There is exactly one time in the year when I don’t feel poor. You guessed it…tax season baby! I normally complete my taxes as soon as I get all my W2s because I want my refund ASAP. Part of it is psychological…want to get the New Year off to a good start. On the flip side, if I knew I owed Uncle Sam money, I would probably wait until April 14.

Thanks to the miracle of E-file and TurboTax (like the George Foreman Grill, I swear by that thing) my bank account was recently credited with a nice tidy sum of $3,000. But what to with the money? This is literally the one time of the year I can play with some coin. But what to do? Man, this is nerve wracking!!!!

Should I put the money in a CD or savings account? Or invest in a Roth IRA or some other investment vehicle? Pay off debt? Be a patriotic American and buy crap I don’t need? Oh wait, that’s what the economic stimulus bill is for…

What makes my dilemma even more crucial is the crappy economy. I want to put away something but still have access to cash when I need it in the event of…say..a layoff? Or as my company calls it, the realignment of expenses to revenues.

Appreciate some advice. Also, tell me what you normally do with your tax refunds.

This is my last blog posting. Your trusty Kara McGuire returns Monday with tales of scandal and intrigue from her vacation in Mexico. Well, I don’t about scandal and intrigue but I guarantee she’s probably a lot more tanned than we are.

Enjoyed all of your comments. Peace out yo!!!!

Oil is up. Stocks are down. But it’s nice to know that even as the economy teeters on recession, your kid can still command top dollar for loose teeth.

Minnesota children receive an average of $2.10 per tooth, a penny higher than the national average and a 44 percent jump from 2007, according to The Tooth Fairy Poll by Eagan-based Delta Dental.

That local tykes are getting more money for their molars seems to fly in the face of history, since the poll normally reflects the state of the economy.

“This direction of change is inconsistent with trends exhibited in other more commonplace indices,” said Marty Weiland, operations analyst for Delta Dental, noting the Nasdaq and Dow Jones Industrial Averages have fallen 7.4 percent and 3.76 percent respectively in the same time period.

“So either the Tooth Fairy is an expert investor or we may be seeing something analogous to the “lipstick effect” where during an economic downturn or a recession, the tendency is for consumers to purchase small, comforting items rather than large luxury items,” Weiland said.

At least kids are getting something for their troubles. The tooth fairy didn’t leave me anything when I was a tyke. Guess the economy sucked back then. Or was it booming? Wait, I’m confused now….

One of the best things about blogging is that I now have a 24/7 forum (at least for a week anyway) to complain about people, specifically my dad.

Dad was never blessed with the gift of good timing. It took him 49 years and four daughters before he finally conceived his prized son. He bought heavily into telecom stocks right before the stock market collapse in 2002. And perhaps his greatest stroke of luck, he held onto his Boston-area house during the housing boom and finally decided to sell well after the market began to implode.

More than two years later, the house still remains for sale. Dad, whom I and a sibling convinced to move into a smaller, more senior citizen-friendly house, is still convinced that he can get more $400,000+ for it. I don’t think he could get that price even when the market was good. It’s old, ugly, and has no garage, a virtual poison pill in the Boston real estate market.

Yet the old man refuses to drop the price. He’s already changed real estate agents three or four times…as if they’re to blame for his plight. I’m not sure if he grasps that the market is not going to turn around anytime soon. Meanwhile, the house just sits there, eating up dollars in terms of taxes, heating bills, and insurance.

So how would you handle the situation? Should Dad continue to hold out in a vain attempt to wait out the market? Or should he just cut his losses and do a fire sale?

Howdy. Tom Lee here. Kara McGuire asked me to fill in this week so you now have the honor of witnessing my debut as a blogger (cue trumpets). Although I occasionally write Pay Dirt columns, by no means am I a financial expert. If you want advice, go to Kara. If you want the satisfaction of knowing that there is someone out there in worse financial shape, then I’m your man.

Speaking of being a man, I’m curious…how many of you dudes out there did something nice for your lady on Valentine’s Day? At the risk of embarrassing my girlfriend, I probably dropped over $200 in V-Day related largess: flowers, dinner, a show..etc. Money can’t buy happiness but better safe than sorry.

Granted, we just started dating recently. But call me a romantic, but I always thought if there is one event that would prompt a guy to open his wallet other than birthdays and anniversaries, it would be Valentine’s Day. I was pretty surprised to learn that most of my friends and co-workers would spend their Feb. 14 eating Chinese takeout or watching the latest Grey’s Anatomy episode from Netflix.

So dear readers, how did you spend your V-Day? Did it cost you a pretty penny or is love best reflected in the old adage “it’s the thought that counts”?

Today’s been busier than usual for me because I am scrambling around to tie up loose ends before our trip to Mexico. Finally, after a dozen years of living here, half of those with a guy who typically has had it with this more to life tundra come this time every winter, we’re heading south.

We’re jetting out of here for four nights without the kids and the last week has been a blur of travel preparations, child care preparations and writing, writing, writing.

When you’re going to Mexico, there’s not much you have to do to prepare financially anymore. Aside from paying for a lot of our trip already with our trusty rewards cards (thank you Discover for your 5% cash back on travel deal) we did a couple of things.

First, we checked our ATM cards to see which would charge the least for getting money out at ATM machines. My husband’s USAA card was the clear winner, with 10 free ATM withdrawals per month and refund of up to $15 per month for other bank’s ATM fees. So we transferred some money into that account.

We also checked into the daily limit and found we could withdraw $600 a day. I certainly hope that’s enough!

I also checked out the cost of using credit cards abroad. Many charge you foreign transaction fees.

Here’s a foreign transaction fees chart that I found from cardratings.com (the chart was based on data from 10-2007:

• American Express - 2%
• Bank of America - 3%
• Chase - 3%
• Citi Bank - 3%
• HSBC - 3%
• Washington Mutual - 1%
• Wells Fargo - 3%
• Capital One - No Foreign Transaction Fee
• Discover - No fees. Accepted in China, the Carribean, Central America, Mexico and certain parts of Europe.

Obviously no fees from Discover is appealing, but I worry it won’t be accepted in enough locations. We’re heading to Tulum, not an all inclusive. But perhaps it will be accepted in Playa del Carmen? I’ll certainly bring it.

My USAA credit card charges a 1 percent foreign transaction fee and we’ll use that where Discover isn’t accepted and VISA is.

Another consideration for travel and credit cards is which one has the best auto rental insurance and travel assistance (for lost luggage, medical emergencies, etc.). But with the amount of tasks I need to get done before now and take off, I’m not sure this is going to get crossed off of the list.

Finally, I’ve been meaning to grab some to-go cash from the bank. But for those of you who’ve been to Mexico, did you exchange your money here or there? Or maybe you never held a peso the entire time you were on vacation. I’ve heard many people don’t change their dollars into pesos, but frankly, that’s not for me. Isn’t part of the fun of traveling stepping outside the day-to-day and new experiences– even ones as small as another country’s currency?

While I’m gone, Ka-blog goes on. My colleague Tom Lee, who has written about his own financial journey on the Ka-Ching page from time to time, has accepted my once in a lifetime offer to take over the blog for the week. Be nice and help him with his latest financial dilemmas. Most recently he was mulling over how to divvy up his tax refund check.

Past guest Ka-blogger Aimee Blanchette may also drop in to share the latest about her wedding planning–from her wedding cake for less than $100 to the cheap wedding dress that now may cost hundreds because of pricey alterations.

I’ll be back on the 25th.