You can use your tax return to help you with your financial planning.  Look and see how you did over the prior year with saving, investments and retirement account contributions.  Are you doing better than last year? Is your investment income higher or have you shifted ordinary income to capital gains tax rate income which applies to qualified dividends?  Has your mortgage interest gone down or do you need to review what mortgage interest rates are right now?  Maybe it’s time to refinance.  RELATED PODCAST: Financial Planning at Every Stage of Life