Let's say you have a $2000 refund, which is bigger than any I have ever gotten. With the low interest on savings accounts these days, you might have gotten $15 in interest (remember, you wouldn't have had the whole 2000 for a year, you would have gotten a little extra each pay so the last 1/12 of it you only would have had for a month and it would get very little interest).

I mean yeah, it's $15, that's more than zero. But certainly not worth getting up on a high horse about. A couple Friday's ago I was driving home from work and was tired and decided I didn't feel like cooking so I made an instantaneous decision to hit Buffalo Wild Wings on the way home and grab some wings. Poof, there went $15. I didn't think twice about it.

Every year my Hokie Club renewal AND season ticket and parking pass fees are due in March; at least half of my Ravens season tickets are due in March, with the other half due in June. I also buy a bunch of baseball tickets for the Orioles and Nats in advance of the season in the March/April timeframe.. My 6 month car insurance renews every February 28 and August 31, now I can pay month to month on that if I want but I like to pay for 6 months at a time when I can.

Now just suppose I happen to get hit with a $600 car repair at the same time?

So I already have a lot of annual expenses that come due in the Feb-Apr timeframe. An unexpectedly high tax bill at that time too could be inconvenient. I try to game it so I am near even at tax time, I don't think I've ever gotten a 4-digit refund, but I've certainly been over 500 before. Knowing that I won't be socked with another big expense at that time of year, and might even get a little unexpected walking around money, is nice to know. If that means that the government might get an additional $6 this year out of me on interest, I think that's a fine tradeoff.