cathies

My pleasure Kyliebaby, I regularly day dream about what to do with a windfall of some sort. First class tickets to Paris is at the top of the list!!

Bah humbug to Christina and the rest of the spoil sports who couldn't get into the spirit of your post.

Gundy

Well, since we are dreaming, might as well dream big. I would probably treat DH and myself to a Mediterranean cruise. A nice long one.

Or a trip to see the Taj Mahal and whatever else he has on his bucket list.

Or Vegas. Vegas is nice. Where else can you see Paris, the pyramids, the Statue of Liberty, Venice, Italy, and Italy, Monte Carlo all in the same day?

logos999

Wonder who won the 35 million € german lotto jackpot today. That would be something to dream about and yet, I didn't buy a ticket.

Why, maybe I'm too down to earth not to consider my chances of winning before. ;-)

sf7307

<i>Why, maybe I'm too down to earth not to consider my chances of winning before. </i>

Of course, if you <u>don't</u>buy a ticket, your chance of winning is ZERO

Iowa_Redhead

For everyone trying to explain how getting a refund at all is actually because you've loaned the US and state governments money for the last year at 0% interest, I get it. But you don't know everyone's situation so it's not fair to judge and call it financial ignorance.

There are reasons to get a refund. For some, it's an enforced savings plan. For others, they simply had more credits/deductions this year than in other years and didn't change their withholdings. For others, things happened during the year that resulted in credits/deductions, but changing their withholdings still wasn't enough. For some families, their refund is never enough to worry about financial management so if they get back more than the $200 or so as in the previous year, it's more than they expected.

I bought a house at the end of the year, so I get a $7500 credit (granted, I have to repay that credit over time). There's no way I could have changed withholdings to counter balance that. I'll get a huge refund this year, and it's not due to me being incapable of managing my finances.

Sorry to go off on a rant but I hate it when people who don't know the details of someones situation call them stupid or ignorant. What may appear ignorant mismanagement to one, may actually be a planned action.

knoxvillecouple

I might offer yet one more reason why one might get a &quot;substantial&quot; refund and not accurately be characterized as a financial ignoramus. For those of us who make quarterly tax payments (in addition to what's withheld monthly), it's often because of anticipated capital gains and investment income, and those estimated payments are based on historical experience.

Well - has anybody noticed that their investment income did not quite match expectations in 2008 as compared with prior years? I know I did. Whereas in the past our investment income (only on taxable accounts) resulted in earnings requiring additional tax payments of over $10k per year, this year, we had losses in the market.

So yes, I am anticipating a tax refund. But if I had my druthers, it would be to forego the refund and return to the days of more income and more taxes.

So we're not all financial idiots Christina (and others).

Cries_Van_Notebook

knoxville, I laugh my ass of at the financial advice given on this TRAVEL site.

The advice is usually given by people who are far from rich--those just struggling to get by.

Thin

Kyliebaby3

Once, again, if you got more money back than you expected, where would you book an impromptu vacation to this year? That's what this thread is about.

If you're interested in discussing your above-average financial knowledge, tax planning tips and the like, please move your discussion elsewhere. Here's an option: http://forums.forbes.com/.

Pegontheroad

Sounds like someone thinks he/she is the thread topic police.

I'd love to go to either Spain or Germany to study language if I got a huge refund, but I'll probably just sock it away. Because of the lousy stock market, my income has dropped by about 1/3, and I want to see how I do on this lower amount before I seriously think about another trip.

Every time I look at Fodors Europe, I yearn to travel again.

I handle my finances just fine, thank you. But stuff happens. Somehow I couldn't predict that breast cancer surgery and the resulting prescription costs, especially the $279 per month cost for just one medication.

I had humungous (for me, anyway) medical expenses, so it's possible I'll get a decent-sized refund.

nanabee

I'd love to go to southeast Asia. A part of the world I've never been. My sister travels there several times a year (sometimes more) for vacation, and it'd be fun to join her.
Another place I'd love to go is the Amazon River and the Galapagos.

Kyliebaby3

Yes, Pegontheroad, I am... I was the OP.

pdx

Tax refund is back and my debit card is frozen from making so many online transactions. Looks like suspicious activity on the credit card company's end. Looks like a fabulous vacation on my end.

dandj2

we are using ours to pay part of the Holland Canal Boat trip in Sept.

we are only getting $541.00

Kyliebaby3

Good for you, dandj2! That's the spirit. And hey, money back is money back, so take it and run for the boat

dandj2

i cant wait to see Holland !!

Kyliebaby3

The (practical) trigger has been pulled: Arizona for Angels Spring Training in March, and New York City for my birthday weekend. Europe will have to wait...for now.

But for those of you who don't need to wait, US Airways has incredible deals to Europe for August and into September. Example: LAX-CDG was $618 all-in for late August and September dates when I checked today. Go to Orbitz and use their 3rd option for flexible date searches to plug in a 30-day range. That's the max time frame allowed.

Now, if I could just find the damn time off of work... sigh.