All his life my dad has overpaid his taxes and received a big refund. It used to drive me crazy because of the "free loan to the government" philosophy, but one day he flat out told me that he knows himself well enough to understand that he isn't able to save that money himself. Its taken me a few years to get comfortable with it but I now understand that he's is totally right and is managing his money in the way that is best for him...even though it drives me nuts. :-p
Haha yes! I used to be solidly in this camp too! I totally understand the free loan argument and I used to say exactly what you’ve been saying! But your dad is a wise man for recognizing his own tendencies and being self aware enough to plan for them. Thanks for sharing this! I appreciate it :)
I have heard this, "Tax Returns are bad" advice so many times. I have always paid extra since I established my very first job and ever since. Not having done the math on the whole interest thing, I always thought to myself, "It is better to treat the IRS as a piggy bank then to get to the end of the tax year and SURPRISE you actually owe 3k, which I usually do not have to give.
Love it David! I definitely fall more in line with your thinking man. It's nice to have a little bit of a windfall that you can go make a wise decision with. Thanks for watching my friend!
I have definitely heard that getting a tax refund is a bad idea. And we’ve tried hard to not get one the last few years. But I’m so stressed at tax time that we’re going to owe the IRS that I don’t think it’s worth it. Your video validated this. But more importantly, it has reminded me, I need to be questioning advice I hear and see if it’s right for my situation.
About the tax refund, having an extra $250 a month in a savings to draw $25 in interest doesn't make sense. However, if you have credit card debt with 20+% interest, an extra $250 a month used to pay down the debt is money ahead.
I love the honest talk about paying other people to do things you could do yourself. My father in law will drywall a wall, but he'll hire someone for a ceiling because he know the limits of his drywall skills.
I have 3 dependents, I’m not sure I’ll ever be in a lower tax bracket! For #2 I’ve found that it’s worthwhile to hire someone at 30$/hr to do a great job vs my $30/hr mediocre job. This might be doing an oil change and not screwing in the filter wrong, or doing a great job video editing. But fixing things around the house, it’s almost always worth it to me to RUclips it and try it myself- plus I enjoy puttering like this :)
Found your site last week as I'm just starting to work with YNAB. Fantastic work Nick. Ok, my wife used the tax free loan argument for years and for years we owed money and I'd have a money freakout every April trying to figure out how to come up with the cash. Last year I was finally able to get her to reduce the # of Fed and State with holdings. I am happy to report we came out positive by a few hundred dollars this year. We will use it to clear a CC balance.
Woot woot! Awesome story Corey. I really appreciate you sharing. Also glad to hear that the YNAB videos have been helpful for you. I really appreciate you sharing that about the tax refund. It's definitely a valid argument, but as you see it can get you into trouble. I'm glad to hear that you've come out positive and are able to use that for CC. That's great news! Thanks Corey and let me know if there's anything I can do to help!
#1 "interest-free loan to govt" used to actually matter when rates were higher #3 traditional IRA is often MUCH better for people if they can do tax-free conversions into Roth IRA before/during retirement - with this method many people can wind up paying zero taxes on their IRAs
The IRA thing is a really good point, so thanks for that. I'm starting to save for retirement now and have opened two IRAs, one Roth, one traditional, and I've been wondering what approach to use. I was leaning towards the Roth, and you've confirmed it for me. Last summer, I was looking at the tax estimator tool and trying to figure out if I could increase my take-home pay... which I probably could have... but at that point we were not managing our money properly, so I figured that if I let the gov't hold it for me, we couldn't waste it! (This is especially useful if either you or your partner thinks that money is meant to be spent as quickly as possible, if not quicker). When we started budgeting last fall, things were *tight* but in February we got a nice refund and paid off a credit card with it. This year, we're much more careful so I feel safe increasing my take-home and putting it into savings. I'm still on my free trial of YNAB, and it'd cost more than what I was paying for my previous tool (Calendar Budget), but I'm thinking it'll be well worth it.
