Tax Return and wish lists

I must say I was pleasantly shocked when we filed our taxes this year. We knew we would have a few more deductions, having Eli and daycare write-offs, but part of me thought we were going to owe money because they didn't withhold any money from my disability checks...

But apparently that's not taxable income...

We thought it was so we had set aside $900 from these checks to cover the amount that would have normally been deducted from my paychecks for taxes just in case... but now that's ours to spend... and despite earning more money then we ever have as a married couple (even with the 6 weeks my husband didn't get paid), our tax rate for 2015 was only 6.68%.

So we ended up getting back $2,432.00 from the feds and $860.00 back from the state... we have that $900 we had saved but didn't need to give to the fed AND we still have $750.00 sitting around from last years profit share check.

In short, our "slush fund" is looking really good right now.

We have been really good about putting off a few large purchases, and now that we have a sizable amount of discretionary money available, its time to tackle a few...

So we made a list.

My husband has been wanting to replace our computer monitors for some time now, and he normally gets to pick one thing computer related to upgrade each year (we normally use profit share money to pay for this), and since we are getting a new profit share check next month, we went ahead and ordered 2 new computer monitors (this years "want") and a few things we needed (a mouse, hard drive and router) and spent $726.68.

We also wanted to purchase an outside storage container for the patio to free up some space in our patio storage shed so you can actually walk in there and get things off the shelves without climbing over some water containers... a dry vac... and the spare high chair, lol.

So we dropped $296.79 at home depot for it, plus some tie downs to strap it to the roof of our Camry, and some supplies to mount the new computer monitors.

All in all, we dropped a little over $1,000 in a day -- something I don't think we have done for anything other than a large car repair since we've been married-- and it was a weird experience.

Hubs was really shocked that I didn't blink about spending $700 on computer parts (truthfully when he told me everything he was getting for the $700 I was like, "that's a good deal," because I thought he would spend that alone for just 2 computer monitors since he's been talking them up as a big purchase for a year and a half, lol).

Before you all fret that we have abandoned our frugal nature, don't worry. We aren't going to spend it all. In fact, we're going to wait until next month's profit share check comes in before we tackle some of the other items on the to-do list so we can prioritize them based on funds available while also keeping a healthy slush fund in check for the rest of the year.

Here's the rest of our current list:

• Getting a will and arrangements made in writing for Eli if we snuff it.
• We already picked someone to care for him and discussed it so now we just need to get it in writing and make a will.  
• Both going to the dentist and getting any dental work completed.
• Hubs needs dental work and we kind of forgot all about it after that horrible dental nightmare we went through.
• A new mattress for our bed (I'm pretty sure its almost 12 years old now, but there are definitely "people" indentations now. 
• A new couch.
• The cheap Costco one we purchased is completely worn out and the cushions have no support anymore because it wasn't built with much support because of the storage under it and the "pop" out piece that makes it into an uncomfortable bed). 
• We are going to wait until I'm done pumping to get a couch because the one we liked at living spaces needs our entire wall and I have a small table i'm using to put my pump on right now to keep Eli from pulling the cables out.
• New Phone for me. We got Hubs a new one already this year but I would like to get a new phone and see if I can get on a track phone account because my Verizon pre-paid is 3+ years old and starting to have problems keeping up with newer software requirements.
• Fixing the trunk lifts in SCB's car so they open better and stay up without a stick wedged into the side... and he would like a new stereo and speakers for the car. (We'll do these both when i'm done pumping so he can do it on a Sunday afternoon).
• Finally, hubs really wants a spiffy tool chest with drawers.