Come into money? Save it!

So every year, my husband and I really look forward to doing our taxes.  At this point in time, we pretty much always get a good chunk of money back, and this year was certainly no exception.  In the past years we've had plans for that money before it even came in.  Vehicle repairs, car insurance, home renovations, it all seemed to eat that extra cash very quickly.

This year, we used a couple hundred dollars to pay off our last remaining debt (except our house) and used the rest on the mortgage.  We had an open variable rate mortgage at the time, and the majority of that money went directly to the principal.  We cut off 10 years from our mortgage with that one big payment!  It was really encouraging to know that this year we were wise with that money and actually used it to make our future brighter.

We still have all the other payments and repairs, but this time, they are already in the budget.  It sure would have been "nice" to use the cash for a vacation, or something new, but I doubt that you can find anything that will be worth 10 years of mortgage payments.

If you come into money, whether it's the government repaying your hard earned cash or something else, be wise!  Decide where it will go and stick with it.  Think about your future, not about the latest sale at your favorite store.  If you take care of your future now, it will take care of you later.

Like Dave Ramsey says, "Live like no one else so later, you can live like no one else!"