what to do with 5k tax refund?

[Gumbo4x4]

Cherish it... I got a whole $6 refund!

One year, I got $1.



Oddly enough, the following year, I owed them exactly $1

 

[MinnieLovesMickey12]

We got back over $7,000 and we took out $2,000 for this upcoming trip in 2 weeks and the other 5k went into savings. You can never have too much in savings.

We always keep a good base in our savings so when things happen like our whole a/c unit going out last summer we were able to just have them put in a new one and paid $4,000 right on the spot and had a new unit the next day.

If all we had in the bank had been $4,000 then that a/c unit would have wiped our savings out. I don't ever want to try to exist knowing we don't have a pad in our savings.

We don't have car payments DH pays our cars off within 2 years because he doesn't like having car payments. He pays double payments on the mortgage so that our house will be paid off in 4 years when he will only be 40 years old.

And although my DH does have a Southwest airlines credit card he uses the crap out of it and charges everything on it then pays it off at the end of the month so we can accumulate SW miles/points to pay for our airline tickets.

I think the best choice would be to further pad your savings.

 

[lisaross]

it depends how much u have in savings...if u have about 6 months then i'd look at paying off the credit card or maybe 1/2 to the credit card and the other half...a vacation - or some type of fun camp for you son..

 

[Shelly F - Ohio]

Put it in the bank then in 8-10 months if you don't need it and it will be closer to the next tax season I would pay the 5K on my mortgage. That is what we do. Only 40 more payments and the house will be paid off 16 years early. So the 5K put down on the house now will turn into several thousand because we will be paying off the mortgage early and saving all that interest that would have ended up in someone elses pocket.

 

[writersblock42]

I think that $6K is an awful lot for camp. What kind of camp was it? I think you should do something special half the money and then save the rest of the money for a rainy day or if the cc is 0% interest, let it sit in the bank and collect a little bit and then have it ready for when the CC does start collecting interest.

 

[pyrxtc]

1. Buy silver dollars if the rate is low enough (you get the silver weight value, as well as the monetary value). We've made over $20,000 by doing this over the last 5 years.

Are they really worth that much ? I have a stash from the 50's of silver dollars just sitting around.

 

[sookie]

I would pay down any debt.

 

[aprilgail2]

I think that $6K is an awful lot for camp. What kind of camp was it? I think you should do something special half the money and then save the rest of the money for a rainy day or if the cc is 0% interest, let it sit in the bank and collect a little bit and then have it ready for when the CC does start collecting interest.

Thats not unusual for a camp to be 6K- my friend sends her daughter to a camp that is only from 10-3 and it is 6K for 8 weeks (including bus costs). The one my daughter goes to is much cheaper, I am paying 2,000 for 4 weeks and it is 9-4.
If I had no debt to pay off I would send my child to the summer camp they wanted to go to for sure.

 

[Christen99]

Are they really worth that much ? I have a stash from the 50's of silver dollars just sitting around.

I would look up the value via date (and image). They are worth the monetary value at the very least, but you also have the silver weight. Because these particular coins are most likely out of circulation, you may have a different value. A coin shop would be your best bet.

 

[lisaross]

my boys also go to a day camp that costs about 3000 each for 6 weeks. It is from 8:30a - 4:00pm. They have been going since preschool and they LOVE IT. They look forward to it all year. Yes their are other camps cheaper but again they LOVE it!! it does run more when they go on trip[s and need spending money but i save for it all year and if i could not afford it i would cut down to 4 weeks..That is pretty much what i work p/t for LOL

Thats not unusual for a camp to be 6K- my friend sends her daughter to a camp that is only from 10-3 and it is 6K for 8 weeks (including bus costs). The one my daughter goes to is much cheaper, I am paying 2,000 for 4 weeks and it is 9-4.
If I had no debt to pay off I would send my child to the summer camp they wanted to go to for sure.

 

[SueInBoston]

I think that $6K is an awful lot for camp. What kind of camp was it?

It's a 4 week sleep away camp, he has been going for the last couple years when he outgrew the local day camp ($4k for 4 weeks). Sadly besides religious camps, camps in my area are very expensive and along the same price range. The only reason I'm even considering sending him again is that this will be his last year, he will be aged out next year.

I'm gearing splitting the $5k between car loan and cc debt. We won't be able to payoff cc loan by 2014 but will find another 0% transfer.


Thank you all for your input..

 

[AnnaS]

With your low interest rates, before paying those down, I would first make sure I had at least 6 months living expenses saved. If not - then this would be my first priority.

The interest rate on the cards might be low - but how much do I owe on them? If I owed anything more than $500 - I would consider paying the cc - charges seem to accumulate in no time.

I don't know how disciplined you are with your bills/savings, etc. Hard to say.

