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a friend of mine had a job with a company whose entire purpose is to help folks make more use of the money they make from their work. in part, by not paying as much out in taxes, more so by helping their clients invest that money in real estate and such. basically it works this way: you talk to them and let them review your taxes for the past 3 years, which generally ends in you getting a rather large refund. they also ask about how much work you do out of your home and explain about deductions you've probably missed over the past few years. through teaching you about the various deductions and fixing your w-4 form, you stop paying a crap ton of money to the government, just to try to get it all back later. the increase in cash flow you gain from correcting your w-4 is first put to reducing your debts, then put towards investing in rental properties and the like. all of this is made much easier by having a house, children or a business run out of your house/apartment/basement/garage/garbage can.
the company is based out of lakewood, wa, (just south of tacoma)
they'll help you (and me)