The $1456.50 Splurge: Spending half the average 2011 Tax Refund
It’s been a rough year for many. So if you survived, or even thrived, maybe you want to celebrate. The average refund this year is $2,913. That’s a ton. It’s also down 3% from 2010. Assuming you’re not a financial lunatic and itching to blow it all, let’s cut half off this year for hypothetical splurging. Of course there are many smarter things to do with half (or all) your tax refund, but maybe you’re in a good financial state with a solid backup plan. Here’s some suggestions on how to live a little, while being thankful you’re not using your refund to pay for filing bankruptcy.
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Christopher Ward Charcoal Trident Automatic – $499.00
Hot damn would you look at that thing. Founded in 2004, Christopher Ward watches aren’t cheap, but you get a ton for the money if you’re able to splurge on one. They’re an English company that makes mainly automatics with some quartz sprinkled in here and there. They’re not afraid to take a classic (like the 1954 Rolex GMT Master, which inspired the above) and tweak it. Get a load of the spade hour and trident second hand. Charcoal grey bezel instead of black or silver is the icing on this particular wrist cake. Swiss automatic movement. Manufactured in Switzerland. Hat tip to the comments section over here for pointing in the direction of these guys. ($957.50 left.)
Suit Supply Wool/Linen Napoli Notch Lapel Suit – $469.00
Intriguing as all hell. Wool-Linen. Zoom in and see the texture of the linen stand out. Might be perfect for those upcoming early evening summer weddings, and could very well pull serious duty well into fall and early winter. Full review of a Suit Supply Napoli fit suit over here. ($488.50 left.)
Allen Edmonds McCallister Wingtip – $245.00 ($335)
Just got marked down as part of the Allen Edmonds 90th anniversary sale. There’s not a lot to pick from, but the McCallister is on there for ninety bucks off. Ninety dollars off for the ninetieth anniversary. See what they did there? Also available in a deep reddish brown “wine” color and a standard black. Sale expires 4/30. ($243.50 left)
Brooks Brothers Made in the USA Cedar Shoe Shine Valet – $128.00
Remember when your family got a dishwasher? Or air conditioning? Sometimes, the right tool makes all the difference. If you’re getting by on a crappy travel shoe shine kit you picked up at a grocery store, yet already enjoy shining shoes, this’ll make you love shining shoes. If you don’t enjoy shining shoes, this’ll make it tolerable. (Do know this goes on sale every so often, and there are much cheaper shoe valets out there.) Pour yourself a drink and get after it. Speaking of pouring a drink… ($115.50 left)
Angel’s Envy Bourbon – $41.66
Bourbon that has some of the edge taken off by way of finishing in port wine barrels. Lots of caramel and some honey. More earthy sweetness behind it. Really easy to sip on. Almost dangerously so. ($73.84 left)
Wood & Faulk Pass Through Watch Strap – $59.00
Probably the last brown one of these you’ll ever buy. More expensive than the Timex Weekender shown on it, but hand made in Portland and the leather and stitching are something else. Could roughen up, just enough, a more dressed up watch like the Bulova 96B104
J. Crew Ticking Stripe Belt – $13.99 ($29.50)
Was marked down to $19.99. Now an extra 30% off with the code MUSTHAVE. Just under an inch and a half wide, so along with the Nautical thing, this belt embraces the slimmer belt trend. ($0.85 left)
Almost all of a Black Joe Lewis Song – $0.85
(you’ll need $.99 for the whole thing)
Suggestions: “Get yo Shit” “Bitch I love you” or the as seen on Letterman “Livin’ in the Jungle.” As talented & entertaining as he is unassuming on stage. Saw these guys perform at a place where before the show, Joe had himself a Budweiser at the bar, checked in on the merch table, all while no one in the packed house noticed the guy in the ball-cap and leather jacket who looked, y’know, just like the lead singer of the band they came to see. He, along with his band, then proceeded to blow the roof off the place for a few hours.
Got plans for your tax refund? Do something similar with it each year? Leave it all in the comments fellas.
“The average refund this year is $2,913.”
WOW! I got a whopping $250 back this year.
Self-employment = no refunds, ever. Unless you really screwed up your quarterlies.
The silver lining is that I better buy that suit as a write-off for next year! 😉
I’ve got the BB shoe care valet and I LOVE it.
I got $15. Invested it in half a Timex Weekender.
2913?? Must be nice. Sounds like too many people aren’t claiming exemptions on their W-9s…. $104 for me.
At the same time, love that watch. Hadn’t heard of those guys, will have to check out the rest of their line.
I really wanna buy that belt but can’t justify the $9 J. Crew charges for shipping. Just ridiculous. Everything I buy online pretty much comes from Amazon which has free 2 day prime shipping
Who the hell screws up their withholding in such a way to get $3000 back? That’s ridiculous.
I may have to give some things in my closet BACK this year–I had to pay in $550. And I’m a grad student who makes less thatn $25k/yr. #FAILHowdidthishappentome
Wow I bet the government loves that interest free loan people are gibing them. The point of taxes is to break as close to even as possible. I would rather have more money in my paychecks to invest throughout the year. This year I think we netted a $300 return.