I do agree somewhat. So often financial advice is not a cut and dry answer. I still think it’s best to have your tax refund as low as possible and focus on the mental discipline to align your financial spending with your long term goals. I think if you can improve the discipline then that’s a great long term skill to have that you could apply to other aspects of life as well.
Quest to FIRE totally. I’m huge fan of improving the discipline. It’s definitely better for you in the long term if you can pull it off. So glad you watched. As always, I super appreciate the comments :)
The Random Things haha yes, and technically Dave is right. Based on math. But to your point, you’re much more likely to use it to save or pay down debt and so in reality the refund is great for most people. Thanks for watching and commenting. I really appreciate it.
In Canada, we have what is called an RRSP or Registered Retirement Savings Plan. Any money we contributed was a full deduction of our income for that year. Sounds good right. Now that we're older and withdrawing money from it, the tax we have to pay hurts! I would rather have paid the taxes on it up front and been able to use all that is in our account. We have to consider anywhere from 10-20% withholding tax depending on how much we want in our hand.
Woo! Yeah, that's tough. There's definitely an advantage to getting those tax payments out of the way when you're young and knowing it's done. Sorry to hear that Sherry!
I owe everything to YNAB and Ramit Sethi. Now, if and when I do get a "raise" (used lightly since I have my own business), I'll know exactly what to do with that. And it ain't going toward new sneakers or luxury items! (Ok ok, maybe a LITTLE bit since I do actually need sneakers. My gym shoes have holes etc) but that's exactly the point I'm making. YNAB has saved my financial life, in the single 8 weeks I've been using it already 👌
I got my tax refund just a few days after I saw this video. I understand the math behind the advice to lower your refund-- but a chunk of cash straight to the mortgage and a cup of coffee feels like a dance party. Worth it!
I found your videos a few days ago when I signed up to try YNAB and found myself completely lost on how to use it. Your videos are super helpful! And yes, I've been doing the "paying in extra $$" for many years - since my early 20's. I'm now 41! And yes, I can't tell you how many people have told me "you're giving the government free money"... I just simply DON'T CARE. I like that I can't physically touch the money. It's like getting a gift every year at tax time even though it's my money - weird but I'm paying for it. LOL! When I was younger (and on my own) it was much needed come tax time. Now, my husband and I both pay in extra and we typically roll that money into savings (or debt).
haha, totally understand that Ali! I'm with ya :) Thanks for watching. I really appreciate you taking the time to comment, and hope you're enjoying the videos!
Roth's are great. I wish they had been available to me in my years of investing into my 401K. Unfortunately, my company only offered it the last 5 or so years of my working career. Now, I am transferring it little by little to Roth so that I won't be hit with a huge tax bill once I turn 70 and have to take the Required Minimum Distribution. I love your videos.
Pidasian Hippie ahhh yes! That’s very frustrating. But at least you’re doing what you can to take advantage of them now. And thanks! I really appreciate that. It means a ton to hear it.
I wish all my friends would follow this advise! I’m guilty myself of paying people to do things I can do myself while I just sit there lol never again!
Question. I am from Europe. Why do you get a tax refund? I only get a refund on our home mortgage intrest. Is it related to work tax? Or something else?
Hey Joost! Good question. It's on income taxes (or work tax like you said). In the States, most people have their taxes withheld from their paychecks based on how they fill out a form called a W-4. Often times people will have more withheld from each paycheck than they actually owe on their income. So at the end of the year, when they calculate their income tax, they find that they've actually paid in more than they owe. Therefore, the government will send them a refund check for the overage. In an ideal scenario, people would get this refund as close to $0, as possible. But as I laid out in the video, sometimes in certain situations, it's actually better to get a slightly larger refund and use it in a wise way. Hope that makes sense.
