...and put them in their pocket, anyway.

is the first time in 41 years of marriage that we actually got money back from the federal government. You know what it went to help pay for? It helped to pay for my biologic drug I take that cost me $1965.44. The amount we got back didn’t cover it all though.

And didn't Trump say he was going to reduce drug prices? My Wife and I are fortunate in not having some outrageously priced drugs.

guess not the biologic drug I take. Every other prescription I take has been under 20 dollars so far.

..to that Big Beautiful Bill which gave seniors added an extra $6,000 each to the Standard Deduction.

My Wife and I are > 65.

The whole tax refund idea is just wrong headed. An interest free loan to the government is bad business. Adjust your withholding to get close to zero refund, you can put that money to better use throughout the year.

..otherwise I'd probably blow it. When I get a refund, I stick it in a savings account.

But I do math, and have an auto transfer to my savings each paycheck, which then transfers to a HYSA once a month. So I am earning compound interest year round instead of the government using my money interest free. It's an extra $250+ a year for me.

But I realize some people have trouble saving because unforeseen bills pop up so this is not a valid option for many living paycheck to paycheck.

..and for a long string of years, it was hand to mouth finances. I was (and still) self-employed and at some point health insurance premiums became ridiculous, amounting to $25K gross salary per year. Once getting on Medicare, then the SS check, there was some discretionary money to save...

But nowadays IMO you need a half-million dollar nest egg to be comfortable and back up the SS income. I worry mostly about my Wife, in the event of my demise or incapacitation. She's not a spendthrift but without my working some or if she had only my SS check, it would be tight finances and require some cramped lifestyle. She endured a cramped lifestyle 50 years married to me...I've gotten a lot of pleasure seeing her not so cramped for the past 10 or so years...

So, I continue to let Trump or whomever, borrow my money knowing it will end up in savings.

is to adjust my withholdings so that at the end of the tax year I owe them less than $100 or they owe me less than $100.

But, according to H, we paid a lot more taxes this year than last.


We got a tad more back from the state.

Except for modest COLA increases we have about the same income each year.

This year we paid $1800 less in Federal Income taxes than last year.

A good portion of the increase coming from the $12K (joint) reduction in taxable SS income.

We give a proportional amount of income to our church as a charity donation. The church has a significant community food bank mission.

I suspect that the increased money we paid going to the church contributed more to feeding the indigent than the proportional amount would be going to taxes.