Advice on what to do with a tax refund ~ pay off a debt? purchase more prep stuff - food, ect.? put it into cash and hide it in a mattress? leave it in the bank? buy gold/silver? stock market? With all the March 2012 warnings/forecast, I'm not sure just what to do..... 

Well that is a pretty big question.

The answer depends on alot of other questions.
Where are you in your prepping?
How much money are we talking about?
How much debt?

Generally, I would advise to spend it on food, ammo, etc., but if you have a decent supply already, I would tell you to fill in the gaps and obtain certain barter items or use the rest for debt if by doing so you are able to rid yourself of it.

Under a economic collapse scenario, you can expect steep inflation, thus making your debt cheaper to pay off. 

Hi- I'm new to the site, my name is REDD. If you want my opinion, if I were you. I would just pay the minimum on your bills and so forth, just to keep them satisfied. Because if the economy collapses, your debt will be a distant memory anyway. As far as buying metals, might be a good idea for trading purposes, but precious metals will be like the dollar... Worthless in the short term, and the dollar may be worthless from now on if it totally collapses, and it's replaced with a different monetary system. Invest in as much food and survival gear as possible. Weapons, ammo,etc...All American money may be worthless by the end of the year if and when the economy collapses like they predict. 

I'm heading to the LDS Cannery the first weekend in March to spend some cash. 

I'm heading to the LDS Cannery the first weekend in March to spend some cash

Want some company? Carpool?