What should you do with your tax return?
Let’s talk about your tax refund. We don’t usually like to tell you how to spend your money. Our members tend to be very good at that on their own. They often find creative ways to turn their hours at the office into new ways to enjoy their lives. We often tell you how not to spend your money by letting you know about our fantastic savings options. Or we’ll often tell you how to use your good credit rating for a loan that can save you money. We can offer a few tips if you want to know what you should do with your tax return.
At tax time, we thought we’d take a different direction. If you’ve got a windfall from the IRS and don’t want to watch it disappear, $50 or $100 here or there. We’ve got some tips that can turn your refund into lifelong memories, earn you money in the long run, or both, all while spending time doing what you want.
We’re working with a hypothetical assumption that you have around $1,000 coming because it can be an awkward amount of money. It’s not enough to pay off a large chunk of debt or fund the purchase of a life-changing item like a house or new car, but it’s too much to ignore. $1,000 is a lot of money to spend but not a lot to have.
Tackle one home improvement project
We’ve all got a list of things we’d like to do around the house. Maybe you’d like a deck for grilling once the winter lets up. Or, if you’d like a more welcoming front entryway to your home, maybe you would like to bring the kitchen into the twenty-first century. Talk to your spouse, kids, or whoever might enjoy what you plan to build. See what they have to say and their interest levels in helping you out. Once you devise a plan, watch some YouTube videos to ensure it’s something you can handle, and then mark your calendar. Set times to work, and make it a family project. By the time you’ve finished, you’ll have improved the value of your home and spent time building something tangible with your family, and you won’t have to suffer through a summer without your deck.
What about building a wood-fired outdoor pizza oven if you can’t think of a fun project your kids might enjoy? They’re simple enough to assemble, the kids will enjoy it, and most home kitchens are ill-suited to making delicious wood-fired pizza.
Once that project is complete, you can always go back for more. If everyone had a great time, consider what’s next on your list and tackle that. Once your ambition to improve your home outpaces your refund, see us about a home equity loan or line of credit, and we’ll help you turn your house into the home of your dreams.
Take a parents’ weekend.
Getting an evening away from the kids can be difficult, and a weekend might seem impossible, but it doesn’t have to be that way. You’re holding a refund check from the IRS, and it might be enough to ship the kids off to grandma and grandpa’s house or pay for a couple of nights at a hotel in a nearby city. If you haven’t tried it yet, Airbnb has made it easier than ever to find a great rate on a place to stay, even at the last minute.
Guys, you get bonus points if you take her somewhere for Valentine’s Day; dinner and a show might be lame at home, but it can be romantic in another city. When was the last time she got to wear her favorite dress or jewelry?
A parents’ weekend is a great way to invest in your future, even if it doesn’t seem like it. Study after study says Americans don’t take a vacation like the rest of the world. And those who do tend to be more productive. Watch how much more smoothly everything goes at work when you get back.
If you’re looking for an inexpensive getaway, try New Orleans. It’s got haunted tours, antiquing, and brass bands during the day while still offering you world-class restaurants. Commander’s Palace is a must for upscale restaurants. Mother’s Po Boys for downscale, and try the chargrilled oysters at Acme for a taste you can’t get at home that is priced right in the middle. And don’t forget Bourbon Street at night. Mardi Gras is just around the corner, but you can save a bundle by heading down afterward. Maybe while the kids are on spring break?
Encourage a gifted child.
Many families would rather splurge on the kids than on themselves. Why not use your tax refund to invest in your child’s future if that’s the case? Purchase an instrument, trainer, or tutor for a child interested in a particular activity.
College admissions have gotten incredibly competitive since you went through it. The leadership and talent demonstrated through extracurriculars could mean the difference between getting into that prestigious East Coast school or having to stay home at a state university. Beyond admissions, talents your child can demonstrate will also help them get scholarships, making the investment you put in today a sound one financially.
If your child hasn’t displayed any gifts or specific interests, this might be a chance to spark something. You could try paying for a school trip, which seems to happen every other month, or even take a family trip to Europe. If you still can’t figure out what they’d like, you could always put the money into their college fund. We offer several tax-exempt savings programs, which would let this year’s refund come off next year’s taxes. At the same time, it earns interest toward their inevitably enormous tuition bill, which many experts think will be around $250,000 by 2030.
