Tax Time: Do You Live for Your Refund?

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It took me up until last year to stop being one of those people that "live" for tax refund time.  Yes, I used to be one of those people that rushed to do my tax return so I could get my refund during the first run of deposits.  I used to always have to catch up on bills and buy or repair a car.  Some of the funds went to shopping but not much, cause I'm always balling on a budget.

I remembered something my dad had told me years ago, "I don't need the government to hold my money for me."  What he meant was that he liked getting his money throughout the year and breaking even or only owing a small amount when it was time to file his tax return.  It took me 20 years to do it but I went in and changed my W-4 so I would get more of my check each pay day.  There's a calculator on Irs.gov that I used to keep up with what I paid in federal tax and what I will have to pay by April 15, if I didn't make changes by December 31.

image from money.usnews.com

This year I will have a small balance to pay but next year I plan to break even, they won't owe me and I won't owe them.  Which is great to me.  I've gotten to the point where I can save money on my own and I hope to continue to do so.  My savings account actually has more than $50 in it for a change and it feels good.

I don't think I'll miss getting refunds because I was never one of those people that got those extra large refunds of $4,000 or more.  I wasn't hounding the mail man or the teller at my bank about when my money was coming. No going on Facebook crying about how much I need my money to keep my lights from getting cut off or my car from getting repossessed.

Freedom from yelling, "I want my money and I need it now," feels so good.