Tax Refunds

Because I procrastinate too much, I spent Wednesday evening doing taxes. It should've been fine but it wasn't; I used the same super-easy service that I used last year but with glitches this time.

In the end, my taxes got done and I've had confirmation, both from the IRS and from the state, that they went through. I'm getting a refund from both sources, thanks to a required contribution to a pension fund, which lowers my income, a deferred compensation fund that is optional and to which I divert almost more than I can afford; at the same time, not getting any younger, I can't afford not to beef up my pension fund. The other big thing was claiming interest on student loan payments. Capturing the full amount of the credit only makes me wish it was larger. My interest payments exceeded by far the allotted amount. With the massive student loan debt that's out there in this economy, why is it so small. It isn't just lawyers who went to private schools these days who have massive debt and are underemployed!

I guessed what my refund would be, without even looking at my tax information before doing so. My guess was a bit high, but only by $200. The resulting amount is sufficient to pay off miscellaneous bills I want to get rid of, including a medical bill, and to have a fairly significant amount to add to my savings. That's going to be important.