New York CNN —The average federal tax refund is more than $3,000, according to the latest data from the IRS. … They don’t understand how much interest they’re paying,” Russ said. Create or add to an emergency fundYou can use your refund to start or bolster an emergency fund. If you have high-rate debt and you’re lacking emergency savings, Russ suggested you might use a portion of your refund to attack your debt and the other portion to create an emergency fund. If you need the money within three years, you might consider putting your refund in certificates of deposits and US Treasury bonds.

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Persons: you’re, ”, Eric Bronnenkant, Keyana Russ, ” Russ, Russ, Bronnenkant, Roth,  Bronnenkant, Charles Schwab, ” Bronnenkant Organizations: New, New York CNN, Ponds Financial, Invest, Roth IRA, Treasury Locations: New York, Ponds