What should I do with my income tax return?

NesHavok

NesHavok

CAGiversary!
I got 3,366 back and I dunno what to buy with it....

I know I want a 360, but besides that what else should I get?
 
40/60

take 40% & spend it on whatever floats your boat and save the remaining 60% and invest it... but, hey, that's just me.
 
Save or invest at least half of it, and you'll still have a lot of money left over.

....or you could blow it on a 360, 4 controllers, headset, all the good 360 games, AND a nice new computer.
 
[quote name='Tricky']Put it in the bank.[/quote]

Putting money in the bank isn't truly worth it since it'll just sit there and the return on most interest bearing accounts by banks are pathetically small. It's better off to take that money and put it in something that will bring back more money. You'll get a much better return investing (even conservatively in low short-term yields such a mutual fund or treasury bonds) than having it sit around in the bank doing nothing.
 
Go to LA and see E3 among other things.

save the rest. You never know when money can dry up.
 
Roll it up nice and tight, turn it sideways and stick it right up your....









bank's drive thru's delivery tube and cash that thing.
 
[quote name='jaykrue']40/60

take 40% & spend it on whatever floats your boat and save the remaining 60% and invest it... but, hey, that's just me.[/quote]

Good idea here. Or you could do 50/50: spend the first 50% on whatever, and invest the other 50% in a Roth IRA account:D.
 
[quote name='Dr Mario Kart']3 grand back, christ man.

Just hold it like you would your own child, and be thankful that you didnt OWE them anything.[/QUOTE]


I actually prefer to owe them a little bit. I want my money working for me, not the government. When you get a tax refund, all you did was give uncle sam an interest free loan at your expense. :D
 
if you already have an emergency fund, get the TV togo w/ the 360 if you don't have an emergency fund then I'd save it and make one, you never know when something will go wrong it's always nice to have a little cushon.
 
[quote name='Ma12kez']Good idea here. Or you could do 50/50: spend the first 50% on whatever, and invest the other 50% in a Roth IRA account:D.[/QUOTE]

Exactly what I was going to say. But I was going to stick with the 60/40 rule.
 
You guys are crazy. Sure I'll spend some of my $1500 refund, but not specifically for the refund; all that money is is money that you shouldn't have paid in the first place, it's not like a big gift from the government.

Luckily in my case, I didn't really overpay that much, just got tuition credits and whatnot that cut my taxable income quite a bit.

I've gotta get around to opening a money market account, so this will probably be the seed money. And then it will just help defray wedding costs in a year.
 
Just save it, invest it or pay off some debt. As soon as I got my check I used it to pay off my student loans. I'm now completely debt free other than my mortgage (28 years to go) and car (2 years to go)!!!!
 
[quote name='javeryh']Just save it, invest it or pay off some debt. As soon as I got my check I used it to pay off my student loans. I'm now completely debt free other than my mortgage (28 years to go) and car (2 years to go)!!!![/quote]

Exactly what my wife and I are doing. Paying off a credit card, investing in our daughter's college fund, and putting the rest in savings.

Although a DS Lite and Revolution wouldn't take a huge chunk out of it ;)
 
[quote name='kodec']Double it by putting it all on red![/QUOTE]


Yeah like that guy that bet his life savings a year or two ago and won!
 
[quote name='mr ryles']can you say anything that doesn't involve fires, burns, or smoke?[/QUOTE]

NO
 
[quote name='rodeojones903']I actually prefer to owe them a little bit. I want my money working for me, not the government. When you get a tax refund, all you did was give uncle sam an interest free loan at your expense. :D[/quote]
Well, not really if you think about it. You, as a taxpayer, are giving money to the government to fund whatever it needs to do to function. In a sense, it is a loan. If you still owe the government, it means that the government is coming up short (or you're cheating on your taxes but that's another story) on what it needs (hence a deficit). You're already making the government work via your taxes. Ideally, you should be getting back a nice flat zero. This means you gave the government what it needs to function & it returns the value of your money in the form of services provided by the government such as waste disposal, mail delivery, construction projects, etc. If you're getting a refund, it's the government telling you that you've given it more than enough than what it needs to function. You can think of it, essentially, as interest due to you, courtesy of the government. Botticus sums it up nicely:

[quote name='botticus']all that money is is money that you shouldn't have paid in the first place, it's not like a big gift from the government.[/quote]
 
[quote name='jaykrue']Ideally, you should be getting back a nice flat zero.[/quote]

That part I agree with.

[quote name='jaykrue']You can think of it, essentially, as interest due to you, courtesy of the government.[/quote]

I think its still an interest free loan. You give them more than you should owe over the course of the year - Really all there is to it. The government isn't functioning any smoother because of your $1000 - but you might be going broke because of it.
 
[quote name='Pookymeister1234']I think its still an interest free loan. You give them more than you should owe over the course of the year - Really all there is to it. The government isn't functioning any smoother because of your $1000 - but you might be going broke because of it.[/quote]

Notice not once did I mention in my previous post whether or not the government is functioning 'any smoother' if it gets your taxes... just that it's functioning. ;):lol: And yeah, it can be thought of as an interest free loan but I think of it as it's more of a payment for services rendered & the refund is just you paying extra. These are services which are essential to a government functioning (efficiency not considered) and (ideally) a thriving society. The services taxes are paying for (corruption & tax evaders notwithstanding) help ensure its' citizens survival as a modern civilization and not on any individual basis. So if you're destitute because of the $1k you owe the government, it's not important in the grand scheme of things to the society at large as long as the society is able to function. Of course, as an individual it sucks which is why ppl collectively need to learn to be savvy about their taxes so that (if enough ppl make a big stink about something they feel is unfair) the society will change how it taxes ppl. The thing is, most ppl don't want to deal w/ taxes which is why accountants get paid.
 
[quote name='darkmere']http://vancouver.craigslist.org/ele/151960505.html
buy an ipod with over 8000 songs already downloaded. you gotta see this ad to understand why it's funny.[/quote]

I dunno, i think if you buy a song from iTunes, you should be able to sell it. You can sell a CD, can't you? Of course, this is assuming he really did pay for them all and isn't keeping a copy for himself.
 
[quote name='Pookymeister1234']I dunno, i think if you buy a song from iTunes, you should be able to sell it. You can sell a CD, can't you? Of course, this is assuming he really did pay for them all and isn't keeping a copy for himself.[/QUOTE]
would you pay 2600 bucks for an ipod?
 
[quote name='darkmere']would you pay 2600 bucks for an ipod?[/quote]

Not with him just saying 8000 songs oh boy!
He'd have to list them out :lol:
 
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