 

[ilovemk76]

It's a 4 week sleep away camp, he has been going for the last couple years when he outgrew the local day camp ($4k for 4 weeks). Sadly besides religious camps, camps in my area are very expensive and along the same price range. The only reason I'm even considering sending him again is that this will be his last year, he will be aged out next year.

I'm gearing splitting the $5k between car loan and cc debt. We won't be able to payoff cc loan by 2014 but will find another 0% transfer.


Thank you all for your input..

This is a dangerous financial game to be playing.

 

[MrsPete]

WWYD?

1- pay down car loan at 1.99% (new car...another 4 years to go)

2- pay down CC loan at 0% (0% till 2014)

3- keep in bank for emergency...(already has a decent base)

4- send son to expensive camp (6k) that he really wants to go (been in past when our finances were good)

5- take a vacation (just kidding

TIA

Paying down the debt, saving for the future, and providing enrichment activities for your child are all good choices. If one of the debts is niggling at you, I'd get rid of it. If they're all kind of equal in your mind, I'd say split the money between them: Pay down your car, pay down your credit card, and find a less expensive summer camp for your son.

And then change your withholding forms so that next year you have the use of your money all year long instead of helping out the government!

 

[MrsPete]

Cherish it... I got a whole $6 refund!

You're the smart one! The closer you can come to zero, the better off you are. A tax refund can feel like "free money", but it's really your own money that the government's been holding for you.

 

[MrsPete]

I'm gearing splitting the $5k between car loan and cc debt. We won't be able to payoff cc loan by 2014 but will find another 0% transfer.


Thank you all for your input..

Uh, maybe you will find such a deal, maybe you won't. This is something that'll catch up to you -- maybe this year, maybe 2-3 years from now, but eventually and for certain.

I change my vote: Pay off the credit card.

 

[SueInBoston]

This is a dangerous financial game to be playing.

I'm sorry for not phrasing that correctly....We do have the funds to pay it off if we have to..(emergency fund or heloc) I just thought at 0% that we're not in any hurry...

Bills are paid in full each month...we are slowiy climbing out of debt...husband has been out of work for the last 2 years...so we are living on my income alone...a big chunk of savings have been depleted so i'm trying to not touch it anymore.

We just did a refinance to lower our monthly payment, we could've gotten addtional cash to pay off cc & car...but thought why pay interest on $20k for another 30 years? Also since we can't go completely debt free, i think it's better for my head that I have these debts to control spending too....if that makes any sense...lol

 

[crisi]

I'm sorry for not phrasing that correctly....We do have the funds to pay it off if we have to..(emergency fund or heloc) I just thought at 0% that we're not in any hurry...

Bills are paid in full each month...we are slowiy climbing out of debt...husband has been out of work for the last 2 years...so we are living on my income alone...a big chunk of savings have been depleted so i'm trying to not touch it anymore.

We just did a refinance to lower our monthly payment, we could've gotten addtional cash to pay off cc & car...but thought why pay interest on $20k for another 30 years? Also since we can't go completely debt free, i think it's better for my head that I have these debts to control spending too....if that makes any sense...lol

Sorry, neither of those are funds to pay it off. A HELOC is trading equity in your home - usually a bad idea. An emergency fund is for emergencies - unless your credit card bill is from fixing the furnace, it wasn't emergencies that built it.

You aren't on the edge - but what you have is credit to pay down credit. Or using your emergency fund, which then wouldn't be there if you had a health issue or some other real emergency.

 

[ceecee]

(I'd be tempted to pay the credit card bill - 0% often bites you in the butt - then pay it off as fast as you can and move to "no credit card debt" - its the first step in being debt free - and that changes your life in ways you wouldn't believe.)

Yeah, watch that 0%! I would save six month emergency fund. If you have that pay off the debt with the highest interest first. $6000 is too much for camp if you have debt.

 

[Marionnette]

I'm sorry for not phrasing that correctly....We do have the funds to pay it off if we have to..(emergency fund or heloc) I just thought at 0% that we're not in any hurry...

Bills are paid in full each month...we are slowiy climbing out of debt...husband has been out of work for the last 2 years...so we are living on my income alone...a big chunk of savings have been depleted so i'm trying to not touch it anymore.

We just did a refinance to lower our monthly payment, we could've gotten addtional cash to pay off cc & car...but thought why pay interest on $20k for another 30 years? Also since we can't go completely debt free, i think it's better for my head that I have these debts to control spending too....if that makes any sense...lol

You're building a house of cards. Forget churning the 0% interest offers and get the cc debt paid down. Do it ahead of paying off the car. You are not paying your bills "in full" each month if you're carrying a CC balance.

Never, EVER!, use the equity in your home to pay off unsecured debts like CC balances. HELOCs should be used to improve or maintain your home. Don't treat your house like a piggy bank that you can raid on a rainy day.