Time to make some deposits at your local thrift store! So put on those energy pants and start rummaging through the house. The more you can donate, the more you can write off!

Not sure what that means? Don’t worry, i didn’t either 2 years ago ;) It’s basically another way to legally hold on to your hard earned money. According to thefreedictionary.com:

“tax write-off: a reduction in the gross amount on which a tax is calculated; reduces taxes by the percentage fixed for the taxpayer’s income bracket”

So let’s say you have to pay taxes on $10,000 this year. Well, if you donated $1,000 (say from a combo of cash and clothes, electronics, etc) to a charity or thriftstore this year, your “tax write-off” would be that $1,000 and NOW you only have to actually pay taxes on $9,000 instead of the original $10,000. So you basically just saved yourself $300-$400 depending on your tax bracket. Make sense?

There’s a slue of rules and regulations with all this stuff (like being able to prove your donations w/ receipts and what not), but that’s basically the gist of it all. Be sure to consult an actual accountant or IRS.gov for better information ;)

Hare are 5 Other Reasons Why you Should do it:

1. Your house feels cleaner and less cluttered! There’s definitely something to that “less is more” saying here – especially if “less” pertains to less junk/unwanted items taking up dust.
2. You get some exercise – all that running around finding goodies in your home breaks a sweat! The key is to pick up a big box or trash bag, and then just start clearing things right off into it. When one fills up, just quickly get another and throw it all in your trunk 1-2-3! Just be sure to make a quick list of what you’re donating so you can calculate the values later.
3. You easily help out your community! These thrift stores do A LOT for those less fortunate than we are, so you really are helping everyone out.
4. You don’t have to sell anything. Unlike taking the time to list them on Craigslist, eBay, etc (although also highly recommended), all you have to do here is drop them off and voila – you save money! It all adds up too, esp. if you rarely ever do it. My first drop off back in August added up to a good $200 in items, and then my last one (3 weeks ago) included another $400.
5. You’ll now be at bargain central! Stay an extra 15 mins and go shopping for yourself ;) He he…why not pick up a couple goodies for yourself? Just don’t go overboard and cancel out the $ you just saved, that would suck.

Did i convince ya? If not, no worries…i give you permission to punch me in the face later. Interestingly enough, however, I just saw on the news that a store in Northern VA had over 1800 people stop by yesterday alone!!! Crazzzyyyy. They expect even more today too which makes total sense – everyone’s trying to grab those tax benefits before ’08 ends. So if you’re one of them, go get ’em tiger! It’s a Win-Win situation :)