Second, taking a tax refund is not a financially optimal decision, and one that many personal-finance gurus howl about every year, but people like it. The reason for that is rooted in human psychology. Tax refunds work as a form of forced savings for many people, a way of making themselves put money aside for post-holiday bills, vacations or a household repair. Yes, they could set up a savings strategy themselves, but that would leave it there, forever available to spend on a passing fancy or immediate need. More relevant: Many people don't get around to setting aside dollars in the first place. They spend their money as it comes in. As a result, they rely on their tax refund. They would, apparently, prefer to receive something like a lump sum of $2,135, the average tax refund received in 2018 for a 2017 return. (About 75 percent of all filers received refunds in recent years.) Real estate — if you don't take the money out in the form of a second mortgage or refinancing — works in a similar fashion. It's an expensive savings vehicle, but it's a savings strategy nonetheless, something that accounts for the fact that for many Americans, their home is their main source of wealth.