WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Memo to parents of high school seniors: This is no time to sit back and relax, even if your child has filed all of those college applications.

It’s time for you to fill out the financial aid request forms — right now — even before you do your taxes and figure out exactly how much you made in 2009.

That’s because early birds tend to get more generous aid packages. Though most financial aid filing deadlines extend all the way into the summer for the fall deadline, financial aid administrators do often give out more aid early in the season.

With tuition bills rising and more families needing and qualifying for aid, it’s good to get your request in early.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The next two years will see enormous tax policy changes in the United States that are going to have broad implications for how you save and invest — and how much of your money you get to keep.

Right now, most taxpayers are in the lull before the 2010 filing-season storm, and thinking about 1040 forms and tax preparation software.

But it’s the 2010 legislative season that will really make its mark. The Senate returns from recess on Monday, January 18; the House of Representatives is already back. It is safe to say that every member of each chamber is fully aware this is a congressional election year, and that the subjects of taxes and deficits and fairness will dominate much of the debate. There are dozens of tax questions they will have to face between now and then. Here’s a rough guide to what’s in store.

– The estate tax died. So far, there is no estate tax in 2010. That’s the result of George W. Bush era tax legislation that phased the estate tax down for eight years and then out in 2010. Without any legislative action, it will return in 2011 in a much tougher form. It will kick in on any estate worth more than $1 million, and the maximum tax rate will be 55 percent (in contrast to the 45 percent rate on estates over $3.5 million that was in effect last year). Because both pro- and anti estate-tax advocates want to do something about fixing that (depending on their perspective, they either want to “fix” 2010 or 2011), expect some legislation this year. The most likely outcome is a reinstituted estate tax slated to be in effect retroactively to the beginning of this year, and then challenged in court for its retroactivity.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The next two years will see enormous tax policy changes in the U.S. that are going to have broad implications for how you save and invest — and how much of your money you get to keep.

Right now, most taxpayers are in the lull before the 2010 filing-season storm, and thinking about 1040 forms and tax preparation software.

But it’s the 2010 legislative season that will really make its mark. The Senate comes back from recess on Monday, January 18; the House of Representatives is already back. It’s safe to say that every member of each chamber is fully aware this is a Congressional election year, and that the subjects of taxes and deficits and fairness will dominate much of the debate. There are dozens of tax questions they will have to face between now and then. Here’s a rough guide to what’s in store.

– The estate tax died. So far, there is no estate tax in 2010. That’s the result of George W. Bush era tax legislation that phased the estate tax down for eight years and then out in 2010. Without any legislative action, it will return in 2011 in a much tougher form. It will kick in on any estate worth more than $1 million, and the tax rate will be 45 percent (in contrast to the 35 percent rate on estates over $3.5 million that was in effect last year). Because both pro- and anti estate-tax advocates want to do something about fixing that (depending on their perspective, they either want to ‘fix’ 2010 or 2011), expect some legislation this year. The most likely outcome is a reinstituted estate tax slated to be in effect retroactively to the beginning of this year, and then challenged in court for its retroactivity.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) — Here’s a prediction for 2010: Another wild ride in the stock and bond markets, in real estate and in interest rates. The economists and analysts are all over the place when it comes to this year, leaving individual investors on their own to prepare for anything and everything.

You can actually do that — prepare for anything — by sticking to what’s most controllable about investing: Stay diversified and keep your investment fees low.

Beyond that, there are a few other bets to make for 2010. Here they are, based on the advice of analysts who get paid to make investment predictions:

– You can bet that stocks won’t go up in a straight line. The first day or two of 2010 was encouraging for stock market investors, but don’t expect a rocketship to great returns. The Dow Jones Industrial Average already is up almost 50 percent from 2009 lows, and there’s still a lot of joblessness, deficits, rising oil prices and more for the economy and the stock market to digest. So, some pros are predicting a lot of volatility, and some sell-offs, on the road to an overall okay, but not fabulous, year.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – It seems like 2009 was the year we all resolved to cut back on debt and consumption, and live a leaner lifestyle. Indeed, most people have made a good start — savings rates are up and consumer debt is declining. But that doesn’t mean we’ve fixed all of our financial problems. There’s more to do.

For 2010, resolve to keep it up. New Year’s resolutions work best when they are finite, specific, and actionable. So, instead of making any other grandiose financial resolutions for the next year, try this: Make a simple to-do list and work your way through it. Here’s a starter set you can personalize to your own family’s finances:

– Learn your marginal tax rate. The marginal rate is the rate that is effective for the last dollar earned (or deducted.) There’s a simple calculator that can give you a rough idea of your federal tax rate, at CPASiteSolutions.com. (here) A more accurate way to do this is to go back to last year’s tax return, deduct $10 from your income and recalculate your federal and state taxes. How much did that $10 in income cost you in taxes? Divide that amount by 10 and that is your marginal tax rate. Once you know that number, you’ll be better able to make after-tax decisions, such as whether to invest in tax-free bonds, how much of a mortgage payment you can afford, and the final cost of a charitable donation.

