How to Spend Your IRS Refund Check

Recently I have mentioned Valentine's Day and the Olympics. Before that there was the Super Bowl. Next up is baseball season. So what is the topic du jour. Today we talk about income tax returns. 

If you are not getting a refund then I am truly sorry. You can use this time to complain about the stupid IRS if you like. For those of us who are anxiously awaiting our tax return it is time to spend our money.

As a parent the tax return will go towards necessities more than luxuries. It's still fun to dream of spending money as freely as a Hollywood starlet on Rodeo Drive. If that is not your thing then you can dream of swimming in mountains of cash like Scrooge McDuck. Either way dreaming never hurt anyone.

It would be fun to spend it all on Arica. I could rent out her favorite store for a private shopping spree. I could buy her the largest diamond possible, and she could wear it around her neck on a rope.  Another idea would be a trip to somewhere exceedingly tropical. I bet she would love it if I turned the entire thing into a spa gift card.  Finally I might use the money to hire a nanny for a few weeks. A helping hand would always be nice.

The money could go a long ways for Braden as well.  We could use it to buy a real, live, pooping, banana eating monkey.  Maybe we could buy him an entire fleet of motorized cars. That might actually work. He would be like a baby Hertz renting cars to toddlers all over town. We could go back to the shopping thing again. This time we would be at Wal Mart shoveling toys into multiple carts while laughing like wild hyenas. Maybe we could take the shopping tour to Toys R Us as well.  We could take trips to as many zoos and aquariums as possible. Of course the trips would have to be south towards warmer weather. I wouldn't want to go up north to find only polar bears and penguins out for the viewing public while the other lazy animals slept inside.

The money could go towards me too. I could always use hunting and/or fishing gear, new electronics, video games, or some other useless junk.  In fact too often the extra money goes to my vices. I have written about my affinity for betting on the ponies. On date nights I often lead our outings towards a drinking establishment. Spending money on those type things leaves only empty feelings and empty pockets.

That is why I truly want to spend the extra money from our refund on the two most important people in my life. Yes we will have to spend some on necessities. Yes we will save some for a rainy day that we hope never comes. With that little bit extra I am making a promise to myself to spend it on something fun and rewarding for Arica and Braden. 

Maybe we won't buy monkeys, diamonds, or a fleet of toddler rental cars, but we can have a good time. They deserve it for putting up with me.

Child Tax Credit

Becoming a new dad is a great thing. Every day is full of rewards and blessings. One extra blessing Braden has brought to our family is about to pay off literally. It's tax season and the big bad IRS wants your money. In our case we will be getting a refund and this year we are armed with a new weapon....Braden. He is our little tax credit.

The child tax credit can add up to $1000 to your bottom line for each qualifying child. That goes a long way towards diapers and formula for us new dads. I assume for older kids it goes a long way towards something else. Credit is the greatest word in the tax vocabulary and we are glad to add one to our return.

The great thing about having a child late in the year is the US government gives you credit for the enitre year no matter when you have the baby. To get the child tax credit your child has to live with you for at least half of the year. There is an exeption that states:

"A child is considered to have lived with you for all of 2008 if the child was born or died in 2008 and your home was this child's home for the entire time he or she was alive."

Our son was born in November so we basically get 10 free months of parenthood. Everyone should try and have children late in the year. After all this is one of the only times the government ever gives anything away for free so we all need to take advantage. In closing I would like to thank the IRS for giving me some free months of parenthood for tax purposes. It may not be the greatest gift ever but as far as government entities go I think we should consider it a blessing.