Student loan interest on the 1098-E is the only reason I got a decent refund
Agreed. I got around $3k (from federal and state/local combined), but only due to state/local taxes being deducted and my bonus being taxed higher than it should be. But definitely agree that way too many people ignore exemptions. However, they’re on their W-4s typically 😉
Uh…back on topic, those are some nice picks, Joe. That watch strap is sweet, but I can’t really justify that cost to myself. The belt is cool too.
Getting rich slowly. V-E-R-Y slowly.
For folks getting the average return, they are missing out on about $12 of interest based on a higher than average money market interest rate of 0.8%.
Black Joe Lewis put on one of the better shows I have ever seen – he was the supporting act for Robert Randolph when I saw him, so I left the place with a blown mind and a twice-melted face
I would recommend “Sugarfoot” along with “bitch, i love you” for those who are new to his music. not everyone’s cup of tea, but i dig it – great call
That watch is AWESOME. Too bad i don’t have 499$. I already spent my tax return on paying off a student loan. I guess it was the smart thing to do…
Had similar experience in Boulder, CO as Joe. Saw him walking around chatting with people, then went on stage and blew people away!
Got 5K back since I had no idea how much I would make from my 3 mo hourly internship 😮
Considering that watch..
Why not a $2,000 polo…
http://www.brooksbrothers.com/
For real. I got 750something back. Spent it on a laptop. Last year I owed a bit on my state taxes but got some back on federal, so there’s not much I can fuss with as far as my withholding goes. Getting 3 grand back…fix that.
Four or five years ago, you could get like 5% with ING. Now, not so much. But giving the government a $3,000 interest-free loan is not the way to go either.
Depends on who you’re looking out for. They way they mismanage money, they can probably use that $3k for a year a lot more than I can. 😉
Nice priec on the Mcallisters. I think I’m going to try to hold out until the June Nordstrom sale where most AE’s go for $200 (park avenue, strand, clifton, maybe others?)
My entire tax return went into adopting and rehabilitating a 12 year old dog from the local animal shelter. Otherwise, a pair of AE’s would have been awesome. I love the McCallister (and I mean REALLY love it), but I already have a very similar pair in another brand. If a non-cordovan pair of Park Avenues were sale, that would be my goal.
Name the dog “McCallister”.
On the installment plan?
I have minimal withholding and got $10k back.
Some of us (aka Me), have employed work as well as freelance work. So I always over-do my employee taxes to help cover for self employment taxes. This year I got a huge refund…normally I shoot for breaking even. Plus 1098-E forms.
“rehabilitating?”
What the…did you make like, $400,000 this year?
She had a life-threatening case of pancreatitis that we weren’t aware of when we adopted her, and we opted to save her rather than take her back. It’s taken over a week, but we’re starting to see some improvement.
I’ve just skinted myself buying a house. Still very tempted by that watch though.Great find.
just liking the hash tag. Can totally relate to that one…
Isn’t that wild? The guy is amazing. He’s… surprisingly calm on stage for the noise they make. And when I say “noise” I mean it in a good way.
Godspeed sir. We adopted an orange cat a few years back who had this gum condition that made his teeth literally fall out of his head. No lie, we’d find them (the teeth) laying around the house. Sweetest cat, with a touch of tom-cat in him. More like a dog than anything. Taught him how to sit and high-five for treats. Spent a load to get his teeth out of his face, but now with just one fang, he’s happy as can be. He’s a huge, huge addition to the home office.
Agreed, that’s a lot of fire to come out of some pretty chill looking dudes. Only problem is that the wife and I had a baby sitter and aren’t getting any younger. Had to sit through terrible 1st act, but saw great 2nd act called The Sheepdogs. Southern soul music from some fellas out of Saskatchewan. Pretty cool and they are getting some play. Check em out. http://www.thesheepdogs.com/
What do you expect? Its Chet Steadman. He’s the retired ace pitcher for the cubs
I’m a grad student making less than $5k/yr #wompwomp
good catch. bottom line, no thanks on the interest free loan to the government.
those watches were pretty nice..never heard of that brand b4 ….i went with a 43mm slim hamilton and a trip to maui for my return
Haha- nice call.
The annual bonus is a big component of my income, so it gets taxed at the top bracket. There’s nothing I can do about it.
Why do my comments keep getting deleted from here???
Yay! More people are aware of Chris Ward now. If the true watch snob gets to you, check out the CSOC chronographs which are accurate to within a second a day. They are definitely pricey but in the grand scheme of automatic watches, they sport a cheap price tag for an ETA movement and solid return policy.
Yep. I was going to ask, “what if you owed $7,000 this year, like I did?” I wonder if the IRS would take some of my clothes as payment. Hmm…
When I was employed, I never understood why my fellow employees couldn’t figure out how to plan their taxes so they didn’t get a refund. Why give the government a zero interest loan? Running my own company now, I don’t take a salary, so I just pay the government… which honestly works out a lot better. You are not getting money back from the government with a refund, you are reclaiming money you overpaid. BTW this paying taxes directly out of your salary, all started during the War when the government needed revenue to pay for the war and they never bothered repealing what was supposed to be a temporary measure.
Anyway good list, ordering that watch strap right now.
I am so freaking average, I’m within $100 of that, Of Course we are a family of four, so I don’t know how that flies?