My tax refund check is here I can pay some bills now.

My dad tells me the same thing, but then I wouldn't have a big chunk of money at one time to catch up on everything. I am not a good saver and there are always things that come up that I need to pay for. That would never work for me, but it would be the ideal way to handle money.

I certainly understand that. Many, many people feel that way and I used to, too. My husband is from a very frugal family who saved and invested very well. They're not rich (and we're definitely not rich) but they thought about the future and put money away for that, which is a good thing because my father-in-law was able to be in a nursing home for awhile before he passed away and now my mother-in-law lives comfortably (not anything fancy, just comfortable) without having to worry about how she's going to pay that nursing home bill - or buy food day to day. Just think how much you would have at retirement if you put just a little bit of money away every month. Believe me, it adds up and can save the day when an unexpected lifestyle change comes into your life. (We've been there, done that.)

I would also rather have the big chunk of money at the end of the year than change my withholding. I don't mind paying the fee for the rapid refund we get a nice chunk of change so we don't even notice that extra they take out.