What are you doing with your tax refund?

I don't know what type of refund you get from taxes, but I can tell you what we are doing... We are saving all but $100. With $100, I am going to go to watch my local ads and frequent about 3-4 grocery stores and my local Farmer's Market and buy surplus items.

The most popular thing to do with taxes is pay off debt. Call the credit card companies and pay it off. Only to find you  are using the card again for that time you needed groceries.

I have a different view on taxes... One that might not be popular, but works for us... Instead of paying a lump sum on our credit cards or vehicle or whatever, we save the amount and pay off our debt slowly. This ensures you have a savings for an emergency, and allows us to build up a pantry (and household items).



With my $100, I am going to look for non-perishable items on sale, such as:

• Rice
• Boxed Dinners (mac & cheese, etc.)
• Noddles (any kind for spaghetti or pasta salad, etc.)
• Canned Veggies and Beans
• Sauces (BBQ, Spaghetti, Ketchup, Mustard, etc.)
• Cake Mixes (for our daughters for their birthdays and other celebrations)
• MEAT (I will likely spend at least $40-$50 of our money on meat that is on sale each week)
• Corn Meal
• Grits
• Flour
• Frozen Food Items (steam veggies, fat free whipped cream, fruit, etc.)

I always try to think about what we might use in a variety of situations. We have family and friends over every once in a while and usually have a lunch or dinner with them. My daughter will sometimes take lunch to school so I need to think about various items for her. And I work from home, so I need quick and easy breakfast and lunch for me.

Don't stock up on items you won't or don't use. Even if you think "maybe" you and your family "might" try something, stocking your pantry with it isn't a good idea until you KNOW you will use it.

Today we used some stocked spaghetti items I had in our pantry. We didn't use what we had meal-planned for the week since we were wanting spaghetti, so now I still have an extra meal in my pantry for a rainy day.