20 Smart Investments for Your Tax Refund

A couple of weeks ago, we asked you what you were planning to do with your tax refund. Many of you plan to pay off debt, go on vacation, build up your emergency fund, or contribute to other savings efforts. Frugal Dad seems to agree with you all when it comes to your ideas for utilizing your tax refund wisely. However, here are a few additional ideas that he came up with for spending your tax refund:

  1. Start a Side Hustle:

    Ah, the infamous side hustle. Many of the world’s most successful entrepreneurial efforts were started on less than $1,000 (I started Frugal Dad on less than $50!). Use your tax refund to seed a business you’ve always dreamed of running.

  2. Open a “Car Replacement Fund”: one day, your car will die. Unfortunately, this is certain. So why not start saving for a replacement car now? If your current car is paid for, another great idea is to continue “paying” monthly car payments to the next car fund.
  3. Build a Square Foot Garden in Your Backyard: use a few hundred dollars of your refund to purchase gardening supplies, soil, seeds, etc. Soon you’ll start reaping the benefits of your investment when you can enjoy tomatoes, for example, right from your own vines.
  4. Give It Away: donating your refund to a relief organization is not only a great thing to do but it will also help you on next year’s taxes, as most charitable contributions are tax deductable.
  5. Take a Class: investing in a cooking class, self-defense class, real-estate class, etc. can make your money go a long way in many cases.

Check out more of Frugal Dad’s ideas over at 20 Things to Do With a Tax Refund.