health savings accounts

Procrastinating on our taxes until the last minute is as American as apple pie. But before you resign yourself to running out to the post office at 11:59 p.m. on April 17, you should be aware of the benefits of getting your taxes done early.

The benefit of a Flexible Spending Account is obvious: Using pre-tax dollars to pay for health or child care expenses can save you a fortune. The risk is that if you don't spend the cash, you lose it. But you may have more time to do that than you thought.

Chalk it up to the nation's lingering economic malaise: More Americans this year plan to sock some of their tax refund away in savings. If you're among them, here are a few smart ways to stash that cash.

At many companies this is open-enrollment season -- your one chance a year to make changes to your health insurance. The easiest thing to do is just pick the same plan and coverage options you did last year. But often, that can be a big mistake.

Although the end of 2011 is near, it's not too late to make sure you don't owe more to the IRS than you need to on April 15. Here are some tax-smart moves to make before you head out to that New Year's Eve party.

Thanksgiving's still two weeks away: You're getting ready for Black Friday, not April 15. But all those one-day deals pale next to what you could save on your taxes by taking a few smart steps before Dec. 31.

You practically have to be an accountant to manage your family's health care these days. The good news is, some lawmakers seem to recognize this and are working toward changes to one program that should be well received by employers, employees and doctors alike.

You can't clip coupons or bargain shop for many of your biggest household expenses -- but what if there was a way to get a discount? There is: You can often take pretax deductions from your paycheck and allocate it for basic expenses like child care, transportation and tuition.

If you've shopped for health insurance as an individual, you've likely found it very difficult, if not impossible, to get that insurance unless you are in perfect health. Or once you're over the age of 50, you may find that even if you can get insurance, you won't be able to afford it. I'm going...