It’s been a busy week in the office and in my in-box.

My e-mail purging is your gain. Here are the most interesting surveys, tools and stats of the week on topics ranging from identity theft to taxes to retirement.

Need help getting your savings on track? Fidelity launched a Guide to Personal Savings (GPS– get it?!) earlier this week that features several tools. Among them– 500 free seminars available to all Americans, live webinars, and a Savings planner.

Why the big campaign for planning? Fidelity said a recent survey found that more about eight in 10 Americans are worried about their savings, but haven’t contacted a financial adviser for help because they figure they can’t afford it.

Another (cynical) reason might have to do with people being unsure about who to trust these days. A frequent refrain I’ve heard is, “Do financial planners know more about these unprecedented times that I do?” Even so, having someone to bounce ideas off of is extremely valuable, and these folks spend 40 hours a week thinking about these issues.

Companies cutting 401(k) matches to cut costs is a troubling trend. But experts say that there are alternatives to cutting the match.

H&R Block shared a couple of tax myths as we head into the last month of tax season

Myth: It’s already 2009 and you can’t do anything to lower this year’s tax bill.
Actually, you can potentially lower your bill by doing these 3 things:
• Contribute to an IRA by April 15, 2009
• Maximize your contribution to your Health Savings Account by April 15, 2009
• Be a first time homebuyer in 2009, you could receive a credit of up to $8,000 on your 2008 tax return. This is a refundable credit, which means it first lowers your tax bill; then you get the remaining credit in the form of a refund.

Myth: If you received a stimulus check in the mail last year, that is over with and you won’t receive additional money from that round.
Actually, if any of the below apply to you, you could get more green. But, you must file a 2008 tax return. You may qualify for an additional credit if:
• You are no longer a dependent
• You Had a baby/able to claim a dependent on your 2008 return
• Your income has decreased since last year
• You didn’t file a 2007 return

Be careful, though. The IRS sent out a press release last month about the frequency of mistakes concerning the Rebate Recovery Credit.

New filing season stats are in from the IRS. Among the tidbits: Filing from home computers is up 20 percent (is it because of the plethora of free filing options this year or are people trying to DIY in this economy?).  The average refund is up 9.1 percent this year from $2,576 to $2,811.

Lucky dogs. I know it’s best not to get a refund because of the whole “you’re giving Uncle Sam an interest-free loan” bit, but I miss that windfall each spring.

Coming up next week: The Consumer Federation of America will release a new analysis of whether identity theft services are worth the cost. My gut response before I see a lick of the new study? Nope.

This entry was posted on Friday, March 13th, 2009 at 1:24 pm and is filed under Main, online tools, research, taxes. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.