If you are one of the lucky people getting a tax refund this year, congratulations! When that check comes in the mail, think carefully before spending it.

If you are not sure what to do with that refund, why not start an emergency savings fund with the money? Or add to one you have already started.

An emergency fund may not seem like a fun way to spend your heard earned refund, but it should be a top priority for everyone. Skip the splurging today, and save for tomorrow's unexpected (and often unwelcome) surprises.

And don't forget..Starbucks is giving away free coffee all day April 15th. Just bring in your own mug, and they'll fill it for you with fresh hot coffee!

If you are looking for a way to start saving money for an emergency savings account, look no further than you own wallet. Each day take $1.00 from your wallet before leaving the house. At the end of the week, you will have saved $7.00. Not much, granted, but at the end of the month that will be almost $30. And chances are you won't feel it. Now add your loose change that you save in a jar every night....maybe another $5.00-$10.00 each month,(just putting .50 in that money jar every night for a month will add up to about $14.00-$15.00 each month!) and you may have a nice and easy $40-$50 saved at the end of every month! Not bad. The key at that point is to continue saving that money, and not spend it. Put it in an account especially for emergencies (if you do not have an emergency account set up yet). If you do have an emergency account already, you can save it as a vacation fund, Christmas account or just good old "rainy day savings" account. If you do this each month, you will have some where around $600-$700, at least, at the end of the year.