It’s ski season, and a lot of people end up being seasonal or temporary employees during this time of year. I have several friends and acquaintances that work at the local ski resort. They sell snacks, teach classes, or run ski lifts. Summertime’s the same way; when I was growing up, I worked as an attendant at a pool. I sold snacks, cleaned toilets, and checked people in to the pool area. It wasn’t necessarily the best...

The last two years, I’ve been doing my taxes myself. This year will be no different. There are certainly risks in doing your own taxes, so if you don’t understand the laws, you should get someone to look at your return before sending it out. When people are unsure and send anyway, they make some really big mistakes. Other people make mistakes when they get their returns. Here are three sets of silly mistakes that people...

Volunteer work is awesome. I never thought that I would enjoy volunteering as much as I do, but I do. Recently, someone I know informed me that you could deduct some of the funds that are involved in volunteerism and giving to charity. I thought Angie was kidding, but she wasn’t! She then proceeded to tell me about the first year she saved all of her receipts from the stuff that she did and gave away. Now, I’m going to share it with you...

It’s tax time! Exciting, right? Probably not, at least not until you get that return in the mail or via direct deposit (isn’t that the best thing ever?). But, there are some things that we don’t necessarily think through during our tax times. Today, we’re going to look at some do’s and don’ts to help you get through this tax season smoothly. DO: Pay attention to ALL of your income. Income isn’t only what you make in your...

It’s tax season again, and one of the biggest mistakes that many people make is missing deductions that could be making their refund check a lot bigger, or the amount they’re to pay in a  lot less. Many people just throw on what’s called the standard deduction: for most Americans this tax season, that amount is $5,700. This is the amount of income that you make that isn’t affected by taxation. Did you know in some cases, you may be...

Last year, taxes were a headache. It was the first time that I’d ever tried to do them on my own. Needless to say, that really wasn’t that big of a deal. It was as easy as plugging a few numbers into where I was told to (my taxes weren’t overly complicated last year, I was a graduate student with an on-campus job). Months earlier, we’d decided on me finally filing as independent: I paid for almost all of my needs, and I was 25 years...