Help me spend my tax return

Mephistopheles

Alrighty, so I'm getting a nice wad of cash, thanks to Uncle Sam, but I'm having some trouble deciding what to spend it on. Yeah, it's a nice problem to have. I'm going to have about $700 I can plunk down on one of the following:

an HDTV - I don't watch a ton of TV, and I game even less (oh sweet irony), so this wouldn't exactly be a huge value (in regards to time at least), unless of course I found a hella sweet deal on a nice one.

a dSLR - this is something I've had a hankering for ever since I realized my current camera blows. This is what I'm leaning towards, even though $700 is only going to be buying a middle of the road model.

an acoustic guitar - I play bass (very poorly), and it's gotten me interested in learning to play guitar as well. $700 could buy a pretty nice one. I'm not exactly sure if this would end up being an incredibly long term commitment though.

nothing - I'm naturally miserly, so no one is going to have to twist my arm to convince me of this one. The fact is, however, that I haven't treated myself to something in quite some time, so now seems to be the best time to make a purchase.

I realize this is something that you all might not be able to help me out with, but just sitting down and writing this has helped a bunch already. In any case, if you all have any specific advice on any of these items (especially in regards to value and/or deals) it is greatly appreciated. I've come to realize that the collected knowledge of the PA forums is an incredibly resource.

nexuscrawler

save it if you're not sure you can always spedn ti later

Or pay my 700 balance on my taxes for me

Saddler

See, this isn't too good. It sounds like you're just thinking of things you can afford that you wouldn't get much enjoyment out of, particularly the TV. Why not get a basic $100 Fender acoustic, and hold onto the rest? If you love playing and want a better one later, the you'll still have the option. Try Craigslist for guitars, perhaps.

tony_important

what about porn?
have you considered the joys of porn?

In all seriousness though, you could buy a cheap guitar and some lessons for $700.

Spoiler:

Or, you could get $700 worth of porn.

Thanatos

Roth IRA. Start putting money towards your retirement now.

Steel Angel

Thanatos wrote: »

Roth IRA. Start putting money towards your retirement now.

If you can't think of anything you really want to spend the money on right now, put it aside so you'll have even more money to spend later. Money isn't a use it or lose it affair until you're on your deathbed.

Mephistopheles

OK, these are all things that I know I would enjoy, that I have been wanting to buy for some time, and am quite interested in. I guess I ended up listing the drawbacks to each of them when I was writing it, as I naturally tend to persuade myself out of purchases. As I said, I'm pretty frugal, and rarely end up spending much, so viewing my tax return in this light is, I guess, allowing me to consider things I normally wouldn't. I'm not going to be hurting should I end up making one of these purchases, and once again saving this up isn't something I'm too interested in, as I'm not saving up for anything specific. Sorry for the confusion.

I guess what I'm really asking is For $700, what would you recommend in each of these categories?, not "which of these should I get?"

tony_important

I still say cheap guitar and lessons.
You'll benefit by learning to play some stuff/technical aspects.
This will translate to bass.

Spoiler:

Or, you could always get 700 tacos for $700

lunchbox12682

Do what I did, use it to pay for the surgery to have your wife's wrist fixed.
*grumble* *grumble*
>Insert rant about health costs in the US.

Ignoring that, I second (or third or whatever) putting it into savings.

nexuscrawler

Steel Angel wrote: »

Thanatos wrote: »

Roth IRA. Start putting money towards your retirement now.

If you can't think of anything you really want to spend the money on right now, put it aside so you'll have even more money to spend later. Money isn't a use it or lose it affair until you're on your deathbed.

Plus yu can write it off on your taxes next year

tony_important

Mephistopheles wrote: »

once again saving this up isn't something I'm too interested in, as I'm not saving up for anything specific. Sorry for the confusion.

I guess what I'm really asking is For $700, what would you recommend in each of these categories?, not "which of these should I get?"

mindlar

nexuscrawler wrote: »

Steel Angel wrote: »

Thanatos wrote: »

Roth IRA. Start putting money towards your retirement now.

If you can't think of anything you really want to spend the money on right now, put it aside so you'll have even more money to spend later. Money isn't a use it or lose it affair until you're on your deathbed.

