Tax Day! Whee!

So today is Tax Day here in the United States: The last day to file your federal income taxes. I did mine about two weeks ago, and nearly had a nervous breakdown as I did so. This happens to me every year, and it is almost always due to some stock disaster. This year, it was finding out that a bunch of my international stock had been sold due to some merger, and I hadn't gotten any notice about it other than pulling up my tax form and LO AND BEHOLD I have taken a lose. But how do you take a lose without ... UGH, MY STOCK HAS BEEN SOLD!

My horrific experiences in the stock market could fill up a whole novel, so I won't go too far into it. Let's just say I've been a very Dumb Consumer in choosing stocks.

But I will say that this is a good time of year to step back and look at your entire financial situation:

• Look at your income and your expenditures ... do you feel on track for the coming year?
• How's your retirement withholding? Are you doing the Max that the current year will allow? If not, try to increase it
• Check your stocks and funds. Any big upturns or horrific downfalls? Take this time to adjust
  
• Check your credit reports; take advantage of the once-a-year free report
  
• Make sure you are doing all you can to prevent Identify Theft