Financial Headline News for Monday 3/12

Phil's Financial Tip of the Day:

Avoid These 6 Common Tax Return Mistakes

Jim Wang writes about personal finance at Bargaineering.com. When he's not tackling money issues, he's usually looking forward to his next vacation and writing about it at Wanderlust Journey.

Here is a list of six easily avoidable mistakes to keep in mind when you're filing your return.

1. Not claiming the correct status. Your filing status is based on your status as of December 31of that filing year. So for tax year 2011, your status is based on your status as of Dec.31, 2011, and not today. If you got married in January, both you and your spouse will file as single filers. If you got married in December, you can't opt to file as a single filer (you can pick married filing separately or married filing jointly.) If you had a baby in February, unfortunately your little one will not be a dependent on the taxes you file in April. Picking the correct filing status is crucial because so many credits and deductions, not to mention the tax brackets, change based on your status. This can have enormous implications on your return.

To read the rest of the article By Jim Wang | U.S.News & World Report LP
http://finance.yahoo.com/news/avoid-6-common-tax-return-163148216.html

Quote of the Day from Dave Ramsey.com:
If you're bored with life—you don't get up every morning with a burning desire to do things—you don't have enough goals. — Lou Holtz

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