What to do with my tax return?

[golf4miami]

So I'm getting about $1100 back from my tax return and I have three main things I want to split between. 1) My next trip to Disney. Of which I have a budget of $2550 am saving $300 a month towards and have $600 for already. 2) Pay down my student debt of which I have $10k left and pay off at a rate of $500 a month. OR 3) Put some extra towards my car savings. Of which I only have $100 in. Up until recently I had around $1k in my car fund until I had an unexpected medical bill.

Thoughts anyone? I plan on breaking it down into percentages, I'm just not sure what they should be yet.

 

[sweetpeakaris]

Just split it up even between everything.

 

[DisneyBill]

Not a direct answer as to how to split the refund, but what shape is your emergency fund in? If the EF is flush with cash, then put the extra cash where you feel best about it being used, if not I'd suggest plugging it into the EF.

 

[Suziqzer]

I would also suggest an emergency fund if you don't currently have one. It is such a smart thing to do, and so comforting to have the cash if you come upon an unexpected bill (like the medical one) and can pay for it.

 

[golf4miami]

Not a direct answer as to how to split the refund, but what shape is your emergency fund in? If the EF is flush with cash, then put the extra cash where you feel best about it being used, if not I'd suggest plugging it into the EF.

I wouldn't say it is flush with cash, but it is entirely in tact as I decided to rob my car fund instead of my emergency fund to pay for the hospital bill.

It would probably be a good idea to put a bit more in there just in case, but my biggest priority right now is making sure I can afford this trip and paying off my debt, I think.

 

[mrssmith06]

So I'm getting about $1100 back from my tax return and I have three main things I want to split between. 1) My next trip to Disney. Of which I have a budget of $2550 am saving $300 a month towards and have $600 for already. 2) Pay down my student debt of which I have $10k left and pay off at a rate of $500 a month. OR 3) Put some extra towards my car savings. Of which I only have $100 in. Up until recently I had around $1k in my car fund until I had an unexpected medical bill.

Thoughts anyone? I plan on breaking it down into percentages, I'm just not sure what they should be yet.

If it were me... I would split it up:
-put $300 in your Disney fund.
-put $300 back into your car savings.
-make an extra $500 payment on your student loan.

 

[danceintherain]

If it were me... I would split it up:
-put $300 in your Disney fund.
-put $300 back into your car savings.
-make an extra $500 payment on your student loan.

That's probably what I would do as well.

 

[golf4miami]

If it were me... I would split it up:
-put $300 in your Disney fund.
-put $300 back into your car savings.
-make an extra $500 payment on your student loan.

This sounds about right. I really want to get ride of my student debt ASAP and that's a whole months worth of payments. Plus, the sooner I get my Disney budget covered I can start allocating all of my savings energy to my car fund.

Thanks everyone!

 

[wvjules]

What to do with my tax return?

I would file the return by April 15 for starters. Then when received, I would put the refund in savings to build back up what you lost with the medical bill.

 

[4HppyCamprs]

If it were me... I would split it up:
-put $300 in your Disney fund.
-put $300 back into your car savings.
-make an extra $500 payment on your student loan.

That is a good plan. You said that the car fund was not as high a priority as the Disney Trip and the student loan so that allocation makes the most sense.

If you had truly used your emergency fund for your medical bill then funding that might take priority but since it was a car fund you used I don't think it is that urgent to replace those funds. IMHO.

Sent from my iPhone using DISBoards

 

[searlproudbottom]

I would use every bit to pay down your loan.
Remember the interest is like a clock it only moves forward
There is nothing you get in return for paying interest.
When your loan is paid you can recite the Honorable Martin Luther King.

Free at Last, Free at last, Thank God Almighty, I'm free at last

 

[2disneyboys]

My rule for "found money" is

1. I will allow 10% of it to be used for something fun, because who wants to go through life not doing fun stuff... in this case, I would consider my disney trip the "fun"
2. pay off any debt or other obligations
3. if anything left, it goes towards my Emerg Fund. If EF is fully funded, then item 3 can be applied to item 1.

This is the formula that DH & I have found works for us. YMMV.

 

[golf4miami]

I would use every bit to pay down your loan.
Remember the interest is like a clock it only moves forward
There is nothing you get in return for paying interest.
When your loan is paid you can recite the Honorable Martin Luther King.

Free at Last, Free at last, Thank God Almighty, I'm free at last

I'm already well over a year ahead on my loans and will have them paid off in less than two years. I understand the principle of paying off them ASAP to help in not paying interest, I just have other priorities I need to take care of as well.

 

[Golf4food]

What is the interest rate on the student loan? For instance, mine is less than 1.5%, so I have little incentive to pay it off early as I can get a better return on investments.

 

[golf4miami]

Somewhere around 4%

 

[writersblock42]

I get the idea of the low interest rates not being an incentive to pay back the loan. However, if you have a large monthly payment on the loans, getting rid of the monthly payment is huge incentive. What is the car situation and why do you need a car savings? If you currently have reliable transportation, I would forget the car savings right now and focus on paying off the student loans. Once you get rid of the student loan payment plan, that will free $500 a month to put toward the car savings. If you continue paying $500 and put any "found money" toward the loans, you might be able to pay off the student loans in about 18 months. Can you wait that long for the car savings?

 

[golf4miami]

I'm not sure if I will be able to wait that long on a car. I currently own the car but I'm not sure how much longer it's going to last me. I don't plan on buying a new car with the money I save, however I will need to have at least something saved up when that time comes. I figure I have about a year or so left with it. It already has over 250k miles.