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Finances

9 Smart Ways To Use Your Tax Refund

February 20, 2018April 8, 2019 Leila Leave a comment

Use your tax refund wisely with these 9 ideas! Ideas that could potentially increase your income and improve your life! www.LivinglikeLeila.com

Tax season has rolled around again and hopefully you’re expecting a decent refund. I’m here to remind you that a shopping spree is not in order! Try the following things instead!

Save it

Well let’s knock the obvious one first. According to CNBC, more than 50% of Americans have less than $1,000 in savings. If a medical emergency, surprise vet visit, or unexpected home damage pops up, most people wouldn’t be able to afford it. This would mean charging more to credit cards/taking out more loans and the vicious debt cycle continues.

Treat your tax refund as a bonus and literally put it all into a savings, off limits for random spending.

Contribute to an IRA

Have you started investing yet? Better late than never! You can contribute to a Roth IRA or a Traditional IRA, read about the differences here. Did you know contributing to an IRA may even increase your tax refund?! I opened one last year for that exact reason. For 2016 my income was low, so by investing $1400 into a Roth IRA, I received an additional $600+ return.

Either way it’s beneficial to begin contributing, because the sooner you start the more time you have for compounding interest to work it’s magic.

Pay off debt

If your on a debt free journey like myself, the idea of throwing a couple thousand dollars at your payments gives you a high. Unfortunately society teaches us that debt (especially student loan and consumerism debt) is normal. Well it is normal, but you don’t want to be a part of that normal!

Take a serious look at your debt and see if you should start taking it more seriously.

Put it toward a down payment

Looking to buy a home or car? Now you’ve got a good chunk to throw at your down payment! A larger down payment will save you a lot more interest in the long run and can help lower your monthly payment.

Renovate your home

If you’re looking to sell your home soon or you just need to spruce things up, you may want to invest in some home renovation! Paint the walls, get new counter tops, install new lighting fixtures, etc. These changes can increase the value of your home or maybe just your happiness!

Even if you just purchase a new bed or couches I see that as a positive decision, because it is the place you come to for comfort after all!

Take a course/get certified

NEVER stop learning! Sharpen or learn a new skill by taking a course. There’s tons of valuable options online these days, just make sure to do your research. You may even want to get a certification in something if it’s going to benefit you/your career. Some examples…bloggers can take an affiliate marketing course, a Pinterest course, or invest in a whole blogging community! Artists can enroll in a photography, drawing, or painting course. Learn how to invest in the stock market and stretch your dollars even more!

The options are endless and it’s always a good idea to be learning something new and to challenge yourself.

Invest in yourself

This doesn’t necessarily mean splurge on clothes or other materialist things, I mean to invest in things that are going to benefit your body and mind. Book a few massages, join a gym, get a facial, join a meditation group, purchase a couple of self-improvement books, get some quality vitamins and groceries. You get the idea!

Invest in your business

Investing in your business should actually benefit you more than you think. An investment makes you commit and work harder, because you don’t want to sacrifice the money that you lost. A new computer, a new camera, some nice light boxes, new props, a course, all can motivate you to work harder!

Related: How to Invest Your First $100

Donate

If you’re feeling generous, donate some of your refund to your favorite cause. Or you could even just buy some things to help your local animal shelter or families out! Generosity (though money is definitely not the only way to be generous) goes a long way!


What will you be doing with your tax refund this year?

