Being Frugal...

[BitsyNaceyDog]

Those tax forms appear to be so complicated. It's not that hard to read through them as soon as you learn how to eliminate the mumbo jumbo they add.[/B]

I always did our taxes when we have straight forward W-2s. Once Justin went became self-employed we got a CPA. Actually I did them myself the first year, and we got a CPA after that. The CPA re-did our taxes from the first year and got us a lot back that we were able to credit to the next year. We may have to pay a few hundred a year for a CPA, but it's worth it when she saves us thousands.


I also hang my laundry rather than use the dryer.

I don't have a dish washer, but I would imagine that washing dishes by hand is cheeper than running the dishwasher.

I use the toaster oven rather than the big oven when possible. It's cheeper to heat the little toaster oven then to heat up the big oven.

We do a lot of the other things people have mentioned too.

[Daisy and Delilah]

I couldn't agree more, Kari. I think I should have added that doing your own forms should only be done for the simple filings. Some are so time consuming and frustrating, we have to hire someone. Self employment returns are a basic nightmare in alot of cases. My BIL is a good example of that. He keeps his receipts all over the place and throws them all in a box at the end of the year. Some of them have stuff spilled all over them, shoe prints, etc. I used to do his taxes and it was scary.

I heard what the tax places charge for a simple 1040A or an EZ and I couldn't believe it. For a long time, I did tax returns for people with simple returns. I felt so bad that they were paying so much and I wouldn't charge them anything.

In many cases, it's completely necessary to go to a professional.