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You are here: Home / Beautiful Lifestyle / 5 Ways to Spend Your Tax Refund

February 27, 2015 By Cassie 28 Comments

5 Ways to Spend Your Tax Refund

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5 Ways to Spend Your Tax Refund #MaxYourTax #CollectiveBias #ad #cbias

This shop has been compensated by Collective Bias, Inc. and its advertiser. All opinions are mine alone. #MaxYourTax #CollectiveBias

It’s the time of year where people start to get their tax refunds in. If you’re anything like me and the Hubs then you usually spend it all before you can even figure out where it all went. While there’s nothing wrong with that I have found in recent years that the best way for us is to pick a few small things to do when we first get our tax refund and then save the rest. So today I’m going to share with you my 5 Ways to Spend Your Tax Refund.

Have a small Pamper

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One of the first things that I do when we get our tax refund back is to have a small pamper for us both. This can include a new cut/color for my hair, a trip to a spa or new makeup for myself and shaving items for the Hubs. Whatever we decide to do we try to keep it relatively budget friendly. While I would love to head to a beauty store and spend hundreds of dollars on makeup, I instead choose to head to Walmart and pickup just a few items that I want to test out for myself or the blog. This trip I picked up a Real Techniques Kabuki Brush, Rimmel Radiant BB Cream, OPI Gel Off Base Coat, OPI Nail Polish in The Sky’s My Limit, OPI Nail Polish in Bold, Freeman Honeydew and Chamomile Sleeping Mask, and Freeman Diamond Mineral Mask.

Indulge in Reading

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Another thing that we have taken to doing in recent years is picking up several books that either one or the both of us would love to read. We usually include that in our Walmart trip as they usually have great prices on books and a great selection for everyone. This trip we picked up Mr. Mercedes by Stephen King, Sharp Objects by Gillian Flynn, and Divergent by Veronica Roth.

Get Out of Expensive Contracts

This year we decided to use part of our tax refund to get out of some of the expensive contracts that we were under. We decided that since we don’t watch the majority of the channels that we pay for on satellite to get out of that and switch to an online streaming service. We also decided to get out of the expensive contract that we were under with our cell phone provider and switch to a pay-as-you-go service. While you might be thinking “Uh won’t that be super expensive to go with a pay-as-you-go as you have to buy the phone?” Keep reading and I’ll tell you why it won’t be!

Pick Out a Carrier and Get Service

5 Ways to Spend Your Tax Refund Walmart Family Mobile Service #MaxYourTax #CollectiveBias #ad #cbias

We decided to go with the Walmart Family Mobile service because it not only allowed for us to bring our phones from our now terminated carrier but also it wound up having the lowest priced unlimited plans. We were able to get the activation kit for only $25 and the unlimited talk, text & data service plan (which includes up to 500MB of 4G LTE data) is only $29.88/month for the first line and $19.88 for each additional line (up to five lines total per account) and the date isn’t shared!

5 Ways to Spend Your Tax Refund Walmart Family Mobile Service Store Aisle #MaxYourTax #CollectiveBias #ad #cbias

Getting our Walmart Family Mobile service going was very easy. First we called our local Walmart to make sure that they did indeed have the Walmart Family Mobile in store (not all do). Once we got there we headed to that store’s designated mobile area, for some it’s in the back of the store but for others there might be an actual Mobile Center at the front of the store. We looked for the display above to make sure that we were picking up the right product.

5 Ways to Spend Your Tax Refund Walmart Family Mobile Service Setup #MaxYourTax #CollectiveBias #ad #cbias

Once you get to the display you have the option of purchasing one of the Walmart Family Mobile Phones, they have several to choose from like the Samsung Galaxy Avant which is only $149 and the ZTE Zinger which is now $19.84! Or you can choose to get one of the Walmart Family Mobile Starter Kits which are only $25 and work with GSM phones. We chose to get the Starter Kit so that we could just swap out the SIM cards in my already purchased HTC Rezound.

One you have your starter kit you can check with your store to see if they offer activation and the purchasing of your plan there, ours did, or you can open your kit when you’re near your computer and go to the site printed inside your kit. You’ll need to make sure you have your ID, the IMEI from your phone (new or old), the number for the new SIM card, and the activation code from inside your Start Kit. It literally took me less than 10 minutes to go through the process!

