changed title/ WHAT FUN THINGS ARE YOU DOING WITH REFUND?

[mrodgers]

anyway.....what are peoples "fun plans" ? This was started to be a fun thread...the rapid refund was just MY thoughts on the subject not to put anyones choices down it was so I could envy others lol I WISH I could just through caution to the wind and go have a blast with ours...I did not want to debate my bad money choices because I let the IRS hold my money since we are not borrowing from peter to pay paul and we are in a good spot I am not going to worry about that.

NOW BACK TO THE FUN....WDW ANYONE???

You wouldn't envy mine. Pay local taxes, pay heating oil, and that's about it.

The same is true for people that escrow their taxes and homeowners insurance with a mortgage company.

I don't have that option. I'm required to escrow my taxes and homeowners. I just learned (here on the board) recently that this isn't the norm. I always thought it was the norm because finance companies want to make sure it is paid so they don't end up with a loss when the homeowner doesn't pay it and runs away from the loan when the gov takes their house for $2000 worth of taxes....

 

[Priorityonecb]

We will be putting it towards our summer vacation, and using the rest towards home improvement projects. I classify those as fun because it's not just boring "Oh we need a new roof"...but fun painting/redecorating projects and adding on a rec room that we've been wanting to do for years.

 

[Doodlebug939]

We are not getting too much back compared to most of our friends but we have a plan. We are going to pay off our truck which will free up over $400 per month. Currently I am staying at home until after summer break with the kids so this will help free up some cash on the budget.

Then my one EXTRA thing is a pair of RUNNING SHOES! My butt is not as big as it once was and I would like to start jogging. I have to jog from mailbox to mail box and then walk and I live in a development so you know those are not far apart. But I am working on me and it feels good.

But my shoes are from discount stores and they are not a good fit. So I told hubby that I wanted to be able to splurge a little on shoes to keep me motivated. I am working really hard to go back to basics. Dinners at home, family game nights, themed movie nights, riding bikes, walking the dog. I am trying to make my life about the people in it and not the things around me. And I cant tell you how the budget board has helped me to be a better person and better mom.

 

[4 Ears]

Yup, our plans are to move to Winterhaven in June so our refund is going towards that

 

[4 Ears]

Yup, our plans are to move to Winterhaven in June so our refund is going towards that

 

[pyrxtc]

I was going to use ours for a cruise but now we'll use part of it to visit my sister in AZ for April break and the rest will pay for my son's braces and eye glasses. At least those will be paid off. We are paying down some bills first also before the trip. I will also get a new Olympus Tough Camera and my DH is using some to go on his off-roading trip this summer and we'll visit Hershey park. This will be a mix of tax refund and his bonus pay.

 

[North of Mouse]

Our refund goes direct deposit, so it isn't planned for anything special that we already don't have planned from our general account. Also, as bumbershoot has said, we almost never pay to have our taxes done unless they are more complicated than usual (like buying or selling a house, etc). My dh always buys the computer version for filing taxes and does it himself - saves $$. It takes a little time and concentration, but it just walks you through the process and actually sometimes saves you money because it asks you about certain things that you may not remember to do.

 

[North of Mouse]

Yup, our plans are to move to Winterhaven in June so our refund is going towards that

WOW - congratulations, bet you will be glad to get out of those harsh winters, I know I would be, but then I've always been a southern girl and can take the heat lots better than cold You will also be "next door" to the mouse

 

[livie1205]

all your plans sound great! I SPLURGED on starbucks today lol woohoo

 

[sammielynn]

This is only the second time in my working lifetime (30+) years that I'm not getting a refund Got some money from my Dad's estate and it bumped my income up way to high. I'm having to pay I did buy myself and my sons 10 day non-expiring park hoppers with some of my inheritance.

 

[4 Ears]

North Of Mouse, yes we are SUPER excited.
Being a neighbor of the mouse, never thought of that

 

[ZehnJahren]

Every time I adjust my holding, I seem to end up in the red, so I keep my state and federal at 1 and just happily take the refund check (thanks for giving my money back, Uncle Sam!).

