5 Mistakes to Avoid When You Get Your Tax Refund

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  • Опубліковано 21 лис 2024

КОМЕНТАРІ • 60

  • @TheJohnnyDarc
    @TheJohnnyDarc 2 роки тому +30

    I owed taxes for the first time this year because I botched my withholding for the first half of last year. Thanks to YNAB though, I made a category to slowly save up what I would need by April and now it’s all taken care of with no payment plan 😊

    • @YNABofficial
      @YNABofficial  2 роки тому +1

      Ahh! I'm sorry John! Those kind of situations can be so hard and frustrating, but I LOVE that when that kind of stuff happens, I can take right to YNAB and make a category for it so it doesn't happen next year. You've got the mighty right idea! Way to go!
      -Hannah 🌻

  • @joanhall3718
    @joanhall3718 2 роки тому +7

    I never ask myself “where’s the tax refund going “ because I always have a few goals in YNAB that I can’t regularly fund from my paycheck. Any extra money, bonuses, overtime, tax refunds, goes into those categories. Next September I’m finally going to Iceland 🇮🇸 funded from mileage points and “extra money “.

    • @YNABofficial
      @YNABofficial  2 роки тому +2

      WOW! Iceland sounds like a BLAST. That sounds like a long-deserved trip, earned from all your hard word and discipline!
      -Hannah 🌻

  • @lindsaythegreat
    @lindsaythegreat 2 роки тому +9

    I received some extra income last year from which tax wasn't withheld, so I set aside 20% in a Taxes category and didn't touch it all year. I wound up owing, which I expected, but not the full amount set aside. I now have a "refund" sitting in my taxes category, and it will probably roll over into my debt snowball since I'm not feeling the urge to blow it, since my discretionary categories get funded regularly.

    • @YNABofficial
      @YNABofficial  2 роки тому

      Ooh! Wow, what planning on your end. And it was rewarded with a SURPRISE of not needing all of it! That's amazing! Budgets aren't so bad, huh?!?! 😉🙃
      -Hannah 🌻

  • @Berticus92
    @Berticus92 Рік тому +1

    Hannah appreciate all the advice you gave, but I think you missed a really important suggestion. If you consistently are getting large refunds every year, double check your W4 because you’re paying too much per paycheck to the federal government for taxes! That money could be working for you throughout the year, rather than giving the government an interest free loan! And assigning those extra dollars jobs throughout the year brings much more clarity to your goals rather than getting that 2k refund and thinking,
    what do I do with this money? 🤔

  • @PamJernigan
    @PamJernigan 2 роки тому +5

    I got paid yesterday. Happiest day of the month because I get to Budget! and assign all that money... quite a lot of it is going into "federal taxes due" but I'm grateful I have a solid way to put money aside for that. A couple of years ago I was too broke to pay everything on time, and just sent in random payments over the next 5-6 months (this was pre-YNAB). I don't want to do that again, because it's really stressful.
    And Hannah, what do you mean we just met? You and I have been friends for like a year and a half 😁

    • @YNABofficial
      @YNABofficial  2 роки тому +3

      Same same same same same. Actually, at this point, I often forget it's payday (because I don't rely on it like I used to), but when I finally realize I have an inflow transaction sitting in my bank account it's PARTY TIIIIIME.
      -Hannah 🌻

  • @ksk881
    @ksk881 2 роки тому

    I was able to buy some much-needed clothing and some less-needed home decor (new curtains and plants...YAY!), but that was after depositing the majority of it in an account that is NOT attached to a debit card or checking account. I used to use my refund to pay for my auto/home insurance for the year, and that's one of the biggest benefits I have from using YNAB . I saved for my yearly insurance in my Future Debt Prevention category so that when it came due, I already had the money set aside. I have never been able to save the money like that before!! It's all thanks to YNAB and content like this from you, Hannah, and the rest of the YNAB team. Now I have money set aside in case there is ever a TRUE emergency.

    • @YNABofficial
      @YNABofficial  2 роки тому

      Way to go! It's absolutely okay to have a little fun with it (especially if it's on PLANTS 🌱🥰), just as long as a little doesn't somehow sneakily turn into ALL the fun and we spend away our whole refund before we know it. But dannnng, I love that budgeting for your insurance year round let you put your refund toward what you WANTED, and not be forced to just throw it all at your insurance premium. That's awesome news and a HUGE change in your finances, especially come tax season. Way to go, Karen!
      -Hannah 🌻

  • @helaineh689
    @helaineh689 2 роки тому +1

    Yeah, for me frittering the money away is the biggest danger. Here you have a solid bit of money that, if you’re going to spend, at least buy something tangible, something you can see and say here’s where it went. My goal is to put it into my emergency fund, (once I get it, of course). Or, at the very least, plan where it’ll go. Thank you, Hannah!

