Let’s Go Crazy!
I am assuming that you will be receiving a tax refund this year (if you are not keep reading maybe you can get some ideas for next year). I have been reading a bunch of posts from various financial bloggers about what are the worst things to do with your tax refunds, and I must admit I have been berating folks about mis-spending money lately as well ,so let me first preface this post the only serious misgivings I would have with your Tax Refund would be:
- You shouldn’t really have one, next year try to owe nothing, that way you already had the money to enjoy
- You take your refund money and do something illegal with it, or worse you do something that puts you farther into debt
- You get a quick refund from some place like Money Bamboozlers (or whatever)
With point (2) I mean using your refund as a down payment on a car or have it pay for only a small part of a ludicrously expensive vacation! As for point (3), you know my opinion of the Pay Day Loan world and I lump the “quick rebate” firms in there too.
Don’t Go Crazy!
Now that you have this tidy pile of cash, what can you do with it?
- You could use it on some of the projects on your Honkin Big Summer To Do List, or better still hire someone to do some of the things you want done.
- Repair the brakes on your car (no you shouldn’t be waiting for a rebate cheque if you are driving the car).
- Invest it in an RRSP or your TFSA? That is a good idea, and if you put it in your RRSP, you are setting up for another rebate next year (or you could lower your taxes at the source as well, if you fill in the right forms, and get a receipt right away).
- Pay down debt, is (in my opinion) the best choice, since that is an excellent way to get rid of debt (use found money to pay down debt). If you have debt, think about using this wind fall to get you out of the debt trap.
What are you planning to do with your tax rebate, or were you smart enough to not owe anything, or be owed anything?