Taxes, Pt 1

I would like to introduce this post by saying, I am in no way a tax expert. I am simply one of many with numerous grievances when it comes to taxes. My parents still laugh about how when I received my first real paycheck when I was 16 I exclaimed, "They took my money!" I may understand the tax system more now, but my thought is still the same every year when I realize just how much money I pay in taxes...

Now on to my tax thought of the day. If you are able to say this: "Blew my tax refund on a new iPhone & MacBook, my outrageous cell phone bill & shenanigans in Asia, plus Lollapalooza, Electric Zoo, and hey, my motorcycle license" I'm guessing your refund didn't have any major effect on your spending; these purchases would all have happened anyways. Don't get me wrong, the individual who said this likely was just having far too much withheld, and the money was really theirs to begin with, but as a 25 year old working my hardest just to pay the bills, including my student loan payments, the idea of not only receiving a refund that size, but then, as a recent college graduate, blowing it all on such extreme luxuries is baffling. Yes, you read correctly, the individual who said this is a recent college graduate. Immediately after graduation was an incredibly tumultuous financial time in my life; you have very little to work with, a mountain of student loan debt looming over you and little to no experience navigating the "real world" with complete financial independence. It is especially baffling when so many tax credits are on the table for expiring this year, including the one for payments made on student loan interest--I won't even get started on this now, I'll save it for Taxes, Pt 2. Stay tuned!