Heard a CPA on a podcast say to treat your tax return like a zero dollar bill

I was scrolling through YouTube shorts and this CPA lady said people get excited about a $2k refund but that just means you gave the gov an interest free loan all year. It clicked for me because I got back like $1,400 last spring and blew it on a new tablet within a week. She said to adjust your W-4 so you owe like zero or just a tiny bit at filing time. I changed mine last month and already seeing an extra $45 per paycheck going straight into my savings. Anyone else try this and notice a difference in how much you save each month?

2 comments

2 Comments

johnb954h agoMost Upvoted

Yeah I did the same and now my refund gets smaller but my impulse Amazon purchases somehow got bigger.

kelly612h ago

That "impulse Amazon purchases somehow got bigger" part really got me @johnb95 because same here lol. I thought I'd be disciplined with the extra $45 per check but I swear my brain just sees it as fun money now. Setting up an automatic transfer to my savings the same day I get paid helped me stop treating it like a bonus. It's wild how a small change in your W-4 can shift your whole spending mindset, even if you have to trick yourself a little.