Taos On The Cheap

H&R Block provides free tax advice by phone on March 25, 2010. Free tax help is also offered by email, an online forum, and an iPhone app. Or use a free TurboTax program for simpler IRS returns.

On Thursday March 25, H&R Block tax experts will answer your questions with personalized free tax advice on the Tax Talk Line.  Apparently there are nearly 300 tax laws changes to tussle with this year, ranging from child tax and higher education credits, to unemployment compensation and homeowner benefits. So if you’re befuddled with it all, call on Thursday March 25 2010 to 1-866-HRBLOCK (1-866-472-5625). Or email taxtalk@hrblock.com. You can also ask at the free H&R Block tax forum or download the Tax Answers free iPhone app.

The free tax advice is available for 24 hours Central time. On our Mountain time zone, that’s from 11:01 pm on Wednesday 24 through 10:59 pm on Thursday 25.

For tax payers filing 1040EZ forms and simpler returns, a free TurboTax edition is available online. Answer simple language questions to complete the returns, calculate payments or refunds, and submit to the IRS via free Efile or print out to mail. TurboTax Free edition covers forms including 1040EZ, 1040A, and 1040, and is only for federal returns, not state taxes. It doesn’t include tax schedules C, D, E, or F.

Thanks to our friends at Miami On The Cheap for bringing these tax-smart services to our attention!

Download a free copy of Human Goodness by Yi-Fu Tuan, list price $24.95, until March 13.  The University of Wisconsin Press is offering the free e-book in celebration of Read an E-book Week. (I didn’t even know there was such a thing – but now I do. So their strategy worked, huh?)

Human Goodness explores the question “What does it mean to be good?” and draws on the lives of people from Mother Teresa and Nelson Mandela to John Keats and Wolfgang Mozart.  A Publishers Weekly review said “Readers will feel better and more intelligent for having read about these lives well-lived.”

Download your free e-book here until March 13, 2010. Download is available as a PDF only.

Thanks to our friends at Madison on the Cheap  for the tip.

Great deals on Santa Fe and Albuquerque restaurants with three course meals starting at $25 per couple, from now through March 13, 2010.  Not sure why we don’t have a Taos version of the New Mexico Restaurant Week promotion – hopefully they’ll get to us next year – but if you’re heading south over the next couple of weeks, here’s the scoop. Restaurants in Santa Fe and Albuquerque offer three course meals at a discounted set rate, with several choices including vegetarian options.

Santa Fe Restaurant Week  – Now to March 6

• Two eat for $25 at restaurants including Blue Corn Café, Zia Diner, Maria’s New Mexican Kitchen, Rooftop Pizzeria
• $25 per person at restaurants including Andiamo!, El Meson, O’Keeffe Cafe, La Boca, Vanessie of Santa Fe.
• $40 per person at fine-dining venues including Geronimo, The Compound, Trattoria Nostrani.

The full list of venues and details on all the Santa Fe restaurant promotions.
If you’re staying over, find Santa Fe lodging special rates during the promotion week to March 6.

Albuquerque Restaurant Week – From March 7 to 13

• Two eat for $25 at Flying Star (Downtown only) and Sandiago’s Mexican Grill at the Sandia Peak Tramway.
• $25 per person at a host of restaurants including the fine dining Corn Maiden at Hyatt Regency Tamaya, Lucia at Hotel Andaluz, Artichoke Café, Scalo, Seasons, and Brasserie La Provence.

The full list of venues and details on all the Albuquerque restaurant promotions.

If you’re stopping the night, Albuquerque hotel special offers from March 7 – 13 include Downtown’s Hotel Andaluz ($99 – promo code REST) and Hyatt Regency Tamaya Resort & Spa ($109- promo code NMRW).

Restaurant reservations recommended – it’s going to be a busy couple of weeks for foodies!

Ticket prices are already a bargain for quality local Metta Theatre shows, but if you’re stumped for cash you’re not turned away from the door – pay what you can.  This month, take your pick of drama or jazz…

Drama Double Bill by McIntosh and Mamet
Double bill of Real Estate by Bruce McIntosh with Sonia Rodriguez and Randy Grubiss, and Duck Variations by David Mamet with Brandon Santos and David Perez.
Performances: March 5, 6, 12, 13 at 7:30 pm and March 14 at 4 pm
Tickets are $10 or pay what you can.

Sunday Afternoon Jazz – March 7 from 4 pm to 6 pm
A Sunday afternoon of jazz, with the Al Sutherland Quartet, featuring Al Sutherland (piano), Dan Daily (horns), Colin Jenkinson (bass), Tim Long (drums).
Tickets $5.00 or pay what you can.

Reservations for all shows: 575-770-7580.  Space is limited in that cute Metta Theatre, so it’s worth booking ahead.
Find Metta Theatre at 1470 Paseo del Pueblo Norte, El Prado.
Coming out of Taos that’s on the left, 4/10 of a mile past Overland Sheepskin.

Ticket prices for the summer 2010  Santa Fe Opera season are offered at 2009 prices if you buy them before the end of February. Prices go up on March 1. 

So, opera buffs, if you plan on seeing a performance this summer at the beautiful Santa Fe Opera house – the season includes Mozart’s The Magic Flute, Puccini’s Madame Butterfly, and Offenbach’s The Tales of Hoffmann – secure your early bird opera tickets  now, before prices go up on March 1, 2010.

Fancy trying your hand at a free sweepstakes to win two days accommodation at the Taos Inn, two days of  Taos skiiing, dinner for two at Lambert’s, and a day pass plus private tub at Ojo Caliente? 

Someone’s got to win it, right? But you need to enter by February 25, so check out the Ski the Taos Sun Getaway sweepstakes from the New Mexico Tourism Department. The winner gets a package of two days lodging at  Historic Taos Inn, two days on the slopes for two at Taos Ski Valley, dinner for two at Lambert’s of Taos restaurant, and a day pass at Ojo Caliente Mineral Springs plus a private tub for two.

Enter the Ski the Taos Sun Getaway sweepstakes by 2 pm MDT on February  25, 2010. The winner will be notified within 30 days of the drawing and the prize is valid for one year. (So, realistically, this is probably a prize trip for NEXT ski season. But hey… something to look forward to.)

You must be 21 years or more to enter, and some blackout dates apply to redeeming the prize. No travel expenses are included.

Fingers crossed for one of our readers – let us know if you win!