I’ve become quite the online shopper. It has gotten to where I do more comparison shopping and ultimately buying online than I did just a year ago. So, I’m always on the lookout for good deals on games as well as other essentials like clothing and books. What can I say? We’re a family of geeks.

Through membership with Ebates.com, you can save when you shop online through them. Right now I’m looking through their JCPenney coupons because I can earn up to 25% cash back on my purchases. Not a bad deal considering membership to Ebates is free.

There are over 800 participating stores including Edmund Scientifics, Circuit City, Buy.com, and Toys R Us. I like to save money as well as being rewarded for shopping. It almost makes shopping a game and therefore fun to me.

Last night I got to play Warioware Smooth Moves for the Nintendo Wii. I’ve never played any games from the Warioware franchise but have read about them so I have knew what to expect.

Warioware will show you lots of ways to use the nunchuk controller like the umbrella, the samurai, or the elephant just to name a few. Before each minigame ( games are like 5 seconds long) you’ll be told which nunchuk pose is needed to complete the task. Get ready for some wild and wacky fun like picking noses or shoving people down. One boss level is directing boys and girls to the correct bathroom.

It was a lot of fun and gives me another reason to want the Wii. Maybe my tax return will buy me one.

I’ve somewhat done our taxes for this year. We’re two computer geeks who are finally going to take the plunge and do e-filing this year. We’ve started shopping around for the right software and/or tax preparation website to go with. We’re looking for something that meet our needs and price range.

Here is an offer that definitely meets the price range: free. Free tax preparation software is available from Liberty Tax for those who qualify. To qualify you must be:

Between 20 and 57 years old
Adjusted gross income of less than $52,000
Live in one of these states:

AL, AR, AZ, CA, CO, CT, DC, DE, GA, HI, IA, ID, IL, IN,
KS, KY, LA, MA, MD, ME, MI, MN, MO, MS, MT, NC, ND, NE,
NJ, NM, NY, OH, OK, OR, PA, RI, SC, UT, VA, VT, WI, or WV

Since I qualified on all accounts, I’m going to check this out further. I may run into a snag for the free tax preparation because I file a 1040 and not a 1040EZ. What I like most about Libery Tax is the ability to create different tax scenarios to see which one gets you the most money back or saves you the most money. I do our state taxes at least three times with different scenarios on how to get the biggest refund back. I usually have to pick up an extra state form to practice on since I do a lot of erasing.

I’m looking forward to e-filing as I’m sure it is bound to be easier than doing it with a form, pencil, and calculator. One year I forgot a deduction and thought we owed. Imagine my surprise when we got back a nice refund. After that my husband said he would do taxes. That was years ago, and he still hasn’t done them. He does check my work now.

I will have to check out the 1040EZ form to see if we qualify this year. If not, the online tax preparation price for the 1040 is not a bad deal at $14.95. The state return is just $12.95. Our state form is very convoluted, so it will be worth the $13 to e-file that one.

We are expecting our biggest return ever this year, so I’m ready to e-file as soon as possible. I knew having a kid would pay off.

Brought to you by Liberty Tax.