How would you spend your bonus/extra cash?

[kozachka]

I just found out what my bonus would be for last year. It equals 1.25x my monthly salary and I have only worked with the company 6 months last year so for me it's not huge but substantial. DH is not home so I can't discuss it with him and my parents are no good in terms of money. My first though was to pay some of our mortgage but it's no fun, drop in a bucket comparing to the total mortgage and we have a pretty good rate so if I do not spend it, I should just buy an index fund and would do better. Don't have much vacation time so travel is not really an option now. Maybe I should split it into fun and useful.

[JBaxter]

Dh has a great bonus system at work up to 40% of his pay. We have been putting into the kids 529 accounts. Its money that we dont miss and dont count on and with 3 going to college its gonna be ugly LOL

Logan is a freshman in highschool and I am not counting on anything from his father even though he has him 1/2 the time ( money management/saving was never his strenght but he drives a nice new $50,000 truck that pulls his new camper <insert bitterness here>)

[lisams]

I'd put most of it into a retirement fund, and take a little bit to splurge on something fun.

[hez]

I'd pay off any non-mortgage debt (credit cards, car loans), make sure my emergency fund was in good shape, then invest it in retirement/college, in that order.

So, I'm voting for invest it...

[SpaceGal]

I guess I would look around the house and see if there's anything that needs to be done or fixed.

For me it would be getting DS his bed and room set up, hence buying furniture and a mattress and box spring.

If there's nothing really that needs to be done home improvement wise...not like oh I hate those cabniets so I want to change them but more like those cabinets are falling off their hinges type things.

If not I'd just put it away and save/invest it.

[elliput]

I would most likely spend some of it on something fun and frivolous. Or sparkley! :-) The rest would go to bills. sigh.

[HannaAddict]

I agree completely. Non-mortgage debt first, emergency fund, retirement, etc. Maybe take a little bit and get a mani/pedi if you like that as a treat. :)

I voeted "other."
Kimberly

[lizajane]

if you are in debt, pay that. (other than mortgage)

otherwise i would:

make an extra mortgage payment each year. makes a big difference, i have learned.

start a college fund and contribute the maximum.

be sure you are contributing the maximum to your retirement fund, at least 15% after employer has contributed.

if you do that and have any left over, vacation!!

[TracyBee]

>I'd pay off any non-mortgage debt (credit cards, car loans),
>make sure my emergency fund was in good shape, then invest it
>in retirement/college, in that order.
>
>So, I'm voting for invest it...

ITA!

[kijip]

Any windfalls (like bonuses, comissions) that we recieve breakdown like this:

10% to giving
60% to savings
30% to things we wanted or needed. Be that concert tickets or furniture or socks. :P

[elephantmeg]

I'm "expecting" a clinical ladder check (our hospital does lump sums instead of pay increase). I'm planing on tithing 10% (probably to the mission station I was born at instead of our usual chuch, but I'm not sure), spend 10% on clothes and use the remaining 80% on finishing the upstairs (we bought a modular cape cod last year with an unfinished upstairs and have been slowly working on 1/2 of it-it's mostly drywalled but we need to do something with heating/cooling, flooring etc). We need to get the upstairs finished in the next couple years and we didn't do "as much" of a house as we wanted so that we could aford for me to stay home part time. So I think for the next few years any bonuses will be spent on the house.

[bisous]

This is great advice. I'm bookmarking it! :)

[saschalicks]

I used this year's bonus for a new couch, love seat, coffee table, DVD storage unit and TV stand. Our LR was in desperate need. I voted something useful, but quite honestly I was so excited it was fun too.

ETA: oh yah I bought some clothes at the ATL sale too