Ah, tax season–everybody’s favorite time of year.  All right, maybe not, but that refund check is a pretty nice reward for all that trouble and stress.  If you’re like everyone else, you’re determined to get every penny back that you’re owed, but you’re probably still overlooking a lot of deductions you might not know about.  Tracking your expenses wisely and researching your tax options on certain purchases can help you get the most money back.  Here’s a small list of commonly overlooked deductions to get you going:

• Job-related moving expenses if your new employer does not reimburse you
• Job-seeking expenses relating to your current employment
• Home office expenses if you own a home business (be forewarned, the guidelines here are pretty strict)
• Business expenses not reimbursed by your employer, such as travel, meals, and lodging
• Union dues
• Education expenses relating to your current employment
• Student loan interest
• Tuition and fees for certain qualifying higher education expenses
• Charitable donations (and it’s not just money anymore-you can itemize clothing and other material donations)
• Medical transportation expenses, such as parking and gas mileage for visits to the doctor, labs, clinics, etc.
• Medical aids like crutches, orthopedic shoes, hearing aids, glasses, contacts, etc., including equipment for handicapped people
• The cost of drug and alcohol rehabilitation programs

And finally,

• Fees for tax preparation or advice

That last one sounds pretty good, especially if your tax preparation fees will eat up a decent amount of your refund.  There are many more tax deductions out there, and each one can get more specific.  Of course, you do want to check on the guidelines and restrictions for each one to make sure you qualify.  For example, if you experience any casualty losses, you can deduct that, but the amount must be more than the sum of $100 and 10% of your adjusted gross income.  You could take the time to figure it out, only to find that you don’t qualify.

But don’t let the restrictions hold you back.  You might find an available deduction that will bring you an even nicer tax return, and that could be worth all the time you spent looking.

You’ve made the huge decision to move into a house, but after all that thought and weighing of priorities, there’s still one more question looming over you-should you buy or rent?

Buying Costs More

Your current financial situation will be the best determining factor when making this decision.  The pros and cons of each will weigh differently on your available income.  The most obvious issue is that owning a home will definitely cost more than renting.  Of course, it will be dependent on where you live, but the cost of renting vs. buying within one city will tend to be vastly different.

On the flip side, when you rent, your landlord can raise your rent, but when you own with a fixed-rate mortgage, your lender cannot raise your rates.  However, the longer you wait to buy, the higher home prices can go in the meantime, and they tend to rise faster than average rent costs.

Building Equity

There are some perks to buying that you can’t get with renting.  First of all, you can deduct part of your interest paid if you exceed the standard deduction, which you usually will for the first few years, when your payment will mostly go toward interest.  You’ll also build equity, which you can take out a line of credit against to help pay down debt, pay for college, etc.

But when something breaks or starts malfunctioning (and it will), you don’t have a landlord to call to fix it for you.  It’s your problem, and you get to use your own money for the repairs.  Plus, if your finances take a turn for the worst, you could end up risking foreclosure and a nasty hit on your credit score.

Save Money While Renting

If you’re looking to buy and you can’t put 20% of the home’s value toward a down payment, you’ll end up with a high interest rate and have to pay for private mortgage insurance to protect the lender if you foreclose, so renting may be a better option to start.  You could even lease with an option to buy when the term is up.  This can give you time to save enough money for a down payment.

Determine how long you intend to stay in the home you’re considering.  If there’s any possibility you’ll be moving again after a few years, you might want to rent since you won’t have time to build up any equity in the house anyway.  But if you’re content to stay put, your home can appreciate in value, and owning will allow you to pull the equity out once it builds up.

The decision will ultimately come down to your current financial situation.  Don’t count on any “expected” income or change in situation that isn’t secured.  A lender cannot make the decision for you on whether to buy or rent, so make sure you do your homework before taking the first step.

If you have been having problems making your monthly payments recently, you can blame it on the economy or you can take a long, hard look at the way you are managing your personal finances. If it is getting harder to meet your personal financial obligations, you should be looking at how you are spending your money. Tracking what you spend is the only logical way to gain perspective as to how you are using your money and what you need to do to manage your cash more effectively to avoid debt.

Start with analyzing your “big bills”. This includes your mortgage note, your car payment, and your credit card payments. Take a look at the total and then compare it to your gross pay each month. If your big bills total 40% or more of your gross income, it’s no wonder you are feeling the pinch. Even those that are well-to-do are finding it difficult to stay afloat in today’s economy. In fact, according to recent research, it seems that families that make more money are digging themselves deeper in debt than the rest of the nation.

For many, their current income could essentially be sufficient if they would just cut down on their spending. However, there are so many changes in financial industries that everyone must now take heed not only of what they are spending but also what they are making and what creditors are doing to change the rules.

Credit Card Fees

With so many changes in the credit industry in recent months, those who can not pay down their balances fast enough are going deeper into debt because of bigger fees and penalties, as well as lowered credit limits. If you tend to carry a balance that you can not pay off in one lump sum, you need to take measures to devote more cash to your credit card bills.

Mortgage Crisis

Throughout the last few months, there has been much trouble in the housing and mortgage industry. While things seem to be calming down a bit and mortgage rates are on the decline, many who may have qualified for a loan in previous years are now no longer able to qualify for a loan because of their debt to income ratios.  Underwriting standards have tighten too much to let people struggling in debt benefit from lower rates if they were interested in refinancing for cheaper payments if they already owned a home or for new home buyers looking for tax credits and possibly getting rid of high renting costs.

No Loan Assistance

Those in debt hoping for reprieve through consolidation loans, may not find much relief these days. Lenders are more stringent than ever when it comes to lending money. There is more emphasis on the application process and fewer people now qualify for a personal loan when struggling with debt. There are some lenders who would be happy to lend money but only with a outrageously high interest rates that people in debt should not even consider.

What to Do

More Income Needed

A second job may be in order to pay off debts fast and decrease your debt to income ratio. Unless you can wrangle more money from your current employer in the form of a higher salary or cash bonus, you may need to look elsewhere for supplemental income. If you are not in the position to add another few hours to your workweek, you might consider getting a new job entirely where your pay will help cover your monthly bills.

Debt Consolidation/Debt Settlement

Two popular debt solutions are springing up around the nation to help people solve their debt problems. If your debt is 40% or more of your gross income, you may want to check out what professional assistance could do to help you. No everyone will benefit from these solutions but each case can be analyzed on an individual basis to determine the best solution to get out of debt.

Stop Spending

Regardless of what avenue you choose to tackle your debt, you need to recognize that there is no time like the present to stop the debt cycle once and for all. By eliminating your bad spending habits now, you can learn how to manage the money your are saving more effectively and that learning experience will carry over when you are finally out of debt and on the road to debt recovery.

Tisha Tolar is a writer for DebtFreeDestiny.com, where she provides information about credit card consolidation, debt relief and how to get out of debt.