@@mappedoutmoney Thx Mr True. I thougt so but was not sure. Here our government is probably a bit more efficient. Though they too make mistakes especially if your income is low and you get money back to support your rent, or our medical manditory payment or some other form of aid. And as far as i can see this is an IT(software) problem). Their sofware just cannot cope.
@@JK-Visions Yeah, it's interesting for sure. Here in the states it's still largely dependant on the individual to fill out their W4 form correctly (maybe I'll do a video on that haha) But there's a lot of variables that the average person doesn't/can foresee affecting their situation. So it's nearly impossible to hit $0. Nearly everyone gets a refund or owes at least something.
Hey Lana! So glad you enjoyed the video and are enjoying the Channel! I really appreciate you watching and taking the time to comment :) Happy New Year!
Sorry for resurrecting this one, just came up in my list. Love the YNAB instructional videos. You helped me organize my budget more efficiently. I do have to disagree with your first advice. Just because someone "plans" to increase their savings, doesn't mean they will or do. We all know individuals who say they will do this, then make excuses as to why they "had" to spend it. Ever since I adjusted my W4, it is easier to pay off my credit card in full every month. As for the 36% who claim they will pay off some debt with the return, if they had the money in the first place, there would have been less debt racking up fees and interest for the year. If you lack the discipline to save money and need the IRS to be your piggy bank, then most likely you will lack the discipline to save using a budget in the long run. I know some can, but most will not. To end on a positive, best YNAB videos on youtube.
That’s cool Steve! I don’t expect everyone to agree with me. We can just agree to disagree here my friend. Thanks for watching and I’m glad that adjusting your W4 has worked for you. As I always say, self awareness is the most important part of personal finance. We all have to find what works for us as individuals.
Thank you for investing in keeping the community educated. Your YNAB beginners video saved me from giving up on the app for the 3rd time. I was searching for a digital way to keep track of my money. Throughout the many apps available YNAB seems to be the best. I even tried EveryDollar. I'm now subscribed and going back to watch videos I don't want to miss any helpful information.
Hey thanks!! I'm so glad that my videos have been helpful for you. I really appreciate you taking the time to comment and let me know. Just keep on YNABing! And you will absolutely get there :)
Melodie V so it depends on your specific situation. But in general, yes the back door Roth is a great way to protect yourself down the road. But overall, it still would depend on your specific situation and what you have going on with your other retirement accounts like a 401k etc.
I know people who pay way more extra tax on every pay and then get the money back at tax time. I live in Canada and the minimum amount taken off in taxes is brutal as it is, I don’t want to give the government any more money lol I get why people do it though. If you can’t trust yourself to put a few dollars in a savings account from each pay I guess having it taken directly off your pay so you don’t see it makes sense. 🤷♀️
No problem with that! The point is you're still using the extra money to get ahead and do what needs to be done... not just eating out more or getting more coffee! :)
I would assume that people who watch your channel (like me) are like me -- we're working to lower debt/expenses and the small stuff really does add up. I'm not sure why you'd advise against adjusting your withholding to minimize your tax refund and then use the example of a crappy savings account. That money, by people like you, me, and your watchers would either be an extra $250 towards debt (which you're paying more than 2% on) or $250 towards your nest egg (which I hope is paying more than 2%!)
Hey Michael! Yes, you're absolutely right. When you're digging yourself out of debt, every little bit helps. The key is the self-awareness piece. If you have the discipline to take that extra and throw it towards debt, you're absolutely better off doing that. But if you don't (which is, unfortunately, a lot of people) you're better off taking the nice tax return and using that. Thanks so much for watching and commenting, I really do appreciate it!
Thanks Courtney! Glad you like them. And yes, I do. Some of them word for word, some just bullet point outlines. Depends on how complex the topic is haha :) But thanks for the compliment. I appreciate it!
