Well, most of us are through with our taxes for this year.
And now is the perfect time to say what we will do differently next year.
Take the time to sit down and assess what worked and didn't work for you.
What cost you the most time? What did you dread doing the most? Take the time to reorganize your taxes for next year.
Start with looking at the basics.
How do you organize your tax receipts? This is the part that most of us hate the most, adding up all those little receipts.
There are many ways to cut down on this problem.
You could start by using a computer to track your expenses.
There are several programs that help you balance your checkbook, track your expenses and make reports as to where your money is going.
They make it so very easy to see exactly what you are spending on.
I love them.
When it is tax time, all you have to do is print out the record (make sure that you've stuck the receipts in a box, the IRS doesn't take computer printouts as fact).
There are people out there that like the tangible ledgers and shoeboxes.
My husband is like that, so we keep our records in ledgers and files.
You can keep this simple.
For example, we own a ranch.
We keep an accordion file with a ledger in the front.
When a receipt comes in, we right it down in the ledger and file it in the appropriate section, for example "feed.
" At any time, we can pick up our books and know exactly what we have out in every section.
This is important not only in taxes, but in business planning and viability.
Keep a tax file for the year.
Stick every receipt that is deductible in this file.
This includes medical expenses and the such.
I write the receipt down on the outside of the file before I stick it in.
Then I don't have to sort through receipts when adding, just go down the list.
If you own your home, keep a home file.
You will need the receipts from improvements to offset any profits when you sell the home.
Stick every major improvement receipt in the file and you'll know where they are when you need them.
Tax time can be as simple as grabbing a couple of accordion file folders and heading out the door.
If you have few deductions, you may only need one simple folder.
The key is keeping things together and organized.
What takes you only a few seconds now will save you hours of searching when tax time is starting to wind down.
If you do your own taxes, being organized will help you get a jump start on working on filing next year.
It is more motivational to sit down with organized papers than piles and piles of receipts in boxes.
If you have your taxes prepared by a professional, don't leave it until last minute.
If you are organized, you should be able to walk out the door at a minute's notice.
Start early in the year, so that you know what receipts you should be saving and what you don't need to keep.
In a few weeks, go talk with a professional and identify what you need to do for next year.