Six Worthwhile Ways to Spend Your Tax Refund
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What are you doing with your tax refund this year?
A few years ago I wanted to splurge with my tax refund. I was doing a pretty good job saving money and had cleared away all debt except my mortgage, so I decided to do something fun with my refund.
I narrowed it down to two choices: laser hair removal or a digital SLR camera. Weird choices, I know, but they were apparently my heart’s desires at the time.
The thing is, I hate shaving. I swear I’ve tried every product and nothing helps. And I’m also a great candidate for laser hair removal: fair skin, dark hair. Don’t get me wrong, I love the effects of shaving. There’s nothing quite like the feeling of being freshly shaven–like I’m a princess whose fairy godmother has come! But it’s the process that is painful.
On the other hand, I’ve always wanted to get into photography. A digital SLR would be great to start taking classes and practicing.
In the end, I chose the camera. Why?
Because it would benefit my future family more.
I was single and childless but had hopes of that changing someday. And even if it didn’t, I was doing fun things I wanted to document. Plus there’s all my adorable nieces and nephews and brothers and sisters to fill up albums with! But if someday I had a family, a nice camera that I knew how to use would be a greater treasure than laser hair removal.
You already know to pay off debt and save for an emergency. And if you have credit card debt or no emergency stash, you know what you should do.
But if you’ve made good headway on debts and have at least a little something stashed away, consider some other investments. Here are other things you can do with your tax refund with lasting benefit.
Learn Something
Either for fun, or to further your career. I took a pottery class a few years ago with one of my best friends and had a blast! I cannot throw a pot to save myself, but we had a great time.
Besides art, learn a language. Prepare for that international trip you’re dreaming of and start practicing your Spanish or Mandarin.
Hire a personal trainer and learn how to work out right to actually see results. Or try a different workout system than you have before.
Subscribe to a service like The Great Courses and start listening and learning. Turn your morning commute into a classroom.
And while you’re learning something new, learn something you’ve always wanted to try and get to work on your bucket list.
Check Off Your Bucket List
Get a guitar, take lessons and start that band you’ve always wanted. Brainstorm cool names for it and start writing music.
Go skydiving, learn to scuba dive, or take surfing lessons. Right after high school graduation my friends and I went to southern California. Among other things, we had surfing lessons, which may have been the most fun thing I’ve ever done. Totally worth the money!
Start/Build a Side Hustle
The great thing about my camera is that it, first, has the potential to save my family money as I take beautiful pictures of my family without paying someone to do it. But second, I can also build a photography business with it as a side hustle.
Buy a piano and start teaching. Lay a new floor in your spare room and teach dance. Buy a computer and start a blog. Stockpile yarn and crochet hooks for your Etsy shop. Register to become a notary.
Build Relationships
Does your mom love the theater and Hamilton is coming to town? Buy her and yourself tickets and go!
Or maybe your kids have gotten old enough to appreciate Monopoly and Ticket to Ride, pick up some new games to play with them!
Or maybe you and your partner have been wanting to try a new, but kind of pricey, restaurant. Book the date and go!
If there’s one thing we all know, it’s that life is short and you don’t want to waste the time you have. Invest in those you love and create new memories and experiences.
Buy some nice camping gear, like this awesome tent, or a warm sleeping bag, or whatever and take your kids into the mountains for some enjoyment and communion with God and nature.
Be Prepared
The other great thing about camping gear is that it’s both fun and practical. Utah is an earthquake zone, and I’m a bit of an emergency preparedness nut.
The thing is, though, that I’m such a nut. Every city has some kind of common natural disaster. Hurricanes, earthquakes, tornados, monsoons, tsunamis…you probably should be prepared too. Having a 72 Hour Kit around is always a good idea. Or make one yourself.
Store water. Or at least get a filtration system. Keep at least a few gallons per person in your household on hand. Maybe it’s a natural disaster, or maybe the city water supply is somehow tainted: either way you’re prepared.
Or even more common than a natural disaster is a roadside emergency. Get a roadside kit so the next time you accidentally kill your battery or blow a tire, you’ve got the thing you need to take care of it!
Donate to a Cause
There’s a homeless shelter across the street from my office, and I feel, every time I go to work, that I should do more to help. I try to give to organizations, but I wanted something to hand people when they ask me for money. Now I carry things like
There are so many good organizations who often need additional resources to carry out their missions. Choose something close to your heart (and something well-researched to know the money actually does good!) and make a donation.
Life isn’t about money. Lay up treasure that’s worthwhile by spending your tax refund on you, the people you love, and making a difference.
