I normally do the same thing, Mak. I claim single, none throughout the year, with an extra $20 - $40 taken out each week. I would rather get money back than have to pay in, but I may end up paying in this year due to being unemployed.
I'm screwed... :fyi:
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DoubleHelix
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There's a huge difference between not paying in enough and getting a $10,000 refund. I prefer to invest my money through the year to take advantage of dollar cost averaging. Or it can be put toward debt throughout the year to save on interest.
Look at it as an interest-free savings account that you cannot touch at all. That's how we have always used it. Sure, if you are a saver by nature you wouldn't need that, but living hand to mouth can change that really quick. We use it for paying off bills or major purchases.
You misread my posts. I am not getting $10K back from just taxes. That $10K also includes the bonus from my wife's work. I am getting less than half of that back from taxes.
Sure we could have used the extra money throughout the year. But at the same time, we still would have had interest grow on the accounts and in the end this method will allow us to pay off the cards so no more interest occurs. The only card we will have left has nothing but interest free purchases for 24 months. So they dont gain any interest on the account which is why we have chosen to leave that account and pay that one off ourselves.
The rundown is simple. We will gain $400 a month from those bills that we will pay off. We will turn around and use that extra cash to pay off the last outstanding credit card. The one that isnt getting accumulated interest. So yeah while the cards have gained interest all year, we would not have been able to pay them off in full if we had chosen to get more taken out.
DoubleHelix
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I did misread the amount. But there's no way a refund makes more financial sense than getting the money throughout the year. Trotter hit it on the head. If you can't save money on your own, you have to get the IRS to help you. I've never gotten an income tax refund. I save money for big purchases head of time.
We do save money. You are now going into some aspects that i will not debate with you. you dont know my situation to make comments like that.
If you read you will see that i have stated several times that I have NOT worked for almost 3 full years. We ONLY had the wifes income. This is when we got into trouble as some expenses came up that we could not have forseen and plan for. It was then that the credit cards were used and almost maxed out.
So i will thank you for not making judgements on me or my family when you have no clue what we do or have gone through. You have no idea what the charges were, you have no idea what our budget planning is, and you have no idea about anything when it comes to our finances. You have no right what so ever to make any judgements on if we are depending on the IRS to help us. We would have paid off the money ourself. It would have just taken more time.
If you read you will see that i have stated several times that I have NOT worked for almost 3 full years. We ONLY had the wifes income. This is when we got into trouble as some expenses came up that we could not have forseen and plan for. It was then that the credit cards were used and almost maxed out.
So i will thank you for not making judgements on me or my family when you have no clue what we do or have gone through. You have no idea what the charges were, you have no idea what our budget planning is, and you have no idea about anything when it comes to our finances. You have no right what so ever to make any judgements on if we are depending on the IRS to help us. We would have paid off the money ourself. It would have just taken more time.
I never said we didn't save on our own. We avoid debt if at all possible, but me being out of work for a year has completely tapped all of our savings.
Every family has things come up that were not planned for. Yes, a good budget plans for that, but even that can be blown out of the water under the right (or should I say wrong) circumstances. In my 41 years I have hit several of these kinds of circumstances. I have always rolled with the punches and kept it all above water regardless.
I normally use my income taxes as a special fund. I pay in extra to make sure I don't owe come tax time. I could set it and break even, but this works out great for me by letting me plan for extra stuff around this time of year. I have always had the kinds of jobs that I had to do to support my family, and while I have made good money through most of them, I have never been rich or had a cushy job in the mix.
I guess the whole "pay in extra and get it back" doesn't make sense to some, but in the blue-collar world it makes a lot of sense. I have seen my folks have to pay in big bucks on several occasions and I mean to never be in that boat. The fact that I will get all the extra back is just a nice dividend.
DoubleHelix
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That's a good analysis of it, Trotter. The last couple of years have been fiscally miserable for a lot of people and out of whack over what has been "normal" for a long time.
Good. Now let's lay this to rest. Too many tempers have been fanned by it all. Obviously we don't all see this area the same way, but that doesn't make any particular view "wrong" just because they don't agree.
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