a strange tax refund

I received my tax refund. Very puzzling tho' !  The US government gave me $400 more than I wrote down on my tax return. That is even more surprising than it sounds, b/c I used the 1040EZ Form.  The form made it so obvious how I came up with the amount of the refund, I meticulously checked my numbers, so I don't understand how the US gov't can give me more money.

MB has laid claim to almost $400 of my refund. But I can't be angry with her, b/c it was legit stuff. I paid for the repair of the front door, and now I'm going to pay for Ted's glasses. It's not like she's forcing me to get her a new dress or new mink coat (obviously I would say "no" to that).

I am not nearly as optimistic at this tax refund as I was with last year's tax refund. Last year, it gave me a very strong, positive momentum financially for 6 months! It helped me pay down credit cards, fix my bike (& then I biked 100s of miles last spring & summer), and it got us a new computer which we really needed.

This year, I'm using it to fix a specific part on my bike (so I won't be spending as much on it as last year's repair), pay down debt. The problem is that I will probably see my debt go back up, because I will be forced to pay for medical bills for my new health problem. 

Let me explain.   My father and older brother both have had prostate cancer.  Thankfully, they made a full recovery from it.  My great grandfather apparently also had prostate cancer, and he died (way back in the early 1900s, almost 100 yrs. ago).  So, obviously my family has a history of this cancer, and my chances of getting this is greater than a normal man's chancees.   I get my prostate tested every year (not 1, but 2 exams).  This year my exam came back with bad results.  I won't know until at least Feb. 22 (& it will be likely that I won't find out till later, like when they do a biopsy) what's going on and my Dr. explains the test results and what they plan on doing in terms of testing and treatment.

a good problem to have

I was pretty surprised to learn a week ago that I was getting the biggest tax refund that I have EVER received. I knew I was going to get some refund, but the magnitude was shocking.

So now I must decide what to spend it on. First of all, I am going to spend a majority of it on paying off my credit cards. That's more important than ever, because the prospect of getting overtime (OT) is more in doubt at the law firm. I have been getting OT at the law firm on a regular basis since June, 2007. So, if I am taking an income reduction through less OT, I need to make sure my expenses are less.

Also, I am definitely getting a new computer. It's about damn time, b/c our computer is currently 9 years old. Yes, that's 9 years as in 108 months old!! So yes, you're damn right we're due for a new computer.

But there's a part of me that knows that MB knows I'm getting a refund and will expect more help than I usually give financially (& that's even though the help I give NOW is substantial). So, I'm uneasy and really hope she doesn't expect too much. If she gets upset, it's going to be a difficult environment to live in during March. I know I will help her more, but the possible argument will be to what degree.

However, this is a very nice problem to have. There are months like December where I am scrambling to make every penny I can or cut every penny in cost I can. It's a very difficult month b/c there's more expenses than usual. So to have this big refund coming my way will be a great opportunity to make big improvements on my financial situation.