What Should I Do First With My Tax Refund?

Take care of whatever absolutely needs catching up on the bills side, or the things you absolutely need to buy (I desperately need winter boots and a coat), and then let the rest go into savings.
 
I like to do something enjoyable, with the rest directed toward debt. So, this year, we are going to pay off the rest of a vacation we will either take later in the year or next year, and then the remainder will go toward my student loans.
 
Catch up on bills/pay ahead. We buy Kings Island gold passes + dining plans for our fam every year w/ it, so we have something to do in the summer w/ the kids. The rest goes to emergency savings, tbh.
 
Paying off debt... I am claiming that this will be the last year I have to use it for that, though. As next year and the years to come it will be used for saving. There won't be that quick rush... to dump it on anything but my savings account. I claim and receive it! ❤️
 
Go over “the list.” It’s semi urgent expenses we didn’t have the money for this year, one of my toilets is broken, and we’re hoping to get it repaired plus debts. We cover anything urgent, then split the rest between debt and savings!
 
Pay towards our family vacation. We don’t get a lot back, so this comes FIRST a week at the beach every year stressful jobs, so for mental health. We eat at our rental mostly. One splurge we all look forward to. Once the rental is paid, we save for groceries.
 
It kind of depends on how much it is. We’ve got some new deductions we qualify for this year. With federal, we usually get something back, and with state, we owe but by the time I reimburse ourselves for the filing fee and pay the state, it’s basically a wash. If there’s anything left over, it’ll go into savings this year, since we depleted that with a few things last year and need to rebuild it. We also have a very small business that makes a little bit, and that has to get claimed, too.
 
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