What are you going to do with your tax returns?

[naturalmommy]

If you are getting a tax refund… what are you doing with it?

Are you saving it?
Are you spending it for fun? (well, I know being frugal this might not be top priority)

Are you spending it on Debts?

Or all of the above?

Im putting ours in the bank, using it to stay current on all my bills, and pay 2 high interest rate CC’s off. :041: We should receive it around the 13th.

[jkpjohnson]

Mine goes to back taxes, Mike started a savings account for whenever his daughter gets married, so his will go in there. Luckily he gets his work bonus at the same time, so we may get a new TV (ours Faces are red, everyother color is fine) so it is about time.

[tsgal]

We are paying off some loans, and I have already said that I wanted to get a good set of pot and pans. I’ve been waiting for years to get a good set, I want the nice stainless steel kind with no teflon in it.

[naturalmommy]

@jkpjohnson 105953 wrote:

Mine goes to back taxes, Mike started a savings account for whenever his daughter gets married, so his will go in there. Luckily he gets his work bonus at the same time, so we may get a new tv (ours faces are red, everyother color is fine) so it is about time.

we did the back taxes last year. enjoy your new tv!

tsgal;105971 wrote:

We are paying off some loans, and I have already said that I wanted to get a good set of pot and pans. I’ve been waiting for years to get a good set, I want the nice stainless steel kind with no teflon in it.

yay! i love paying off debts. it feels so good!

[wilbe95]

Anything we get will go towards two surgery bills, a CT scan and all the other little medical bills that seem to get added to do the cost such as biopsy’s doctor fees, etc. seriously doubt that there will be anything left after that, but at least that will be a huge debt gone 🙂

[d_awalker]

@jkpjohnson 105953 wrote:

Luckily he gets his work bonus at the same time, so we may get a new tv (ours faces are red, everyother color is fine) so it is about time.

this reminds me of our pink tv named “pinkie” that we had for years. hubby won a new tv from work, so i knew then that pinkies days with us were numbered.we found pinkie a new owner on freecycle before our move to sc. they were so happy to receive pinkie even though they knew her faults.

😉

[d_awalker]

I will be using some of the money for my “other dad” to repair our house in Georgia so that it can hopefully be sold.

If any is left after that, it will go towards debt and savings

[brchbell]

I’m paying off my 2008 ford Focus I had to buy in August when my son totaled my SUV. I’ve been whittling away at the $9000 and my tax return will have me down to $437! I’ll be able to pay it off next payday!

Yea!!! Just got the house left after that!

[saunders97]

I paid most of my car loan off, money I owed my mom, we bought hubby a used truck to drive to work, we paid extra rent, phone, internet, and we bought clothes for the kids. I will admitt we had some “fun” with it, mostly eating out a couple of times. Having peace of mind is better to me than anything else.

[incheck4real]

I am getting anew iron skillet that I have been wanting for 5 years !!! I am also hoping to talk hubby into buying me the red enamel dishes that I want for the kitchen. I want to replace the glass dishes with these and they will look very good with my country decor !!!

they are pricey though so he may not do it. he also is buying a rifle so he can start hunting again !!! there is nothing like free meat !!!!

the price of the rifle is just sooooo worth it when you compare it too all the money we are going to be saving on meat !!!! plus we alll looooove fresh game !!!!!!!

[jaime]

if we get a refund i hope to get a new refrigerator…ours is making some very funny sounds lol. if there is anything left after that it will go toward saving to refinish the basement. this is a cool post. i love these.

thanks

[naturalmommy]

sounds like a lot of people have a mixture of debt reductions, savings, necessary spending, and a little “fun” spending.

Jaime-funny noises not a good thing, lol.

[jaime]

LOL I know and now its getting quiter…not good either 🙂

[naturalmommy]

no, not a good sign either.
:073::wink:

[d_awalker]

Whatever we are going to do with the money, the good thing is that we are planning it out beforethe money arrives. So many people do not plan. They just wait until the money comes and go wild with it as if it is “found” money.

They figure that they did not have it before, so why save/pay debt/buy necessities? It’s time to splurge!

I am so glad to see people “thinking” before doing.

[faxonfive]

I am going to pay our mortgage!!!

[naturalmommy]

@d_awalker 106234 wrote:

Whatever we are going to do with the money, the good thing is that we are planning it out beforethe money arrives. So many people do not plan. They just wait until the money comes and go wild with it as if it is “found” money.

They figure that they did not have it before, so why save/pay debt/buy necessities? It’s time to splurge!

I am so glad to see people “thinking” before doing.

i agree.. its crazy… i know a lot of businesses are counting on that fact to “stimulate the economy”.

especially during tax time.

faxonfive;106239 wrote:

I am going to pay our mortgage!!!

great idea!!!!!!

