CNN Money has similar advice:
As does Smart Money:
MSN Money takes a different course and suggests you invest your rebate. But with all this advice, what will people do? As of this writing, an MSN Money poll of almost 150,000 people listed the following as what respondents planned to do with their rebates:
That said, responses to the issue are very widely varied.
In the end, the prudent choice seems to be to pay down debt or save the money. The fun thing would be to blow it on a big screen TV or some other sort of purchase. There are certainly lots of choices -- but what do you plan to do with your rebate?
— FREE MONEY FINANCE
So thank you US government for allowing me to buy video games that (according to Jack Thompson) destroy the moral fiber of this country.
Maybe with the leftover I can by sex toys to help further the moral decay of this great nation.
]]>Nevada brothels here I come!
]]>While I'm only getting half the "advertised" amount because I don't make enough money (because of course, the best way to stimulate the economy is to give money to people who don't need it as much, mm-hmm), I'm still going to sock it away for a downpayment on a new(-to-me) car. Mine is pushing 200,000 miles and I bet I have to replace it this year. It'll be good to be able to save something towards it rather than buying some craptastic $300 beater (again).
]]>I was planning to pay down debt but since I already had plans to go to Vegas, I will buy my airfare with the money.
]]>We get one of the big checks (married with a child, woo-hoo!). This just goes into the pile, it will eventually be passed back out to the mortgage company, BMV, student loans, and Lowe's, and the bills for baby #2 who is racing the check to see who gets here first. All this after collecting 1.25% for as long as possible in the good ol' losemoneymoreslowlyat1.25% account.
Today's my birthday, so maybe I'll nudge the wife toward the PS3's again too, but that will likely be futile. GTA 4 is not a persuasive argument for her.
]]>I'm going to start my own oil ready reserve, complete with canned sardines and bottled water in my own bomb shelter beneath the Adirondacks. Then, when Americans can no longer afford oil, I'll be sitting on my high horse and selling it for obscene amounts to make an extreme profit....
Oh, damn, the President got to that idea first....
]]>In theory, giving mine to Sallie Mae will make it easier for them to lend out money to current students.
]]>- Portishead, "Western Eyes"
]]>I am going down to Home Depot to buy some wood and nails so I can make my own waterboard simulated drowning device!
[www.flickr.com]
I'm adopting a cat from a rescue with mine. This way when I stay home to save money I'll have a new companion. The rest is paying off my minimal debt.
]]>You know, so when society collapses I'm covered. DUH.
]]>New extension ladder = $209
8 gallons paint = $180
New String Trimmer = $150
brushes, rollers, etc = $ 50
Pizza for the crew = $ 12
Savings = $300
]]>@MichaelSF: Yes, I understand, although I wouldn't say $600 is equivalent to $20 (after all, $20 is equivalent to $20).
My GF and I were recently looking at our long-term finances and came to a pretty depressing realization. That realization was that it would take a LARGE amount of money to register a significant improvement in either of our lives. In my case, if I inherited $50,000 tomorrow, tax-free, from an unknown relative, I'd barely notice an improvement in my financial problems.
(Of course, I could buy $50,000 worth of trinkets I don't need, but that's not the point.)
]]>I agree, SF $100,000 is definitely barely middle class. Not all parts of California are that extreme. However, CA does have a much higher cost of living than most states in the union.
I also have to agree with the sentiment about the $600. It's like the government is saying:
" Sorry you won't get any worthwhile rate of return since you decided to be a saver instead of a debtor. Ya know, since we dropped interest rates below the real inflation rate (cost of oil and other things not counted normally). But as a consolation we'll give you $600 bucks to blow like all those fools who over extended themselves.
Thanks Uncle Sam for enabling the addicts. All I want is for my hard earned and SAVED money not to be worth less than crap. Also $300-$600 is not that much money, I can't even pay rent on that.
]]>vegas and a secondhand laptop
]]>I'm going long in hot wings futures. Soon all your hot wings will belong to us.
]]>I'm using mine to kill my debt... By filing Bankruptcy! Haha.. take that Citigroup...
]]>Deposit on a dog? I hope you're going through the humane society...
]]>I'll switch places with you if you want.
]]>God, am I the only one who thinks that $500 or $600, whatever it is, is about as big a deal as finding a $20 bill on the street.
