taxesIt seems people are in either one of the two tax camps: those that have their taxes done by January 31st and then there are those who are barely scraping by on April 15th. Are you getting a refund and if so, what are you doing with it? Stashing it under the mattress? Squirreling it away into a shady overseas bank account? Investing in Silly String?

Though these are all fine ideas, for sure, there may be other that will put your extra cash to better use. For what you should be doing with it, or what we'd do with it at least, check out the following 5 ways to maximize your tax refund.

1. Take a Vacation

Yes, seriously. Take a vacation. If you're burned out and not enjoying life, you're not going to be able to make the best decisions in your everyday life. Use your tax refund to recuperate, relax, and get a little enjoyment out of life. It's not all about working non-stop.

2. Pay off Your Debt

Depending on the size of your refund, pay off an entire credit or

By Lauren Le Vine, REDBOOK.

Yesterday was Equal Pay Day, which marks how far into 2013 women have to work to earn as much as men did in 2012. Might I remind you that it's April, meaning that women earned in 16 months what men do in the usual 12. The Huffington Post marked Equal Pay Day by quoting a startling statistic from the Center for American Progress: "As late as 2011, 97 percent of full-time working women were in jobs that typically paid men more."

Related: 25 Little Life Hacks to Make Life Simpler, Saner and More Fun

What's more, certain professions have a higher wage disparity than others. Female personal financial advisors earn only 61.3 percent of what their male counterparts do. Of the 534 professions listed by the Bureau of Labor Statistics, women out-earn men in seven of them. Yes, seven out of 534.

The wage gap starts at the very beginning. Sarah Jane Glynn, senior policy analyst at American Progress, told HuffPo that research shows women are less likely than men to

Why Mike Rice should never coach againMost of the time when I hear about a college coach overstepping his bounds and striking a player, I think the concern is a little overblown. Mike Montgomery of Cal pushed his star player early in the college basketball season. Tommy Tuberville, formerly of Texas Tech, ripped a headset off one of his graduate assistants. The head coach of Virginia Tech, Frank Beamer, once got in a bit of trouble for striking a player. None of those situations were ideal for a coach and student athlete situation, but none of them were that egregious either. I saw a video this past week, however, where the coach was way over the line, and I'm sure most of you have seen the same video.

Rutgers head basketball coach, Mike Rice, was caught on video throwing basketballs at the heads and crotches of his players. He was also caught shoving, kicking and hitting his players. He yelled at them and he berated them as well. It wasn't like someone sneaked a camera into Rutgers practices and happened to catch

SharkI'm an entrepreneur at heart. I always have been and always will be. From the time I started my first business, mowing lawns for $30 a pop, to different businesses I've had in IT, transportation and now new media, I've been on a path of educating myself in order to be successful.

One of my desires has always been to teach these lessons to my children so they won't have to learn each lesson the hard way. As with any parent I want my children to be more successful than myself. This first hand education is one of the ways I'm working to achieve that.

Here are five ways that I'm working to raise future entrepreneurs:

1) I make sure that the kids see the work that goes into a successful business. Through our business we're afforded amazing opportunities, trips and experiences. My kids have done all types of things as young kids that I didn't have the chance to do until adulthood. Through it all I want them to realize that these opportunities are not gifts but the result of

We are on a health kick! Jaime and I have committed to helping each other get fit in 2013. One of these days we will even abandon our many tricks to looking thin in photos because we will actually be thin! In real life! Jaime shared her 20 favorite smoothie recipes and 20 DIYs to Make Your Workout Prettier and now we have collected a series of awesome workouts that not only target the trouble areas that come with being a woman in all walks of life, whether it's after a baby or between meetings or both, but workouts that have a better chance of success because they are actually fun. How do you like to burn your calories? Click through for 7 FREE workouts for every woman's trouble spots! -By Jacinda Boneau

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Over the past year, we've seen a healthy public debate over the gender wage gap. But while the pundits and politicos may argue over how to calculate the discrepancies, there's one thing we can all agree on: There's no reason a woman should be paid less than a man for the same work.

While this debate could drag on for years, you do have the power to change the status quo now. Women often hesitate when it comes to negotiating, but by knowing what you're worth and asking for it, you prevent the slippery slope leading to the gender pay discrepancy.

Need some encouragement? We've asked our good friend Ryan Gosling to make his second annual appearance in honor of Equal Pay Day. Take it from The Gos: It's time to start asking for what you're worth!

Photo courtesy of The Berry.

Photo courtesy of BuzzFeed.

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Photo courtesy of OK! Magazine.

By Alden Wicker, Refinery29

Think you need an MBA to get your financial act together? Think again. Becoming a money boss just requires the right know-how and some smart choices. That's why we've uncovered the savviest $$$ decisions a gal can make…along with a few not-so-smooth moves that could cost you, literally.

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Because we know you want to add a few zeros to the end of your bank account, we reached out to Andrea Travillian, a personal finance expert in Texas who coaches clients on how to reach their financial goals, to let us in on a few of her secrets. (For free, of course.)

To help you get to the point where you have so much money, you actually have to pay someone to take care of it, we'll clue you in on the smartest and dumbest moves you can make with your coin. Ready to take the first step toward getting rich?

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