Economists expect the nation's unemployment rate to ease to 7.7 percent by late next year from the current rate of 8.8 percent, The Wall Street Journal reported today.

Improvement, for sure, but most economists don't predict the unemployment rate to return to 5.4 percent — the level considered to reflect full employment — until 2015 at the earliest, the Journal said.

In other words, this recovery will continue to be a long, hard slog.

If you are one of the millions of Americans out of work, submitting resume after resume, bouncing from one interview to the next, you know how discouraging news like this can be. A little humor, such as a visit to the website Bad Job Interviews, might be what you need to help ease the frustration.

The site's creator, Jon Allen, was inspired to help people share their stories of disastrous interviews after he learned that a job he interviewed for did not exist at all. The interviewer was just practicing.

"That was a bit frustrating," says Allen, who hopes some of the stories on his site can lead to a "at least my last job interview wasn't as bad as that" reaction from visitors.

On why you shouldn't bring a child to an interview:

"Place I used to work at was interviewing a lady, and the police came in looking for someone that had left their small child in a car. Turned out, it was the lady being interviewed. She didn’t get to finish that interview…"

On getting too friendly with your interviewer:

"Today, I had a job interview. I have a nervous tendency to rub my foot against the bar under the table. After the interview I noticed I had been rubbing my foot against the interviewer’s leg."

Got a bad job interview story of your own to share? We'd love to here it.

Over the next few weeks, high school students across the country will be taking a voluntary exam designed to test their financial smarts.

The 2011 National Financial Capability Challenge is designed to make sure kids are heading out into the real world with a basic understanding of things like interest rates, insurance terms and taxes.

Hey, maybe those crazy kids will even prevent the next financial crisis.

Reuters blogger Lara Pingue got a sneak peek at some of the questions facing the teens, and decided to see how well her adult readers would fare.

Wondering how you stack up? Click here to take the test. 

Suze Orman, host of CNBC's "The Suze Orman Show" and best-selling author, joined us for a live Web chat Friday morning following her special TODAY series, "The New American Dream."

Catch up on her segments this past week here:

• Suze Orman’s new book takes on the American dream
• Orman stresses saving for retirement
• ‘New American Dream’ means doing without
• Suze Orman tackles Hoda’s massive wallet

And check out an excerpt of her new book, "The Money Class."

Here are two of her answers to questions from the live chat. See below for the full Q&A.

Question from Christy:
Hi Suze! We are a military family struggling to make ends meet. Our credit is poor and I can't control my spending ... What can I do?? We want to buy a house soon but seriously have NOTHING saved!

Suze's answer:
Christy -- Warning! Warning! if you can't control your money, how do you expect to buy a home and not get into trouble? Until you can change your behaviors, which means figuring out why are you self-destructing -- financially speaking -- you are not to even consider buying a home.

YOU CAN DO THIS!

Remember: People first, then money, then things. I have faith in you -- do you have faith in yourself? Thank you and your family for all your service to our country. 

Question from Dingos Mom:
My husband is in charge of all our finances. (i.e. does our taxes, pays bills, etc.). How do I hide accounts from him? I would love to have some spending money without insulting him. 

Suze's answer:
Dingo's Mom - Well ... this is actually not a question about money. This is a question about WHY WOULD YOU WANT TO BE WITH SOMEBODY you feel you have to hide money from?

The mere fact that you allow him to pay all the bills, taxes, etc. is not a statement about him, it's a statement about you and your inability to own your own power and that makes me sad.

You need to have a talk with your husband and set things right and stand in your truth!

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Round Table Companies

Will best-selling author John Eliot's book "Overachievement" become oversimplified in a graphic-novel format?

Have trouble falling asleep? I have some investing books on my desk that are guaranteed to make your eyelids heavy.

In an attempt to make snooze-inducing topics such as personal development, money management and sales more appealing to the Twitter generation, publisher Round Table Companies is releasing graphic novel versions of best-selling advice books in mid-April.

The company, which is the brainchild of Corey Michael Blake, transforms works by popular authors such as sales guru Tom Hopkins; Larry Winget, the self-described pit bull of personal development; and performance psychologist Dr. John Eliot into stylistic comic book adventures.

"We're taking the PowerPoint version of these books and illustrating them out," Blake told Forbes.com.

Authors exchange rights for $100 each, in return for royalty payments of as much as 20 percent of Round Table's take, double what most authors get, Blake told Forbes. Paperbacks will sell for $12.95 and digital version are $5-7, depending on the format.