    • @YNABofficial
      @YNABofficial  2 роки тому

      Good point! Just spending it on tiny, consumable things here and there (meals out, new beauty products, clothes that will eventually wear out or be donated, etc) doesn't give us much to show for our refund. You can absolutely use a refund to buy those things if you make a solid plan for it, though! It's the frivolous, "oh, it's just a few dollars" here-and-there attitude that gets me. Before you know it, that refund is-POOF-gone!
      -Hannah 🌻

  • @barbararobson8136
    @barbararobson8136 2 роки тому +4

    First point: Hannah... we haven't just met. I've been watching your videos forever! (Because they are awesome!) And second: grammar-ing is hard. LOL.
    Thanks for another great, and informative, video.

  • @Shello58
    @Shello58 2 роки тому +1

    I want that bottle. I got Banksy and the mug. (and other stuff. I YNAB'd that!) That bottle. I need 3 actually. One for work, one for car and out & about, and one for travel and bus tours. Spread the love. You know it. We can't be silenced.! Please advise the Powers That Be to make it available for this year's YNAB Swag Sale😁 It's soooo inconspicuous nobody will notice it! 😉 Thank You!👌🤞🙏 Thsnks again for you're great and timely videos. This is the first year I'm not stressed at tax time!

    • @YNABofficial
      @YNABofficial  2 роки тому +1

      Hmmm, I will relay that to said powers that be 😉
      -Hannah 🌻

    • @Shello58
      @Shello58 2 роки тому

      @@YNABofficial That's great! Thanks!😁👍👌🤞 and send these to Julip & her newish sibling🍖🍖🍖🍖🍖🍖🍖🍖

  • @Smacsek
    @Smacsek 2 роки тому +1

    Oops. I spent mine before it hit my bank account. But it was for a good cause Hannah! I put it in an IRA while the stock market was down and I wammed it out of a catagory that isn't going to be needed for a while. Don't worry, my refund went straight to that catagory when it was deposited today!
    Also, I've had a windfall marinating for almost 6 years now in a high yield cd because every time it comes due I still have no idea what I want to do with it...

    • @YNABofficial
      @YNABofficial  2 роки тому

      WOWW!! Talk about marinating in the decision-free zone 😂😂 That's amazing!!
      -Hannah 🌻

  • @lizp.9513
    @lizp.9513 2 роки тому +1

    Most of mine comes from retirement contributions and charitable donations. I put it back into my retirement so I continue to get a tax break on it. Took me quite a few years to get this disciplined though lol.

    • @YNABofficial
      @YNABofficial  2 роки тому

      Wow, yes. Discipline like that is impressive. But I always forget tax refunds are a thing, so I always think of it as money I never would've had in the first place, which makes it easier to let go of and put toward something responsible (like retirement).
      -Hannah 🌻

  • @bloopez
    @bloopez 2 роки тому +1

    First video I've seen of yours, wondering why the trial is 34 days? But I am interested in learning more in general!

    • @YNABofficial
      @YNABofficial  2 роки тому +1

      Hey Brandon! Great question! A 30-day trial leaves people a little confused when the month rolls over, or if they get their paycheck only once a month. Having the trial be 34-days allows for you to get for a feel for how YNAB works when the the month rolls over AND includes a solid pay day for those who are only paid once monthly. And also, free trials never feel long enough! Why not a few extra days?!
      -Hannah 🌻

  • @xanwilliams3961
    @xanwilliams3961 2 роки тому

    I completed my taxes early this year rather than waiting til the last weekend before they were due and felt great! Didn't categorize my refund until it arrived, spread it out over savings, next month's expenses, wishfarm...DID EVERYTHING RIGHT!!! Then I received a 1099-DIV and had to amend...now I have to pay back what my refund was AND pay on top of it for a total of $2000. Not a happy camper over here, but I feel a little better after stealing a bit from all of my "safety net" categories and far-in-the future sinking funds to make up the payment. I know investments are important in the long run, but man does this hit hurt right now!