[BellaInara]

We have 2 things to do with ours (700)
1. Get a phone line so that my SO can start working with liveops. He’s been out of work so we need any income that we can get.
2.

Pay down some of the rent that we owe. We have a private landlord who is working with us, but we are a full 6 weeks behind right now. This will help catch us up.

I am due a small bonus from work around the end of the month that will go to him also.

Shannon

[naturalmommy]

@BellaInara 106304 wrote:

We have 2 things to do with ours (700)
1. Get a phone line so that my SO can start working with liveops. He’s been out of work so we need any income that we can get.
2.

Pay down some of the rent that we owe. We have a private landlord who is working with us, but we are a full 6 weeks behind right now. This will help catch us up.

I am due a small bonus from work around the end of the month that will go to him also.

Shannon

Im glad you will be able to catch up! Tax money comes at a great time of the year…

[Niddi]

putting it up to be used for this years dental expenses. Medicare and insurance doesn’t cover any of that.

[mardhines]

Re: What are you going to do with your tax returns?

We are going to buy a dependable cheapo vehicle. We have been married for 7 years and have not had a vehicle. If there is any left, we are going to replace our beat up and battered kitchen cabinets and plumbing.

We live in a mobile home, so the originals are not worth trying to remodel.

[d_awalker]

We received our tax refund at 12 midnight last night, and I paid off my first credit card at 12:05am! This morning, I paid a large amount to another credit card. That one should be paid off next month.

We also put some money in savings and some in a separate “hold” account for emergencies.

Today, my husband asked, “Are we going to do some celebrating?”, which is his code for spending money. I said, “heck no! are you crazy!

if you want to spend some out of your separate “play” account, that’s fine, but whatever we have left is going into our “hold” account for emergencies.” he did not say a word.

i do not want us falling into that trap again.

[naturalmommy]

@mardhines 106334 wrote:

Re: What are you going to do with your tax returns?

We are going to buy a dependable cheapo vehicle. We have been married for 7 years and have not had a vehicle. If there is any left, we are going to replace our beat up and battered kitchen cabinets and plumbing.

We live in a mobile home, so the originals are not worth trying to remodel.

good luck! i hope you find a great vehicle!!!

d_awalker;106581 wrote:

We received our tax refund at 12 midnight last night, and I paid off my first credit card at 12:05am! This morning, I paid a large amount to another credit card. That one should be paid off next month.

We also put some money in savings and some in a separate “hold” account for emergencies.

Today, my husband asked, “Are we going to do some celebrating?”, which is his code for spending money. I said, “heck no! are you crazy!

if you want to spend some out of your separate “play” account, that’s fine, but whatever we have left is going into our “hold” account for emergencies.” he did not say a word.

i do not want us falling into that trap again.

thats awesome! congrats on paying off your first cc. as soon as i get my tax return, ill be paying off 2.

Its a great feeling!!!!

Im lol at you telling the hubby no!

[brchbell]

@d_awalker 106581 wrote:

Today, my husband asked, “Are we going to do some celebrating?”, which is his code for spending money. I said, “heck no! are you crazy!

if you want to spend some out of your separate “play” account, that’s fine, but whatever we have left is going into our “hold” account for emergencies.” he did not say a word.

i do not want us falling into that trap again.

i’m laughing about our dh’s! my dh was standing by as 3 of our kids discussed buying gifts for #2 son’s birthday and how broke they are and what they each had in savings, ect. dh jumped in and said when he was a kid he spent every last cent he had the second he had it.

one of the kids asked at what age did he finally grow up and stop being a kid. dh laughed and said about 50! I personally know it was more like 52!

It’s become a big joke around our house but we all really have to watch him when we actually have $$ in the account as he’s still sorely tempted to go out and buy, baby buy!

[mcnerd]

Got my federal tax return today and immediately bought a Propane Heater at Amazon.com after realizing I had no alternative heat when the power goes off. The rest goes to pay off a credit card.

[redring]

dh and i both put back a thousand dollars into our medical saveings through work. its all pre taxed. i am hopeing with the house and all to get another three thousand back.

i asked dh if we did could i empty it all and get my tmj fixed. he agrees i have been dealing for too many years now. it puts us with no medical cash but i think i can work with that for a year to finally get the pain taken care of.

if we dont get that much i am not sure what the plan is.

[d_awalker]

@naturalmommy 106583 wrote:

Im lol at you telling the hubby no!

thanks!

i learned our first year of marriage that i needed to start telling him no or we were going to be in the poor house! he has learned a lot over our ten year marriage about frugality and financial responsibility. he knows that if it were not for me being the “financial manager” of the family, his credit would still be in the toilet where it was when we married.

lol!

i am so glad that he listens and values my input. he brings it in, and i dole it out 🙂

[d_awalker]

@brchbell 106584 wrote:

I’m laughing about our dh’s! my dh was standing by as 3 of our kids discussed buying gifts for #2 son’s birthday and how broke they are and what they each had in savings, ect. dh jumped in and said when he was a kid he spent every last cent he had the second he had it.

one of the kids asked at what age did he finally grow up and stop being a kid. dh laughed and said about 50! I personally know it was more like 52!