![Felix "Unfair" | [Stray Kids : SKZ-PLAYER]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/Oswujxm2Ag0/mqdefault.jpg)
All his life my dad has overpaid his taxes and received a big refund. It used to drive me crazy because of the "free loan to the government" philosophy, but one day he flat out told me that he knows himself well enough to understand that he isn't able to save that money himself. Its taken me a few years to get comfortable with it but I now understand that he's is totally right and is managing his money in the way that is best for him...even though it drives me nuts. :-p
Haha yes! I used to be solidly in this camp too! I totally understand the free loan argument and I used to say exactly what you’ve been saying! But your dad is a wise man for recognizing his own tendencies and being self aware enough to plan for them.
Thanks for sharing this! I appreciate it :)
Personal finance is exactly that. Personal. It's great to learn more from others, but that doesn't mean it's the end all be all.
TruFinancials absolutely. Love that phrase man.
I have heard this, "Tax Returns are bad" advice so many times. I have always paid extra since I established my very first job and ever since. Not having done the math on the whole interest thing, I always thought to myself, "It is better to treat the IRS as a piggy bank then to get to the end of the tax year and SURPRISE you actually owe 3k, which I usually do not have to give.
Love it David! I definitely fall more in line with your thinking man. It's nice to have a little bit of a windfall that you can go make a wise decision with.
Thanks for watching my friend!
I have definitely heard that getting a tax refund is a bad idea. And we’ve tried hard to not get one the last few years. But I’m so stressed at tax time that we’re going to owe the IRS that I don’t think it’s worth it. Your video validated this. But more importantly, it has reminded me, I need to be questioning advice I hear and see if it’s right for my situation.
Totally agree Kendra!! I think you're spot on about the importance of questioning all advice (mine included) so glad it was helpful for you :)
About the tax refund, having an extra $250 a month in a savings to draw $25 in interest doesn't make sense. However, if you have credit card debt with 20+% interest, an extra $250 a month used to pay down the debt is money ahead.
Agreed completely. If that's the case, it could make a difference. :)
I love the honest talk about paying other people to do things you could do yourself. My father in law will drywall a wall, but he'll hire someone for a ceiling because he know the limits of his drywall skills.
I have 3 dependents, I’m not sure I’ll ever be in a lower tax bracket!
For #2 I’ve found that it’s worthwhile to hire someone at 30$/hr to do a great job vs my $30/hr mediocre job. This might be doing an oil change and not screwing in the filter wrong, or doing a great job video editing. But fixing things around the house, it’s almost always worth it to me to RUclips it and try it myself- plus I enjoy puttering like this :)
Love it :) Sounds like you've given a great deal of thought to what is and isn't worth your time, and that's what its all about!
Thanks for watching.
Found your site last week as I'm just starting to work with YNAB. Fantastic work Nick. Ok, my wife used the tax free loan argument for years and for years we owed money and I'd have a money freakout every April trying to figure out how to come up with the cash. Last year I was finally able to get her to reduce the # of Fed and State with holdings. I am happy to report we came out positive by a few hundred dollars this year. We will use it to clear a CC balance.
Woot woot! Awesome story Corey. I really appreciate you sharing. Also glad to hear that the YNAB videos have been helpful for you.
I really appreciate you sharing that about the tax refund. It's definitely a valid argument, but as you see it can get you into trouble. I'm glad to hear that you've come out positive and are able to use that for CC. That's great news!
Thanks Corey and let me know if there's anything I can do to help!
HOW have I never seen your channel before?! Your videos are AMAZING!!!!
Hey Wendy!! Thanks so much! I super appreciate you taking the time to watch and your kind words. That means a ton :)
I hadn't thought of the IRA at all. Thanks! I'm loving going through your backlog of videos. I'm learning so much.
Hey Skylar! Glad you're enjoying some of the old videos. And glad this gave you something new to think about with the IRA. :)
#1 "interest-free loan to govt" used to actually matter when rates were higher
#3 traditional IRA is often MUCH better for people if they can do tax-free conversions into Roth IRA before/during retirement - with this method many people can wind up paying zero taxes on their IRAs
The IRA thing is a really good point, so thanks for that. I'm starting to save for retirement now and have opened two IRAs, one Roth, one traditional, and I've been wondering what approach to use. I was leaning towards the Roth, and you've confirmed it for me.
