tax refund

[Rboone]

Pay the bill and increase your withoholding so you are not getting a refund check. Use the additonal income that you will be receiving to save or invest.

[snafu]

I sure hope this tax refund can work as a catalyst to get you and wife working as team to use your money in your own best interests. I don't know how DW wants to use the money but I sure hope you can get debts cleared, particularly credit cards since the interest is so high compared with savings rates paid.

[Bob B.]

I definitely echo the responses of everyone else. Pay the big bills. Put the rest of what's left over in a savings account as an emergency fund.

[JustBill]

My wife and I are getting a nice tax refund. I want to use most of it to pay back two big bills and she will ge the remander of around 1000. She wants 2000 and said no way are we paying them. they are around 3000 to pay. Should we pay them or give in to her wants.

You don't address what your wife wants the money for, in reality it might be a pressing matter so it's hard to answer the question. But...if she wants to "blow" any of the refund money without satisfying the debts in full, then I agree with PPs to pay the "two big bills". If you don't have an emergency fund, which you likely don't if you're struggling with the decision to pay 3k in "big bills", then the remaining 1k goes there not to a spending spree. JMHO

[creditcardfree]

Pay the bills! And I agree with the advice to change your withholding, let your wife have the difference each paycheck until she has her money.

[thesimplemoneyblog]

You should pay your debts.

Then you should change your withholding so that you don't get a large tax refund every year - rather you get that money month by month so that you can continue paying your debts and not letting them grow. Or -- even better -- you can pay as you go and not get into any more debt!

Same advice here! You have existing bills that need to be paid, yet you want to go out and spend more money, so I think there's a bigger potential issue here that might need to be addressed...

[BuckyBadger]

You should pay your debts.

Then you should change your withholding so that you don't get a large tax refund every year - rather you get that money month by month so that you can continue paying your debts and not letting them grow. Or -- even better -- you can pay as you go and not get into any more debt!

[bill2913]

My wife and I are getting a nice tax refund. I want to use most of it to pay back two big bills and she will ge the remander of around 1000. She wants 2000 and said no way are we paying them. they are around 3000 to pay. Should we pay them or give in to her wants.