finance

How this single mum decided to spend her $7200 tax return has everybody cheering.

A single mum in the US has used her $5,600 (AU $7259) tax return to pay her rent for a year. She shared an image of the cheque on Facebook and the idea – novel and smart and much better than most people would ever do – has gone viral.

“Instead of buying my kids the latest Jordans or fancy electronics I paid my rent for the YEAR,” Christina Knaack, who lives in South Carolina, posted to Facebook.

“I’m a single mom and I do it all buy myself on a minimum wage job.”

She said it came down to understanding priorities, and she’s looking forward to having that extra what-would-be rent money in her pocket each month.

“I know that a roof over my kids head is what’s important,” Knaack wrote.

“My kids don’t want for anything because my priorities are straight. And this also means I will have that extra 450 a month to do things with my kids.”

Later, in response to some of the hate she received online (thank you, internet), Knaack shared more of her story.

She told Facebook followers that she is a recovering addict, and that she shared the image to give others hope – she wanted to show how a life off the streets is possible.

A man is not a financial plan. Post continues below.

“I never expected to go viral. And as of January 3rd I celebrated 3 years clean,” the subsequent Facebook post reads.

“I made it public in hopes a recovering addict would see it and see that life off the streets is possible, and for any single moms to know it is possible to survive on your own.”

Knaack’s original post has been shared more than 100,000 times.

It’s inspiring and smart and also one of those moments I ask… Why didn’t I think of that myself?