Tax Refunds = 0% Loan

It is my goal that this post will offend everyone in my life including myself.  Here we go...

Tax Refunds 101.  A tax refund is essentially your money that you have loaned to the government for a period of time that they then return to you. The best part, you loaned this money while charging 0% interest. This is a generalization; there are instance where you can actually get money from the government that was not yours to begin with.  You pretty much have to be poor to have this happen.  Yup that's right.

Tax refunds are not a bonus from the government yet this is how we all act.  ALRIGHT I GOT A REFUND!!!! BIG SCREEN TV TIME!!!! (do they still call them big screens?).  Come on, seriously....would our government give us a bonus?  News flash, they are a tab bit broke.  And would you lend money to your constantly broke cousin and always assume they are going to be able to pay you back?  Especially if that broke cousin is the state of Kansas or worse the state of California.

"But I like getting that refund!"  How about a raise? Do you like getting a raise? I like a raise.  By the way, you can give yourself a raise; just lower your tax withholdings.  But not too much because they you may owe. OH NO! THE HORROR!!!!!!  I have to pay taxes because I made more money.  Now that is just not fair!

And there you have it.  My most boring yet educated blog post yet. And in case you are wondering (no one is), we owe this year.  And I caught myself being pissed that we didn't get a refund.  They I remember that I worked hard for that CFP.

Jess

PS. I have been listening to Brand New a lot today. Blame that for what just happened.