How to file your taxes online for free. Why pay fees?

Here's one for those of you who are paying big dollars to H&R Block Taxcut, TurboTax, and others.

The IRS has a list of ways that people earning under $56,000 can file their Federal Taxes for free.

Read the fine print at each offer, some programs will file only the Federal for free, then hit you with a charge for the state. Others are totally free.

Link to IRS E-File

Pass along any good results to me, I'd like to hear 'em..

Switch your Natural Fuel Provider and Save Money.

This one turned out to be an absolute no brainer for me, and a home run as well. Thanks to utility deregulation, consumers are now free to purchase their natural gas and electric supply from any company that they choose.

If you are buying your Natural Fuel, or Electricity from the gas company or the electric company then you are paying "retail" so to speak for your utility.

This has brought many companies into the market, most of these companies will save you money, but are for profit companies. Off the top of my head, in the local Buffalo, NY market, there is a gas station called Noco that has been running ads to switch your supply to them to save money.

I did a serious cost analysis on their program, and decided to pass. They wanted to lock you into a certain price rate for an entire year, when we all know that the price of natural gas changes every month. Their electric offering was even stranger, saving you dollars at off peak hours, and charging more during on peak hours.

After doing some digging, I decided to go with a not for profit company to provide my natural gas and electricity. This company is the Energy Cooperative of New York.

The signup process was simple, just sign up online, and provide them with your account information for your utilities. The process was seamless, National Fuel still sends me a bill, but the supply comes from ECNY. National Fuel still reads my meter, and provides any service that I may need. Same deal with my Electric company, National Grid.

The only difference is that I am saving huge on the supply portion of my utility bill. When you get a electric or gas bill, there are two charges on there. One is for delivery, one for the actual supply of the electricity or gas.

The chart above will show the actual savings using ECNY versus buying retail from the gas company. Last month I saved 17.6%, which translated to be about 18 bucks in a month for my little 1100 sq foot apartment in my duplex...

Imagine the savings if you have a large gas bill already.

Right now the electric savings has been a wash, I only have a 60 dollar bill on average for electricity, so the savings is less than 5 dollars per month..

First Time Homebuyer $7500 Tax Credit (Well Kinda)

Bought your first house between April 9th 2008, and July 1st 2009?

The government is going to bail you out for $7500.. Well not really, you have to read between the lines on this one, and understand what you are getting into before you take the money.

I was excited to see this program, because it applies to me, I meet all the qualifications. Then I learned the real deal, and became slightly less satisfied, but heck I'll still take their money.

So, you can claim up to $7500 as a tax credit on your taxes this year. Since it is a dollar for dollar credit, Uncle Sam will increase your tax refund by $7500, or reduce what you owe to zero, and send you a check for the rest. The keyword here is up to $7500. They only pay 10% of the amount that you paid for your home. In my case, I'll get 10% of my meager 43,000 house, or $4300.

This may upset you a bit, but keep reading, you will be just fine with it. So, this is not a traditional tax credit, like when the government gave us stimulus checks that we were free to do what we chose with them (booze, cigarettes, electronics, hookers, and the like)..

This tax credit must be repaid within 15 years, over that period of time.. You start the repayment 2 years after you take the money, and they recapture the entire amount 17 years after you take the money.

I'm still taking their money, and you should too (if you qualify)... Toss the money in a CD or other safe investment tool, or even a high interest savings account. Right now the best ones pay about 4 percent.

Not calculating the yearly payback (you would pay that yourself), at 4% APY that $4300 would turn into $7744.06 after 15 years.

Plus you would have access to the cash in case of emergency.

Sounds like a decent deal for me, I'll take the money and run.

Here is a link to the dirty details.. Click my adsense links to buy me a beer..

Federal Housing Tax Credit

APY Interest Calculator (figure your earnings)

Bankrate Savings Account APY rates

Just got this in from the FINE folks at Rockauto.com..

The New 5% Off Discount Coupon..

Enjoy, and if my site helped you out at all, please click the adsense banners a few times.
Justin

Thank you for being a www.RockAuto.com customer! To show our appreciation, we have a special discount for you.

Your discount code is:

1127806982885

Using Your Discount Code

Enter the code above in the "How did you hear about us" line of the shopping cart. If you are using our traditional HTML catalog, please click the "Apply" button to the right of the field. Your discount will automatically appear, subtracted from your order total.

Please note: We sometimes get calls from people who put the word "discount" in front of their code and do not get the discount. Please enter ONLY the discount code, no other words or numbers. The discount takes 5% off our already-low prices. There's no limit on order size or the number of orders. Use the code for your next order, and share the code with friends, neighbors, relatives, the guy at the corner garage--anyone you know who works on cars or trucks.

This discount code expires on November 16, 2008; so don't wait!

How I get my daily deals, AKA the early bird catches the deal.

I can't remember the last time that I paid full price for well.. Anything..

As I read this, a box of oil filters was just dropped off from Amazon.com. They are $8.99 each in the store, I found them online for $1.25, and bought a dozen of them.

Yesterday I bought a case of CFL light bulbs for 19 dollars. They go for 3-4 bucks each in any store in America. The deals keep rolling on, but I don't have to look too hard for them..

Add these websites to your favorites, and check them every day. If you have any more really good ones, feel free to post them up in comments.

1.) Slickdeals.net

http://www.slickdeals.net/

Ah, the mothership of deals.. This site posts a bunch of deals every day, and has a great discussion forum. Everything from sneakers, to electronics, to travel deals. I have seen it all on here. If you watch this site every day, you find some great deals (and curse yourself for whipping out your credit card)..

