Ask:
Okay, Dave Ramsey says to set up your exemptions on your taxes to where your just paying the right amount in that you don't owe or get a refund because you could be making interest off of that extra your paying in. I personally like to get a refund because I'm afraid we wouldn't save it otherwise. To me, it's like a guaranteed savings account, even though there's no interest. I usually put it in savings when I get it or pay off bills and put the rest in savings. What are your thoughts. Would you rather get a refund or change your exemptions and put it in a monthly savings account of some sort on your own and not get a refund?
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I like to get a refund because money under my control always seems to disappear. So I may not have the interest but I have the money.
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I love getting a refund. That is always our vacation money. I am not sure we would save the "extra money" over the course of the year to afford a vacation-like this June Disneyworld!
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We have it set up so we don't get a refund. I don't like lending the gov't money for free. But then when I hear all the refund stories here, I wonder ... hmmm.... no, I'd rather save my own money I think.
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Originally Posted by kcladison
I like to get a refund because money under my control always seems to disappear. So I may not have the interest but I have the money.
I agree, for me its just a saveing account that I cant screw up.
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I like the refund too. I dont see it as a lending the gov't money for free thing. I use it for our family vacation and to pay some bills if need be. If the money were to all come to me, I wouldnt save it. Its money I dont see - out of sight out of mind sort of thing.
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How do you set it up to not get a refund, we always get so much back.
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We set it up so we're as close as we can get. I HATE getting a large refund. I could have used that money during the year! This is especially true of people who are using a refund to 'pay off bills'. Imagine if you had that money a few months earlier. Maybe you wouldn't have HAD that outstanding debt. It could have been already paid off.
To answer the above question ... you can change your withholding through your employer (or spouse's employer) by submitting a new W4. You can do this anytime and as often as you want. I usually check to see how we're doing on our withholding in the middle of summer (about August) and submit a new W4 if we need to make a change.
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I need my money throughout the year. The govt. gets enough interest free money from me. The refund, however, is nice to have. We don't get a lot back (none of the $5k stuff I hear about!), but make sure we're not close. We had to pay $1200 one year and that was no fun.
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I have DH set up so that we still get our money through the year and still get a decent refund (not a lot but decent, and knock on wood, we have never owed). We need the money through the year more than we need a big chunk of it in April is the way I look at it.