So, I believe that I now have all of the snags worked out and I am up and running again. *Whew* I hope I don't have to go through that again!
Anyway, I hope that all of you have been doing well and surviving the winter weather. Or, if you are a reader that gets to live in a warm state, I hope that you have been having balmy temperatures, blue, cloudless skies, and plenty of sunshine! Only a few more months, and that will be our weather in Illinois....I.Can't.Wait! :)
If there is a "silver lining" to the winter weather in my area, it forces me to get my files in order and my taxes done. Yep. My taxes are done, filed, and my refund is in the bank. This year, our refund has to be used for monthly bills, as hubby is off of work for about 2 more months (due to a shoulder injury that resulted in surgery and now weeks of physical therapy), so we need the cash. I'm not looking a gift horse in the mouth, that's for sure. I am very thankful to have some necessary money, but this is usually not what I like to do with our refund.
Usually, I use our refund to build up our short-term savings account. I do this by putting the money in our ING direct account. Currently they are offering 1.10% interest, but it's better than what my bank is offering (a paltry .22%). Then, I put some of the refund in my children's ING direct accounts. This is for those expenses that come up during the year, like my son's calculator for school ($130.00) or my daughter's new tennis shoes ($60.00...she needs special ones for her feet). It just makes me feel better if I know that there is some extra cash for those "rainy day emergencies."
What do you do with your refund? One option that I would love to do, if I was able to, would be to do what I read over at bankrate.com. This is a terrific article on Certificate of Deposit investing strategies. My Dad and Mom are HUGE fans of CDs, as was my Grandma. I agree that they are a terrific fixed-income investment that is not subject to the ups and downs of the stock market.
My financial goal is to eventually be able to fully fund my Roth IRA, like this gal did over at Frugal Pursuit; that is my dream and I WILL accomplish this.....eventually. Then, I would like to try my hand at laddering CDs. This is going to happen......eventually.
But, isn't that what life is all about? Planning, doing, planning, doing, and more planning. I have the planning down pat....it is the doing that is tripping me up!
Have a great day everyone! As always, leave me a comment with your thoughts....I enjoy hearing from all of you!
**A.Marie**
We typically pay our property taxes with it.. and then with any leftover, we spend it on Spring break for a little getaway.
ReplyDeleteGood idea!! We escrow our property taxes, but that is how my cousin pays his taxes..with his refund. I like your idea of spending some for a little getaway. Maybe we should do that!
ReplyDeleteOh, I'm glad you are back posting, A.Marie! I have missed you!!!
ReplyDeleteI hope your husband is feeling better soon. That sounds like an awful injury. Ugh.
Taxes were interesting here this year with Colin going to college. There were lots of things that come up that you have to research before you finish the taxes. Then add in FAFSA. Ugh.
Are taxes were a nightmare this year. We had to wait, and wait, and wait for the IRS to release the form for adopting a special needs child. Then it had to be mailed! I haven't mailed in taxes for over 10 years. We might get that refund by Christmas. LOL. We will payoff my student loans.
ReplyDeleteok Our not ARE...........duh!
ReplyDeleteI started a new blog and then made it a .com within a week. I had a very hard time getting it to work. I didn't have this problem with my first .com. Thanks goodness I have a sister-in-law that is a computer person I don't think I could of ever been able to figure it out. I'm glad you were able to get your problems fixed.
ReplyDeleteI went to our accountant today. We are getting a refund. Ours will be going to pay bills. I would love to save it. My hubby was laid off for a year and a half. I'm happy to say he just started working 2 weeks ago. Have a wonderful day. Tammy
Welcome back. I'm hoping to pay off both of our cars with our refund. Hoping!!!
ReplyDeletem.