nissan Altima in the next 3 years and still come out even! $5000 is a lot for repairs and I'm convinced it won't come to that. That is a HUGE financial relief and a HUGE step towards my financial independence.

My next step is to pay down my student loans and take on paying my own car insurance. After that... at age 24+ I'll FINALLY be able to say I don't rely on daddy anymore! Woo hoo!