How to Avoid Giving Uncle Sam a Free Loan

From Market Watch.com:

With April 15 behind you, it's time to breathe a sigh of relief. But if you got a tax refund this year, consider making changes now to avoid giving the government an interest-free loan until next April.

Organizing your finances so that you get no refund and owe nothing when you file your return is the ideal touted by some financial planners. Managing your taxes is not easy.

Still, by adjusting your withholding now you can at least reduce your refund.

"There are lots of people who say any refund is too big because they don't want the government to have their money and not [pay] interest on it," said Diane Winland, certified public accountant and certified financial planner at Financial Finesse Inc.

Winland said she isn't a fan of writing checks to the Internal Revenue Service, but "I actually like to owe a little."

You can choose to have less in taxes deducted from each paycheck, and instead take that money and put it to work for you by investing or saving it.

How Uncle Sam is Killing your Savings

It is always a good idea to save up a little money in case of a rainy day, because you never know when you are going to need it in an emergency. However, according to CNNMoney.com the Federal government’s programs designed to stimulate the economy are actually hurting the investments of average Americans.

What do the record-high Wall Street bonuses have in common with the record-low yields for savers?

Answer: They show yet another way that prudent people, especially those living on fixed incomes, are being screwed by the government's bailout of the imprudent.

Here's the deal. The government is spending trillions to keep interest rates down in order to support the economy and prop up housing prices, and those low rates have inflicted collateral damage on savers' incomes.

"It's a direct wealth transfer from savers and retirees to overly indebted borrowers," says Greg McBride, senior financial analyst at Bankrate.com.

Since October 2007, when government intervention in the financial system began picking up speed, yields on the ultrasafe one-year and five-year investments that many retirees favor have tanked.

Two years ago the average yield on a five-year federally insured bank CD was 3.9%, according to Bankrate.com. Now it's 2.2%, a drop of more than 40%.

Yields on one-year CDs have almost vanished: 0.92%, compared with 3.6%. On five-year Treasury securities, yield is down to 2.3% from 4.4%. On one-year maturities, you get a minuscule 0.3%, down from more than 4% in 2007.