It’s become a big joke around our house but we all really have to watch him when we actually have $$ in the account as he’s still sorely tempted to go out and buy, baby buy!

ha-ha! at least he improved. my “other dad” is 65 and still letting money run through his hands like water.

I’m surprised my mother does not have a head full of gray hair!

[naturalmommy]

@d_awalker 106604 wrote:

Thanks!

I learned our first year of marriage that I needed to start telling him no or we were going to be in the poor house! He has learned a lot over our ten year marriage about frugality and financial responsibility. He knows that if it were not for me being the “financial manager” of the family, his credit would still be in the toilet where it was when we married.

lol!

i am so glad that he listens and values my input. he brings it in, and i dole it out 🙂

im kind of in the same boat… we used to be “spenders” to impress. dh still gets a little of that urge now and then, but im working it out of him slowly but shirly…

i took over the fiances when he messed ours up… we never looked back.

[sherlocklabs]

@naturalmommy 105950 wrote:

If you are getting a tax refund… what are you doing with it?

Are you saving it?
Are you spending it for fun? (well, I know being frugal this might not be top priority)

Are you spending it on Debts?

Or all of the above?

Yes, Yes, Yes

I always try to but some in the bank ~~ I really like having a little cushion to fall back upon…in case of emergency…and right now we have no cushion left~~so putting it back would be nice.
Of course…put some towards debt
But really…if at all possible….I would love to get my ds (3 years) a fort/swing set. We live in the country….and biking is not really an option with our terrain and gravel driveway. He is at the age where he is active and moving around, bouncing and climbing….and I would love to have something like that to keep him occupied.

It really isn’t cost effective to drive to the park all of the time. So if at all possible….I would love to get that one ‘fun’ item. 🙂

Denise
Upstate NY

[mardhines]

I guess this is where the old “don’t count your chickens until they are hatched” phrase comes in for us. We had planned on getting new kitchen cabinets to replace the battered and broken ones we have now, and to buy a cheap used vehicle. I should know better.

Looks like we will be saving the entire amount, and hopefully it will be enough, to support us. We just found out on Friday that hubby might have to have his right foot taken off. Its not for sure yet, the test results come back in about 10 days.

I am praying this isn’t so, and would so appreciate any prayers from anyone. And a huge huge thank you in advance. it all began with an accident he had back in the 80’s.

He worked in the oil field in OK. Someone wasn’t paying attention, and as a result, he got hurt. Anyway, I can’t work, I have 4 ruptured discs, and now this problem with my hands.

When it rains, it really pours. But with Faith in God, we will survive. There is always a silver lining.

And that is… at least, its not his life we are talking about. I thank God for that.

[sherlocklabs]

Mardhines….I will keep you and your family in my prayers. I sure hope all works out for you.
Blessings
Denise
Upstate NY

[Niddi]

Mardhines,
I am so sorry that you are having such a time of it right now. Will add you to prayer list. Please keep us updated on your DH.

[d_awalker]

@sherlocklabs 107155 wrote:

….I would love to get my ds (3 years) a fort/swing set. We live in the country….and biking is not really an option with our terrain and gravel driveway. He is at the age where he is active and moving around, bouncing and climbing….and I would love to have something like that to keep him occupied.

It really isn’t cost effective to drive to the park all of the time. So if at all possible….I would love to get that one ‘fun’ item. 🙂

Denise
Upstate ny

i would suggest posting a request on craigslist.org or, better yet, freecycle to see if someone may have a free one or one at low cost. i moved and gave my playsets away on freecycle. someone else may want to part with theirs for a nothing or for a smaller fee than purchasing it new.

[naturalmommy]

@mardhines 107219 wrote:

I guess this is where the old “don’t count your chickens until they are hatched” phrase comes in for us. We had planned on getting new kitchen cabinets to replace the battered and broken ones we have now, and to buy a cheap used vehicle. I should know better.

Looks like we will be saving the entire amount, and hopefully it will be enough, to support us. We just found out on Friday that hubby might have to have his right foot taken off. Its not for sure yet, the test results come back in about 10 days.

I am praying this isn’t so, and would so appreciate any prayers from anyone. And a huge huge thank you in advance. it all began with an accident he had back in the 80’s.

He worked in the oil field in OK. Someone wasn’t paying attention, and as a result, he got hurt. Anyway, I can’t work, I have 4 ruptured discs, and now this problem with my hands.

When it rains, it really pours. But with Faith in God, we will survive. There is always a silver lining.