2.) Techbargains.com

http://www.techbargains.com/

I just found out about this site about a year ago, it has become part of my daily routine. If you want a low price on a computer, this is the site. They post all the coupon codes for DELL, and other vendors. It is amazing how cheap some of the computers are on that site.

But it is not only for computers, its everything relating to electronics as well. I have found great deals on a HDTV for myself, and friends with this site.

Thanks for reading,
Justin

The real deal on traveling on the cheap with Priceline..

Hey Everybody..

I've gotten seriously good at getting the bottom line price when traveling. People in my family and social circles are now calling me to help them book a trip.

Here are a few steps to get the lowest price on your next trip. Its really simple..

First of all, you aren't going to get anywhere booking on Expedia, or Hotels.com, or sites like that. Those sites are only good if you need to stay at a specific hotel, and want to pay a little bit off book rate.

There is a time and place to use those sites, but honestly if you are like me, then you don't care exactly where you stay, you just want it to be a nice place, and you might enjoy the element of surprise.

Priceline is the only way to stay for a place super cheap. I have walked into many 3.5-4 star hotels, and have been wondering how they even LET ME IN THE DOOR for the 39 bucks per night that I had paid.

Its unreal.

Here is a link to my Tripadvisor page.

http://www.tripadvisor.com/members-reviews/JustinH

Tripadvisor is an excellent tool for reading actual reviews on a property before you stay there, also you can get some excellent tips on the area from fellow travelers, not from the hotel itself. Also you can get real world pictures of the rooms, the property, and more. This tool is amazing. I contribute to that site nearly every time I travel. Heck, they even sent me a ball cap in the mail they like me so much.

I always post the price that I paid for the room on priceline, so that other people can get a similar deal. You should too.

I'll break down this instructional into the different things that you may need to book for your trip.

1.) Airfare-

With the way that airfare in this country is getting (expensive), I have only had look booking in advance with Southwest.com using their Internet Rate. Usually priceline can not beat the price that they give, but you do need to book in advance. Southwest does not fly everywhere, but if you find yourself having to go somewhere that they do not fly, then use the ITA Software search engine.

http://www.itasoftware.com/

You will need to click on search airfares, then login as guest. ITA software is a company that makes the engine that MANY different aggregators on the internet use. Take a look at Priceline search, then use theirs, it is the exact same thing. Many sites use this engine, and they all report the same prices.

The ITA Software will get you the cheapest price on airfare, and you can go directly to the airlines website and book direct from them, with no overhead from an aggregator.

This my friends is how you get the cheapest airfare.

2.) Car rental-

You will probably need to rent a car, but it is tough to compare prices unless you use an aggregator. The big boys like Priceline do not include all the car rental companies, so you are usually stuck with their major overpriced company, unless you make a lowball offer.

Here is where carrentals.com comes in.

http://www.carrentals.com/

This site is awesome for getting the lowest posted price at a specific airport or city. They search all the no name car rental places, and you can use your judgement if you want to use them or not.

I have rented in vegas for 11 bucks a day, and orlando for 18 bucks per day.

Always rent the economy car, about 8 out of 10 times, you will get a free upgrade at the counter to something else.

I usually get the lowest price on CarRentals.com, then try to bid a few bucks cheaper on Priceline to save a few bucks. Usually Carrentals will be cheaper than priceline, they usually don't take your lowball offer.

3.) Hotels-

The way to a cheap hotel is priceline. Nothing else is even close.

http://www.priceline.com/

But the main question is what do you bid? People overbid all the time, and Priceline is ready to take your money. There are a few really good sites on the web, where actual people post what they bid, and if their offer was accepted or not. This is an excellent way to figure out where your bid should be.

These sites also show you what hotels are located in what areas, and it gives you a good idea of what hotel you will be assigned before you bid. You can go on tripadvisor, and see if you are ready to take the plunge before you do so.

The first site is BiddingforTravel.

http://biddingfortravel.yuku.com/

The second is Betterbidding

http://www.betterbidding.com/

These websites are a source for an amazing amount of information, to figure out exactly what to bid on your hotel, and exactly what you may be assigned.

In conclusion, Priceline hotels are amazingly cheap. They are non refundable travel. You do not know exactly what hotel you will be assigned, until after they charge you for it. Honestly I don't have a problem with this. I have never been assigned anything but a nice room with Priceline, and have used them for years. Most times, I am overly impressed with the accommodations received for the price paid.

GOOD LUCK,
Justin

Rockauto Rockauto.com Auto Parts 5% Discount Coupon (Expires 9/16/2008)

Hey Guys,

I don't usually post ads for companies, but here is a company that I really like to deal with.

Rockauto.com

They stock a ton of parts that the other big auto parts stores do not have, and they are sometimes 50% cheaper than the auto parts stores.

If you need a part right away, then read my blog about parts store doing a price match to rockauto, but if you want to order online, they ship right away.

Enjoy!
Justin

Discount on RockAuto Parts!

Thank you for being a www.RockAuto.com customer! To show our appreciation, we have a special discount for you. Your discount code is: 1127806982885 Using Your Discount Code Enter the code above in the "How did you hear about us" line of the shopping cart. If you are using our traditional HTML catalog, please click the "Apply" button to the right of the field. Your discount will automatically appear, subtracted from your order total. Please note: We sometimes get calls from people who put the word "discount" in front of their code and do not get the discount. Please enter ONLY the discount code, no other words or numbers. The discount takes 5% off our already-low prices. There's no limit on order size or the number of orders. Use the code for your next order, and share the code with friends, neighbors, relatives, the guy at the corner garage--anyone you know who works on cars or trucks. This discount code expires on September 16, 2008; so don't wait!