Comments on: College Money Tip #11: Save Your Tax Refund

By: Pimp Your Finances

Pimp Your Finances — Mon, 23 Mar 2009 14:11:02 +0000

Carnival of Twenty Something Finances – Mustache Edition!…

In some ways, improving your finances is a lot like growing a mustache.
It starts with a plan, and isn’t something that happens overnight. You have to work hard at it, make sacrifices, and always keep your goals in mind.
It takes patience, and re…

By: michelle

michelle — Wed, 04 Mar 2009 00:02:50 +0000

I paid off my student loan with my tax refund. So glad to get that loan off the books!

By: Stephanie

Stephanie — Mon, 02 Mar 2009 16:23:08 +0000

@Jesse: Yes, exactly! I have a tendency to hang out on Yahoo Answers, and the Business and Finance section is just full of people who say that they are relying on their refund to pay rent or something. That scares me more than anything! You should never, ever depend on a windfall. You may owe taxes instead of getting a refund, your bonus may not come this year, and you may never get that inheritance you’re waiting for. You just can’t depend on things like that.

By: Jesse @ PF Firewall

Jesse @ PF Firewall — Mon, 02 Mar 2009 16:19:32 +0000

Great post, I always worry about people I talk to that are depending on their tax refund just to survive the next few months. That is NOT a good strategy! I mean at least blowing a portion of the refund on some big ticket item is better than depending on the refund to feed the family.

By: Rich @ richlikeyou.com

Rich @ richlikeyou.com — Sun, 01 Mar 2009 16:12:00 +0000

Great advice, although I am in the same boat as you and dont get a refund because my wife is self employeed. I work hard just to minimize my tax burden.

By: Scott @ The Passive Dad

Scott @ The Passive Dad — Sat, 28 Feb 2009 22:28:54 +0000

I’ve started a 529 plan for our kids in addition to adding some reserves to our emergency fund. This could be a great opportunity to invest in their education while stocks are cheap.

By: Weekly Round Up: ZooShirts

Weekly Round Up: ZooShirts — Sat, 28 Feb 2009 17:27:48 +0000

[...] College Money Tip #11: Save Your Tax Refund [...]

By: Maveth

Maveth — Sat, 28 Feb 2009 03:44:35 +0000

I know! Self Employment sounds like heaven until the IRS comes a knockin’. Luckily, this year it wasn’t too bad. I miss refund checks…

By: Eric

Eric — Sat, 28 Feb 2009 00:11:57 +0000

I have big plans for my return. 100% of it is going to reduce my still growing graduate student loans. I am putting my work bonus there too. After they are both credited my non-subsidized portion will be paid off to date.

By: Nate @ Debt-free College

Nate @ Debt-free College — Fri, 27 Feb 2009 20:59:28 +0000

I agree with you about the credit cards. Paying off your credit card debt is saving lots of money in interest.

I even wrote a post about the pros and cons of getting a credit card at http://debtfreecollege.blogspot.com/2009/02/weighing-pros-and-cons-of-credit-cards.html.

Thanks,
Nate