Just in case you missed it, the Federal Reserve met this week and held interest rates for the fifth consecutive meeting.  The federal funds rate is currently 5.25 percent, and the prime rate is at 8.25 percent.

It is expected that the Fed will hold interest rates for a while, however when they do make a move, the Fed says they are more likely to increase rates than to decrease them, due to "firmer economic growth". 

People in the housing industry are still hurting from the decline in housing, so they would prefer to see a decrease in interest rates, rather than an increase, but only time will tell.

The formula for financial aid hasn’t changed much over the last few years, but one change to the Expected Family Contribution (EFC) calculation may help small business owners.

Effective in 2007, parents who are small business owners are no longer required to report the value of the business on the FAFSA report, if the business is family owned and has less than 100 employees.

This reduces the parents’ contribution toward the EFC, which may allow small business owners who previously were unable to qualify for any need-based aid due to the value of their business, qualify for financial aid.

Yesterday was the 25th Annual Groundhog Day Run.  It’s a 5K/10K run held in an underground cave for the Children’s TLC Easter Seals.  I’ve participated with friends for the last two years. 

Now, you can expect Kansas City to be cold in late January, but yesterday was freezing!  I think it was only 9 degrees when I arrived at the race.  Parking was pretty bad, so I had to walk (run) about a quarter mile just to reach the cave entrance.  I think I ran faster and farther getting to the building than I did in the race!

Probably not.  So why do so many Americans overpay their taxes every year?

It’s tax season, and that means everyone is eagerly anticipating a tax refund.  This is something that I struggle with every year.  Everyone wants a refund and clients are thrilled when I tell them they’ve got one coming.  But I would rather they did not get a refund, because that means they’re not getting the best use out of their money throughout the year.

Don’t forget to send your W-2s and Form 1099s in by January 31st.

If you’re a small business owner with only a couple of 1099s or W-2s to file, you may want to check out FileTaxes.com. 

FileTaxes.com offers online filing of W-2, 1099 and other forms.  Your W-2s and 1099s are filed electronically, and the recipients copies are mailed directly to them for $3.79 per form.

I have used this service for several years, and it is a huge time and money saver (disclaimer: I am not affiliated with this company), so I recommend it to small businesses with only a small amount of 1099s to file.

If you’re looking to learn more about investing, Morningstar has over 172 courses on investing.  Topics cover stocks, bonds, mutual funds and portfolio management. 

The classes are free and start from a basic learning level and progress up to an advanced level, so investors of all levels can improve their investing knowledge.  Visit the Morningstar classroom to review the course catalog and to sign up. 

In addition to these free courses, Morningstar also offers investing workshops for a nominal fee.  The workshops are more in depth than the free courses, and include exercises to help sharpen your investing skills. 

We’ve been getting a lot of sales calls lately, both at home and on my business phone, so I thought now would be a good time to revisit the Do Not Call registries.

You can register your phone numbers (including cell phones) directly at the National Do Not Call Registry website, or you can call 1-888-382-1222.  There is information about telemarketing fraud, checklists, and how to report vilations on the website as well.

To stop credit card solicitations, visit www.optout-prescreen.com or call 1-888-567-8688.  Until the credit card offers stop, you should shred them using a cross-shredder to avoid potential fraud.

During my morning reading I ran across Why Hire a Tax Professional? on Gina’s Tax Articles, which made me realize that I’ve gotten a lot of questions on this topic, but haven’t addressed it yet on my blog.  Thanks for the reminder Gina!

As Gina’s post explains, there are many software and online filing options; plus there is a ton of information available on the internet if you want to prepare your own tax return.  So why would you need to hire a pro with so many options to file your own return?  Here are just a few reasons: