Blowing Tax Return Is Not Frugal But Can Be Fun

     It is tax time. You may get a return. What do you do with it? Save it. Blow it. Do something in between. Obviously the smart thing to do is to save it for a rainy day. Found money that could help you down the road. 

     You can however have a little fun with it. I was on bikenashbar picking up some maintenance supplies for the bicycles. They had a 20% off sale on everything Nashbar. I got all my stuff to checkout and realized this may apply to a single speed bike they already had on sale. I haven't bought a bike in eight years. So I scored it. A blowing of money I know. I hope I like it. Got to live a little right. I like Nashbar anyway. I guess they like me. 

     After getting put together by the local bike shop (henceforth LBS) I find I can get better results through Nashbar. and other internet stores. Nashbar has good sales on things you may really need. I went beyond the pail with a new bike purchase. I use a bike everyday. So maybe not. A new bike may cause me to want to ride more. Which is better. I will have a piece from the twenty-first century. All good, I think! With the sale the bike was purchased for about the same price as a wheel at the LBS. I hope I am happy with it as I own it now. Single speed with a coaster brake. Haven't had that since the old Schwinn Stingray. Hope I do not get hurt!

     By the way. The LBS said the wheel I bought a week earlier was completely ruined by me. I bent an axle and ruined the bearings. Again this is where I should have stopped. Should have stopped when I took a wheel to get a spoke. They said it couldn't be fixed. Bought a new on . I guess I ruined it too Could have stuck to the old wheels I had in stock as they worked fine. Would have saved $175. Three trips and a lot of aggravation. My foolishness. Can't blame anyone else. Could have saved a lot of money and time by being rational. The new bike may have not been rational. But I have it coming. Looking forward to it. 

     I did not squander all of the tax return. Need to keep it for a rainy day (read rent, utilities, car payment, insurance and food). 

     I know I am not the sharpest knife in the drawer. But I am not the dullest  either. But I let my urges  cause  me to spend money that I did not have to do. A little lesson. But I should be old enough to know.