Financial Reflections

It’s that time of the year.  Taxes are due on April 17th, so I thought I would round up a few items that might prove helpful if you’re scrambling to meet the deadline.

1. Don’t be a Hatch: Richard Hatch’s shrewd dealings got him past the other Survivors and a prize of $1,000,000.  But he couldn’t convince the IRS - Hatch is now in jail for failing to report that money.
2. Tax Avoidance, too good to be true?  The IRS warns about tax scams.
3. Patience is a virtue:  refund anticipation loans.
4. What I do when it’s time to do my taxes.
5. I recieved (and spent) a big refund this year.  I actually want zero refund next year.

As with everything on this site, keep in mind that I’m not an attorney, tax advisor or financial advisor.  Every situation is different, so what I say might not apply to what you’re doing.  But consider this as general information that you can consider and talk over with whoever advises you.

I’ve offered up a few posts on taxes so far, ranging from filing, spending my refund, my plans to not get a refund next year and my thoughts on refund anticipation loans.

But today at 2:00 Eastern Time, someone from H&R Block will be answering tax questions for the Washington Post.  Get in a question if you can, or just go there and read other questions.  I’m planning on visiting and reviewing the questions and answers when it’s over.

FeeMoneyFinance has an interesting article on how to spend your tax refund.  Well, mine has come and gone, so I thought I’d do a post-mortem on where that refund went.

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As I posted earlier, I’ve already filed my taxes. Total time from filing to refund? Two weeks. With that in mind, I’m constantly amazed at the number of people who take out refund anticipation loans.

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It’s tax time, and that means it’s time to face the music.  I’ve gotten a jump on things this year and have everything but electronic filing done.  Here are some of the strategies I used to keep the pain of filing my taxes to a minimum:

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I’ve heard over and over again why I want to reduce my tax refund to zero.  Or at least as close to zero as I can get.  Keep in mind that I’m not a tax advisor or attorney, but here’s some information on tax refunds that you might consider or discuss with a tax professional.

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