Plus yu can write it off on your taxes next year

Not with a ROTH. The ROTH is post-tax income that can be used at a later date tax free. With a traditional IRA what you said is true.

kaliyama

None of the things you've listed will seem to bring you much long-term contentment...why not put it into a mutual fund and watch it grow?

Lodbrok

Ok, that is about the amount I'm about the get back on my taxes. No one but yourself can decide what to spend the money on, but if you do not feel like spending it all right now you can do what I am about to do. Since I have no need for the money right now, I'm going to take up stock trading again. It is fun and almost like a game, and even if you don't make anything moneywise, you will learn things about how the market works. And if you are lucky and play it right, you might make enough to buy a fancier camera after a while! Anyway, it beats saving in funds for the fun factor at least.

And also, a guitar or camera sounds like a better purchase than a TV, especially if you do not watch much TV.

JPArbiter

Mephistopheles wrote: »

Alrighty, so I'm getting a nice wad of cash, thanks to Uncle Sam, but I'm having some trouble deciding what to spend it on. Yeah, it's a nice problem to have. I'm going to have about $700 I can plunk down on one of the following:

an HDTV - I don't watch a ton of TV, and I game even less (oh sweet irony), so this wouldn't exactly be a huge value (in regards to time at least), unless of course I found a hella sweet deal on a nice one.

a dSLR - this is something I've had a hankering for ever since I realized my current camera blows. This is what I'm leaning towards, even though $700 is only going to be buying a middle of the road model.

an acoustic guitar - I play bass (very poorly), and it's gotten me interested in learning to play guitar as well. $700 could buy a pretty nice one. I'm not exactly sure if this would end up being an incredibly long term commitment though.

nothing - I'm naturally miserly, so no one is going to have to twist my arm to convince me of this one. The fact is, however, that I haven't treated myself to something in quite some time, so now seems to be the best time to make a purchase.

I realize this is something that you all might not be able to help me out with, but just sitting down and writing this has helped a bunch already. In any case, if you all have any specific advice on any of these items (especially in regards to value and/or deals) it is greatly appreciated. I've come to realize that the collected knowledge of the PA forums is an incredibly resource.

Mayhap you should plug that 700 into an 18 month certificate of deposit, so a year and a half later, when you get another 700 bucks, you will acutally get something like 1600

contraband

Save it. National savings, especially in the US, is at an all-time low. At the rate we're going at, there won't be many families with "old money" floating around in a few generations. Don't be a spendthrift! Save it if you can.

Thanatos

Lodbrok wrote: »

Ok, that is about the amount I'm about the get back on my taxes. No one but yourself can decide what to spend the money on, but if you do not feel like spending it all right now you can do what I am about to do. Since I have no need for the money right now, I'm going to take up stock trading again. It is fun and almost like a game, and even if you don't make anything moneywise, you will learn things about how the market works. And if you are lucky and play it right, you might make enough to buy a fancier camera after a while! Anyway, it beats saving in funds for the fun factor at least.

And also, a guitar or camera sounds like a better purchase than a TV, especially if you do not watch much TV.

You will not learn anything about the stock market merely by buying and selling stocks, other than, most likely, "boy, it's easy to lose money on the stock market."

Lodbrok

Well, that is of true, of course. I had hoped it would be clear that this is something you should only do if you have a genuine interest in learning about the stock market and reading up on it. As far as hobbies go, I think it is a pretty fun one with a bit of excitement mixed in since you are playing with real money. But true, just buying and selling random stocks won't get you much, either money- or education-wise. Just a suggestion.

MichaelLC

Lodbrok wrote: »

Since I have no need for the money right now, I'm going to take up stock trading again. It is fun and almost like a game, and even if you don't make anything moneywise, you will learn things about how the market works. And if you are lucky and play it right, you might make enough to buy a fancier camera after a while! Anyway, it beats saving in funds for the fun factor at least.
quote]

Go for this one.

If a IRA is too boring for you, go have some fun on the market.

Setup an accoutn with an e-broker, and buy some stocks. Instead of buying a guitar, buy some Fender stock.

edit: Ok, so Fender doesn't offer public stock, but you get the idea.