Successful financial planning is the key to a comfortable financial future. Anyone can try to get ahead by working harder and spending less, or by taking risks with money, but you'll be better off by understanding your tax options and knowing what your goals are.

Over the years, I have given 10 tax-saving tips to my clients around this time of year. Following are the first five. Next week I'll discuss the other five.

1)   IRA's / 401(k)'s - Fund Early, Fund Often
People get involved in retirement accounts for three reasons: forced savings, tax deductibility, and tax-deferred earnings. If you have the money to fund an IRA, do it as soon as possible. The benefit of tax deferral combined with compounding makes this a profitable strategy.

Too many people wait until April 15 of the following year to fund IRAs just because they know that's the deadline. Well, deadlines are for people who need deadlines, not for people who take a proactive attitude with their finances. The rules of financial planning are that you act at the first possible opportunity for maximum profit.

If you can afford to contribute to your 401(k) plan, you should do it for tax-deferred growth. Again, fund it early and fund it often.

2)   Adjust Your Withholding
Many of us like to open up our mailboxes and see a tax refund check from the IRS. But in reality, getting a refund is often a sign of poor tax planning. The IRS and state tax authorities have had the luxury of holding onto that extra money for a whole year. It's like you've given these agencies an interest-free loan. That may be something you'd do for your kids or a close friend, but certainly not for the government.

Instead, you should evaluate your tax situation for the coming year and adjust your withholding so you won't get a refund. Maybe you should even owe the government a little extra at tax time, as long as you don't incur a penalty. Think of it as an interest-free loan that the IRS is giving you, for a change.

The average tax refund is over $1,000. If you took that money and earned 8%, you'd have $80 more than if the government held on to your money. The goal of good financial planning is to find extra money without exposing yourself to additional risk or additional work. That's exactly what this strategy will do for you.

3)   Filing Status
Your filing status can greatly impact what you'll owe the government in taxes at the end of the year. For those of you who are married, filing "Married Filing Jointly" is usually the most advantageous because of the way the tax rate schedule is structured. Filing "Married Filing Separately" is usually less advantageous for the same reason.

You may want to file "Married Filing Separately" if one spouse has unusually high deductions. Separate filing may allow the spouse to take those deductions, which you may not be entitled to if filing jointly. For example, high medical expenses can be deducted only if they exceed 7.5% of your adjusted gross income.

If one spouse has $5,000 of medical expenses but the couple earns $100,000, they can't deduct anything. But if the spouse with the expenses earns $20,000 and they file separately, that spouse can take a $3,500 deduction for those medical costs.

And for you newlyweds, don't expect any gifts from the government. Because of the way the tax rate is structured, many people will find they'll pay much more in taxes than when they were single. Short of divorce -- or a change in the tax law -- there's no avoiding this so-called "marriage-tax penalty."

4)   Organize Your Papers Early
Good financial planning involves just that -- planning. It's critical to get a grip on what deductions you're entitled to, what income you've earned, and what kind of refund you're due.

If you're entitled to a refund, putting your records together early and then filing early will allow you to get back that refund a few months ahead of the pack. Therefore, you can earn a few extra dollars in interest.

If you think you'll owe money, this advance planning will allow you the time to put aside some extra funds to make the payment. You could even hold on to that money until April 15 to get some extra interest. But keep in mind that if you haven't properly estimated your income, and if you don't have an excuse that's acceptable to the IRS, you may be subject to an under-withholding penalty. In this case, it's not advisable to wait until April 15. You should check with your financial or tax adviser on what you should do in your particular situation.

5)   Reevaluate Your Employee Benefits
You can review and change your benefits selections at work at least once a year. Companies often add some of the options they offer to employees. This is an excellent opportunity for you to investigate and to take advantage of the tax-deferred or tax-advantaged benefits.

Among the areas that will impact your taxes: 401(k) contributions, pre-tax health benefits, pre-tax childcare benefits, and pre-tax insurance benefits. You should evaluate these options to ensure that you're taking full advantage of the options offered you, and that your circumstances and your company's offerings have not been revamped to necessitate a change in your selections.

Many people don't take advantage of the pre-tax medical benefits, but they should. These programs allow you to contribute money, which is deducted from your paycheck on a pre-tax basis and then put in a plan that will pay medical expenses not covered by your insurance company.

A big red flag here, however: make sure you don't allocate substantially more to these programs than you expect to spend over the course of year. Virtually all of the plans have a "use it or lose it" approach, meaning you lose all unused monies.

Read five more tips from Gary Schatsky.

Gary Schatsky is Chairman of the National Association of Personal Financial Advisors. NAPFA is the only national association of fee-only financial advisors. As an attorney and comprehensive fee-only financial advisor, he lectures nationally on topics such as personal finance, investment planning, tax planning, and estate planning. Visit his Web site at www.objectiveadvice.com.