5 Ways to Spend Your Tax Refund Installing SIM Card Open phone #MaxYourTax #CollectiveBias #ad #cbias

After activating your SIM card you have to install it, which is super easy to do. First you have to figure out where your SIM card is, for some it is on the side while for others it’s underneath the battery. If your SIM card is on the side all you have to do is power down your phone, slide the current SIM card out and slide the new in the exact way the old one came out. If your SIM card is under your battery you’re agin going to want to turn off the phone and then flip it over and take off the back.

5 Ways to Spend Your Tax Refund Install Sim Card remove battery #MaxYourTax #CollectiveBias #ad #cbias

Once you pop the back off the phone you should see your battery. Simply remove that and you should then see the spot where your old SIM card is. My phone had a little indent that I had to push in while sliding out the SIM card and I was then able to slide the new one in the exact same way the old one was in. This is very important because it can still fit in the phone the wrong way but the phone won’t recognize it because it can’t read it. If this happens, simply start back at powering off your phone and this time when you slide out the SIM card check for a small diagram around the SIM card to make sure that you are in fact putting it in correctly.

5 Ways to Spend Your Tax Refund Phone After Connecting #MaxYourRefund #CollectiveBias #ad #cbias

After installing the SIM card just put everything back together and turn the phone back on and viola you now have service. Don’t mind the TMobile that it says there, it just shows you that it does in fact work as Walmart Family Mobile pulls off of TMobile towers!

Save Some

Make sure to save some of that tax refund for any future things that happen. We actually just had to replace a switch on our heater because it went out and started blowing cold air. Having extra money on hand for things like that is better, in my opinion, then having to scrimp and scrounge to try to make sure everything is okay.

Disclaimer: All prices for phones and plans included in this post are accurate as of the date of posting; however, these prices are subject to change. Please refer to http://cbi.as/aafid or your local Walmart for current pricing.

So that’s my 5 ways to spend your tax refund. How are you spending your tax refund?

About Cassie

I started Southeast by Midwest back in 2012 as a lifestyle blog. After a few months I felt a pull towards beauty so I rebranded as a beauty specific blog. Over the years I've grown my knowledge and love of beauty products to the point that I am currently in Cosmetology school. If you'd like to know more about me contact me on any of my social media channels or at southeastbymidwestblog@gmail.com

Love, Lashes, and Lipstick by Mally Roncal
Pretty Little Beauty Swap

Comments

  1. Stacie @ Divine Lifestyle says

    February 27, 2015 at 3:51 pm

    We divide our refund up between bills and savings. It’s not fun, but it’s a great way to stay ahead.

    Reply
  2. Kelly Hutchinson says

    February 27, 2015 at 6:35 pm

    We got our refund a few weeks ago and we have spent almost 2/3 of it so far. I am trying to save some of it, as we have not done that with our refund before. This sounds like a great service plan for people on a budget.

    Reply
  3. Digna D. says

    February 27, 2015 at 8:27 pm

    Nice ideas on how to spend a tax return. We have ours planned out already. We’re starting with a redone kitchen and it we have enough we’ll repair our fence.

    Reply
  4. Cara (@StylishGeek) says

    February 27, 2015 at 9:16 pm

    I love T-Mobile Prepaid! Just wrote a blog post on it as well! It’s definitely a smart way to spend that refund!

    Reply
  5. Kathy says

    February 28, 2015 at 12:02 am

    Most of our tax money is going towards bills. We want to pay one my husband student loan bills off completely. That way we will only have one left to pay on! I honestly can’t wait to get taxes back so we can pay them off.

    Reply
  6. Christina Aliperti says

    February 28, 2015 at 12:30 am

    I will be catching up on bills and doing some little updates in my home. Whatever is left will get saved.

    Reply
  7. Sharon says

    February 28, 2015 at 3:24 am

    Know what else I want to do? RED LOBSTER BABY!

    Reply
  8. Lisa @bitesforbabies says

    February 28, 2015 at 8:34 am

    I already know how I’m spending my tax return…on a trip to Italy (although I don’t think much will go towards it!)

    Reply
  9. Jeanine says

    February 28, 2015 at 9:07 am

    I love the pamper idea. I am in desperate need of a small pamper. We have until April to get our taxes done, hoping to get everything together soon to do them up!

