Ah yes, that wonderful time of year that Uncle Sam makes it rain with vacation money! If you’re like the average millennial, filing your taxes can be a pretty stressful experience. In fact, almost 80% of millennials are afraid of the tax process, but we sure aren’t afraid of those tax refunds (we should be). 🙂

The truth is, tax refunds are actually a bit of a junk punch.

The government gets it’s bloated, wasteful hands on your paycheck before you ever even see it and takes out “their cut” as an interest free loan from you to them. They hold it throughout the year, and then reluctantly give it back when THEY want to. The whole thing kinda blows honestly.

Here’s the deal: if you are going to get a refund back, you might as well do something awesome with it that will boost you past your peers later down the road. That vacation in Cabo might seem epic now, but you won’t even remember it when you’re living paycheck to paycheck on a social security system that might barely exist in 40 years.

Here are 9 smart ways to build wealth with this year’s tax refund:

 

1. Invest in a tax-qualified retirement plan (AKA your future)

If there is any silver lining to the tax-refund, it's that it is basically money that the government forced you to save. Putting that money into a tax-qualified plan like a ROTH IRA or traditional IRA is a great plan. Have a 401k with an employer match instead? Great. Double that money homie.

2. Start an emergency savings fund

Did you know that one fifth of millennials don't have emergency savings? Even having as much as $1,000 in a savings account will put you in the top half of savers for our generation.

3. Open up a brokerage account

A tax refund can be the perfect vehicle to dip your toes into the investing world. If you are just starting out, purchasing ETF's (exchange traded funds) can be an effective platform to begin building your portfolio on.

4. Pay down high interest debt

Have some student loans that are in the 6.8% range like I did? Your tax return could go a long way to help you pay down your debt faster. Make sure you allocate the funds to the higher interest rate loans first, and if there is anything left over use the refund on your lower interest debt.

5. Save for your health

You never know when unexpected health scares might come up – even at our age. Chances are that you probably have a high-deductible health care plan, so you will get little benefit from your insurance for the first five or six thousand dollars! Keeping you tax refund set aside could be the difference between paying cash for health expenses or going into debt to cover the costs.

6. Put it towards a down payment on a house

We're all tired of paying rent and helping someone else get wealthy with our hard-earned money. The only way to really break the cycle is to buy your own home, but it takes a saved down-payment first. Even one year's tax refund could get you out of a month or two of rent later on.

7. Start a college fund for your children

Everyone is aware of rising tuition costs, and unless something drastic changes after this election cycle there isn't an end in sight. You'll probably want your kid to go to college, so help them do it without debt for you or them.

8. Purchase life insurance

This is especially important for people with large amounts of student loans. Life insurance can be the difference between financial stability and massive debt for your family if your private student loans are passed on in the event of your death.

9. Use it as seed money for a business

The average tax-refund is around $3,000 dollars. While that doesn't seem like enough to start a business, it actually could be. Use your refund as seed money to buy your first inventory and legally set up a company or even start your own blog!

The moral of the story is that you CAN'T waste your refund on vacations or Amazon gift cards (seriously…you have nobody to blame but yourself if you fall for that crap). Your tax refund can be unbelievably powerful if you use it correctly. For more on taxes – check out my previous tax post where I show you how to turn a $3,000 dollar refund into over $600,000 dollars!

Live differently. Your bank accounts will thank me later. ~M$M

 

 

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April 18, 2016Posted in: Tax Tips