The only chance you have at making any sort of real difference is affecting large-scale change, whether that's by empowering certain ideologies through politics, creating new technologies or markets, etc. The Patagonia guy recently made the news for turning his entire clothing chain into a fundraiser for climate change, for example. But all of those are long shots and probably all of them combined still won't be enough to make a noticeable dent in our lifetimes... it's a pretty doomed effort by this point, just too little, too late.
There is a tiny, tiny chance that some major bet with terrible odds (in fusion, say, or a super-climate-conscious politician or whatever) miiiiiiight pay off to make some small difference, and by that I mean postponing climate effects by a few years, not avoiding it altogether. That tiny, tiny chance is still more of a difference than what you'd make if you focused on your own life. Don't waste your time or money trying to make yourself feel good.
This is not the sort of problem that individual incrementalism can solve, sadly.
If we were to offset our carbon footprint, we would be in the market for offsetting strategies most likely in commodity form – which is to say products and services. But, wait, it was exactly swiping our credit cards that we got in this sorrow state for the climate. We have to rethink all of this. Indeed, 'Insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results.'; this applies also to market economies.
But I'd say that the smartest thing any of us can be individually doing is focusing on making money and creating a prosperous, stable society that has the resources to research/implement new energy sources and adapt to any environmental challenges.
The future techs that will really matter (maybe better nuclear or more efficient battery storage and better desalinization methods) will not be likely to come from poor areas. The poor areas of the world are busy chopping down any remaining nearby trees for firewood and trying to survive.
And I'd say this. Don't listen to the "experts". Go fucking make babies. That's what makes preserving the future worth it. If you're not having kids, asshole politicians who are only concerned about GDP numbers and finding a bunch of new people to load with credit card debt will simply import other people and give them your future.
2. Have less kids or no kids.
3. Use public transportation whenever possible. If not possible, electric vehicle over a combustion vehicle.
4. Eat less meat or no meat.
5. Avoid unnecessary air travel.
6. Consider rooftop solar if your home is amiable to it, your grid tilts fossily (coal, fossil gas), and you’ve got robust incentives to install.
Skip the offsets.
2) help clean up plastic
3) turn of the heater this winter, down to just a buffer above where pipes freeze, while wearing extra layers for bio thermal insulation.
4) drive less (much, much less, take the bus or a bike)
5) at grocery store, bring your own bags, avoid buying items with plastic packaging (easier than you think)
6) think happy thoughts
You should acquaint yourself with Nate Hagens, and his concept of "energy blindness". It's important to know just how much of our civilization is dependent on a finite and increasingly hard to extract resource.
As to "offsets" - John Oliver pointed out on his show recently, most of them are scams.