tax season... hooray?

Last Wednesday SSBF and I did our taxes. I personally have never done my own taxes and had no idea of what to expect luckily SSBF has been doing his forever so walked me through the tax software. Over all i'd say it was a success. SSBF was very excited because he got several credits for being a teacher and taking graduate classes resulting in a whopping $4,000+ return.
I on the other hand got the shaft, a measly $1,500 (apparently there are no credits for slaving 10 hours a day at Enterprise). I make around 35,000/ year right now and was disappointed to find out that was too much to qualify for the governments savings credit for contributing to my 401k (A great credit if you are making less then 26,000). I was bummed but I would say walking away with 5,000 between the two of us was a pretty good take for tax season. (hopefully a homeowners credit will boost that number next year)

As far as what I'm going to do with my tax money is a whole other story. I have already allocated $500 of it for my last car insurance payment. ( I pay 3 times a year, for a total of 1,000). The rest of my money is going to be divided between our vacation savings, credit card debt, and a small (and much deserved) shopping trip. Since I have trouble with spending, especially with so much cash on hand I decided to make a list of my needs before I went.

1. Running Shoes: This is a purchase I have been putting off for awhile now, but now that I am logging more miles then ever before my feet are starting to hate me. I'm thinking of getting the New Balance WR757 they are everything I look for in a running shoe, and come in at under $90.

2. Spring Jacket: I learned my lesson last year, I need one of these for work. I haven't found one yet that I'm totally in love with. Any suggestions?

3. Work Shirts: Just some nice men's style button downs tend to do the trick for me. They are comfortable to move in on those rare occasions I have to wash a car at work and they are the easiest to throw on when I'm putting off getting ready for work in the morning. I have tried many brands, and I have found that the ones from Old Navy work best for my proportions. They are never to boxy, always in fun colors, and usually ring up around $20 (not to mention they survive more washes then some others I've bought.)

Hmm.. come to think of it between car insurance, vacation, and shopping it looks like that's $1500 semi-well spent.