Our refund this year was only $1,900. I think last year we got close to $2,200. I'm not going to look in to the different too much, I'm just glad we are getting some money back. Most of that money will go my Citi Forward credit card or I might splurge a little and go buy some new clothes.
Some people say we are lending the government interest free money every year but I rather get a lump sum from Uncle Sam than to get that money every month. The advantage of having a large payment helps us to make a nice dent on our debt.
How much was your refund and where is your money going?
HS
13 comments:
I forgot, here is last year's refund:
http://www.ourdebtblog.com/2010/03/2009-tax-return.html
HS
I blogged about my refund and where it is going.
If you have an emergency fund ($1,000 and then about 6-12 months living expenses) than use this $ to pay down debt. If not you need an emergency fund so you don't have to rely on credit cards to fund the next emergency.
Check thrift shops, yard sales, freecycle, and friends for new to you clothes.
I have a close to 2k in emergency savings... the question is what exaclty is an emergency lol I can't seem to master that concept...
HS
I use taxact too! My refund was already spent on paying off a bill and some out of town trips. A splurge but life's short and my kids are growing at the speed of light.
Ah, we were surprised with a bit of a refund between state and federal and every last penny went to our brand new king-size luxury firm mattress. Heaven on earth. :)!
Emergency:
car accident
loss of job
broken body parts
illness
Ideally you should have $1,000 plus about 6 months living expenses in emergency fund!
You should also have a car maintance fund for:
oil changes ($400 for two years)
brakes ($500 every two years)
tires ($1,100 evry two years)
$2,000 every two years, $1,000 a year or about $90 a month out away.
And a car repair fund of about $1,000
or $90 a month put away.
Every time you drive you are using up your car and it will wear down and break. That is not an emergency.
Also ideally you should also have a car replacement fund so you will never have to lease or finance again.
2k will not go far if you have a true emergency (as mentioned above.)
Sometimes I think we are the only ones that pay. This year it is a bargain at only $3026 owed.
I think I can faintly remember refunds...
We got close to $4000 back on our refund, but it was somewhat of a disappointment. We normally get almost $10,000 back. We have a hard time saving, so it's always nice to get a lump some. It's the time of the year when we splurge on something big.
everything is going to the student loans...yeah baby!!!
FM 10,000???!! WOW that's awesome!!
HS
I need to work on our taxes. I'm hoping for a refund this year. Is TaxAct easy to use?
Hi Sandy!
Tax Act is very easy to use, it asks you questions and basically you answer Yes or No, example did you get any W2's? Yes? then it takes you to the page to enter all the information.
HS
We used TurboTax. I got $1,637 back. Right now the only debt I have is my federal student loans, but since I'm currently working full time at two unpaid internships they are deferred. Half of them are subsidized, half aren't and are accruing interest, so I'm paying off all of the interest that has accrued on them since I graduated with my masters. I'll keep the rest in a savings account and continue to pay my quarterly accrued interest on the student loans while I'm in school again(I'm going back for one year-August 2011 to May 2012).
My first year of paid work post gradation I will be able to pay off all of my student loans and be totally debt free. Looking forward to that day, but in the meantime I'm glad my tax return allows me to prevent my interest from accruing and being compounded :)
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