"I passionately believe we're on to some revolutionary work in the book business," Blake said.

U.S. Energy Information Administration

The recent run-up in oil prices has many Americans worrying about the cost of everything from gas to food, and with good reason. Of all the energy sources we use, petroleum is the most popular.

According to the U.S. Energy Information Administration, petroleum accounted for a little more than one-third of the energy Americans consumed in 2009, the most recent full-year data available. (Partial data for 2010 data is available here.) 

Natural gas accounts for about one-fourth our energy consumption, and coal is responsible for around one-fifth.

We’re heard a lot of talk in recent years about renewable energy such as solar, wind and hydropower. As of 2009, the Energy Information Administration said that made up just a small chunk – 8 percent - of our overall energy consumption. But that it is expected to grow to 17 percent by 2035.

Why not more? The EIA notes that renewable energy plants are generally more expensive to build and operate, although that is changing with certain renewables such as wind. It also notes that renewable plants are often build in remote areas, which makes it difficult to transport the energy to metro areas. Tax credits and other government programs are expected to help spur more renewable energy plant production.

Del Monte

Bananas often inspire a dogmatic, almost Bill O'Reilly-level of sureness of the existence of God -- perfectly packaged, perfectly nutritious, individually sized portions with colorful, easy-to-open and biodegradable packaging. What more could you ask for?

Plastic, apparently. According to the decision makers at Del Monte, bananas -- perfect by nature -- needed an extra je ne sais quoi. For them, that "quoi" is the unmistakably synthetic touch of plastics. While environmentalists see this as a backward step, the company says that the bag has "Controlled Ripening Technology," adding an extra six days to the fruit's shelf life. Notably, the decision makers at Chiquita Banana recently have dreamed up a much more adorable campaign to dress up their packaging.

Banana packagers are not the only ones embracing this ridiculous trend. Spudniks are also following suit, together with prunes. What do you think? Would you buy plastic-packaged fruit?

It appears that Cap'n Crunch has survived the mutiny ... at least for now.

How did a rumored mutiny turn into a charge of cereal killing? Here is the sordid tale of Cap'n Crunch's alleged demise:

A DailyFinance story about the cereal's slow fade into obscurity created an Internet hurricane this week. According to DailyFinance, Quaker Oats and its parent company PepsiCo have scaled back their marketing campaign for the once-popular children's cereal. The good Cap'n looked like he was destined to sail into retirement.

"This is an OUTRAGE" wrote Matt Stafford of Haarlem, Netherlands, in much-thumbs-upped response on Facebook. "What's the shelf life of that stuff? I'll need to buy exactly enough to have a bowl everyday forever."

Don't worry, Quaker says.

"Cap'n Crunch is here to stay," says Quaker spokeswoman Denise Lauer. "In fact, the Cap'n just set sail on a social media journey with a new Facebook page. We launched an official Facebook presence for Cap'n Crunch so our adult consumers can stay up-to-date on all things Cap'n Crunch."

Fans of the sugar-laden cereal can breathe easier, but questions about Crunch's future still remain: Can an unhealthy children's cereal, which is no longer marketed directly to children, succeed solely on adults' nostalgia?

Rumors of the Cap'n's retirement may have bubbled up due to a carefully crafted guerrilla marketing campaign, AdAge reports. With no apparent corporate backing, a Chicago agency called Giant Steps launched a "Where's the Cap'n?" social-media barrage, putting up a website, Twitter feed, Facebook page and distributing "Missing" posters for the Cap'n.

The agency was responding to the odd fact that the Cap'n had no social media presence and was absent from the Quaker website.

The end result of the campaign: A few bloggers got snookered, and adult fans of the cereal released a tidal wave of angry Facebook posts and Twitter tweets.

And what about the cartoon story lines that made the cereal a hit with kids? The original cartoon commercials created by famous animator Jay Ward, of "Rocky and Bullwinkle" fame, live on, thanks to YouTube. Will Cap'n Crunch's animated battle against the Soggies one day resume?

The turmoil in the Middle East appears to have many Americans girding for pain at the pump.

A new Gallup survey out Thursday finds that Americans, on average, are expecting to pay $4.36 a gallon for gas this year. About one in four are expecting $5-a-gallon gas.

That would be a huge increase over current prices. The respondents reported an average gas price of $3.45 a gallon when they were surveyed between March 3 and March 6.

