Be honest...how many of you use your tax refund to book or pay for a cruise???

[Nliedel]

We are so lucky. I want to say smart but it's luck. We call our deductions really close and have never gotten more than fifty bucks or so back from taxes or owed about that amount. We don't like Uncle Sam holding our money and not paying any interest on it.

[wework2play]

This is my first cruise and my in-laws are taking me (and my husband, I guess we'll let him come too) on a cruise for my graduation present. The ironic thing is that my husband's sister and her new husband are also graduating soon so we all got the same present. It will be great. Tax refund as always will go to bills. I've cut out some other luxuries like eating out, shopping, etc. to save for the bill from the ship. I plan to really run up the bar tab. :D

[Retired and Ready to Go]

Sounds like a number of you used the new easy tax form:

 

How much did you earn?

 

Send it to us.

[jimmyatc]

This is our first cruise and I definitely used my tax refund to pay for it :)

[Sassy Chassis]

I used my performance bonus to book the trip with the idea of paying it off with the tax refund...but I recently acquired a motorcycle so I will only be paying a little bit of tax refund towards the trip. Oh well.

[cltoles]

Our Tax refund was $4. So that doesn't do much to pay for a cruise, however I did find out from my TA today, that the price on our upcoming cruise dropped in price by $700. Will be using that money to pay our shipboard expenses.

[bosteph]

I'm a saver. I book it and make the minimum downpayment. Then I create my savings plan. I save and save until the final payment deadline. Then I make that payment with a credit card where I get two for one miles. I immediately pay the entire amount on the credit card online (the same day) from my savings. I use the miles (and those that we have collected from business travel over the year) to purchase our plane tickets. I use hotel points to book my pre-cruise hotel.

 

My company has a great benefit where we are paid for unused personal days each year (up to six). DH and I work at the same company and we NEVER use those days. We really enjoy getting paid for 12 days and using that as our spending money.

 

We are not cheap but we are creative with money and travel.:D

[shinebone]

what tax refund? what's a tax refund?

[Treven]

What's a tax refund?

[sailin'again]

What refund??? hubby and i never get one.. we always have to pay...

[Puffinater]

yup been there done that

[dgarcia1991]

Yup, got my return and paid off the cruise in full the next day!

 

Diana:p

[ryzmom]

So excited here!!!

Our refund check PAID for our entire cruise!!!

(not counting the tipping, I like to do that myself)

HERE WE COME FREEDOM, HERE WE COME!!!

[OceanCruise]

That refund is always our vacation money. It is an almost painless way to save and the measley interest we would earn otherwise doesn't matter to me.

[ElvisandTracey]

I did my tax return dance yesterday at work, in front of a co-worker-she thinks I'm nuts now-oh well.

 

I am now ready to book my next cruise, with the help of my favorite uncle....:D

[shellie100]

Going to use mine to pay for my cruise last November, LOL!!!!! :o

[MargaritaPlease]

I immediately pay the entire amount on the credit card online (the same day) from my savings.

 

Now that's silly. You've got at least one billing cycle to pay it off without incurring interest. If you were to charge at the start of cycle, that could be close to 60 days more that you could keep accumulating savings, earn interest in your account, and still pay of the credit card on time without incurring any interest!

[rgnok]

are we really missing out on that much extra?? Love that refund!!:D :D

 

Sure, you're missing out on a free cruise when you retire!

 

If a person was getting a $1200 per year tax refund and they instead adjusted withholding to the breakeven point, and saved that money each month at the very modest rate of 4.5% AND THEY STILL TOOK OUT THE $1200 each March (to simulate a tax refund) and they repeat this process throughout a 40 year prime earning career, they'll have around $2700 (2006 dollars) in savings. That would pay for a decent retirement cruise!

 

Again . . . same $1200 each March PLUS almost $3000 extra at the end!

 

And by the way . . . if you did the same thing, but only pulled out $1100 each March (instead of $1200) . . . you'd have almost $14,000 for that retirement cruise!!

[arb18]

All three cruises payed by tax money! In fact got my money on Friday and on the same day payed the balance of my cruise.

[above sea level cruiser]

A MESSAGE FROM THE IRS:

 

Firstly we would like to thank all involved here for coming forward. As you are probably aware, use of United States income tax return funds for expenditure in foreign nations is strictly prohibited. In keeping with our National Policies, we would ask that any and all cruise ship tickets be transferred to our collection agency - Above Sea Level Cruiser. We appreciate your prompt attention in this matter. Oh!!!! and, I've never been to St. Marteen:D

 

You do know I was kidding right? Something about the tax man and humour - its like oil and water. Don't sweat it I won't rat you out. Here in the north, we don't get tax refunds either.......instead we receive a pay stub that shows how much we earned..............for the Government!:eek:

[Tofutti]

Sure, you're missing out on a free cruise when you retire!

 

If a person was getting a $1200 per year tax refund and they instead adjusted withholding to the breakeven point, and saved that money each month at the very modest rate of 4.5% AND THEY STILL TOOK OUT THE $1200 each March (to simulate a tax refund) and they repeat this process throughout a 40 year prime earning career, they'll have around $2700 (2006 dollars) in savings. That would pay for a decent retirement cruise!

 

Again . . . same $1200 each March PLUS almost $3000 extra at the end!

 

And by the way . . . if you did the same thing, but only pulled out $1100 each March (instead of $1200) . . . you'd have almost $14,000 for that retirement cruise!!

 

Sure and I'm going to love that cruise when I'm eighty!! Better that I use the refund than my equity line, either way, I'm cruisin'!!:D

[LindaandJeff]

Am I the only person on the planet who has to PAY money at tax time?? It always feels that way. :(

Tracy

 

You are not alone...we are always paying, too!

[steve20832]

I have to pay out this year so my finished tax return is sitting in the kitchen. I'll send them the tax return and the check on April 15.

I do get a whole $3 back from the state. What a waste of time filling out the forms. :rolleyes:

[rgnok]

Sure and I'm going to love that cruise when I'm eighty!! Better that I use the refund than my equity line, either way, I'm cruisin'!!:D

 

You're not using your equity line . . . That's exactly the point I was making . . . in my scenario, you are still using the exact same amount of money each March (just like a tax refund), but saving it yourself all year then spending all of it except the interest earned instead of having the govt save it for you with no interest. The result is that you still cruise (or do whatever you chose to do with your tax refund dollars) and have thousands extra at retirement to boot!

 

Not to mention that my example took you to age 65 . . . not 80! I know plenty of people who love to cruise well past 65!!

 

Now, don't get me wrong . . . this is all just a friendly little example using cruising. The real point here is that people don't seem to realize that what often seems to be just a pittance of interest they are giving up by continuing to receive large tax refunds can add up to thousands and often tens of thousands of dollars of lost money over a working lifetime.

[ElvisandTracey]

Wow-when I started this thread I had no idea it would become somewhat controversial-I thought everyone loves a tax refund-guess not!!!

 

So sorry to all who never get a refund:( , but sorry, I do, and so do many others, and we LOVE THEM!!!!!!!

 

It (the thread) was stared as a lighthearted joke, and has turned into a seminar on financial planning!!:eek:

 

To each his/her own, I will continue to blow my return every year on a cruise-life is short!!:D