The Big Game’s Over but it’s GAME ON for Tax Season. Pushing aside the empty pizza boxes and empty beer cans after the Giants victory last night, you might be wonder when the next big game comes on.

It’s game on right now, actually. In case it escaped your notice, April 15th is coming up fast. You’re starting get your 1099 forms and 1098 forms and your W-2 will be in your hot little hands soon if not already.

If you use a CPA or a tax preparation service like H&R Block to prepare and file your taxes you might want to consider a new tax strategy; do your own taxes.

I’ve been using TurboTax on and off for years and with TurboTax 2011 there’s no reason in the world to pay an accountant or tax prep firm hundreds of dollars when you can purchase TurboTax for just $45 and do your own taxes in just about an hour – if not less!

Year after year TurboTax gets more and more powerful with added features to help you accurately prepare your own taxes while helping you find every possible tax deduction you can take. Even though TurboTax is more powerful than ever, it’s easier than ever to use too. Every screen is very user-friendly with plenty of examples and illustrations to guide you through tax prep quickly and easily.

For most of the population, TurboTax is all you’ll ever need to prepare your own taxes. That’s because most Americans just need to punch in some numbers from their W-2s, 1099s and 1098s and then file. In almost every case you can file online and get your refund electronically which cuts out weeks of waiting.

There are some cases where using a tax professional is the best way to go. The most likely reason why you’d want to pass on TurboTax is cases where you have a very complex tax return with sophisticated tax issues that require the direct involvement of a tax professional.

For everyone else — and that’s 99 % of the population – TurboTax is the way to go. Once you see how easy it is to file your taxes and save a lot of money, you’ll never look back.

If your computer starts running slow – I mean reeeeeeal slow – all of a sudden that means your computer has a virus infection, right?

Not necessarily.

Twice in the past week I’ve checked out client computers and identified exactly why their computer was running slower than an old car on a freezing winter morning; they had two different antivirus products installed. A customer this morning had three different internet security products installed.

When I uninstalled the extra antivirus programs and left the computer with just one internet security product, the computer sped right up. Instantly.

With antispyware protection and antivirus products more is not better. Not at all. Less is more. And none at all is bad.

So the next time you notice your computer is running slow check and make sure the parking brake is released; that is to say make sure you’re computer has just one antivirus product installed.

Every day I help “seasoned citizens” make the most of their computers which usually amounts to handling pictures, checking email and surfing the web.

Invariably, computer problems crop up which quickly confuses and frequently frustrates grandma and grandpa.

Friends and neighbors, the next time the senior citizens in your life clamor about going online, getting pictures of the grandkids in email or playing Soduko it’s critical you steer them away from buying a computer.

[ Pause to listen to the collective reaction of shock from my audience ]

Simply put, there is no rational reason to buy a computer for grandma and grandpa.

You already know how complicated computers can be. Click this. Open that. Run that. Right-click the other. Reboot.

Right? Right.

That’s all completely unnecessary for 99.9% of the older generation.

So how do you get grandma and grandpa on the web? How do you email them pictures? How do they play Words With Friends?

With a tablet. That’s how.

When I say a tablet I don’t mean a pill. I mean a tablet PC like an iPad 2 or a Kindle Fire.

For a large easy to view screen I suggest you go with the iPad 2. The entry level model comes in at $499 which is about the same price you’d pay for a PC with a monitor. If you’re on a budget the Kindle Fire is hard to beat at $199 but be warned; the Kindle Fire doesn’t do as much and the screen is quite a bit smaller.

Either way — the seasoned citizens in your life get the best of everything they want from the online world with none of the hassle.

Happy holidays!