Good news on the tax front

I get a federal refund which is a relief. I wouldn't even care if I broke even, just as long as I don't owe. I do owe the state and the city $60 a piece. But I'll just wait until the federal money comes in and write the check and pay them both off. I'll wait until exactly April 15th to drop them in the mail though. I don't plan on paying them any earlier than I have to.

I think the only reason I got a refund was because I had student loan interest to deduct and I got the Lifetime Learning Credit. Without those 2 things I would have been pretty close to owing. I'll be done with school in December (hopefully!) so this will be the last year that I'll get the learning credit. Then I'll take the money that I was using for tuition and accelerate my student loan payments to get them paid off sooner.

I can almost see the light at the end of the tunnel.