Tax Refund

[luvdiznee]

So we got our return from our 09 taxes. But don't really have no use for it. :DYou know what I mean. Bills are current, etc. So what should we do with it to make it grow. I wouldn't mind putting it towards another vacation, but my Suze Orman in me is saying NO. Ideas? 4got 2 mention, our savings account interest is at 1.10% (?) so doesn't seem worth it?

[vicster]

What's an income tax refund? Haven't had one in years since the kids are grown and gone - darn them. But if I did have one I'd use it for a vacation. Much more fun than getting basically no interest on a savings account and even our CDs are not paying well. Or you might use it to buy Disney stock...

[Scar]

Do you have a mortgage (or some other loan?) Apply it to the principle. I would also recommend (to everyone who gets a refund) to adjust the withholding from your paycheck so that you don't get a refund next year. Why do you want the government to have your money all year, when you can have it?

[badkitty]

Do you have a mortgage (or some other loan?) Apply it to the principle. I would also recommend (to everyone who gets a refund) to adjust the withholding from your paycheck so that you don't get a refund next year. Why do you want the government to have your money all year, when you can have it?

Exactly!

[vicster]

Exactly!

Actually, that's what the IRS wants people to do - only withhold what needs to be withheld as they do not want to give out refunds.

[luvdiznee]

What's an income tax refund? Haven't had one in years since the kids are grown and gone - darn them. But if I did have one I'd use it for a vacation. Much more fun than getting basically no interest on a savings account and even our CDs are not paying well. Or you might use it to buy Disney stock...

This was my first thought, too. But...just not sure. It's terrible though that you can't earn $$$ off of your $$$. :mad:


I would also recommend (to everyone who gets a refund) to adjust the withholding from your paycheck so that you don't get a refund next year. Why do you want the government to have your money all year, when you can have it?

Yes, I hear this a lot about giving the Gov't interest free loans.:D

[dnickels]

Put it in a Roth IRA. No matter what anyone tells you, taxes on all of us will have to go up in the future or maybe even very soon to pay down our country's debt. Appreciation in the Roth is tax free, take advantage of it.

[Scar]

One more thing, you can also apply it to 2010 taxes and adjust you W/H down even more. If you do this, don't forget to deduct it on next years return and adjust your W/H back up next January.

Of course, your still letting the government keep your money this way.

[Dznygrl79]

I like the idea of applying to your mortgage. But if that is done or not what your looking to do you do have options. First let me tell you I am no financial advisor or even educated in economics all I know I have learned from experiance.

1 Can you add it to your 401k if you have one or as others have said a roth ira.

2 How quickly are you looking for a profit you can go for a fixed rate cd not a great money earner but usually secure.

3 If you wanna play the market (ha!) and you have a larger refund you might wanna go with something like sharebuilder and start a portfolio, however keep in mind that this is not a gurantee and can be a bit like gambleing your money.

4. Invest in yourself and take a class to expand your career.

5. Make a charitable donation

Your options are there it all depends on your situation and wants. Hope you enjoy the money back! In my book Disney is always worth it memories are priceless!

[Jeff G]

Without knowing your whole financial picture this is a tricky question.

My first suggestion, go to WDW:).

On a serious note, if you have any revolving debt's or auto loans possibly apply it to one of these. I wouldn't necessarily apply it to a mortgage though, most people have rates in the upper 4's to low 5's plus the tax benefits I think the money would be better invested.

Another option is to invest, if you may need this money in the near future maybe a buy a CD. If you don't need this anytime soon, the suggestion above that I liked best was the Roth IRA.

As for reducing your taxes. We have always received refunds but a while back we decided to lower our withholdings because everyone said don't let the IRS sit on the money. We'll for two years we got back minimal refunds then because of a change of circumstances we owed a lot of money to the IRS which hurt. Since that time we've gone back withholding a bunch and getting bigger refunds. We treat it as a savings. Granted we don't earn interest but when we had the extra few hundred dollars a month we didn't save any of it. I look at it as if I put a few hundred dollars into a savings account each month I may earn up to $10 the last few months of the year but most likely i would have spent it.

[Scar]

We'll for two years we got back minimal refunds then because of a change of circumstances we owed a lot of money to the IRS which hurt. Good point, if you think you might have unexpected income (like selling stock for a gain or cashing in bonds,) then you will owe money.

My first suggestion, go to WDW:). Yea, not sure why I didn't recommend this in the first place. :doh:

[BrerGnat]

The absolute best way to see your money "grow" is to put it into a retirement account. As long as you have at least ten years until retirement, your money will work much better for you in a retirement account than in any other vessel at THIS TIME.

But, as others have suggested, if you have any debt that you can pay down, do so. The money you save on interest payments can be considered similar to what you *would* earn in an interest earning account of some sort.

[luvdiznee]

I will probably end up going with the CD and Roth. I hate that I was not told how to handle finances, this way, when I was growing up. Granted that I am doing ok now. I don't have outstanding CC's, car paid off and even a student loan paid off. But I do need to do more. But thanks for the suggestions. :cool: