What to do with your tax return?


I know doing your taxes is a pain, but I'm ravaged by the tax man all year long so I generally end up with some cash back every year and naturally my scheming twisted mind tries to find a use for it. If I don't get the damned money out of the bank, the wife may decide to redecorate (again). Last year I was busy with work and the kids, took my eye of the ball, and she gutted and replaced the entire kitchen. No thought to include a fine audio system in the kitchen either. I was devastated. No, my return wasn't anywhere near enough. Lesson learned. Past years I've bought amplifiers, speakers, etc..varies depending on what my "perceived need" is at the time and how much of my own money the government is willing to share with me. If you are one of the lucky ones and anticipate a refund this year, do you plan to spend some or all of it on audio gear and/or music? I'll kick this off by pre-spending some of my money (the rest goes to paying off the kitchen). I'm real happy with my system as is, but feel an unnatural need to invest in interconnect and power conditioners. And records, I crave more vinyl. Big, heavy, 180g slabs of vinyl, gotta have it! Happy listening, Jeff
jeffloistarca
I was not so fortunate this year. I think I might have to sell my left B&W Nautalis 802 to pay my taxes, then maybe try to find some good mono recordings.
Just increase the withholding tax that comes out of your paycheck, so you will get a bidder refund next year!! Find a business reason, and/or open that audio store you talked about the other day, so you can write off all that equipment you have as a business expense. Good Luck!! Sugarbrie, CPA
I guess that is BIGGER refund. CPAs can't type or spell; it's all in the numbers. You can also clean out all the equipment in your closet that still has value and give it to charity.
Now if your spouse spends the refund every year, do the opposite. Reduce your wage withholding to about the breakeven point.
Well......all $700. of our refund went into our "household" account, and YOU know how that goes :>). Cheers? Craig
Jeff, you can't be thinking about buying more equipment!?!?!?!?

Thanks,
Willie Nelson
Jeff, my man!! Your post hit a very resonant chord with me (notice the catchy audio allusion). For the first time in several years, I got a refund (about $2700) and had it mentally spent on buying a Perceptual Technologies P-1A and P-3A. Not to be... the wife unit decided to buy new carpet, and then found out that the electric baseboard heaters would also need replacement. I guess I'll be warmer next winter, but at the cost of possible aural deprivation!!
You mean they give money back??!!!! I finally caved in and sold some equipment to pay that damn Uncle Sam. I was considering sending him my first born for medical experiments, but my wife wouldn't let me.
Yea, I was all excited to purchase a new Loewe TV when, the week before April 16, it became apparent that I OWED Uncle Sam (and the lovely State of New York) a distressing amount of my hard-earned duckets. I was genuinely cross. Looks like me and the old 20" Pansonic will be sharing some space for a while to come yet after all. As the IRS is reputed to have said, "The trick is to stop thinking of it as 'your money.'" Now why would anyone go and think that?
Well "GEE-WIZ". If I decide to get Uncle Sam to take out more money from my paycheck this year in an effort to get me a bigger refund next year, in the pursuit of buying more equipment for either of my systems (be it audio or home theater) nonetheless, and then clear out of the blue, my wife has the money spent before I can even get my hands on the damn check and all?? I'd say I'll be pretty pissed off myself. No.... Correction.... Let's just say I'll be PRETTY irrate. Well.... Correction again.... With me, it will be beyond irrate. Thank god I'm not married. This marriage stuff?? If all that's going to do is cause money problems and power struggles all the time, and I am not getting any "aural" satisfaction out of it?? Well, whoever is married?? Well, you all can have this marriage stuff.

MARRIAGE SUCKS!!!!!

--Charles--
Now that I have gotten the Tax/Marriage issues out of the way and off of my chest, you want to know what I am going to do with my tax refund?? Well, I am going to put most of it ($1,250.00) on my DVD Player (a Pioneer Elite DV-37), and whatever is left over after that will be used to payoff some old credit card debts and bills. Well, I guess that shows that you can still be financially responsible without a spouse, right (ROFLMAO)????

--Charles--
The tax refund, Uncle Sam's Christmas Club. Anybody old enough to remember those little coupon books with the reindeer and Santa smiling? Santa's smiling because he works for the bank and the bank DIDN'T PAY INTEREST! It's not a refund, it's a return of OVERPAYMENT. Ever owe the IRS? Can you say "imputed interest"? And penalties? If the definition of a co-signer is a "schmuck with a fountain pen" what do you call someone who loans money to a spendthrift congress at no interest?
You got it right Kitch!! On my home front, we take the returns and plop them into the IRA. First year was tough .... but now we don't ever plan on using the money until a much later date. I'm saving up for that new plasma beam hologram imersive theatre that will be cutting edge when I retire in thirty years.
Charles: I bought the Pioneer DV-37 about 4 months ago, and have been VERY pleased with it. I got mine for about $650. If you want the name/Web address of the dealer, drop me a note. Best - Scott C.
With the unfortunate down slide on the market in the past year. I decided to hold the cash for next years oil. I figure next winter will run about 2,200 for oil(100 yr old new england colonial). I did have the wife talked into used vk3i and possibly a sub, but she said if I spent the return on equip., the only warm room in the house will be the audio room with 3 amps running on standby. Will see what the fall brings. Really, really want that pre and sub..Better safe than sorry. Maybe santa will bring me one for x-mas. Pete
Kitch that remark about co-signer's being schmucks with fountain pens hit like a mortar at very close range but how would you know? You brought back a VERY bad memory. Oh how the truth can hurt. Yeah I remember the X-mas club, belonged to one as a kid. Taught us how to save. "A penny saved is a penny earned". I wonder who has the kahunas to use that phrase in this day and age?
Sdcampbell:

Yes, I would love to have the name and the web address of this dealer. Thanks for the tip. Looking forward to your response very soon. If I can get my DV-37 for $650.00, then all the better. So far, all of the local dealers who are carrying the Pioneer Elite DV-37 are charging about $800.00 for it. So far, the best I was able to do was $729.00.

--Charles--