Here's a link to today's Fiscal Fitness tip:

http://www.fool.com/investing/general/2009/01/07/fiscal-fitn......

Please chime in with your thoughts!

Your advice didn't go far enough. The reason some people like large refunds is that they know they will find a way to waste the money each month on frivolous stuff throughout the year. Uncle Sam keeps them from doing that.

I would not just suggest that they adjust their W-4s to reduce their withholding. They should also take the extra money each month and have it put into a separate account. Put it out of reach before they spend it. It would help if their employer allowed direct deposits into more than one account. Now they earn interest on the account instead of Uncle Sam.

I'll give you a real example. We had a large refund one year. My wife, who is paid every 2 weeks, adjusted her W-4 and had the difference deposited into a separate account. Over the years, we did further adjustments. Now $300 every 2 weeks goes into this account. Our "refund" is up to $7800 per year. It was a painless process.

PSU