The price of gas has skyrocketed in recent weeks as uncertainty in the Middle East has pushed oil prices up sharply.

For many, a sudden rise in gas prices brings back memories of 2008, when gas and food prices surged just as the economy was sinking.

This time around, however, there’s evidence that Americans are more prepared for higher gas prices. As The New York Times noted earlier this week, in the past three years many Americans have traded in gas guzzlers for gas sippers, and they have made other accommodations to lessen their pain at the pump.

Still, a spike in oil prices is not without consequences. As msnbc.com’s John Schoen reported last month, a big increase in the cost of energy could hamper the fragile global economic recovery. 

Quaker Oats

The Soggies have finally won: Cap'n Crunch is quietly sailing into retirement.

Long derided by health experts for its high sugar content – a single serving contains 12 grams – the cereal is no longer being actively marketed by Quaker, DailyFinance reports. It appears parent company PepsiCo is forcing the good Cap'n to walk the plank.

Cap'n Crunch was once the No. 1 breakfast cereal, but pressure from the White House and health activists is having an effect on how PepsiCo and other food companies peddle their products to kids. Sales of the cereal were down 6.8 percent in 2010.

Last year, PepsiCo vowed to reduce added sugar per serving by 25 percent and saturated fat by 15 percent in its products over the next 10 years.

"PepsiCo is no longer marketing Cap'n Crunch cereal directly to children. In a sense, you could say that they have retired Cap'n Crunch, and that's a good thing," Jennifer Harris, of the Rudd Center for Food Policy & Obesity at Yale University, told DailyFinance. "Unfortunately, children continue to view hundreds of ads per year for high-sugar cereals from General Mills, Kellogg's and Post Foods."

The critics have a point: Children cereals contain 85 percent more sugar, 65 percent less fiber and 60 percent more sodium when compared with adult cereals, according to the Rudd Center research. The average preschooler has viewed more than 500 television ads for such cereals.

MIKE BLAKE / Reuters

Charles Ferguson (L) and Audrey Marrs (R) pose backstage with their Oscars for for Best Documentary Feature for the 'Inside Job'

If you watched the snooze fest that was the Academy Awards this year, you might have been awakened briefly by Charles Ferguson.

He’s the award-winning documentary director who began his speech by saying: “Forgive me, I must start by pointing out that three years after a horrific financial crisis caused by massive fraud not a single financial executive has gone to jail, and that’s wrong.”

“Inside Job,” the documentary that won that Academy Award, came out on DVD this week. It’s a sweeping and pointed look not just at the financial crisis that began in 2008 but also of the decades of financial decisions that led up to that point.

The documentary goes to extreme lengths to make the dense topic accessible. The bite-sized interview segments are broken up by a zippy soundtrack, sweeping views of the cities associated with high finance and flashy shots of the all the trappings of ultra-wealth enjoyed by the financiers behind the crisis.

Ferguson is a skilled interviewer, but he and his team -- including producer Audrey Marrs -- are even better editors. The interview segments we see are either short and snappy or short and painful.

In one such instance, Frederic Mishkin says he left the board of governors of the Federal Reserve in August of 2008, just when the financial system was spiraling out of control, to revise a textbook.

“Well I’m sure your textbook is important and widely read but in August of 2008, you know, some somewhat more important things were going on in the world, don’t you think?” the filmmaker asks.

Mishkin’s answer isn’t shown.

Suzanne Plunkett / AP file

Dan Rather: "I am going to keep working."

Is retirement overrated -- especially if you love what you do for a living?

Dan Rather would tell you yes. In fact, in a new book called “Dig This Gig,” Rather offers career advice to twentysomethings and reflects on his decades as a journalist. His reflections touch on those stinging moments in 2004 and 2005 when his career at CBS got derailed in the wake of a story that questioned President Bush’s National Guard service.

“I was extremely disappointed how things had come together there at the end,” Rather tells author Laura Dodd in an interview for the book.

“But by that time -- remember by that time I am at almost 75 years old -- I never thought about hanging it up,” Rather continues. “I never thought about giving up. I said, ‘Well, I don’t like this, don’t think it is right, don’t think it’s fair, but I’m going to find something else. I am going to keep working.’”

Keep working he has. He went on to start “Dan Rather Reports,” an hour-long HDNet cable news broadcast that’s available to viewers who have high-definition televisions.

