My Chapter 13 bankruptcy is going to be discharged in July. Recently I checked my credit score because I thought it was going to be horrible. I was pleasantly surprised...it was 630. I've also had numerous credit card offers and have been told that I'll qualify for a home loan a few months after the discharge.
It was a hard decision to file the Chapter 13 but in hindsight it was the best decision that I could made given the situation that I was in. All my bills are now paid on time. I'm never late on my bankruptcy payments. I'm saving money and leaving within my means.
I just graduated from college in June, so this is the first significant refund I've had. I had some credit card debt when I finished college, but that's been paid off at this point. I'm really lacking an emergency fund right now (only have $1000, not even one full month's expenses) so I'm going to be throwing the entire refund into my emergency fund.
Tithing: $902.80
Pay for a Baby's C-section (the part not covered by insurance): $3,000.00
Spending money for my wife (she's been EXTREMELY patient during this last year of unemployment, moving and getting a new job): $1,000.00
Two 1Tb hard drives for backup and to rip home VHS tapes: $200.00
Garden (renting a tiller, manure, some big plants, seeds and bordering): $500.00
Put towards student loan: $3,425.20
Just a couple things. My philosophy about shopping is that if you have time you can shop the sales--there is no beating that, even by club stores. But if you don't have the time, which I don't now, you should shop someplace that has consistently good prices on everything. The clubs definitely fit in that spot. On things you want to keep in bulk, they're great. You have to be careful though--they often get you to buy brand names when if you had the choice you'd get a store brand.
We'll put the majority of it in our daughters college funds. Only fair since they're the reason we're getting a refund (Child Tax Credit). Plus it's something we want to do, but can't on a normal month to month basis. Oh and maybe some to go in the new car fund (which is also funny enough related to our kids - because we're about to outgrow our current car).
I have a few specific plans, large scale, for 2010. The majority of my refund is going toward a larger purpose, i.e. savings toward the purchase of my first home and taking a chunk out of my current car loan.
I don't have the need to use this money for bills because of how I budget and live already. Nonetheless, it is nice to be able to put some more away.
What you have described is about using personal style to reverse the Diderot effect. Rather than having new acquisitions define a new style for you, you use your style to define what new acquisitions will fit into it. Such a view is not at odds with having and acquiring possessions. Instead, it imposes a personal purpose on them. It harmonizes nicely with a longer term perspective. It is much easier to postpone buying something for a few months in order to get just the right thing when one anticipates that it will fill a particular place in one's life for years to come. I've found that for myself it has also meant that I have a great love for repairing items that fit my style to keep them serviceable for as long as I can because often the right replacement no longer exists.
We had to replace our AC unit this year. The poor 29 year old unit just died. Luckily we knew it was old when we bought the house 3 years ago and started saving then. Most of our refund (the $1500 for buying an energy efficient unit) will be going back into our Emergency Fund.
We received our refund the week after my husband's truck - which was paid for - was totaled. So, we took what the jerk's insurance company gave us for the truck and put our refund with it and paid cash for another truck. We already have one car payment and couldn't afford another one, so it all worked out.
3 years ago our refund was used to pay off the last of our debt. For the last 2 years the refund built up our emergency fund and padded our son's college fund. This year it is time to celebrate - with a 3 week European vacation. I can't wait!
my husband and i will be getting back just over $12,000 and it will be going directly to the savings account. with the economy the way it is you never know what will happen with jobs so we are saving in case of a rainy day.
I make it a point to never count on a tax refund. It's usually a couple grand, so this year my fiance and I are putting it toward our wedding and honeymoon in May. We haven't factored it into our wedding budget, so anything we get will be a bonus. Perfect timing!
I plan to make a monthly mortgage payment, so that I will be somewhat ahead. The rest I will try to get a new TV, since mine died a couple of weeks ago. But I am waiting for the good deals!! Also, I did some stocking of the food pantry, it was getting kind of bare!!
I plan on using 70% to pay off credit cards, 20% to be put into an emergency fund, and 10% on buying some things for my new apartment. I figure this way I can make a good dent in my debt, prepare for the future, and still enjoy a bit of the money.
My Chapter 13 bankruptcy is going to be discharged in July. Recently I checked my credit score because I thought it was going to be horrible. I was pleasantly surprised...it was 630. I've also had numerous credit card offers and have been told that I'll qualify for a home loan a few months after the discharge.
It was a hard decision to file the Chapter 13 but in hindsight it was the best decision that I could made given the situation that I was in. All my bills are now paid on time. I'm never late on my bankruptcy payments. I'm saving money and leaving within my means.
