You have to stop and ask yourself, " Do I really need this or do I just want it?" You can justify almost any purchase but you have to be honest with yourself and decide if you can live without it.Strive to find the item the cheapest you possibly can. Make a game of it searching through websites and sales flyers from the newspapers. Also... research reviews form peole who have already made a similar purchase!

SAVING is hard to do when you are in debt as much as I am. Not only do I have student loans currently hounding me for payment. I also have 3yrs back taxes I owe and am currently working out a payment arrangement. I am in a customer service job, making less than $10/hr. Supporting myself, father(retired and disabled), niece, and sister. My sister is also stretched to the limits. Gas prices going up are a major hardship. No savings at all. Her tax refund was going before she realized it. She made arrangements to pay off debts and that quickly turned bad. Now she is a month behind in everything. When I lost my job two years ago, I was unemployed for 7 months. I was denied unemployment benefits and couldn't even get welfare or food stamps. My credit is in the toilet and I am worth more dead than alive. Savings? Impossible in my situation. I can declare bankruptcy on student loans or taxes. I own no assests. I didn't graduate college. I'm am in it deep, up to my throat.

Years ago, my mother gave me the best words of wisdom ever. Look down, she said. Always look down.

Huh? Was my immediate response.

Then she explained, "When you get out of your car, or are just going for a walk, look down. Most of the time, you'll find a coin or two. Pick it up, even if it's just a penny. (And if it's a head's up penny, all the better. That's good luck!) Pocket it, and when you get home, put your loose coins in some large container, like an old vase or fishbowl. Don't touch it. In about a year, put that money into a savings account you set up. Or use it for a need, not a want.

Over the years, I have found that I have saved about a hundred dollars a year.

Thanks, Mom, for your words of wisdom!

I am saving my refund for my dream of buying my own home. With real estate prices falling, the market is improving for buyers. I am saving to own my own home and home-based business for my own security. That is my dream.

Last year we ended up paying $2000 to the taxman. This year my husband and I were prepared for a repeat. We had no idea how much we would have to pay and so we had saved up a nice amount to hand over to Uncle Sam.

When our tax professional told us that we were getting close to $4000 back we couldn't stop smiling. On the drive back home we were excited by all the possibilities...vacation in Hawaii, a second car or a remodelled kitchen. In the end we decided to pay off part of our home loan in India.

To begin with this means that we will be paying less money every month. This will free up a significant portion of our monthly commitment for the things we wanted do with the tax refund. So it's possible that we will be able to go for that vacation, buy the second car or even *think* about buying a home in Bay Area, California *gasp* by the end of this year. And I never thought I'd say this...but I have actually begun to love (alright! maybe like is a better word) tax time!

We decided we were tired of our starter condo of 3 years & put it on the market. We went to a home builde, picked out what model we wanted built. We even took my mom the night before our tax appt to show her what we were going to do the next day. The previous year, we had adjusted our withholdings to take extra money out per pay & that along with an MCCP credit got us back $6,000 that year!

We went home, listed out our bills & saw with the refund we could pay off our credit card bills and student loans quicker. We paid off 2 bills and used those payments to add to anothers monthly payment and within 2 years we were completely debt free! We still live in that same condo, which we've refinanced and may have paid off within the next 3 years! We pay off our credit card every month. Living debt free has allowed us to go to Hawaii every year as a splurge & living beneath our means has allowed us to have a good savings in the bank & it all started with that one tax return!

About 5 years ago, I decided that with every raise, promotion or new job I would keep the same salary that I was currently making since I knew I could live off of that salary. Since then, have lived on the salary with no problem and have a large savings amount as well as investing in several stocks. Best plan financially (along with 401k) that I have implemented and continually used since the dawn of this idea.

Hope you've enjoyed,
Deb

Our spending story is the same as our saving story: we try to get a happy balance between the two. Whatever refund we get, half is saved and half is spent. You have to save, but life is also meant to be lived.

I don't recall ever receiving a refund. Having always
been a salaried employee, each year I'd calculate what
my withholding should be (to be my tax obligation) and
adjust my paycheck withholding by adding another
exemption.

My feeling has always been why should I pay in too
much each week? In doing so I would be cheating myself of the annual interest I could earn on this "excess".

Of course, to accomplish this one must have the dicipline
to put the excess money in a saving account on a regular
basis ... or even better add it to one's annual IRA or
401K contribution.

My daughter, Amy, has a system with Autumn, 5. Autumn gets a sticker posted on the fridge every time she completes a chore. Stickers get deducted for bad behavior. At the end of the week, the number of stickers determines her allowance. Autumn loves it! She can buy herself a toy or some other small treat. She saved up for a "Bratz", her most coveted toy. She's got a work ethic at age 5! Way to go, Amy.