When you say "free food"....

Every time that the words "free food" are uttered in any way, the human tendency is to perk up their ears and turn your head. Here in the South, churches with Homecomings are always packed. Also in the South, tailgates are always packed.

What else is packed? The WONDERFUL restaurants that offer free food! My husband and I were just talking last night about different free food offers.

Here are a few that I have recently used...and one that I plan to use.

- Chick-fil-A: there are some locations that are still participating. It was in our hometown 2 weeks ago and yes, we were there first thing in the morning to get our chicken biscuit! Also, on this website you can sign up to be the first to know when Chick-fil-A has special offers in your area.

- Subway: this one isn't still usable, however you can still sign up to know when new offers are available. We used this one last week and the English muffin breakfast sandwich is fabulous!

- Brewster's Ice Cream: LOTS of free ice cream (or discounted) options on this website! Check them out! I'm planning on taking advantage of this one.

- FreeFly*s: so, this isn't food per se, but its still FREE!

Free makes me happy- hope it does you too,

Erica

Who? The IRS?

April is right around the corner, and if you're like our family- we DREAD tax season. I mostly dread it because of all the paperwork that is needed for our company to file taxes. I feel like the paper pile higher and higher every year. But, I'll do whatever it takes to avoid an audit- which means, filing 100% truth and nothing but the truth. Even if you have to pay, it's better than going through an audit and potentially facing jail time, right?!?!?

This year is the first year that I have ventured out to file our personal taxes myself. I am using the AWESOME tool- TurboTax. For anyone who doesn't have a masters in accounting, I would highly recommend this tool. It's super easy to navigate and a ton cheaper than hiring a professional CPA to do your tax filing. And, it promises to automatically tag anything that is questionable (i.e. anything that the IRS would pinpoint as "sneaky")....haven't had that pop up! Thank goodness! The user can also tag items to come back to- which I use often as I'm waiting to put in additional stock information from my husband's family stock.

So, if you want to go out on a limb, try TurboTax. If you still don't have enough confidence in yourself, a CPA is worth the money!

Whichever you choose, think about these things:

1) If you bought a home in 2008 and took the new home buyer credit, that has to be repaid...it's automatically taken out of your refund or added to the amount to pay. If you bought a home in 2008-2010 and took the credit but have since sold your house, the credit has to be repaid.

2) Student loans. Even if your parents are generous enough to be paying your student loan, the student is actually the one that gets to claim the loan interest and payments on their taxes. It's considered a "gift" from the parents that belongs to the student. Interesting, huh?

3) Remember ALL of your deductions. Churches, school fundraisers, Goodwill- all deductible. For Goodwill donations, you need that little piece of paper that they give you after you've dropped off goods. It has to have a 2011 date on it. And- you're only allowed to claim up to $500 per receipt unless you want to delve into itemizing your items donated with proof (i.e. pictures)- but who takes pictures of their stuff before donating?!?? Not me!

4) Remember ALL medical expenses- insurance, medicine, doctors visits, etc. These GREATLY add up in our family with a child and an adult with Type 1 Diabetes. Take the deduction!

Visit the IRS website (IRS.gov)- it's really helpful!

Happy tax season (in a sarcastic tone),

Erica