Last summer, I was looking at the tax estimator tool and trying to figure out if I could increase my take-home pay... which I probably could have... but at that point we were not managing our money properly, so I figured that if I let the gov't hold it for me, we couldn't waste it! (This is especially useful if either you or your partner thinks that money is meant to be spent as quickly as possible, if not quicker). When we started budgeting last fall, things were *tight* but in February we got a nice refund and paid off a credit card with it. This year, we're much more careful so I feel safe increasing my take-home and putting it into savings.
I'm still on my free trial of YNAB, and it'd cost more than what I was paying for my previous tool (Calendar Budget), but I'm thinking it'll be well worth it.
I do agree somewhat. So often financial advice is not a cut and dry answer. I still think it’s best to have your tax refund as low as possible and focus on the mental discipline to align your financial spending with your long term goals. I think if you can improve the discipline then that’s a great long term skill to have that you could apply to other aspects of life as well.
Quest to FIRE totally. I’m huge fan of improving the discipline. It’s definitely better for you in the long term if you can pull it off.
So glad you watched. As always, I super appreciate the comments :)
Dave Ramsey says the tax refund bad advice all the time, never listened & always used the $ for savings or debt.
The Random Things haha yes, and technically Dave is right. Based on math.
But to your point, you’re much more likely to use it to save or pay down debt and so in reality the refund is great for most people.
Thanks for watching and commenting. I really appreciate it.
In Canada, we have what is called an RRSP or Registered Retirement Savings Plan. Any money we contributed was a full deduction of our income for that year. Sounds good right. Now that we're older and withdrawing money from it, the tax we have to pay hurts! I would rather have paid the taxes on it up front and been able to use all that is in our account. We have to consider anywhere from 10-20% withholding tax depending on how much we want in our hand.
Woo! Yeah, that's tough. There's definitely an advantage to getting those tax payments out of the way when you're young and knowing it's done. Sorry to hear that Sherry!
I really love this! Thanks for getting the wheels spinning! Nice to see a different perspective!! Awesome video!!
No problem Brittani! Glad you enjoyed it :) I had a ton of fun putting this video together.
Thanks for taking the time to comment and let me know!
I owe everything to YNAB and Ramit Sethi. Now, if and when I do get a "raise" (used lightly since I have my own business), I'll know exactly what to do with that. And it ain't going toward new sneakers or luxury items! (Ok ok, maybe a LITTLE bit since I do actually need sneakers. My gym shoes have holes etc) but that's exactly the point I'm making. YNAB has saved my financial life, in the single 8 weeks I've been using it already 👌
I got my tax refund just a few days after I saw this video. I understand the math behind the advice to lower your refund-- but a chunk of cash straight to the mortgage and a cup of coffee feels like a dance party. Worth it!
Woot woot! HEARD THAT! :) I’m right there with you Victoria. Love a nice big chunk towards my goals.
I found your videos a few days ago when I signed up to try YNAB and found myself completely lost on how to use it. Your videos are super helpful! And yes, I've been doing the "paying in extra $$" for many years - since my early 20's. I'm now 41! And yes, I can't tell you how many people have told me "you're giving the government free money"... I just simply DON'T CARE. I like that I can't physically touch the money. It's like getting a gift every year at tax time even though it's my money - weird but I'm paying for it. LOL! When I was younger (and on my own) it was much needed come tax time. Now, my husband and I both pay in extra and we typically roll that money into savings (or debt).
haha, totally understand that Ali! I'm with ya :)
Thanks for watching. I really appreciate you taking the time to comment, and hope you're enjoying the videos!
