The above is simply an example and each individual taxpayer should review form carefully. To check this out for yourself, you need to visit IRS homepage at http://www.irs.ustreas.gov. Then go to bottom of page and click on forms & pubs. In menu click on forms and instructions. That page will have a list of IRS forms. Scroll down until you find Form W4 Employees Withholding Allowance. You will need to have Adobe Acrobat Reader to view these forms. This is easily downloaded at: http://www.adobe.com/products/acrobat/readstep.html

How much could this mean to a family? Let's take example of a couple with three kids making $500 per week and only claiming two exemptions. The Federal Withholding from your paycheck would be about $40 per week. If that family were to claim 9 exemptions, there would be no federal withholding. Therefore, just by filling out a new W4, you just gave yourself an 8% pay raise. That is over $2000 more take home pay per year. If you qualify for Earned Income Credit you may still receive a refund. By way, you can also receive Earned Income Credit in your paycheck, but I'll save that for another article.

I can hear a lot of you now. "This guy must be nuts, I'm not giving up that tax refund for him or anyone else. I work hard all year and this is only time I have a lot of money to spend all at once." I'm sure that most of you won't give up that big tax refund just because you read this article. However, you will come away with knowledge that this is an option, if you qualify, and a few ideas of how you can you could use that extra money.

There are several things that you could do with that extra money. Let's look at a few of them.

1. If you need extra money just to buy essentials, take it and use it. 2. Put money in a savings account 3. If you have a 401k, increase amount of your contribution 4. If you have investments, put more money into them 5. My favorite is to use that money to start a Christmas Club at your bank. By doing this you not only earn interest on your money, but you will have money when you really need it, just before Christmas. This could also help cut down on using credit cards to buy Christmas. That alone could save you a lot of money.

If you can't seem to get control of this on your own, consider contacting a free credit counseling service. You can find Consumer Credit Counseling Service at www.credit.org. They can make arrangements for you to pay them a set amount each month to be distributed to your bill collectors.

Find A Way

The fact is that you need to get your finances in order, if for no other reason than your sanity. You can do one of two things to help with problem. Increase your income or decrease your spending. While there are several ways to increase your income, they don't necessarily help. Let's take example of getting a second job. You have extra expenses such as transportation, extra taxes, food, etc. that will cut deep into what you make.

Your best bet is to decrease your spending. You can start by visiting my web site, The FREE Budget Stretcher Newsletter at http://www.homemoneyhelp.com. When you subscribe, you will find links to several hundred sites that provide ways to cut your spending. Here is a list of other sites that can help:

TheFrugalShopper.com http://www.thefrugalshopper.com GreedyFools.com http://www.savingadvice.com BetterBudgeting.com http://betterbudgeting.com Debt Smart http://www.DebtSmart.com Freebie Haven http://www.121fun.com The Stay-At-Home Parents Page http://www.thestayathomeparentspage.com Brighter Futures http://www.brighterfutures.com FreelanceByU http://www.freelancebyu.com Tidbits from Pantry Usave2day.com http://www.usave2day.com MoneyMakingMommy.com http://www.moneymakingmommy.com You Save On Taxes.com http://hop.clickbank.net/?terryrigg/wmdctp

I have chosen these sites because all of information is free. I can almost guarantee that these sites will have what you need.

Get on Track

After you have looked into all of above, it is time for a budget. The last thing you need is a budget that takes most of your time just to manage. I have developed a simple, easy to use budget system that will take very little of your time. It will also help organize your bill paying. You can find The Complete Budget and Bill Organizer at http://www.homemoneyhelp.com/BBOonline.html. This organizer is free. Whether you use my budget or someone elses, you must establish a budget and stick to it.

If you are reading this article, chances are you have a computer. Use it to find other ideas to help you manage your money. Try searching key words like: money saving, budget help and credit help.