My husband was talking about our refund and what I wanted to do with it. I told him I figured we'd pay off some debt with it. He said yeah that he'd kind of thought about it.
I asked what he wanted to spend it on, "Well... I really want a new TV."
I told him if he thought we were spending our refund on a new TV he was sadly mistaken

But now, after talking with his dad and finding out that we were probably getting A LOT more than he'd thought.... he said well what if we split it. Half on debt and the other half divided amongst us. *Sigh*

I guess that's better than nothing and my part would go toward the debt but jeez!

We're going to talk about it Friday when we have a better estimate. He has an appointment at H&R Block.

I can understand wanting to splurge a little but I'd have to consider how bad our debt was first and how much could be paid off with the refund. I'm assuming you have a t.v. that works so it's not a necessity, as badly as your DH may want it. If you don't have a working one then I can better see getting one. But you'll figure out what is the best for you guys. Good luck coming to an agreement!

And remember the rebate you'll be getting later in the year as well . . .

Yeah, my husband said the same thing! I was peeved. But we were lucky to get back enough to pay off our out standing debt and buy him a new TV.

Yeah we have a working TV. And actually... we don't even have cable or anything at the moment. So we don't actually watch TV. We have Netflix though. So we watch movies/shows, I do more than my husband though. Even when we have cable he doesn't really watch TV. He'll watch the Simpsons, and Family guy here and there, and that's pretty much it! So... why does he want a new TV??

Because he is a guy...lol!!

Sorry I had to!

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Rebate? Maybe I'm just slow but... what is that? I found something online, and it was just... confusing.

If you are married and have an adjusted gross income of less than $150,000, you get $1,200. For each child under 17 you get an additional $300. The rebate goes down if you make over that amount. And you have to file a 2007 tax refund to get the rebate.

Since you mentioned that this is your husband that we're talking about, I'm going to assume you're married. A marriage isn't just about what YOU want, nor what he wants. It is supposed to be about what is good for both of you and your family. Specifically, when your hubby saw he wasn't going to get his way entirely, he 'compromised' by offering to split the money. In a marriage, that kind of compromise really isn't a win-win situation. As you pointed out, you'd just use the money to pay off the debt. No matter how the debt accumulated, the debt is owned by both of you and it needs to be addressed by both of you.

No, I'm not going to advise you on what to do with the money. I don't know if paying down the debt is the best option for your family.

That is a decision your husband and you need to make TOGETHER.

So, my advise is for you to sit down with your husband and DISCUSS the matter. I strongly recommend against discussing money or finances. Instead, start the conversation with what kind of lifestyle you and he want to have. How do you want to spend your time? Will paying down the debt improve your lifestyle? Would your lifestyle be improved by doing something completely different with the money? A vacation? A home improvement? An emergency fund? In other words, the answer may not be selecting between "A" or "B", there might be a "C" option that would make both of you happy.

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Well to keep my comments to this at a minimum... technically the only way I'm tied to the debt is because I'm his wife. All of it is in his name. My name isn't on the car, the loan, etc.

And it's not like I'm trying to tell him what to do. And the comment I made about him being sadly mistaken.. he didn't take that way. He laughed.
And we WILL make the decision TOGETHER. Hence us deciding to talk about if Friday when we have a better estimate.

since u r saying your refund is big,
lets assume it's $4000.
1/2 of that to splurge is too much.
I would do 3/4 to bills, savings, etc.
and 1/4 to splurge.
jmo

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