This year, I get a nice refund, then a 3-paycheck month, then my bonus in succession. I am socking 72% of it into savings (and half that savings goes to Disney! - the other half is emergency, as I'm trying to build it up in case I need to buy a car); the other 28% is for my medical deductible that I've already reached this year, a pair of running shoes (which I needed badly), and a personal trainer. I bought the running shoes on Monday, and I'm meeting with the first personal trainer tomorrow. Very excited!

 

[gracie1]

Mine is going towards a root canal
And the rest in savings

 

[drinkme]

I know I should stay away from these threads every tax season because I get so envious with all the high returns people get...lol.

But tell me, how does someone actually get an $8000 refund????? Do you really have such high withholdings through your employer each paycheck? Or do you have great credits/deductions???

I'm trying to see what the advantage is of having a big check sent to you once a year over having that extra money every month in your paycheck.

 

[4 Ears]

Dh was telling me one of his associates is getting 8100.00 back They have the house credit, a new baby this year and each of them are in college.
Thinking we are getting a nice chunk back this year but cuz we adjusted things after having to pay in last hear

But 8100.00 I remember when DH and I first got married that is about what he made 1 year! oopsies, that is prob showing my age

 

[coastiewifern]

IF we get a refund (haven't done our taxes yet) then I am buying a new washer and dryer. Maybe not that exciting to most but I've had my set for 18 years so I'm excited.

 

[sorcerormickey]

We're doing lots of fun things with our refund, but I will keep it to myself, since we are obviously too stupid to correct our withholdings.

 

[AZMermaid]

We usually only get a few hundred dollars, but a few hospital stays, high deductible HSA plans and other newer stuff, we will be getting about $4500 back. It would have been nice to have that extra money each month, but oh well. We'll adjust for 2013. So, my husband is getting a new TV for his office, which he has wanted for a few years now. The TV that is in there will be moved into our room and we'll get rid of the old tube TV that is starting to make a humming sound. That will be about $500. The rest will go into savings, partly to replenish what we had to take out for medical stuff and partly towards the pool we are saving for. We toyed with paying a big chunk towards DVC, but I am a teacher and I elect to get balance of contract pay (about $5000) for the summer and we have been planning to use that to pay off DVC all together- one year after we bought in!

 

[StephMK]

We end up w/a refund because I'm never sure about my self-employment pay each year so we take out more to be safe. This year, I made less than expected but DD turned 17 so we are getting some $ back but not as much as in past years.

Fun - well, if it's possible to consider tires fun, we need new tires for 2 cars. The rest will be put away to go towards gas/hotels/spending money for our summer trip East.

 

[Natalie's Mommy]

But tell me, how does someone actually get an $8000 refund????? Do you really have such high withholdings through your employer each paycheck? Or do you have great credits/deductions???

I'm trying to see what the advantage is of having a big check sent to you once a year over having that extra money every month in your paycheck.

my husband and and i both claim 1 on our w4 withholding because i am self employed (im a realtor) and dont make enough to need to pay quarterly so i have to pay all my taxes for my business at the end of the year. having more taken out of my husbands pay and my pay from my retail job means that we don't have to get out the checkbook and write the IRS a check at the end of the year. Plus we maximize our deductions during the year

we have 2 kids so that's $2000 right off the bat

we both had student loans in years past (down to one, interest isnt enough to claim)

we donate ALOT to charity, tax deductions always help there (good karma to help those with less, also teaches our children that there are people out there who go without)

we built a new house last year, so we currently pay a boat load each year in interest (a deduction)

last year we got the $6500 moving up tax break (thank you Obama for extending the closing deadline for that)

and our PMI payment for our house is also a tax deduction (and quite high, cant wait till we can get our mortgage below 80% of our worth so we can drop this)

all those little deductions combined are enough to get our adjusted income down a decent ammount so that our refund goes up.