Are you among the millions of taxpayers who file their return at the very last minute? Are you now waiting anxiously, compulsively checking your mailbox and bank account, to see if you received your refund? Like many, you are probably playing over and over in your head what you are going to do with it when it finally comes. As the average tax refund last year was, according to the Internal Revenue Service, $3,120, you could do a fair amount of spending and splurging — or you could do the right thing, or things, by yourself financially.

"There are many questions to consider when you receive your tax refund this year, but all of your answers should lead you to putting your money toward paying off bills and debts first," said financial advisor Stacy Francis, president and CEO of Francis Financial. "No one wants to be in the 18 percent of Americans [who] have later regretted a purchase from their tax refund this year." To wit, CNBC.com takes a look at six ways to apply those "extra" bucks in 2016.

— By CNBC's Kenneth Kiesnoski
Posted 20 May 2016

The first thing you should do when you get any amount of unexpected or "free" money, such as an IRS tax refund check, is to pay off as much high-interest debt as you can. There's no point stashing cash in a savings account that won't earn even 1 percent in interest a year — or even in the stock market, where you might make 5 percent — when you're paying interest to lenders such as credit card companies at sky-high rates of 10 percent to 20 percent or even more annually. So pay down those credit cards now!

Another good option is to put your tax refund toward your retirement. Start your own solo 401(k) or after-tax Roth 401(k) plan, or open up an individual retirement account — either traditional or Roth. This is the best way to exponentially grow those refund monies, especially if you invest in mutual funds under the auspices of your 401(k) or IRA.

After paying off debt and funding retirement, the next item on your refund-spending to-do list should be to put some cash aside in an easily accessible emergency fund. Francis at Francis Financial recommends having at least three months' worth of living expenses (e.g., rent/mortgage, food, transport, etc.) in a rainy-day savings account.

Already met your own financial needs or goals? Is that IRS refund check really just gravy or funny money? Before blowing it on the fleeting pleasure of an impulse purchase for yourself, consider donating part or all of your check to a worthy — and tax-deductible — cause. Being generous to a charity now will likely incline Uncle Sam to be more charitable to you come April 15, 2017.

So you've invested in long-term financial stability and eternal good karma by saving and making charitable donations. Now how about investing in your more immediate professional or personal future by spending your refund money on an adult education class? You can further your education, and possibly up your appeal on the job market front, by increasing your skill set. Worst case, you can take up a hobby — from pottery to painting — that you always wanted to try but never got around to signing up for.

All right, you've done well. You've checked off the debt, retirement, savings, charity and adult-education columns on your IRS refund checklist, so now you can feel OK about splurging a little on a treat or some travel. Maybe. "Feel free to make the best use of the remaining balance," said Francis at Francis Financial. "If there's enough left over, you might even buy yourself a nice gift."