Tax Time

It is that time of year again and I am busy getting ready to file our taxes. I LOVE IT!!! I know that is so sad. I love gathering the right paperwork, looking over our W-2's and seeing how much we did... or didn't make this year. Seeing what we get to duduct and what credits we qualify for. This year does bring a little more worry with it since Josh is now self-employed but it looks like we are going to be fine and may even still get a refund. SWEET!!! I love getting that chunk of change back that we've never really counted on. I know that my sister has always told me that both her and her husband claim 0 deductions on their paychecks in order to maximize their return. For them it works! She says that they can always get by on a little less and that they don't really notice the difference because they have always done it this way. Then at tax time they get a nice big check that they can do something really big with like buy new furniture or something else. Yes, I know that some people are moaning and growning right now because that is just handing over an interest free loan to the government instead of investing it and earning interest. But for some that just doesn't ever happen, If the money is accessible it gets spent so that works for her. I have always passed this advise on to my coworkers when I worked in a restaurant because they always get EVERYTHING back that they pay in and I know that it is something that would be good for them. They ushually don't listen though. Just getting them to be honest enough to claim all of their tips was a huge struggle. Again- YOU GET IT BACK!!! And in the meantime you can qualify for more when it comes to buying a house or car or getting a credit card, because your paystubs and tax returns show how much you actually make. That is a pet peeve of mine, can ya tell?