What Do I Do With My Tax Refund?
What Do I Do With My Tax Refund? Last year, the IRS reported giving out more than $305 billion in tax refunds, with the average refund clocking in at almost $2,500. 1 With all the spending possibilities out there, how do people typically spend their tax refund? It might surprise you to learn that most Americans said they planned to put their tax refunds into savings last year. 2 That’s a much more responsible option than wasting it on some spending splurge. But while we’re all for building up a cash cushion, saving your refund for a rainy day may not be the best way to get ahead financially this year-especially if you’re still in debt. Other folks from the survey (34%) planned to use at least part of their tax refund to pay off debt. 3 Based on the average American household debt totals, we ran some numbers to find out what would happen if you used your entire refund to pay down your debt. We knew the results would be positive, but you may be surprised by how much you could actually save with this one simple step. Student Loans The average student loan balance is more than $35,000. 4 Let’s say your balance is $35,000 at a 6% interest rate. With a monthly payment of $400, you’ll pay on that student loan for around 10 years and shell out more than $46,000 total in principal and interest. Let’s say you put your $2,500 tax refund toward your student loan balance. Using a student loan payoff calculator, you can see that doing this will help you pay off your loan almost a whole year sooner and save more than $1,800 in interest. Now, let’s take things a step further. A $2,500 tax refund doesn’t mean you hit the jackpot. It’s simply the government returning your money-money you could have been using all year long to pay extra on your debt. Don’t wait until next year to get your money back. Work with a tax advisor to adjust your withholding today so you can bring home an extra $200 a month ($2,), starting with your next paycheck! Use that $200 to pay extra each month on the remaining balance of your student loan debt. […]