Love is in the air!

Valentine's Day is right around the corner. Don't forget to show your loved ones just how much they mean to you, or you might end up camping on the couch for a night or two. Make sure to take a gander at the latest offerings from our sponsors further down this page.

Six more weeks of winter?

It seems good ol' Punxsutawney Phil saw his shadow again this year, so it looks like winter's going to be around a bit longer. According to the Punxsutawney Groundhog Club, Phil has seen his shadow 95 times, hasn’t seen it 14 times and there are no records for nine years.

On a related note, Wiarton Willie, the four-legged forecaster from Canada, is predicting an early end to winter. So did Shubenacadie Sam, Nova Scotia's most famous weather-forecasting rodent.

Bottom line? It's still cold outside!

Why Not E-File Your Tax Return This Year?
You'll likely save time and money--and get any refund due you back quicker.
By Scott Cronk

Today, most people are finding they can prepare and file their own tax returns in minutes, securely online. Since 1986, when e-filing began with just 25,000 tax returns filed online, the number of e-filed returns has risen exponentially, with more than 68 million individual returns e-filed in 2005--that's more than 50 percent of all returns.

The backbone driving this trend is the IRS' E-File (or "electronic filing") system. E-file is the way to file your taxes directly with the IRS. For more and more Americans, it's become the quick, easy and smart way to get your taxes where you want them to be--done!

E-filing online offers several real and practical advantages that help explain its growing popularity...Read full article

The Basics of Home Buying
By Ron King

The most important investment you will ever make is probably the purchase of a home. Finding the right home for you can be a long and arduous process, but there is no getting around that.

Know Your Wants And Needs...

Before embarking on your journey of house hunting, you must know what you really want to find. Sit down with pen and paper and list all the features you care most about, such as:

Location (in a particular city, school district or neighborhood)
Size -- how many bedrooms and bathrooms
Parking -- a 1-car garage or 2
Style -- 2-story house or ranch style home... Read full article

Basics of Emailing
By Graciela Sholander

Sending email in the business world is not the same as emailing your buddies when you're off work. Your business email messages must be professional. If they aren't, it'll be hard for the recipient to take you seriously. State what you have to say with clarity, and don't try to be cute. Keep your message brief, keep it upbeat, and remember to run the spell checker before hitting "send"... Read full article

Snap Out of the Mid-Winter Blues!
By Ellen Corsi

Yes, it's that time of year when you wish it was summer! The blue skies, warm temperatures, green grass, and trees full with leaves. Coming back to reality, at least where I live gray skies are the norm with cold winds, freezing rain and snow, and last but not least, professional football is about over for the season. Do you wonder why people get the mid-winter blues? I think not!

I always liked the line in the movie, Moonstruck, where Cher tells her boyfriend to, "snap out of it!" That's what you want to do during this dreary time. I tend to keep things to do in the back of my mind just for this time of year. The holidays are over, you should be able to... Read full article

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