Using Tax Refund to Build Wealth

How to use your tax refund to build wealth…

If you just got a tax refund and you have been living lean in an effort to get ahead (or simply stay afloat) your first instinct may be to splurge… But, remember when I mentioned the lottery and all of those financial talks? When people first get a large sum of money the first thing they want to do is SPEND. A smart person knows that the first thing you do is stop and THINK. How to build wealth? How can you maximize this money? How can you grow this money? How can you make this money work FOR you? Whether it is $100 or $10,000 the first thing you need to do is make sure that you know where the money that you owe that isn’t yours is at.

If you are paying interest on it, then it is like leaving your front door open with the air conditioner running on high. Pay those cards off!! Your money will not do you any good in savings if you are paying interest on credit cards. It may feel better to have a “cushion” in the bank, but if it’s just going to be eaten up in interest payments then it’s a false cushion. Why not think of your credit card as your cushion? Credit cards are supposed to be for “in case of emergency”. You can never get ahead if you are paying the bank instead of being the bank.

An out-of-the-box idea on how to maximize your refund would be to take a day off of work to get your money in order. Is money leaking out of your budget by paying high interest on credit cards? Maybe you should spend a day calling around to find a low interest credit card that you could do a balance transfer with. Do you spend a lot of money eating out because you don’t have time to cook? What about spending the day doing meal planning and prepping so that you can save money on going out? What about your other expenses like insurance? One of the things you could do is spend time really looking at some of the money going out and finding ways to lower it. That is something that often takes time that you do not have. If you were to use your refund to pay for a day off of work then you could find that long-term you end up saving quite a bit of money off of a small investment of time.

Read part 1 of Angie’s Living on $30,000 Best Frugal Tips on Thriving and (not just surviving) on $30,000 a year!

Part 2 – Basic Home Budgeting

Part 3 – How to Budget Monthly Finances Wisely

Part 4 – How to Not Spend Money

Part 5 – Smart Money Saving Tips to Control Your Debt

Part 6 – Money Management Skill

Part 7 – Why Couples Should Talk About Money?

Angie Rumpf

I am a stay at home mom and happily married to my husband Tom. I have a five year old daughter and a two and a half year old son. I grew up in Orlando, but went to school in New York City and lived in Los Angeles before moving home to raise a family. I have worked in the film industry since the early nineties, and for over a decade with the Florida Film Festival. I also spent many years working in marketing with Glaceau and Honest Tea. But, I am happiest at home building my family.

For more Best Frugal Tips, read these:

How to get rich in 5 minutes a day

Frugal Ways to Save Money: Getting Out of Debts

How to Save Up Money: Tips for Living on $30000 or Less

Living on 30000 or Less: Raising a Family of 6

Living on 30000 or Less: Raising a Large Family