– Choose one money management system. Some of the popular Web-based systems include Mint.com (www.mint.com), Wesabe (www.wesabe.com), Geezeo (www.geezeo.com). Green Sherpa (www.greensherpa.com), Mvelopes (www.mvelopes.com) and Money Strands (www.moneystrands.com). If you want to keep it on your desktop, Quicken (www.quicken.com) rules now. You’ll be surprised by how much you will save, just by seeing your finances all organized in one place. Steer away from a bank-based system; you’ll have more leeway to switch banks if all of your records aren’t tied into one bank.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Your financial adviser can be replaced by an algorithm. At least that’s the theory behind a number of Web-based services aimed at individual investors.

Here’s how it works: You type in your investment portfolio, and the Web site does the rest. It will analyze your portfolio, tell you what you’re doing wrong, and then tell you what to buy and what to sell so that you’ll save money on fees and prosper throughout a variety of market conditions.

“We think financial advisors can be replaced by $10-a-month software, just as Turbo Tax replaced expensive CPAs with $59 software,” says Mitch Tuchman, founder of one of the newest sites, MarketRiders (www.marketriders.com.)

MarketRiders is founded on modern portfolio theory — the idea that most investors can’t beat the market, and should focus instead on staying diversified, staying invested, and keeping their advice, management and trading costs low.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – If you’re planning to do a lot of holiday shopping, think about making your first purchase a smart phone. Then, use it to download coupons and compare prices while you’re shopping for everything else. It’s going to be a big year for mobile and Internet deals.

For the best, lowest-price buys during the holiday spending season, here’s a roundup of phone and Internet programs and how to use them:

– Start with a list. There are too many variables to comparison shop if you don’t know what you’re buying. So plan ahead, at least to the point where you have selected a few big-ticket items by brand. If you know you’re shopping for a Lego Ultimate Builder Set, Barbie Fashionista (no comment), a Wii Fit, or a digital Canon camera, you can make the most of comparison shopping programs.

– Get gift cards, even if you just use them yourself. At GiftCards (www.giftcards.com), you can save roughly 5 percent or more on every gift card you buy. You can get deeper discounts buying gift cards on eBay, (www.ebay.com), but make sure you’re buying from someone with lots of positive feedback to avoid getting scammed. At discounters like Costco (www.costco.com) and BJ’s Warehouse (www.bjs.com), you can buy spa, restaurant and entertainment gift cards for roughly 80 cents on the dollar. Give them away, or use them yourself. For example, GiftCards is currently offering a $103.98 J.C. Penney card for $90.98, with free shipping. Use that to do your own holiday shopping at Penney’s and you can layer it on top of whatever sales and coupons the store is already offering; you’ll save 12.5 percent off the top.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – You’re not the only one whose credit cards seem to be getting worse; it’s happening to everybody. For those who find solace in that, the Federal Reserve Board has delivered it with a new survey of bank lending practices.

The Fed found the vast majority of banks increasing interest rates on credit cards, even on good-credit customers. Issuers are cutting borrowing limits for many customers and raising the credit scores they’ll require before approving new card applications. They’re adding annual fees to rewards cards and hiking the costs of cash advances and balance transfers. And those great zero percent deals? Dead, dead, dead.

Much of this is happening as bankers position their cards for the tougher new regulations that take effect next summer. By the time those rules kick in, cardholders will have had to swallow most of these new policies and practices. Who knows what will be left to regulate?

You don’t have to wait until then to fight back. Here’s how to take back control of your cards now.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – For decades, people planned for retirement anticipating that they would face lower taxes than they paid while working — but that’s no longer a sure thing.

Many people have their retirement savings tucked away in tax-deferred accounts and will have to pay taxes on that money as they take withdrawals. Up to 85 percent of Social Security benefits will be taxed for many of these tax-deferred savers.

And with the federal deficit out of control and the tax cuts enacted in 2001 by President George W. Bush set to expire next year, there’s the very real prospect that tax rates going forward will be higher than they were over the last decade.

Enter the Roth Individual Retirement Account.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – For decades, people planned for retirement anticipating that they would face lower taxes than they paid while working — but that’s no longer a sure thing.

Many people have their retirement savings tucked away in tax-deferred accounts and will have to pay taxes on that money as they take withdrawals. Up to 85 percent of Social Security benefits will be taxed for many of these tax-deferred savers.

And with the federal deficit out of control and the tax cuts enacted in 2001 by President George W. Bush set to expire next year, there’s the very real prospect that tax rates going forward will be higher than they were over the last decade.

Enter the Roth Individual Retirement Account.