“Dig This Gig” (Citadel, $14.95) will be published in late March, and it’s a cool book. After dozens of frank interviews with people in all sorts of fields, Dodd has crafted what she describes as an “over-a-beer-style” approach to career talk. What are people’s jobs really like? What do they really do all day long? And is it actually possible and practical to pursue something like a do-gooder gig, or a green gig, or an “outdoor office” gig?

Each section of the book concludes with words of wisdom from “mentors” like Rather. (He’s the mentor for the book’s “derailed gigs” section.) In offering advice to 20-somethings who are struggling to find their way, Rather says he’s always been deeply affected by Winston Churchill’s quote, “Never, never, ever give up.”

“Once you adopt it, it’s not all that hard,” Rather says. “It’s really very, very important. When you are in your 20s and sometimes confused and sometimes discouraged, just always keep putting one foot in front of the other. Just keep on keeping on. It’s what has worked for me.”

Worried you're not saving enough money for retirement? You’re not alone.

Roughly seven out of eight Americans believe that the nation’s retirement system is broken, and they worry that a weak economy and volatile stock market make it impossible to keep their own retirement plan on track.

Even as some state governments consider trimming public employee pensions, most Americans also support the idea of government incentives to encourage employers to provide traditional defined-benefit pensions. Anti-pension statehouse protests aside, three out of four Americans blame the decline of traditional pensions for their retirement insecurity, according to a survey by the National Institute on Retirement Security (NIRS), a group of financial services companies, retirement plan sponsors and trade associations.

Four out of five respondents told NIRS that they think Washington is clueless about the problem and should make a higher priority of rebuilding the private pension system.

The high level of retirement anxiety shouldn’t come as a surprise. As Congress mulls cutting in Social Security benefits to balance the federal budget, many American households have little or no savings to fall back on. Even those who have set up their own 401(k) account are likely to come up short: half of those aged 60 to 62 with a 401(k) account have stashed away less than a quarter of what they’ll need to maintain their standard of living in retirement, according to NIRS.

High anxiety is also reshaping the idea of what it means to be “retired.”

About one-third of survey respondents said they figure a “secure” retirement means just being able to live comfortably into old age. Only one in ten expects retirement will include travel, going out to restaurants, hobbies or leisure activities.

We are still coming down from the euphoria following Duke’s performance in Chapel Hill this weekend. But we are also eagerly awaiting filling out our brackets next Sunday.

Some bosses, however, would rather you stick to work during work hours.

OfficeTeam, a Silicon Valley-based temp firm, recently conducted a survey of 1,013 senior executives (whatever that means), and while 11 percent called the hoops hoopla “a welcome diversion,” 32 percent said “I am a soul-sapping killjoy that likes to talk about work-life balance only when HR is within earshot.” Oh, sorry, actually they checked the box next to “shouldn’t be allowed at work.”

Reasonable bosses, 57 percent of them, went with “I don’t encourage them, but they’re OK in moderation.” We imagine our boss (hi!) is in this group, but he probably would have preferred a subset that said “Until my bracket is busted, then I don’t want to hear anything about it.”

Go (insert team here that is not Duke)!

The jingle jangle in your pocket might one day get a little louder.

In the interest of fiscal responsibility, the Government Accountability Office has once again suggested that the Treasury abolish the dollar bill and permanently replace it with a coin. The GAO estimates that making the switch would save the federal government $5.5 billion over 30 years.

Sure, that's pocket change for Uncle Sam, but billions are billions.

The typical dollar bill has a lifespan of 40 months. A coin will last for decades. If abolished, the U.S. would join Australia, Canada, France, Japan, Russia, the United Kingdom and several others who have ditched lower denominations with coins.

So what’s stopping the feds from making the change? Public opposition.

A 2006 Gallup poll found that 79 percent of people were opposed to replacing $1 notes with coins. But if told of the potential savings for the government, the opposition dropped to 64 percent.

Some valid reasons for resistance exist: Businesses would have to modify equipment and storage, vending machines would require retooling, armored trucks would need stronger suspension, counterfeiting could increase.

"Efforts to increase the circulation and public acceptance of the $1 coin have not succeeded, in part, because the $1 note has remained in circulation," the GAO report says.

Translation: Ditch the dollar bill altogether and the whining will stop.

Should the U.S. remove the dollar bill from circulation? Let us know what you think (we'll save the abolish the penny debate for another day).

LOUIS LANZANO / AP

Leona Helmsley was famously accused of saying that "only the little people pay taxes" -- and was conviced of tax evasion.
.

