We finally got our taxes done and even managed to file a few days early. I always arrange to break as close to even as possible as I'd prefer to invest my money throughout the year than to let Uncle Sam hang on to it for me. However, this year was the first year that I claimed business losses, so I wasn't sure what to expect and had prepared for the worse. While I'm not getting anything close to "Cheney's $1.9 million refund":http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=5343060, it's fun to have this unexpected little chunk of cash sitting around that hasn't really been budgeted for anything at all. I'm not sure what to do with it, though.
We don't have any outstanding credit card debt or unpaid bills. So, if I wanted to be really responsible, my only option would be to pay down some principal on our house, but that's not any fun and it's not something that'll really make a difference to us unless we happen to still be in this house 20 years from now. Of course we could also take the low road and blow it on "something really stupid":http://www.shooshtime.com/clips/video.php?id=8013. I'd prefer to find a middle ground.
Since the refund is largely due to money spent on photography equipment last year, we could compound the situation by buying more photography equipment with it. There is a lens and a few lights that I've had my eye on for a while now. Then again, now that things are moving along fairly well, I'd like to let my work pay for itself. (So "buy a print":http://flickr.com/photos/revjim/tags/forsale/ or "book a session":http://djamesphoto.com/pages/photosessions/, will ya?)
I'd like to plan a nice vacation, but Jess and I made tentative plans over Christmas break to go to New York City with some friends this spring. Jess was supposed to be planning it all out, but, so far she's got nothing.
Of course we could spend it on something for the house that we wouldn't have purchased otherwise. We are already planning on putting in new flooring, so that leaves one of several ideas I have in mind involving home decor, electronics, and various storage solutions. What can I say, I've got a mind for design. (I've been watching way too much TLC these days. Time to "turn the TV off":http://www.lifehacker.com/software/gadgets/tvbgone-universal-television-remote-155757.php.)
We could rent a large room for an evening, buy mad amounts of Club Crackers, Easy Cheese, and Cadbury Mini-Eggs, invite everyone we know and have the party of the century, but I don't really want to go to jail again.
I've got to do something with it. It's burning a hole in my pocket.
