When I save a turbo tax file it saves 2 files.Why does the 2nd file have the same name except the file name begins with a character that looks like a sideways "s" symbol?

That's the Tilde ~ .  Those are temporary files but last year Turbo Tax didn't delete them at the end.  They are there in case you crash and need to go back.  Just ignore them.

This FAQ talks about the Tilde file
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WE should ALSO have the Option of Deleting the Extra File.

You can.  You can delete it yourself in Windows.

Thanks I Figured that out but a more simple way is for Turbo tax to "Program" their System to Right Click the mouse to Delete the Extra File.

It's now 2/15/2019 (two years later).  It happened one year ago and the same problem is now happening.  Do they intend to fix this?

No.  It’s not a problem.  In fact it’s there to help you.

So I've read.  It is confusing because the two files have different time stamps leading me to believe that the non-tilde file (with the older timestamp) is not valid.  Are both files exactly the same?  Why do they have different time stamps?  Is it safe to use the older timestamp?  Can't they make the tilde file a hidden file only to be used in case of recovery?  I don't know of any other software product that does this.

Like, what happens if you choose to "Not Save"?  Is the current file always being saved, therefore responding to "Yes I want to save this file" actually means, Yes, I want a NEW version of it.  I am really confused by the clutter of files created by the appropriate act of saving before closing.  Especially when I pull up prior years' files for reference, worrying that I might have inadvertently changed something....

How do you delete the extra file when I found the file from last year. I shouldn't have two with the same name.

For the WIndows Desktop program

Delete return FAQ

https://ttlc.intuit.com/questions/1900686-how-do-i-delete-a-tax-return-that-was-created-in-turbotax-for-windows

You can delete a tax return from within the TurboTax Windows Desktop Program on the very first screen after starting the program or go to File-Open. Click on the large square icon representing the file you wish to delete (avoid clicking the blue "Continue" button). Then just hit your delete key and answer the prompt.

OR Start the program and on the first page click the blue Find A Tax File link at the bottom of the box. Then in the list that pops up you can right click on the file and choose delete.

Or you can delete it from Windows.  The tax files end in .tax20yy and should be in your Documents folder then in a Turbo Tax subfolder.

The TurboTax desktop program does an auto-save about every 10 minutes or so. This reduces data loss when something catastrophic happens, such as a power outage. The auto-save file will always have a filename starting with a tilde. (What you called a sideways "S") To delete the auto-saved copies you have to close and exit the program completely first.

very confusing and annoying duplication. I should only have one copy saved, rather than browse through 5 copies of the same return trying to figure out which copy I worked on last, Turbo tax/Intuit, you can do better...........