<prompt> Human: Edit: Adding this here to say that I had about 1500 in taxes withheld from my paychecks over the course of 2015. I received 4200 in my tax refund. So everyone commenting that Im giving the govt an interest-free loan is not 100 accurate.TL;DR: rpersonalfinance pushed me in the right direction about my financial decisions. Im still a noob at this, but Im learning a decent amount along the way.I dont post here often, but I do browse threads that pop up occasionally. I read that paying off my credit card debts is the best idea for anyone with any income level. Im a minimum wage earner, unfortunately, though I do work upwards of 60 hours per week, which ends up adding to a decent amount at the end of the month, and I am a part-time college student full-time father. In the past, Ive used my tax returns for stupid ass purchases, such as a new motorcycle back in 2011 or spending the full amount in a few short months doing fun activities with family and friends, including but not limited to visiting Disneyland and paying for a few friends whove never done anything similar for me I dont blame them; they were smarter with money than I was.Some time this past summer, I came to my senses about money. I still have 3-4 years of college left, and thats assuming there isnt a delay along the way andor Im able to get into the last few science classes I need.At any rate, I began browsing rpersonalfinance after making a stupid car purchase 13k loan; long story. Shouldve bought a cheap beater for daily commuting use, but I didnt have much cash. Regrettable decision, but one I cant change now with the value of the car being 60 of the remaining loan balance. I realized I needed to change. In my mid-20s now and as pathetic as it may sound to say this, Im happy to say that even with a minimum wage job, I still managed to save up 5k between Aug 2015 until now, which obviously includes the remainder of my tax return amount.It feels good to know I wont be spending 150-200mo paying down stupid ass credit cards that I maxed out not too long ago. I intend to keep one card and use it for small purchases, such as gas, textbooks, etc, but pay the amount off every month before they charge interest on my purchases. This is just to keep my credit score up. If anyone suggests otherwise, please explain why. Ive read both sides of this and decided keeping one credit card while being smarter with my purchases shouldnt be too devastating a decision.Anyway, I dont have anything of true value to add at this point. I just wanted to say thank you to all you helpful folks. I feel Im better prepared for adulthood with some of the financial advice Ive read through this sub. If buying gold for everyone whose post helped me along the way werent a huge waste of money, Id do it. Just know that I am giving you guys gold in my mind, and the financial lessons Ive learned through here have been of incredible value.  <response>: Being out of debt is of true value my friend.Right on 