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By Dave Alden
Published February 2, 2008

Okay, the economy is soft. Unemployment, at least for the moment, is rising. And it’s tax season. Happy February 2008! How about some good news to help your family’s finances? Here are resources to help you save money. Do the following for FREE:

• Prepare and file your 2007 1040 tax return
• Apply for student aid
• Check your credit

Tax Preparation and Filing:
Tis the season when everyone wants you to buy their software or bring your W-2 by to file your 2007 tax return. Thankfully, competition has driven prices down. But how ‘bout FREE? 2nd Story Software’s http://www.taxactonline.com Web site offers free online preparation and filing of its “standard” federal return, or free download of its tax preparation software. There is a fee for state returns ($13.95). But the savvy among us can even avoid this, by filling out the state return and submitting it ourselves. For a list of all the states requiring income tax filings, with downloadable tax forms, go to http://www.taxadmin.org/fta/link/forms.html.

Student Aid Application:
Filing for Federal Student Aid can be a daunting, but necessary, task for many of us. There is a Free Application for Federal Student Aid program. But if you visit FAFSA.com, you’ll discover that there is a $79.99 fee for filing this “free” application. What gives? FAFSA.com is a commercial Internet site; hence the dot-com in its name. FAFSA.com isn’t doing anything wrong. They prominently disclose their lack of affiliation with any public agency, and explain the value they add to the process (preparing your application, error-checking it and monitoring your application’s status after submission). But if you want free, then be sure to visit the U.S. Department of Education site at http://www.fafsa.ed.gov. That’s where you can file a student aid application for free. For free help in preparing and filing your free application, click the “Student Aid on the Web” link, near the upper left of the fafsa.ed.gov page.

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