Best piece of advice for me...work while paying someone to do the "mundane" job or is it really worth it. Excellent, thank you Nick.
Roth's are great. I wish they had been available to me in my years of investing into my 401K. Unfortunately, my company only offered it the last 5 or so years of my working career. Now, I am transferring it little by little to Roth so that I won't be hit with a huge tax bill once I turn 70 and have to take the Required Minimum Distribution. I love your videos.
Pidasian Hippie ahhh yes! That’s very frustrating. But at least you’re doing what you can to take advantage of them now.
And thanks! I really appreciate that. It means a ton to hear it.
I wish all my friends would follow this advise! I’m guilty myself of paying people to do things I can do myself while I just sit there lol never again!
haha, thanks Eric! Glad to hear that! Really appreciate the comment man.
Question. I am from Europe. Why do you get a tax refund? I only get a refund on our home mortgage intrest. Is it related to work tax? Or something else?
Hey Joost! Good question. It's on income taxes (or work tax like you said). In the States, most people have their taxes withheld from their paychecks based on how they fill out a form called a W-4. Often times people will have more withheld from each paycheck than they actually owe on their income.
So at the end of the year, when they calculate their income tax, they find that they've actually paid in more than they owe. Therefore, the government will send them a refund check for the overage.
In an ideal scenario, people would get this refund as close to $0, as possible. But as I laid out in the video, sometimes in certain situations, it's actually better to get a slightly larger refund and use it in a wise way.
Hope that makes sense.
@@mappedoutmoney Thx Mr True. I thougt so but was not sure. Here our government is probably a bit more efficient. Though they too make mistakes especially if your income is low and you get money back to support your rent, or our medical manditory payment or some other form of aid. And as far as i can see this is an IT(software) problem). Their sofware just cannot cope.
@@JK-Visions Yeah, it's interesting for sure.
Here in the states it's still largely dependant on the individual to fill out their W4 form correctly (maybe I'll do a video on that haha)
But there's a lot of variables that the average person doesn't/can foresee affecting their situation. So it's nearly impossible to hit $0. Nearly everyone gets a refund or owes at least something.
I often put my tax refund directly into an IRA. You have until April 15 to contribute to an IRA for the previous year.
Love it. I think that's awesome Jennifer. Good for you to directly fund the IRA, that's huge!
@@mappedoutmoney Thanks Nick. It's a good way to do some last-minute tuning on the previous year. Assuming you file early, of course.
@@JM.5387 Totally agreed. Great way to last minute fine-tune.
Do you pay someone to do your taxes, or what tax software do you use to file?
I do my own at this point, but have used others in the past. Currently, I use Taxact. But there's lots of good ones out there!
Great videos! Glad I found your channel!
Hey Lana! So glad you enjoyed the video and are enjoying the Channel! I really appreciate you watching and taking the time to comment :) Happy New Year!
I agree about the tax refund. For some people it is better that they get it in a lump sum.
Absolutely! It's all about figuring out what works for you.
Thanks for watching Melodie!
Great video. It is hard to say if I love my tax refund or my lawn service more.
haha, thanks Rebecca, glad you like it :) And yes, they're both very nice!
Sorry for resurrecting this one, just came up in my list. Love the YNAB instructional videos. You helped me organize my budget more efficiently. I do have to disagree with your first advice. Just because someone "plans" to increase their savings, doesn't mean they will or do. We all know individuals who say they will do this, then make excuses as to why they "had" to spend it. Ever since I adjusted my W4, it is easier to pay off my credit card in full every month. As for the 36% who claim they will pay off some debt with the return, if they had the money in the first place, there would have been less debt racking up fees and interest for the year. If you lack the discipline to save money and need the IRS to be your piggy bank, then most likely you will lack the discipline to save using a budget in the long run. I know some can, but most will not. To end on a positive, best YNAB videos on youtube.