And that is… at least, its not his life we are talking about. I thank God for that.

im so sorry, hun. big hugs> i am headed to mass (yes, tuesday night mass) tonight, and i will say a prayer for you and your family.

[d_awalker]

@mardhines 107219 wrote:

I guess this is where the old “don’t count your chickens until they are hatched” phrase comes in for us. We had planned on getting new kitchen cabinets to replace the battered and broken ones we have now, and to buy a cheap used vehicle. I should know better.

Looks like we will be saving the entire amount, and hopefully it will be enough, to support us. We just found out on Friday that hubby might have to have his right foot taken off. Its not for sure yet, the test results come back in about 10 days.

I am praying this isn’t so, and would so appreciate any prayers from anyone. And a huge huge thank you in advance. it all began with an accident he had back in the 80’s.

He worked in the oil field in OK. Someone wasn’t paying attention, and as a result, he got hurt. Anyway, I can’t work, I have 4 ruptured discs, and now this problem with my hands.

When it rains, it really pours. But with Faith in God, we will survive. There is always a silver lining.

And that is… at least, its not his life we are talking about. I thank God for that.

Oh no! I am so sorry to hear about your husband’s foot. Like you said, when it rains it pours.

I am glad that you can see the bright spots in this.

Last year, our much anticipated tax refund was used to support us while we had a medical emergency with my then 5 year old son. They diagnosed him with 3rd degree heart block and had to implant a pacemaker in him. He was airlifted three hours away and my hubby had just been hired at a new company.

We were not happy about his condition, but we were happy that the money was there when we needed it.

[mardhines]

Thank you so much, your prayers are so very appreciated.

[mardhines]

The people on this site are some of the nicest most compassionate and careing people that I have ever had the pleasure of meeting. Thank you all so very very much.

[mardhines]

Thank you all so very very much, I wish I could tell you how much this means to me. It makes me feel so much better to know that people care.

[mardhines]

yeaaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhhh!!!!!!!!!!!!! good good news!!!! hubby is going to be ok.

test results came back this morning, his foot is going to survive. they still don’t know what is causing the problem… but thats another day.

thank everyone of you for your prayers, i am certain that is the reason this has occurred. and thank god. take care and have a wonderful day everyone, i know i will.

[sherlocklabs]

How wonderful! I can imagine how happy you are!!
So glad all worked out for you!

[tsgal]

Mardhines, so glad to hear that your hubby is going to be okay. What a blessing that is for you and your family.

d_awalker, so sorry to hear about you son. Are things better now that the pacemaker is in? Hope this helps him to be able to do things in life alittle easier now.

[mardhines]

Thank you all so very much. You have no idea how much your concern and compassion mean to me…:054:

[d_awalker]

@mardhines 107432 wrote:

yeaaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhhh!!!!!!!!!!!!! good good news!!!! hubby is going to be ok.

test results came back this morning, his foot is going to survive. they still don’t know what is causing the problem… but thats another day.

thank everyone of you for your prayers, i am certain that is the reason this has occurred. and thank god. take care and have a wonderful day everyone, i know i will.

this is amazing news! i am so happy that your husband will not lose his foot. i am sorry that they still do not know what is causing the problem, but sometimes you have to celebrate the victory that you have at the moment.

take care of yourself and your hubby

[d_awalker]

@tsgal 107453 wrote:

d_awalker, so sorry to hear about you son. Are things better now that the pacemaker is in? Hope this helps him to be able to do things in life alittle easier now.

Thanks for asking!

My son Darius is doing fine. He is growing better and is an energy fireball. I told them that he was full of energy prior to his pacemaker insertion.

They told me, “Get ready because you are going to see a different kid.” They were right! He used to have energy but was a quiet child.

Now, you cannot stop him from talking all the time. I think they accidentally hooked up the pacemaker to his mouth 🙂

I learned from that experience to not take anyone for granted because they could be gone in a blink of an eye.

[kkiriazis]

I just got my tax return back and we paid off two cc’s! Not too much more to go (thank goodness). We will have everything paid by the start of 2010 (except the mortgage) and I keep telling myself that it isn’t that much longer.

I am looking forward to when I get a tax return back that we can just put on the mortgage. We just remortgaged to a 20 year and are hoping to pay that off within 10 years or less.

[d_awalker]

@kkiriazis 107729 wrote:

I just got my tax return back and we paid off two cc’s! Not too much more to go (thank goodness). We will have everything paid by the start of 2010 (except the mortgage) and I keep telling myself that it isn’t that much longer.

I am looking forward to when I get a tax return back that we can just put on the mortgage. We just remortgaged to a 20 year and are hoping to pay that off within 10 years or less.

Sounds like a great plan!

[mmclean11]

We paid off Lucky’s (the dog) vet expenses on Care Credit, paid off our 2nd credit card (just 7 more to go!), paid extra on our 3rd cc to pay off, and saved some.

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