This week on The Woof! Make your tax refund last longer than a sigh

A year’s worth of effort in careful planning and paying taxes ahead never fails to bring that sense of accomplishment upon receiving a great tax refund, that dream cash that will allow you to splurge on something that will hopefully last longer than a sigh. Make it last longer by applying it to enhance your most intimate space: your home. Make it last even longer by making wise choices that will stand the test of time. Here are some ways to do exactly that. And at a higher than national average of about $4,400 in the DC area for tax refunds, you might be in the fortunate group of people who have some wiggle room to create some real impact.

First, make a list of every direction you can go. If you love your home and being in it, like anyone else who follows this blog, then you may very well know exactly what is needed. Maybe it’s updating your primary bed and bath linens, adding some soulful décor to that bleh home office space that you inhabit on an almost daily basis, completing that gorgeous living room scheme with a long-awaited piece of art, updating that kitchen range for your husband who prepares so many incredible meals… Complete your list of obvious options by surveying your home too! Take a walk around the home and find the bright spots: things that are good but can be further improved, and identify the hot spots: things that maybe you’ve stopped even noticing, but that definitely need improvement.

Bedding by Linen Me. Viking range. Art by Ximena Velasco

Ponder your desires and needs. If you have some serious needs, then you may want to wisely allocate a good sum of your refund toward that. But try to allocate a smaller sum to something that will bring joy. I absolutely believe that homes require responsibilities and are demanding, but one should have a space for fun and brightness and satisfaction. It’s definitely a balancing act.

Are you the kind of person who, before receiving a payment, has already spent that money on 10 different things in their mind? Do NOT entertain multiple different options each of which would consume your full refund, and go and implement without making a serious decision and making sure you are sticking to the budget. You’d end up in a pretty bad place!

Instead, after you’ve made the overall decision on how to spend most of your refund, consider all those who live in the home and maybe surprise each of them with a little special touch for their own private or shared spaces: a new night table lamp for your child, a beautiful box for storing trinkets for your parent who lives with you, a great appetizer serving tray for the family for Friday family movie night.

Honeycomb appetizer plate by Williams Sonoma. Teen bedside lamp by West Elm. Trinket box from Serena & Lily

Hope you get to have that fun!