    • @YNABofficial
      @YNABofficial  2 роки тому

      Oh no!! Yikes, what a pain. I'm sorry to hear that Xan 😕 Definitely take note of when you actually filed your tax return and when you received that 1099-making sure to file after the date you received your 1099 this year could really save you next year from the same thing happening all over again! Thank goodness for true expenses coming to the rescue, but it's always a bit of a bummer whenever you have to use them for something other than what you intended. Past you really saved future you, though! What a blessing! Thanks for sharing!
      -Hannah 🌻

    • @xanwilliams3961
      @xanwilliams3961 2 роки тому

      @@YNABofficial Oh yes, it was stupid of me to do it before the 1099 came in...it just usually has never made much of a difference so I figured I'd have to maybe pay a little bit more if anything at all. Just reiterates: DO NOT PROJECT! lol

  • @SegaDisneyUniverse
    @SegaDisneyUniverse 2 роки тому +2

    Just got randomly recommended to this video and it has provided some great tips! Just gotten my tax refund today and dumped it right into my savings, since I plan on saving for a car. I didn't get back all that much but at least I also have my bonus to look forward to as well.😁

    • @YNABofficial
      @YNABofficial  2 роки тому

      Wow, we love that! And hey, any return is SOMETHING that we weren't originally planning on having back to our name, so that's HUGE. Putting it right toward a new car is so smart! I doubt you'll regret planning for your future 😉 Glad you enjoyed the watch!
      -Hannah 🌻

  • @JKoenigshof
    @JKoenigshof 2 роки тому +3

    YNAB Yeti?! I don't remember seeing that as a Swag option :) I want one.

    • @YNABofficial
      @YNABofficial  2 роки тому +2

      Ahh!! I accidentally left it on the desk without realizing while filming 😬 The YNAB Yeti was a gift to all of the YNAB team members when we had to cancel our in-person retreat due to covid. Maybe in the future, though!! You never know!
      -Hannah 🌻

    • @JKoenigshof
      @JKoenigshof 2 роки тому

      @@YNABofficial Haha, I bet one of the biggest perks of being employed by YNAB is all the sweet, exclusive Swag ;)

    • @YNABofficial
      @YNABofficial  2 роки тому +1

      It's not a bad gig 😉
      -Hannah 🌻

  • @richmond0602
    @richmond0602 Рік тому

    How do you categorize tax refunds? Especially if you use the reports function. I put the money directly into Ready to Assign and then I have this huge increase in income in my income vs. expense report. But I don't really want it in any of my other categories just randomly, either. I'm conflicted. Any recomendations?

    • @YNABofficial
      @YNABofficial  Рік тому

      Kind of a tricky one-I get it. It's just the oddity of having a random once-a-year inflow of money! Not that I'm complaining 😎
      We've personally just always thrown it into "ready to assign" and divvied it out however we wanted from there. When we see the spike in income in April (or March or whenever we get our tax refund), I always just know "Oh, that was tax season" and don't think much of it.
      However, any new inflow of money categorized DIRECTLY into a category (rather than "ready to assign") is not counted as income. So if your main concern is preserving the consistency of your Income v Expense reports, you could always make a "Tax Refund" category, and add the tax refund as in inflow DIRECTLY into that category upon first entering it into the budget (as opposed to categorizing it as "ready to assign" and then moving it to your "tax refund" category). This way, it won't mess with your income v expense reports, but you can still divvy out the refund from your tax refund category (i.e. send some to "vacation," send some to "new car", etc). It'll still give each of those categories an uncharacteristic little boost, but hey-that's just the beauty of having EXTRA money flow into the budget!! Not too shabby!
      Does this help?!
      🌻 Hannah

  • @JefobahBoba
    @JefobahBoba 2 роки тому +3

    YNAB: Mistake #1 - don't spend until you have it in your account
    Me: 😅 (guilty)

    • @YNABofficial
      @YNABofficial  2 роки тому +4

      Can't say I haven't done the same myself a time or two (or 14) in my life!
      -Hannah 🌻

  • @dstdg18
    @dstdg18 2 роки тому +3

    Hannah: "I don't know why I just put my fingers into my hot chocolate."
    Me: *gasp* You mean it isn't coffee/tea? 😜

    • @megan1689
      @megan1689 2 роки тому +1

      This in combination with the "glowing" comment had me like...hmmm...are we about to hear an announcement 🤰??
      Side note: I'm not suggesting that coffee needs to be off limits during pregnancy, just that it was a curious change 😉

    • @dstdg18
      @dstdg18 2 роки тому +1

      @@megan1689 Oh that's a good point! I didn't even think of that. I hope she announces it if she does. ^-^

    • @YNABofficial
      @YNABofficial  2 роки тому +3

      HA! Oh, Megan. Sweet, sweet Megan. You can hold onto that dream for a few more years 😉 Mac and I got engaged, married, AND bought a house in less 9 months. We need at LEAST a year of rest before we think about any of that 😂🙃
      -Hannah 🌻

    • @megan1689
      @megan1689 2 роки тому

      Haha I will not be rushing that (if/when) milestone from up here in the peanut gallery! Take your sweet time 😉

  • @anishshrestha8146
    @anishshrestha8146 2 роки тому

    So stressful

  • @ShoelessJoeChristian
    @ShoelessJoeChristian 2 роки тому +1

    Great points! We got a lot back this year because of the child tax credit, but we won't be getting that next year! And we also started a dog-breeding business, so we'll be owing a lot back!

