Tax season is almost done, but after going through everything, it seems like the government would like me to pay them $500 - 600, which isn't a ton. On the other hand, after calculating out my taxes, if I throw about 2k into a traditional IRA, I could reduce that to about $100. That same 2k could wipe out my husband's credit card debt (11% interest), pay off half my car loan (3% interest, which would eventually lead to highly decreased expenses because I wouldn't have to pay expensive insurance), pay off a small student loan (3% interest) or pay my life expenses for the rest of the month, potentially freeing up future money.
I'm having trouble with the math.
They way I look at it, right now, I have $2500 in cash, which will pay for taxes + plane ticket. If I put money in the IRA, I have about -1,600 left over (after paying for taxes and the ticket), but I can have the IRA money later in life and if I pay off debts, I have -2500 left over. That calculation only works for the month of March, though and doesn't take into account the impact on the future.
Any thoughts or advice would be greatly appreciated.