That’s cool Steve! I don’t expect everyone to agree with me. We can just agree to disagree here my friend. Thanks for watching and I’m glad that adjusting your W4 has worked for you. As I always say, self awareness is the most important part of personal finance. We all have to find what works for us as individuals.
I hadn't heard the stuff about Roth IRA's before.
Well hopefully you heard something new! Thanks for watching Carrie!
@@mappedoutmoney I'm trying really hard not to educate myself about retirement in the hopes that I won't get old. 🙃
Hahaha well let me know if you figure that out. I’d love that myself :)
Thank you for investing in keeping the community educated. Your YNAB beginners video saved me from giving up on the app for the 3rd time. I was searching for a digital way to keep track of my money. Throughout the many apps available YNAB seems to be the best. I even tried EveryDollar. I'm now subscribed and going back to watch videos I don't want to miss any helpful information.
Hey thanks!! I'm so glad that my videos have been helpful for you. I really appreciate you taking the time to comment and let me know. Just keep on YNABing! And you will absolutely get there :)
Do you suggest a back door Roth if I make too much to qualify for a Roth?
Melodie V so it depends on your specific situation. But in general, yes the back door Roth is a great way to protect yourself down the road.
But overall, it still would depend on your specific situation and what you have going on with your other retirement accounts like a 401k etc.
Maybe I should do a video with more detail on this.
What Facebook group are you in? Is there one for financial youtubers? If there is I wasn’t aware of it! 😅
Quest to FIRE haha so that Facebook group was the ChooseFI group. Which is a group run by the guys from the ChooseFI Podcast :)
Nick True - MappedOutMoney ahhh ok. Yeah I am in that group, but I didn’t see that specific post. I’ll have to go look!
Quest to FIRE yeah there was a bit thread about paying for Services vs DIY. Long discussion lol :)
I know people who pay way more extra tax on every pay and then get the money back at tax time. I live in Canada and the minimum amount taken off in taxes is brutal as it is, I don’t want to give the government any more money lol I get why people do it though. If you can’t trust yourself to put a few dollars in a savings account from each pay I guess having it taken directly off your pay so you don’t see it makes sense. 🤷♀️
But I actually use that extra money to pay bills....I think
?
No problem with that! The point is you're still using the extra money to get ahead and do what needs to be done... not just eating out more or getting more coffee! :)
25 dollars is not worth it for me. Too prone to fucking the money up .
Haha same my friend, totally get that!
I would assume that people who watch your channel (like me) are like me -- we're working to lower debt/expenses and the small stuff really does add up. I'm not sure why you'd advise against adjusting your withholding to minimize your tax refund and then use the example of a crappy savings account. That money, by people like you, me, and your watchers would either be an extra $250 towards debt (which you're paying more than 2% on) or $250 towards your nest egg (which I hope is paying more than 2%!)
Actually, I should've kept listening... you later came back and said just that IF you know yourself.
Hey Michael! Yes, you're absolutely right. When you're digging yourself out of debt, every little bit helps. The key is the self-awareness piece. If you have the discipline to take that extra and throw it towards debt, you're absolutely better off doing that. But if you don't (which is, unfortunately, a lot of people) you're better off taking the nice tax return and using that.
Thanks so much for watching and commenting, I really do appreciate it!
Your videos are so good! Do you script them?
Thanks Courtney! Glad you like them.
And yes, I do. Some of them word for word, some just bullet point outlines. Depends on how complex the topic is haha :)
But thanks for the compliment. I appreciate it!
It looks like my refund this year is $28. Success!
Haha, nice! That's impressive.
can't believed i had not seen this one. i thought i had seen all of yours....hmmmm
haha, well, hope you enjoy it!
Mr RAMSEY has taught me the tax refund thing :)
haha, totally get it! And it makes sense on paper. But everyone has to decide what makes sense for them personally.
@@mappedoutmoney as I have delved more and more into personal finance, I have learned just that. There is no ultimate dogma in PERSONAL FINANCE. LOL