The rush is on as the tax deadline looms. Yet, there are some things you can do to help things out -- and hopefully reduce stress. This is according to a piece in Kiplingers.com.

First of all, you may actually be able to file your return for free at www.irs.gov/freefile. This is so long as you make $57,000 or less (this accounts for roughly 70% of all taxpayers). And if not, offerings from companies like TurboTax are certainly affordable and easy to use.

Baseball season is officially under way and it's all a numbers game. Kiplinger has highlighted five stocks that may be in play --- Jarden, Under Armour, PepsiCo, Hibbett Sports and Siriius Radio-- so here is their pitch and my thoughts on taking a swing at any of them.

Oddly, the Kiplinger story makes note of the fact that baseball and investing are both driven by numbers, yet provides very few of them to support their thesis.

Looking for a little free financial advice this weekend? Kiplinger's Personal Finance magazine and the National Association of Personal Financial Advisors (NAPFA) are going to give you some from Friday January 22 through and on January 26. The two are going to team up to sponsor "Jump-Start Your Retirement Days."

Normally, Kiplinger's requires a fee to answer these financial questions, charging anywhere from $150 to $300 an hour, but here it offers consumers free retirement advice online or by phone.

Want to save for college, but not sure what type of account to use? State-sponsored 529 plans should definitely be your first choice. You don't have to pick one from your own state, but tax incentives might encourage you to do so. If your state doesn't off good tax incentives for colleges savings, then look for the plan with the lowest fees. Kiplinger's gives you an excellent overview of your options, as well as a state by state run down.

These state-sponsored plans can give you shelter from both federal and state income taxes, as well as give your child's grandparents a good way to chip in for their grandchild's education. In fact a grandparent can contribute up to $12,000 a year without having to worry about federal gift taxes (a couple can contribute up to $24,000 without gift taxes). If one grandchild decides not to go to college, just switch the account into the name of another child that wants to go. The money in the fund grows tax-deferred and as long as you only use it for qualified educational expenses you don't ever have to pay taxes on the gains.

You also don't have to worry about saving too much. The federal financial-aid formula assesses parent-owned accounts at 5.6%, while student savings can be assessed a whopping 20%. But, if you want to avoid taxes you must use the funds for qualified education expenses, so you don't want to save more than you think your child will need for college.