Trent’s always talking about going on vacations with his family so I don’t understand the honeymoon thing at all.
It’s the trip that made your family a family.

Yup, some of us really ARE overpaying that much each year! My husband and I received a $22,000 refund this year because I hadn’t adjusted our withholding to reflect our annual charitable donations and the obscene amounts of mortgage interest and state tax paid (whoops!).

Also, if you get large bonuses those bonuses generally have an excessive amount of tax withheld, which you then get back when filing.

It boggles my mind when people get hundreds or even thousands of dollars back in a refund. How do they do it? It is due to homeownership? Is it kids? Marriage? They really can’t be overpaying that much each year, can they?

My tax refund will be used for a few essentials now that I’m making the switch from an apartment to a house: lawn mower and other yard stuff, changing the locks, a few gallons of paint, a couple of minor changes to the kitchen, the miscellaneous things I won’t even think of until I move in, etc. Oh, and I’m totally splurging on a fancy light fixture for my bedroom.

My partner and I have been searching for the right house and getting financially prepared for years. I am going to ENJOY spending this income tax refund.

I’d prefer to have more money each month to save/spend/whatever than a big lump once a year, but that is the law and I can’t change it.

I also have noticed you seem to routinely bring up your honeymoon trip as a “mistake”, even if you had some nice memories out of it. You seem to equate overseas travel with luxury/spending a lot of money, and not everyone travels the way you did. I have done some long trips (1-2 months) on a fraction of what you spent on your honeymoon alone.

It strikes me as somewhat odd how your consistently bring up your honeymoon trip in a (seemingly) negative light, especially when you consider how you often preach that experiences are far more valuable than Stuff. Life is a limited time offer, and if you don’t take them time (and spend the money) to enjoy it, what are you left with? A big bank account?

I’m all for living frugal, installing programmable thermostats, driving a paid off car as long as possible, cooking at home, etc., but if you’re only doing all these things just to fatten up a bank account, what’s the point? Financial security? What’s the point of financial security if you’re not enjoying life? (And, I don’t believe that a person needs to spend a lot of money to enjoy life.)

So, maybe what I’m saying in all this is that despite the regular articles you harken back to the “wasted” money of your honeymoon, you still have those memories, you had fun I’m sure, and I bet Sarah also enjoyed herself exploring a new place with you next to her. It’s sad (to me) that you don’t seem to appreciate this. Money is just money, and no, it can’t buy happiness, but it can certainly help make memorable experiences.

If travel isn’t your thing, just say so, but remember that not all of us value the same thing (thus making this entire comment hypocritical) and find money spent on travel well worth it, more than a downpayment on a house, for example.

Now, we can take the money that we were spending on the credit cards and transfer that to our savings account every month…

This year, I’m using a portion to catch up on last year’s IRA, using some for 529 and the rest for vacation. Who knows, would I have had the discipline to set aside the same amount during the year had it been in my paycheck instead? I dunno, maybe. But the forced savings aspect is probably good for most Americans that spend what or more than they make each paycheck.