Well, hopefully the tax deadline came and went without any major distasters for everyone, and hopefully everyone filed their taxes (or an extension) so that they can get their stimulus payment.

I’m wondering if anyone has any tax deadline horror stories? Feel free to share in the comments!

The government has been nice enough to offer us stimulus payments this year in order to give our sluggish economy a boost.

All you have to do is file you taxes.

The IRS will do the rest, including calculating the stimulus amount and determining if you’re eligible or not.

But you have to file, even if you don’t normally!

Some people don’t have to file every year, such as some people on Social Security. But to get your stimulus check, you have to file! Make sure your low- or fixed-income friends and family members know this. It would be a shame to pass up free money because you didn’t know or couldn’t must the gumption to file. Do it! Several hundred dollars is waiting for you, free!

How much can you get?

$600, $1200 if you file jointly. Each eligible child you have under 17 gets you another $300 per child.

To determine your eligibility and calculate how much you’ll get, go the IRS’ Economic Stimulus Payment Calculator.

If you make too much or too little, you may not be eligible. Check to see if you are or not.

If I have questions about the payments, where should I go?

The IRS website, of course. They have a useful FAQ that should answer most of your questions.

One bit of disinformation that I heard from a money guru (my wife - she’s real good at spending money) was that you wouldn’t get a stimulus check if you filed an extension. According to the FAQ just mentioned, that’s not true:

Q. If I’m filing a tax return this year just to get a stimulus payment, by when do I have to file?

A. The IRS encourages everyone to file by the normal April 15 tax deadline: The sooner you file the sooner you can receive your stimulus payment. But if you have obtained a valid six-month extension to file or if you are filing to establish your eligibility for the stimulus payment, filing by Oct. 15 means the IRS can process your return and issue a stimulus payment before the end of the year. [New 3/5/08]

But, I urge you not to dally. Get it done and in and get da money!

I am not a tax expert, nor do I play one on YouTube. Assume every thing I said here is wrong, and find out the real deal directly from the IRS or your accountant.

Yeah, you read that right.

I was poking around the Carnival of Debt Reduction over at the No Credit Needed Blog today, and found some interesting tidbits. Via Debt Free Revolution and the Great Credit Card Debate, I found My Dollar Plan, who has almost a quarter of a million dollars in credit card debt.

Yowzah! Is she crazy? Why so much?

Madison (My Dollar Plan) uses 0% introductory credit card offers to launder her credit card debt, or what’s known as credit card arbitrage. For example, instead of getting a car loan at x% interest, she puts it on a 0% credit card and saves money on the interest. Instead of paying down a credit card balance, she puts it in savings and earns money. She makes and saves almost $12,000 a year doing this! When the introductory offer is over, she launders the money (my term) with a new 0% credit card offer.

Quite an interesting idea, although I don’t recommend it for most people. I think the average person has enough trouble handling their debts and credit cards that they don’t need to juggle 89 credit card accounts like Madison does. You’d be better off following some of the strategies and tips on the blogs in the Carnival. However, I have used 0%/low APR intro offers myself in the past, and this post actually prompts me to think it may be time to do it again. The trick is to not use this as an excuse to take on more debt, but to save money on the interest payments and (usually) lower your overall debt. Although Madison is using it to NOT lower her overall debt (she does pay just over the minimum payment due on the cards each month), she’s keeping a tight watch over this strategy and using it to make/save thousands of dollars a year.

Think hard before using this strategy. Chances are, if you’re bad with credit cards in the first place, you’ll be even worse with this approach!