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tax refund - pay off debt or save?
Hey everyone! I've been MIA from the boards for a long while now, but I'm in need of some big advice and knew you guys would be able to help me out!
We just deposited our tax refund yesterday and it was just under $4000. DH and I discussed what we would do with the money (pay off some debt), but I'm having second thoughts. I scheduled the payment this morning to pay off our Lowes credit card (bal was $2650) which should have been paid off last summer with the insurance check for our damaged roof. Unfortunately, instead of paying it off we spent the money frivolously and are obviously now regretting it. 
I was going to use the rest of the refund check to pay off another high interest debt (bal approx $1250) But if I do this it will leave us literally $50 out of our refund.
We're just making ends meet as is and were very recently overdrawing our account because we didn't have the money. I had around $1000 in our savings/emergency fund but that got drained when some unexpected expenses came up. I'm really trying to get us out of debt but I feel like I'm drowning right now.
Is it better to use our refund to pay off 2 of our debts? This will obviously eliminate two payments each month and give me a little more to put towards a snowball... I'm just afraid to spend all of the money in case we would get in over our heads again, but I hate to not pay off a few debts while we have the chance because it seems like its taking forever to get rid of them.
Any help would be greatly appreciated!!!!
Re: tax refund - pay off debt or save?
Thanks for the suggestions! I had already scheduled the payoff for our Lowes bill, so that will definitely be paid off. What to do with the rest is what I'm worried about. I am seriously considering keeping around $300 to put into savings and using the
What about putting that $300 of "uh oh" money into a savings account at a different bank across town? That way it takes more work to get to the money, and do not have a debit card for that account either.
Since you spend the extra money, I would
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I'd probably just pay off the debt and then start saving. Mainly, I don't like debt, but here's another way to look at it:
If you absolutely need money in the near future and have no savings (because you've paid off the cards), I assume you'll ju
"You know you're in love when you don't want to fall asleep because reality is finally better than your dreams." - Dr. SeussALL of this goes to pay off debt. You get to be self indulgenet when your debt is paid off and you can live within your means.
Read Total Money Makeover by Dave Ramsey
Smart Couples Finish Rich by David Bach
They will help you