Hi, Bette Hochberger or CPA, CGMA. And on today’s Business Quickie, I’m going to tell you about an unpopular opinion that I have. So I know a lot of people really love getting tax refunds. There are all kinds of ads that say, “how to spend your refund, refund, refund, refund.” People can’t wait to get that refund check, but here’s the big butt, why do I not like it? It’s your money. You’re not getting free money from the government. You’re getting your own money back to you. So my unpopular opinion is don’t create these huge tax refunds and don’t think your CPA is amazing just because they get you a big tax refund.

It was your own money that you already put in. Now, the question is, what could you have done with that money if it wasn’t tied up with the government? So this is really like a theoretical financial logic situation. Because the reality is human behavior doesn’t always follow logic. I think we see a lot of examples of that. And for a lot of people, it’s tough to save money. So in that regard, I understand why people like getting refunds because sometimes it’s the only way to make yourself save money. It’s like a forced savings account. So you know if you withhold too much or you pay in too much during the year, you know that refund will come back, and in the meantime, you can’t spend it. So it’s really forced savings.

So that’s my unpopular opinion. I think if you have the ability and the money financial habits to put it into a different kind of account that’s not your IRS tax account, do so, but remember it’s your money most of the time. I know this year has been a little strange with the apocalypse and all that, but refunds are yours. It’s your money coming back. And that’s my unpopular opinion. Please tell me what you think. Drop a comment. And if you also have an unpopular opinion, maybe throw that in the comments as well. We’ll see you next time.