Sadly, I'll have to save it for COBRA payments...
Newly without a job.
I just graduated from college in June, so this is the first significant refund I've had. I had some credit card debt when I finished college, but that's been paid off at this point. I'm really lacking an emergency fund right now (only have $1000, not even one full month's expenses) so I'm going to be throwing the entire refund into my emergency fund.
Tithing: $902.80
Pay for a Baby's C-section (the part not covered by insurance): $3,000.00
Spending money for my wife (she's been EXTREMELY patient during this last year of unemployment, moving and getting a new job): $1,000.00
Two 1Tb hard drives for backup and to rip home VHS tapes: $200.00
Garden (renting a tiller, manure, some big plants, seeds and bordering): $500.00
Put towards student loan: $3,425.20
And it's all going to credit card debt. :(
Just a couple things. My philosophy about shopping is that if you have time you can shop the sales--there is no beating that, even by club stores. But if you don't have the time, which I don't now, you should shop someplace that has consistently good prices on everything. The clubs definitely fit in that spot. On things you want to keep in bulk, they're great. You have to be careful though--they often get you to buy brand names when if you had the choice you'd get a store brand.
We'll put the majority of it in our daughters college funds. Only fair since they're the reason we're getting a refund (Child Tax Credit). Plus it's something we want to do, but can't on a normal month to month basis. Oh and maybe some to go in the new car fund (which is also funny enough related to our kids - because we're about to outgrow our current car).
No refund this year. I'm just glad we won't owe again, like we did last year.
What refund?
I have a few specific plans, large scale, for 2010. The majority of my refund is going toward a larger purpose, i.e. savings toward the purchase of my first home and taking a chunk out of my current car loan.
I don't have the need to use this money for bills because of how I budget and live already. Nonetheless, it is nice to be able to put some more away.
We're taking that money and using it to dig a tiny hole in our giant mound of debt.
What you have described is about using personal style to reverse the Diderot effect. Rather than having new acquisitions define a new style for you, you use your style to define what new acquisitions will fit into it. Such a view is not at odds with having and acquiring possessions. Instead, it imposes a personal purpose on them. It harmonizes nicely with a longer term perspective. It is much easier to postpone buying something for a few months in order to get just the right thing when one anticipates that it will fill a particular place in one's life for years to come. I've found that for myself it has also meant that I have a great love for repairing items that fit my style to keep them serviceable for as long as I can because often the right replacement no longer exists.
It's going straight into my savings. Maybe I'll treat myself to a new pair of shoes or something, but I'm not going to be overly extravagant.
We had to replace our AC unit this year. The poor 29 year old unit just died. Luckily we knew it was old when we bought the house 3 years ago and started saving then. Most of our refund (the $1500 for buying an energy efficient unit) will be going back into our Emergency Fund.
Doors, I need doors. The inside of my house has no doors. As liberating as it is, I could use one for shy visitors on the bathroom at least.
We received our refund the week after my husband's truck - which was paid for - was totaled. So, we took what the jerk's insurance company gave us for the truck and put our refund with it and paid cash for another truck. We already have one car payment and couldn't afford another one, so it all worked out.
But I have noticed that I spend more when I know it's coming, so it's probably a wash
3 years ago our refund was used to pay off the last of our debt. For the last 2 years the refund built up our emergency fund and padded our son's college fund. This year it is time to celebrate - with a 3 week European vacation. I can't wait!
I AM USING IT TO BUY A WASHER/DRYER. I HAVE BEEN WALKING 6 BLOCKS EACH WAY THE NEAREST LAUNDROMAT AND I THINK I DESERVE A BREAK.
my husband and i will be getting back just over $12,000 and it will be going directly to the savings account. with the economy the way it is you never know what will happen with jobs so we are saving in case of a rainy day.
I make it a point to never count on a tax refund. It's usually a couple grand, so this year my fiance and I are putting it toward our wedding and honeymoon in May. We haven't factored it into our wedding budget, so anything we get will be a bonus. Perfect timing!
I plan to make a monthly mortgage payment, so that I will be somewhat ahead. The rest I will try to get a new TV, since mine died a couple of weeks ago. But I am waiting for the good deals!! Also, I did some stocking of the food pantry, it was getting kind of bare!!
some for travelling and the rest for home repairs and savings
I plan on using 70% to pay off credit cards, 20% to be put into an emergency fund, and 10% on buying some things for my new apartment. I figure this way I can make a good dent in my debt, prepare for the future, and still enjoy a bit of the money.
I am using 100% of my extra money to pay down student loans until they are gone.