Want to Boost Your Income?

Need a short-term loan or find a few extra bucks each month?  Start by reviewing your withholding allowance on your W-4 at work.

Many Americans are used to and even look forward to receiving a tax refund check each year.  According to the IRS in a USA Today article, last year the average federal tax refund jumped 10% to over $3,000.  While a big check is nice to get once a year, would it be better to get less on that check and have more for household expenses (or saving) each month?

Do you realize that when you receive a large tax refund, you have essentially given the federal government and interest free loan - interest that you could have earned by saving, investing or even paying down debt?  In fact, the IRS released a press statement recently showing that over 1 million taxpayers will lose out on over $1.1 billion dollars in refunds from 2007 if they are not claimed by April 18, 2011.

Bottom Line:  You should be putting your own money to work for you!