Pretty much since Americans started paying taxes, some have been claiming that there are perfectly legal reasons why the Internal Revenue Service does not have a legal claim to their money.

The IRS is here to tell you it’s having none of it.

In a brief entitled “The Truth About Frivolous Tax Arguments” the Internal Revenue Service lays out in painful detail its rebuttal to many of the arguments the anti-tax folks have used over the years.

Planning to argue the Constitution says you don’t have to pay taxes? Here’s a quick response, courtesy of the IRS:

“Some argue that taxpayers may refuse to pay federal income taxes based on their religious or moral beliefs, or objection to the use of taxes to fund certain government programs.  These persons mistakenly invoke the First Amendment in support of this frivolous position.”

Hoping to skirt the IRS with the argument that the Internal Revenue Service is not an agency of the United States? You’ll find their response to that one under “Fictional Legal Bases.”

It reads, in part: “There is a host of constitutional and statutory authority establishing that the IRS is an agency of the United States. “

Since this is the IRS, it should come as no surprise that this is a dense document, filled with legal notes and the like. As an example, look no further than the IRS’s response to those of you who would argue that paying taxes is voluntary:

“The word “voluntary,” as used in Flora and in IRS publications, refers to our system of allowing taxpayers initially to determine the correct amount of tax and complete the appropriate returns, rather than have the government determine tax for them from the outset.  The requirement to file an income tax return is not voluntary and is clearly set forth in sections 6011(a), 6012(a), et seq., and 6072(a). See also Treas. Reg. § 1.6011-1(a).”

Still hoping to find a way around paying taxes? Before you do so, you might want to check out Section III, “Penalties For Pursuing Frivolous Tax Arguments." 

Still tempted? You might want to consider the fate of Leona Helmsley, who was famously accused of saying that "only the little people pay taxes" -- and was convicted of tax evasion.

If you want to live well into your golden years, a decades-long study says hard work and a late retirement just might be the secret ingredients.

With 90 years of research involving more than 1,500 Americans, researchers Howard Friedman and Leslie Martin found that many of the truisms about longevity are really myths. In their new book "The Longevity Project," the two say that optimism, marriage, going to church, eating broccoli and strenuous exercise have little to do with how long you live.

The study, recently reported in USA Today, has identified five popular myths about longevity:

1. Thinking happy thoughts reduces stress and leads to a longer life.
2. Gardening and walking aren't enough to keep you healthy.
3. Lighten up; being serious is bad for you.
4. Take it easy and don't work so hard. You'll live longer.
5. Get married and you will live longer.

"Everybody has the ideas — don't stress, don't worry, don't work so hard, retire and go play golf," Friedman told USA Today. "We did not find these patterns to exist in people who thrived." 

So what do you think? Are you ready to stop contributing to your 401(k) and give up your dreams of retiring early?

Women in America

The White House released a lengthy report earlier this week looking at the state of women in America.

The report was chock full of evidence of how much has changed for women these past few decades, as the percentage of working women has gone up.

The number of working women with a college degree has risen sharply since 1970, as has the share of women who work in professional and management jobs.

But even as women have made strides, the pay gap between men and women has narrowed – but persisted – at every education level.

The report cites several factors that may explain the gap. For example, the report says that although women are more likely to work in a professional sector, they also are more likely to be in the lower-paying jobs in that category.

Women are also less likely to be in high-paying sectors of the economy, including the computer and engineering fields, as well as business and finance, according to the report.

Americans appear to be falling in love with the open road again.

The Department of Transportation reports that Americans drove nearly 3 trillion miles in 2010. That's the most since 2007 and a 0.7 percent increase over 2009.

Prior to last year, Americans appeared to be cutting back on driving. A steep increase in gas prices in 2008 may have contributed to some of that, followed by a major economic downturn that left millions of Americans without work.

But now, traffic appears to be inching back up. The Department of Transportation noted that December marked the 10th consecutive month of increased driving.

Still, Americans could hunker back down again. Oil prices have risen sharply recently amid the turmoil in the Mideast, and that's expected to push prices at the pump up as well.