    Reply
  10. Jess Scull says

    February 28, 2015 at 11:12 am

    I wish I could spend my tax refund on all things beauty! That would be the dream right there lol

    Reply
    • Cassie says

      February 28, 2015 at 7:41 pm

      I know right! I could totally go in and spend a whole refund at Sephora alone 😉

      Reply
  11. Kori Tomelden says

    February 28, 2015 at 11:41 am

    I don’t think we’ve quite figured out how the tax refund is going to get spent. Still need to get my taxes done.

    Reply
  12. Ann Bacciaglia says

    February 28, 2015 at 12:44 pm

    These are great ways to spend your Tax return. I like to save some and use the rest to pay off any bills.

    Reply
  13. Shaney Vijendranath says

    February 28, 2015 at 12:47 pm

    A pamper party sounds good! I normally end up saving it for my daughter.

    Reply
  14. Rosey says

    February 28, 2015 at 1:29 pm

    My son just got his tax refund and he was so excited. He didn’t save it though, he and his girl went to Disney. 😉

    Reply
  15. Chrystal @ YUM eating says

    February 28, 2015 at 7:59 pm

    I love Stephen King. You’ll have to report back on Mr. Mercedes as I haven’t gotten around to reading that one yet. My book stack is rather high and I told myself I would get through it before picking up any more.

    Our tax refund is just about going to pay off all the credit card debt we accrued while we were in school and not working as much. I am thankful for that because now we can start putting money into savings and saving to buy some things we need.

    Reply
  16. lisa says

    February 28, 2015 at 9:12 pm

    I can’t wait to spend our tax refund on a great vacation!!

    Reply
  17. valerie g says

    February 28, 2015 at 9:36 pm

    looks like a great way to shop to me. books and technology is a great pair!

    Reply
  18. Erin Kennedy says

    March 1, 2015 at 12:37 am

    This is actually a really good idea! Even though I don’t get money back, I should look into saving money!

    Reply
  19. Bonnie @ wemake7 says

    March 1, 2015 at 8:32 am

    These are awesome ways to spend a return. We got ours already, we bought stuff we needed and the rest went on paying bills for months to come. =)

    Reply
  20. Beth says

    March 1, 2015 at 1:49 pm

    I could think of plenty of ways to spend a tax refund. Now if only I got a refund…

    Reply
  21. Ashleigh Walls says

    March 1, 2015 at 2:54 pm

    Really great suggestions! I tend to spend it towards overdue bills and then a little pamper.

    Reply
  22. HilLesha says

    March 1, 2015 at 3:28 pm

    Since I was in dire need of a new phone (mine was severely cracked), I paid off the installment for the one I had in order to get another one. I also bought a juicer, and spent the rest of it all on medical bills (yay!).

    Reply
  23. Yona Williams says

    March 2, 2015 at 2:58 am

    My favorite suggestion shown here is ‘Indulge in Reading’. I think if I received a tax refund, I’d head straight to Amazon’s site to get a few books off of my wishlist.

    Reply
  24. Lynndee says

    March 2, 2015 at 11:21 am

    Good tips! We use ours to pay the bills and save some, if there’s any left. LOL. For this year, we’re lucky to save some.

    Reply
  25. Eliz Frank says

    March 2, 2015 at 1:47 pm

    All are great tips! I would probably use any I get to pay some bills. 🙂

    Reply
  26. Aisha Kristine Chong says

    March 5, 2015 at 7:18 am

    These are all great sound tips that we should all do from now on!

    Reply
  27. lisa says

    February 20, 2019 at 11:01 am

    You’ll have to report back on Mr. Mercedes as I haven’t gotten around to reading that one yet. My book stack is rather high and I told myself I would get through it before picking up any more.

    Reply

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Support Southeast by Midwest

Southeast by Midwest is dedicated to bringing you truthful, unbiased opinions on some of the most popular makeup products and brands today. As Southeast by Midwest is not on most PR lists, if you would like to help support our efforts by clicking through these links when you shop at these stores it would be greatly appreciated. Shopping via these links doesn't cost you anything extra; just a percentage of your total will be shared with Southeast by Midwest to go towards purchasing new products!
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