25 ways to spend your tax return on holiday

Ah, tax time. A headache for some, and a celebration for many people as they eagerly await their tax refund. Some choose to spend their refund on household bills or debt repayments – both wise choices.

Others, however, choose to spend their hard-earned tax refund on travel. To these people, we say great choice. You’ve worked hard for the money. It’s the middle of the year, anyway; you definitely deserve a holiday. You simply NEED to unwind.

Tap Tap Tap, gimme my refund back.

Did you know the average tax return is around $2600? A solid amount of money in anyone’s eyes and a sizable amount that can inject a little extra pizzazz into your next holiday.

So, what does $2600 look like? We’ve taken the liberty of listing out 25 things you could buy with $2600 across some of our most popular currencies.

In the USA

$2600 Australian dollars equates to about $1763.32 USD. With this you could:

• Rub shoulders with some A-listers with an epic seat at a Lakers Game
• Live out your USA road trip fantasy by hiring a sweet muscle car to drive along route 66
• Gorge yourself on 680 New York hot dogs before buying a two-month gym membership once you’re back in Australia to work off all of that mystery meat and carbs. 

Epic car hire: $1763. Burger, fries and root beer float: $15. Class Route 66 charm: priceless. 
 

In Great Britain

You’ll secure around 1372.80 pounds when converting $2600 AUD to GBP. Amplify your experience in the United Kingdom by spending it on:

• Tickets for two people to 10 different West End shows. A show for every night? Or perhaps a West End show marathon? 
• Dinner for four at Heston Blumenthal’s Fat Duck; a dream come true for any foodie. 
• Or simply just pay for your return airfare from Australia to London. 

Catch flights not feelings. Brb heading to London. 
 

For your Eurotrip

If you’re headed to Europe, you’ll be banking about 1543 euro from your tax return. This could buy you:

• 771 French croissants. It sounds like a lot, but you’d be surprised at how much pastry one can eat in the city of love. 
• A 10-day coach tour through eight iconic European countries*. You should probably book in that leave with your boss now. 
• 72 hours of solid clubbing in Berlin’s iconic day clubs. We’re talking bottle service, the best quality liquor and a nice hotel with the fluffiest of pillows to rest your weary head at the end of your Berlin bender. 

Your heart says yes, but your cholestrol says no. 

Canada on your mind, eh?

Visit some of the friendliest folk and exchange your tax return to about $2278 Canadian dollars. From here, you can:

• Attempt (and most likely fail) to eat 325 serves of classic poutine. 
• Spend two nights in the luxury Lakeview suite at the Fairmont Chateau Lake Louise. Be warned though, it will be hard to stay anywhere else after experiencing the luxury of the Fairmont.  
• Enjoy a two-day, one-night trip on the world-class Rocky Mountaineer train in SilverLeaf class. If you throw in another $300, you could even upgrade to GoldLeaf. 

I could get used to waking up to a view like this every day. 
 

Adventure in Asia more your style?

If Asia is more your thing, you can head to Japan with a bonus 188,100 yen from your tax return. This will allow you to:

• Slurp your way through 268 bowls of ramen. Not sure how that will feel sloshing around in your stomach though. 
• Treat eight of your best mates to a Mario Kart race around the streets of Tokyo, before capping off the night with dinner and drinks at the iconic robot restaurant. 
• Enjoy a week of shredding the slopes at Niseko, topped off with a delicious hot chocolate, frothy beer and hearty meal each night before bed.

Settle in, only 267 bowls to go. 
 

Feel like a crazy rich Asian exchanging your hard earned tax dollars to Singaporean dollars. With your $2335 SGD, you’ll be able to splurge on:

• Three nights in a premier sky view room at the Marina Bay Sands with money left over to splurge on a Singapore Sling or two from Raffles. 
• The ultimate Singapore experience for you and four friends, with a season express pass to Universal Studios as well as a bike tour around the city and entry to the Singapore Zoo, Night Safari, River Safari and bird park. Best book in a few days here, as you’ll need a while to experience it all. 
• A shopping spree on Orchard Road. There are some pretty fancy shops, so $2334 might buy you a whole new wardrobe in some shops and a pair of socks in another. 

A ship on some buildings? Genius. Take all my money. 
 

Just a hop, skip and a jump from Singapore, you can instead convert your Aussie tax return to Thai Baht. You’ll nab about 52,881 baht, which will get you:

• An upgrade to Business class on your flight to Bangkok from Australia. Rumour has it that Business class gives you unlimited pad thai. 
• A 15-day Intrepid tour exploring Northern Thailand^. Sounds like bliss, right?

15 days of saying 'this is living, Barry' while cracking open a sunset beverage or two. 
 

Exchange your AUD to HKD and enjoy everything Hong Kong has to offer. Your tax return will equate to about $13,368 HKD, or:

• A night or two at a Macau casino, including a fancy schmancy hotel room and a dollar (or a thousand) to drop on red. 
• 3,818 dumplings. Wow. Sounds appealing, right? 

Our legal obligations mean we need to tell you to gamble responsibly. To be honest though, I think we should also talk about responsible dumpling eating because anything over 50 dumplings is excessive, let alone 3,818. You've heard of the meat sweats, but have you heard of the dumpling sweats? 

 

Finally, if you’re keen to stick closer to home, become a millionaire by heading to Indonesia and exchange your AUD to just over 23,076,600 IDR. Your millionaire status will allow you to:

• Completely relax (and potentially turn to jelly) by indulging in over 250 hours of massage. Spare a thought for the poor masseuse who will definitely earn a tip, and probably a spot in a bodybuilding contest after that workout. 
• Build up a solid callus on your finger (classic souvenir) from opening over 760 cans of Bintang. We don’t have any statistics on how many hours of hangover that will lead to, but it’s probably a lot. Either way, drink responsibly, friends. 
• Treat yourself and your BFF to a six night yoga retreat amidst picturesque Ubud or Canggu. No ifs or butts, only ‘om’ as you connect with your inner yogi. 

How's the serenity?

So, there you have it, 25 ways to spend your tax return this year. If you’re keen on some more tips on how to spend your travel money overseas, or you’ve got a burning desire to indulge in some dumplings and need to exchange your Aussie dollars stat, be sure to visit one of Travel Money Oz’s stores across Australia today. We’ve got a Best Price Guarantee**, so you can ensure you’ll be taking off with more. 

Travel Money Oz encourages everyone to drink, gamble and spend responsibly. Eat as many dumplings as you want though. This blog is provided for information only and does not take into consideration your objectives, financial situation or needs.  You should consider whether the information and suggestions contained in any blog entry are appropriate for you, having regard to your own objectives, financial situation and needs.  While we take reasonable care in providing the blog, we give no warranties or representations that it is complete or accurate, or is appropriate for you. We are not liable for any loss caused, whether due to negligence or otherwise, arising from the use of, or reliance on, the information and/or suggestions contained in this blog. Exchange rate based on Travel Money Oz website on 9 June 2019. Prices are estimations only and may vary based on where you travel, where you shop and other individual factors.*European Horizons tour. https://www.contiki.com/ap/en/destinations/europe/tours/european-horizon-118^Beautiful Northern Thailand Trip https://www.intrepidtravel.com/en/thailand/beautiful-northern-thailand-117098** Terms and conditions apply to Best Price Guarantee. See https://www.travelmoneyoz.com/best-price-guarantee for more details.