    • @YNABofficial
      @YNABofficial  2 роки тому

      Whoa!! That sounds exciting!! Might not be a bad idea to start a "Taxes" category in your budget this year and tuck away a little each month so you're more prepared when you have to "owe back" that money.
      -Hannah 🌻

  • @amoromnes1415
    @amoromnes1415 2 роки тому

    Hannah! I have a question! Can you do a video on something? I have seen all of your videos, and I don't remember seeing an answer to this...
    Let's say I take out a personal loan for $3000. I pay this off in 6 months. After that, I don't need that Personal Loan category anymore, but if I delete it, it makes me move all of the transactions to a different category. So then my data is not accurate! How would you handle this?

    • @alexhaney100
      @alexhaney100 2 роки тому +3

      I use a separate category group called 'Frozen' where I put all of the old categories that I don't use anymore. If you have too many of these, you can even make one category called somehing like 'Retired Categories' and when you delete a category, assign the transactions to that category. I keep this at the very bottom of my budget and don't even open that group so it doesn't bother me.

    • @mando82jr
      @mando82jr 2 роки тому +1

      You can hide the category. I have a bunch that I don't use anymore and some that I have reactivated.

    • @amoromnes1415
      @amoromnes1415 2 роки тому

      @@alexhaney100 That's awesome, thank you! :)

    • @amoromnes1415
      @amoromnes1415 2 роки тому

      @@mando82jr That's a great idea, especially if a category may come back

    • @YNABofficial
      @YNABofficial  2 роки тому

      Great question! I'm with all these fine budgeters that commented on your post-simply "Hide" that category and "Close" that account. If you had that personal loan as a "Loan Account" in YNAB, then you should be able to "close" the account and it will move it into a new "Closed" section in your accounts sidebar instead of deleting it, so you can reopen it one day if needed for whatever reason. You can also easily restore hidden categories if you end up needing them again down the road, and it won't ask you to reallocate all of your past transactions when you hide it.
      Here's a help doc on how to close an account:
      docs.youneedabudget.com/article/1268-close-or-delete-account
      Hope this helps! Write back with any questions!!
      -Hannah 🌻

  • @prexzone
    @prexzone 2 роки тому

    Where can we suggest topics for future videos?

    • @YNABofficial
      @YNABofficial  2 роки тому

      Right here! 😂
      -Hannah 🌻

    • @prexzone
      @prexzone 2 роки тому +1

      @@YNABofficial Okay good yesterday I was looking for a video about tips on monthly rollover. What to do when the month ends. I didn't really see any. I saw an old video but looks like YNAB has changed a lot since then. A new updated video would be nice. 🙏

    • @YNABofficial
      @YNABofficial  2 роки тому +1

      Well, that's silly-we definitely need one of those! Sorry we left you hanging! I'll throw it on our list! If I don't cover it, Ben or the Budget Nerds will cover it more a depth! They did do a video on it a while back, but we could probably use a quicker, more to the point one at some point down the road. Thanks for the tip!
      Here's that older Budget Nerds episode:
      ua-cam.com/video/cSzVcP5R6fU/v-deo.html
      -Hannah 🌻

  • @acidpoptart4270
    @acidpoptart4270 2 роки тому

    Jokes on you! Child support takes all my tax refund! HA

  • @earthwormhunter
    @earthwormhunter 2 роки тому

    As if you can even buy a PS5 if you want one. Oh, I get it! Smart.

  • @kurimus8299
    @kurimus8299 2 роки тому

    Ok this is weird. I am catching up on YNAB videos I haven’t seen just for fun, and I’m watching this directly after “do I need a savings account?” ...in which the answer was NO. and now Hannah is saying exactly the opposite. What’s the deal?

    • @YNABofficial
      @YNABofficial  2 роки тому

      Hey Kuri! Ha! Toootally get it. These days I'm making two categories of videos for two different audiences-videos for YNABers that help them learn the app and our method more in depth, and then more generic money-related videos for those who don't use YNAB but are just lookin' for some good ol' info on the internet.
      So, to someone using YNAB, I'd say do you *need* a savings account? No, not if you don't want to-YNAB makes it so you know what each and every dollar in the bank is going to and what it's for, no matter how many accounts you have or which accounts they're in!
      But to someone who doesn't use YNAB or doesn't have a budgeting system they use, I'd say tucking something like a tax refund away in a savings account is a wiser move than leaving it in your checking account.
      Hope that makes sense! That would be a bit of a jolting shift in information 😂
      🌻Hannah