It’s something that gets asked by almost every hiring manager at the tail end of almost any job interview: “Do you have any questions for me?” Shrug it off or shake your head, and you risk looking like you haven’t done your homework or you’re not interested in the position, says Vicki Salemi, career expert and author of Big Career in the Big City. But what you ask is just as important as the fact that you piped up. “I encourage people to write down their questions ahead of time, because you’re going to be talking to a lot of people with a million things running through your mind,” she says. “Being able to look at a list helps you stay calm without scrambling to ask something impressive.” She suggests one of these:

1. WHY DO YOU LIKE WORKING HERE—ASIDE FROM THE PEOPLE?

That second part is important, says Salemi, because “the first reaction everyone has it so say people, but that doesn’t really tell you much.” When you take away their ability to default to great coworkers, you get more insightful responses. “Benefits” might signal that the pay is great, but the work is boring. “Flexibility” might tell you that micromanagement won’t be a major problem. And if someone really struggles to think of something, well, that might be a red flag all its own.

2. IF I WANT TO BE RATED EXCELLENT ON MY PERFORMANCE REVIEW AT YEAR END, WHAT WILL IT TAKE TO GET THERE?

“This is my all-time favorite question, because it shows them that you’re ambitious and you strive for excellence,” says Salemi. But the question can also give you great insight into what it takes to excel in the job—not just land the job offer. “I always remind candidates that you’re interviewing them as much as they’re interviewing you,” she says. Do they have a clearly articulated vision of what this role entails? Do the expectations seem reasonable enough? Challenging enough? Does the picture of an ace worker actually jibe with your skill set and interests?

3. HOW WILL I BE TRAINED?

Here’s another question that makes it easy to sniff out how disorganized or chaotic things are behind the scenes. Can the hiring manager describe a carefully mapped out training program? Are there mentors? Or does he default to “on-the-ground learning” and leave it at that? “You want to know the boss has put some thought into what happens after you get the new job,” says Salemi. “Even at an executive level, you might not get explicit training, but there’s going to be some structure in place to get ramped up on the inner workings of the organization.”

4. HOW DO YOU SEE THIS DEPARTMENT EVOLVING OVER THE NEXT FEW YEARS?

Here’s a sneaky way to ask about advancement opportunities without asking how quickly you’ll get promoted. Maybe the company’s in a period of rapid expansion, maybe there’s a big technology project on the horizon that will upend how things are structured, or maybe the department has been totally steady for as long as they can remember. All of that is great intel that you won’t get if you stay mum. “The biggest red flag is if they don’t seem to have any vision for the future,” says Salemi. That might be because they’re too busy scrambling to stay afloat in the near term to think big picture—rarely a sign of good career opportunities.

It’s not to early to think about tax season, even if April is months away. There are plenty of tax-deductible expenses you can take advantage of last-minute up until the December 31 deadline.

1. DONATE, DONATE, DONATE.

If you donate to a charity with 501(c)(3) nonprofit status, you can take the amount of that gift off your taxes. If you receive some sort of compensation for your donation—like when you donate to a public radio drive and receive a tote bag in return—you can only take off the fair market value of the item from your taxes. The same applies for donating used items like clothing. You don’t have to donate cash, either. You can donate stock or property, and in doing so, not only deduct the market value of the donation, but avoid paying capital gains taxes on the appreciation.

To take advantage of these tax deductions, you need to itemize the deductions on the IRS’s form 1040 [PDF], and you should keep all your receipts. Your accountant or tax software—like TurboTax or H&R Block—can help you decide if itemizing is a good idea.

2. SET UP AN IRA.

Technically, you don’t have to do this before 2017 rolls around—you have until April 18 to open and fund an IRA and reap the benefits this fiscal year. But what better way to put your holiday money to a good cause (for you)? If you already have a retirement plan at work—which you should, if it’s available—and make less than $117,000 a year, you can contribute up to $5500 to an IRA per year. (If you’re over 65, you can contribute more.) However, the amount you can take off your taxes varies by how much money you make. If you make more than $61,000 per year, you can only take a partial deduction, while if your salary falls below that line, you can take the full contribution off your taxes.

If you don’t have a retirement plan at work and are single, you can take the full deduction no matter what your yearly income is. Note that these deductions only apply to traditional IRAs, not Roth IRAs, the type of retirement fund in which taxes are taken out of the contribution immediately, and are tax-free when you access the funds once you reach the qualifying age.

3. SPEND YOUR FSA MONEY.

If you don’t use the money you contributed to your Flexible Spending Account by the end of the year, you’ll lose it. The money that you put into that account isn’t subject to income or Social Security taxes, so you’re saving money when you load up your FSA account at the beginning of the year by lowering your taxable income. But if you forget to use it all, those savings are not much good. However, certain employers do let you roll over some unused FSA money into the new year. Not going to the doctor in the next few days? Check out the FSA store online. There are probably more eligible purchases than you realize.

4. BUY SUPPLIES FOR YOUR SCHOOL OR YOUR FOSTER PET.

If you’re a teacher or a pet lover, there may be tax deductions you don’t know you can take. They may not seem like similar endeavors, but both usually involve paying for supplies on your own dime, whether it’s colored pencils and safety scissors or dog food and vet bills. For K-12 teachers who pay up to $250 on school supplies out of pocket or people who are fostering (not adopting!) a dog, those costs can come off your tax bill.

5. SIGN UP FOR A CAREER-RELATED CLASS.

Job hunting qualifies for a tax break, as long as you’re looking for gigs in your current field. If you’re paying for career counseling, resume prep, or travel to look for a new job, you can take those costs off your tax bill. The printing cost of making all those resumes counts, too. However, those expenses have to exceed 2 percent of your gross income.

6. SELL OFF SOME BAD STOCKS.

If you happen to hold stocks, bonds, or mutual funds that haven’t done so well this year, you can sell them off and save money on your taxes. Basically, if you’ve made any money off your investments this year, you’re subject to capital gains taxes. If you sell some stocks for a lower price than initially you paid for them, those losses are subtracted from your taxable gains. This is known as tax-loss harvesting.

And if you’re not investing your money, consider doing so as soon as you can. You’ll need long-term investments in order to grow your money in the long run. If you don’t know the first thing about investing, there are plenty of startups that will help you out.

7. GO TO THE DOCTOR OR ACUPUNCTURIST

Certain medical expenses are tax-deductible, even if you don’t use your FSA card. If you spend more than 10 percent of your gross income on medical expenses, including insurance premiums, doctor’s visits, medical procedures, and prescriptions. Some qualifying expenses you might not know about include breast pumps, acupuncture, pregnancy tests, and contacts or glasses. If you’ve got an unpaid medical bill sitting around, pay it ASAP so you can add that to your 2016 expenses. If you don’t exceed the minimum necessary for the deduction, even if you’re really close, you don’t get it.