Suggestions for What to Do with a Tax Refund and What to Avoid
Are you wondering what to do with your tax refund? Learn some options with Huntington Bank to help get the most out of your tax return this year.
Ways to Use Your Tax Refund
Expecting a tax refund this year? No matter the amount, it can be a struggle to figure out what to do with your return. Deciding on the best use for your tax refund depends on your financial situation and your future goals. At Huntington, we have tips and digital tools to help you make a good decision for saving, investing, or spending your tax refund. What should you do with your tax return? Here’s a few tips:
- Build Up an Emergency Fund
- Make a Payment on Your Debt
- Boost Your Retirement Fund
- Support Your Side Hustle
- Save it for a Rainy Day
Build Up an Emergency Fund
Whether it’s a car accident, job loss, or unexpected medical bill, financial emergencies can happen to anyone at any time. Unanticipated expenses can drastically cut into your budget and can affect your ability to keep up with monthly bills. Building and maintaining an emergency fund is one way to be better prepared when it comes to unexpected costs and disruptions to your budget. Huntington is here to help – with digital tools, emergency savings tips, and financial calculators.
Savings Goal Getter ? – Make Real Progress Towards Your Savings Goals
Whether saving for the trip of a lifetime, or just putting money away for a rainy day, we can help. With Savings Goal Getter, you create your goals and track your progress to help you get there. You can add up to 10 savings goals, plus an emergency fund for each of your Huntington Savings and Money Market accounts. Learn more.
Another option for using your tax refund is putting it toward paying off your debts. If you have debt from school loans, credit cards, or online Cordova payday loans other sources, creating and sticking to a payment plan is key to maintaining your budget and avoiding accrued interest on your current account balances.
We can help you manage your debt with our Look Ahead Calendar ? , a Huntington tool that lets you see upcoming transactions and helps you plan for them. Organizing your payments into a calendar gives you a way to visualize your finances, anticipate large bills, track spending habits, and monitor your debt.
Your tax refund is a perfect opportunity to make a larger than usual payment on your debt. If you set aside a certain allowance every month to pay toward debt, adding your tax return in part or in full can help you pay off the amount due faster than planned. Even a small portion of your tax refund can help you get one step closer to paying off your debt.
Boost Your Retirement Fund
It’s never too early to plan for your retirement. Whether you have an employer-provided 401(k) plan, an individual retirement account (IRA), or both, contributing your tax return to a retirement fund can help boost your overall savings.
Keeping an eye on your retirement and adding extra cash with your tax refund can help support your long-term financial goals and can help you reach them faster. If you need help managing your retirement fund and figuring out the right contributions for you, Huntington has retirement calculators to help you navigate your finances step by step.
Support Your Side Hustle
A side hustle is an entrepreneurial hobby or extracurricular occupation that helps support your overall financial goals. Enjoy working on cars for a little extra cash? Your tax refund could help you pay for parts and other necessary tools. If knitting, embroidery, or crafting is more your style, some cash from your refund could help you afford more supplies and support an online store.