As tax filing season approaches, the Internal Revenue Service wants taxpayers who are self-employed or involved in the sharing economy to know about free resources from the IRS that are available to help them with their taxes.

Sole proprietors and independent contractors can get helpful information from the IRS Small Business and Self-Employed Tax Center.

This resource includes online tools such as the Tax Calendar for Businesses and Self-Employed, which has key tax dates and necessary actions for each month of the year.

The end of the year is creeping up quickly and business are wondering what are some smart year-end tax actions to do before the fireworks and champagne ring in the New Year.

1. Don't spend money that you wouldn't ordinarily spend just to reduce your tax bill. Remember, $1 spent does not equal $1 worth of tax saved: $1 spent creates a $1 deduction, which (depending on your tax bracket, business structure, and state of operation) will only lead to $.00 - $.60 worth of tax saved. So, while tax deductions are great for businesses to fully utilize, they never provide an equal return for the dollars you spend, in order to get that deduction - which means you should never wastefully spend money just to increase your deductions.

“The cost of a college degree in the United States has increased “12 fold” over the past 30 years, far outpacing the price inflation of consumer goods, medical expense and food. According to Bloomberg, college tuition and fees have increased 1,120 percent since records began in 1978.”            huffingtonpost.com reports.

With the high cost of post secondary education, §529 plans remain a popular option for those looking to save for a child’s future education expenses.

If you're from Chicago, a baseball fan, or even just a lover of random superstitions and legends chances are you know about the Cubs Billy Goat Curse. The short version of the longstanding legend is that in 1945 local businessman William Sianis cursed the Cubs franchise for not letting him bring his petty Billy Goat into game four of the World Series. In 1984 new owners of the Cubs had a change of heart and let in the goat but the curse remained until now. November 2, 2016 is the day the Cubs finally won the World Series!

Whether you believe in the legend or not it makes a great story and so do some of these other superstitions...