Taxes are due this Thursday.  You must file online or have your mailed return postmarked by midnight.  (Or you need to request an extension.) 

If you have not done your taxes yet, stop reading this blog immediately and go do it.  The rest of the post will still be here when you are finished.

If you have have finished your taxes, consider the following possibilities to make your life easier:

• Create a file for your 2010 taxes.  Use that file to collect receipts and any other paperwork that you'll need to file your return.  You can also create a spreadsheet to log charitable donations, work-related expenses, extra income, and the like.
• Decide if you need to change your withholding.  If you have a huge bill or are getting a huge refund, this may be in your best interest.  Paying a huge tax bill can be a burden in April.  It's less of a burden if it's divided by 12 months.  I personally like getting a large refund.  Getting a lump sum encourages me to plan its spending wisely.  If I had a few extra dollars each month, I'd be less likely to designate the amount for a specific purpose — it would just be general revenue.  Of course, a large refund means that you are floating the US government a no-interest loan (and losing the interest you could have earned).  It's a personal decision.
• If you are getting a refund, now is a great time to decide what you should do with it.  If you have high interest credit card debt, you can make some (or all!) of it go away.  If you don't have a life happens fund or an emergency fund, the ONLY thing you should spend your tax refund on is reducing high interest debt.  Otherwise, use your refund to jump start your saving.  If you are following a savings plan, you can feel free to dream about how you want to use your refund (though I still encourage saving or investing at least half of it).  What will you do:  make a home improvement?  take a trip?  take a class? make a donation?  (For the record, I plan to do something on my bucket list and get some yard work done.  I may even do some shopping!)