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I just wanted to say a big thank you for all the l I just wanted to say a big thank you for all the love and kind words on my previous post ❤🥺  It amazes me that I have this growing community of support and I'm so grateful for it.  I know paying off a car and paying off debt isn't a big thing for everyone, but it's a huge part of my life and I genuinely appreciate that everyone is proud of me and celebrating with me!!  I do hope my progress and my openness on my finances encourages more people to look into theirs and improve it. Improving my finances has made a HUGE difference in my life.  No, money may not buy happiness. But when shit is in order you have less stress, more clarity, and more faith in what's to come👌  These blue light glasses are from @tijneyewear 👓 (gifted)  #thankyou #financialindependence #finance #debtfreecommunity #debtfreejourney #DebtOverIt #blogger #financialcoach #debtcoach #personaldevelopment #neverstopimproving #LivinglikeLeila
I paid off my car today 🙂 27 months EARLY!!! T I paid off my car today 🙂 27 months EARLY!!!  This car should have cost me about $22K, but it ended up being about $30K!!! I'll break down why that is in a future video.  But for the first time in my adult life I am paying $0 in interest right now 😭  I started my debt free journey in June 2018 with $82,200 of debt... I'm now down to ONLY my student loans of $36,200. Which are in forbearance and at 0% interest right now.  This is like a little preview of the debt free life 🥺  Not to mention, my minimum car payment was $382.55 and if I invested that monthly, it would grow to over $200,000 in 20 years.  You may be able to afford that car payment, but it comes with a HUGE sacrifice.  My debt free journey has changed my life and I'm so, so excited for my financial future. 🙏💰  #cardebtfree #finances #debtoverit #cardebt #debtfreecommunity #debtfreejourney #money #finance #studentloandebt #financialfreedom #financialindependence #firemovement #financialindependenceretireearly #TransferTuesday
'Living like Leila' will always be my first born b 'Living like Leila' will always be my first born baby business, but as my personal finance business has significantly grown I've realized I just want LLL to encompass Me.  If you haven't noticed, I am VERY multi-passionate. I love fitness, finance, personal development, veganism, plants, books, food, planning, habits, business. I literally lose sleep at night because I CONSTANTLY have ideas lol  So I know this IG and my LLL YouTube covers everything under the sun, but that's exactly what I want it to be. It's just a digital journal of my life and even though it can be a lot, it's just a reflection of my life and the things I value.  This has allowed me to put less pressure on myself for the content I create, and I truly just enjoy it all as a hobby now.  So I understand that some of my content may not resonate with everyone, but I appreciate ya'll being here 😊❤  And as a side note, if you decide to start an online business...niche down to ONE topic. It will go a lot further, at least from my experience 👀  #multipassionate #livinglikeleila #vegan #personaldevelopment #books #debtfreecommunity #finance #debtfreejourney #business #onlinebusiness #habits #fitness #life
Post-filming, pre-workout selfie ✌ hence the mes Post-filming, pre-workout selfie ✌ hence the mess.  My January finance update and February budget will be up Friday 😊  Also these are the best leggings ever from @ptulaactive  #ptulafamily #ptulaactive #ptula #youtuber #health #fitness #vegan #fit #igfitness #blogger #debtfreecommunity #debtfreejourney #debtoverit #budget #finance #livinglikeleila
Hello February 😍  Goals and such this month:
▪️Pay off my car (I'm so excited)
▪️Jump rope for at least 2 minutes daily
▪️Start 'Phase 2' of my training program (begins Feb 15th and I'll be creating a guide for it!)
▪️Finish reading 2-4 books (fiction and non-fiction)
▪️Stick to my usual habits better (I've been in a morning routine rut but I'm working on it😊)  What are your goals?!?  #NewMonth #debtfreecommunity #debtfreejourney #blogger #youtuber #goals #february #habits #personaldevelopment #strong2021 #fitness #vegan #fitnessgoals #health #healthy #LivinglikeLeila #DebtOverIt
I read 16 books in 2020, 11 of which were non-fict I read 16 books in 2020, 11 of which were non-fiction/personal development.  I uploaded a review of all the personal development books along with my favorite lines from each. I also wrote a blog post to go with it 😊  Search 'Living like Leila' on YouTube or find my channel linked in my bio!  What are you currently reading? Any personal development book recs I may not have read yet?? 📖  #books #bookstagram #read #personaldevelopment #readbooks #booklover #booknerd #books #bookreview #bookrecommendations #personaldevelopmentbooks #selfhelpbooks
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