AP

In a much anticipated (and scooped) press conference at 30 Rock today, Ben & Jerry's announced that it's churning out a new ice cream flavor inspired by SNL veteran and late-night funnyman Jimmy Fallon. The flavor is aptly named Late Night Snack, and features a mix of food items B&J's seems to think people eat late at night: vanilla ice cream, fudge covered potato chips and salted caramel, rolling out to help celebrate the second anniversary of "Late Night With Jimmy Fallon."  Is anyone else feeling self-conscious about their late night snack from last night?  Swiss cheese chunks and pita chips are suddenly kinda sad and embarrassing...

Fallon discussed how he got linked up with B&J.

"They set up ice cream in our conference room, started talking, and asked if we wanted to do our own flavor," Fallon said. "We said, 'Are you kidding?! That's living the dream!'"

So, for the sake of late-night laughing, snacking and these two crunchy hippies from Vermont, let's all go grab a pint and see whether it's better than Colbert's flavor -- and as Fallon warned last summer in his ode to B&J, "Slow down ... don't get brain freeze."

If you had an ice cream flavor inspired by your greatness, what would be in it?

Farnoosh Torabi, a recurring Money 911 panelist and author of "Psych Yourself Rich," joined us for a live Web chat Wednesday morning after the show's Money 911 segment.

Here are two of her answers to questions from the live chat. See below for the full Q&A and video of the Money 911 segment. 

Question from a guest:
I have already gotten my once a year free credit report, where can I safely get another one?

Answer from Farnoosh:
After getting your free credit reports from the 3 major credit reporting bureaus once a year (by visiting annualcreditreport.com), there's no other way to another one without paying Equifax, Transunion or Experian for additional access.

But there are several websites where you can check the health of your credit status like credit.com, quizzle.com, creditkarma.com. These are free but don't include as much detailed information as the credit reports coming directly from the credit reporting agencies. 

Question from Bella:
What do you suggest for teens -- I'm 18 -- to start to do to build credit? I'll be entering college in the fall and I'm clueless as to what to do in terms of financial savings or spending properly. 

Answer from Farnoosh:
Excellent question! Just an FYI -- you can no longer qualify for a credit card if you're under the age of 21 unless you have a cosigner on the card (like a parent) or have proof of income. So a few options for you, as you hope to get ahead financially at a young age:

1. Don't stress about getting a credit card. Get a debit card attached to a checking/savings account and learn to live within your means.

2. Get a job that won't interfere with your class schedules. Making money in college is a great way to not only get work experience but to help you start saving.

3. Understand your student loan obligations now. If you have student loans, meet or speak with your financial aid officer about what your repayment plan will look like upon graduation. Get mentally prepared.

4. Open a secured card. This is like a credit card but it's for people who can't qualify for a credit card either due to age or a bad credit history. You load the card with your own money, use the card like a credit card and pay the balance off each month. Make sure the bank reports the activity to the credit reporting agencies so that you can start building credit. 

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Watch this week's Money 911 segment:

Americans certainly love their hamburgers, ordering 2.2 billion of the artery-clogging sandwiches at restaurants last year, according to the NPD Group market research firm.

At about $7.50 a pop, that totals billions in national spending for something that even the least-skilled cook can create.

While the humble beef sandwich is usually the cheapest option on the menu, how much will you save by preparing your own at home? Our friends at Walletpop.com ran the numbers on the ingredients and at $2.20 for a homemade burger vs. $7.49 for Applebee’s version (plus tax and tip), they determined that, yes, homemade burgers are the frugal choice.

Here’s what they calculated:

• 7 ounces of ground beef (weight pre-cooked): $1.04.
• One leaf of lettuce: 2 cents
• One slice of tomato: 8 cents
• Two  pickles: 60 cents
• One slice of onion: 5 cents
• One bun: 41 cents

Clearly, grilling your own burger is much more economical, even factoring the cost of your time and the additional expense of french fries, but will it taste better?

The Internal Revenue Service said this week that it may have as much as $1.1 billion in refunds for people who did not file a tax return in 2007.

The good news for the nearly 1.1 million people who may have money waiting for them: You can still get the refund, if you file a 2007 tax return by April 18.

There’s no penalty for filing the return late if you qualify for a refund. But you only have three years to do so.

This isn’t chump change, either: The IRS said the median refund is $640.

The IRS said some people may not have filed a return that year because they made too little money to require one, even though they had had taxes withheld from their wages.

Of course, there are some caveats. The checks will be withheld if you did not file a return in 2008 or 2009, either. You also may not see the money if you owe other federal taxes, if you are overdue on other government debt, such as student loans, or if you have unpaid child support bills.

Tax forms and instruction for prior years are available here.