We’re in the final stages of preparing our taxes for last year.  We prepare our own taxes and have used Turbo Tax for years now.  Usually this is about a week long process from start to finish, as we take small steps daily towards getting it finished.  Being organized makes the process go quickly.  We have a folder where all tax information has been kept and collected as it has been received.  It is organized by the order which these items will be entered into Turbo Tax, which is first the W-2,  followed by interest statements, 1099s, mortgage interest statements, and receipts for charitable giving.  This makes it really easy to enter the info into Turbo Tax because we don’t have to hunt around for the forms/info.  My husband purchased Turbo Tax one week ago (at Sam’s Club which had the best price for it).   Here is a step-by-step process of how we have prepared our taxes. 

1.  Purchased Turbo Tax and installed it on computer. 

2.  Transferred information from last year’s Turbo Tax progam through the import feature. 

3.  Entered 2006 information including W-2, interest income, dividend income, and 1099 income. 

4.  Developed a spreadsheet for the itemized expenses.  After this was completed, deductions (mortage interest, property taxes, sales taxes, charitable giving,) were entered into Turbo Tax. 

5.  Tax credits were entered according to Turbo Tax.

6.  Final review through Turbo Tax (this is an entirely automated process). 

We choose E-File for submitting our return.  However, we print a copy of the return out and then I review it.  I check all the numbers for accuracy and ensure we have the required backup documentation.  After we have verified the return, we then utilize the Turbo Tax program to make the E-File. 

We will be receiving a tax refund this year and are utilizing the direct deposit feature.  Our file containing all the supporting documentation will be stored for future use. 

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Today I made my first participation in the Freecycle program in my area and I am so glad that I did.  I signed up a while ago with my local Freecycle program.  I receive daily e-mails of items that people in my area would like to get rid of. 

What is Freecycle?

The Freecycle Network was started in May 2003 to promote waste reduction in Tucson’s downtown and help save desert landscape from being taken over by landfills. The Network provides individuals and non-profits an electronic forum to “recycle” unwanted items. One person’s trash can truly be another’s treasure!

 How does it work?

When you want to find a new home for something — whether it’s a chair, a fax machine, piano, or an old door — you simply send an e-mail offering it to members of the local Freecycle group.

Or, maybe you’re looking to acquire something yourself. Simply respond to a member’s offer, and you just might get it. After that, it’s up to the giver to decide who receives the gift and to set up a pickup time for passing on the treasure.

Our main rule: Everything posted must be free, legal, and appropriate for all ages.

Yesterday, an email from my local Freecycle was for a large bag of children’s clothing in the particular size that I am needing.  I emailed the person who made the offer and indicated that I would love to take the clothing, and let her know when I could pick them up.  She responded quickly and told me that she would place them in a bag on her doorstep during the time that I said I could pick them up.  She included the directions to her home.

This morning I went and picked up the bag of clothing.  She was right, it was a large plastic trash bag full of the clothing in the sizes she had said.  These are sizes that my child can wear for the next 2 years and for all seasons including warm up jackets with matching pants, jeans, long sleeve shirts, sweaters, shorts, even pajamas!  They are top brands too, like GAP, The Children’s Place, and McKids, and are all in good to excellent condition.  I was very pleased with this bag of clothing and it was almost like finding treasure!

I recently borrowed from the library “The Complete Tightwad Gazette“, which is a compilation of all the newletters of the same name. This is my second or third time reading through this book. There is just a wealth of information and it seems that every time I read it, I find something in it that I hadn’t noticed before. I think that as my life and our family life has changed, then the areas where we need to be frugal has changed as well. Hence, things that I didn’t really need to do before I glossed over. Now, those ideas really provide me with inspiration.

One of the things in our family that really needs to be addressed is the clothing situation. Last year I did not spend as much time at garage sales buying clothes for the next season. Therefore, now I find that the kids are growing out of their clothing at a pretty fast rate, and I don’t have anything stored away. I plan to be hitting the garage sales in full force these next coming months and will be hoping to purchase items to be worn now, as well as items that the kids will grow into in the future. I re-read the newsletters in the book regarding garage sale finds and the methods for finding the deals. I really like the organizational strategy of using boxes with the ages marked on the outside for storing clothing for future use, i.e. 4YOG (4 year old girl clothing), 6YOB (6 year old boy clothing), etc. This provides a sane way to find those garage sale bargains long after the fact and prevents me from going crazy wondering “where did I store those jeans I know I bought last year?”

One of the most interesting things I read was how one woman saved the boxes her kids’ toys come in. When toys were received at Christmas or birthday parties, she would store the original boxes in her attic. Then, when the children were ready to part with the toys (as in have a garage sale) she would package the toy in its original box. Amazingly, she said that toys sold this way at a garage sale sold much better and for more money. I bet this strategy would work for Ebay sales as well.

Anyway, if you want to rekindle the love of frugality, check out a copy of The Tightwad Gazette from your local library.