Here in San Francisco $600 lasts about a weekend. It won't pay 1/4 of my monthly rent and won't put a dent in my debt.
I guess it's supposed to stimulate the economy by people spending it, which is what I would do. Guess I am saying that $600 is such a trivial amount it's not even worth talking about what I would do with it.
All the news channels are interviewing people and asking what they will do with the money, as if they just won the lottery.
Is $600 that big a deal to people? Here in California $100k annual income is barely middle class. So I can't see anyone around here getting all worked up about it and not even to be looking for it in the mail.
Meh... does not matter to me for an additional reason, I won't be getting one. But still, $600? I can blow that on a single Saturday and have to hit the ATM on Sunday.
If a family qualifies for over $1200 or whatever the amount is, well now you're talking about a nice hit. I'd be looking forward to that check.
Not a snob or anything, just sayin. Especially considering how the Administration has screwed up the economy to where gas here in SF is $4 a gallon. $600 really goes far with those kinds of prices. What a bunch of frauds Bush and Cheney are, "Here's some chump change chump, to give back us at the pump." I digress, forgive me.
]]>Must...resist...impulse...buying.
]]>It'll make a nice dent in the last credit card. Whee!
]]>If you have your baby this year, you may be eligible for an additional $300 payment. I believe that if you are eligible, you will get it when you file your 2008 taxes.
]]>I'm buying one share of GOOG, but the way things are going $600 may not be able to cover it. :(
Where is ComScore when you need them.
]]>$200 Paying rent (twice monthly)
$110 Paying insurance
$45 Buying high-end steaks and burgers for a barbq
$50 Filling up my gas tank
$110 Joining AAA so I can get my new (old) truck towed home
$??? Buying miscellaneous parts for my 85 Cadillac (missing or damaged trim, body computer, windshield, etc.)
$??? Buying part of my stereo system for the 1080p projector I'm building (three days of work into it, hopefully one or two left)
I'm going to buy 100 large bags of rice from Costco.
.
.
.
What's that you say?
]]>I guess furniture and household stuff along those lines would be a fairly good place to put it, in terms of helping the American economy.
]]>Why bother helping the middleman (Mall Wart) when it's so much easier my way.
]]>Q. What is an Economic Stimulus Payment?
A. It is money that the federal government will send to taxpayers.
Q. Where will the government get this money?
A. From taxpayers.
Q. So the government is giving me back my own money?
A. Only a smidgen.
Q. What is the purpose of this payment?
A. The plan is that you will use the money to purchase a high-definition TV set, thus stimulating the economy.
Q. But isn't that stimulating the economy of China?
A. Shut up.
]]>If it were double, maybe I'd consider the new 3 gigahertz iMac. But in this economy, 2 gigahertz is just going to have to be enough.
]]>Disaster preparedness supplies. What disaster? Um, Gulf Coast hurricanes, terrorism, bird flu, economic unrest, sudden illness or unemployment, whatever might happen that would make us glad to have some stuff socked away.
]]>I'm still in the process of deciding what to do, but I'm thinking the following:
- 50% in a high-yield emergency savings account.
- 50% towards debt.
I'm cautiously looking into converting a sizable portion of my HY savings into ETFs or mutual funds, but I'm comparing online brokerages and still planning an investment strategy.
Also the 50/50 split is still subject to negotiation.
]]>Nah we're not in a recession...
]]>I'll just use $600 of my own money to buy votes for the Republicans.
]]>@ekthesy: Good plan! Converting to Yuans would be a good idea too.
]]>@Triterion: Unless the rest stick it under a matress, it will help.
If they do not spend it, but save it in a bank, it helps out the banks.
]]>Exactly.
264 days and counting down, King Bush.
]]>Into savings for when I go back to school. Then I won't have to work to pay off the tuition.
]]>Donate it back to the Treasury.
]]>After being unemployed for six weeks (laid off) and having the State of California and/or the US Postal Service screw up two weeks' worth of unemployment (so I don't get it), the "stimulate this" check is going to pay most of our rent for May.
]]>(As to why I'd fly if I was going to drive around -- I calculated that the impact against the total cost of ownership of my car would be almost break even -- especially once you consider $4 / gallon summer driving.)
I'm already putting away several thousand dollars on top of my retirement plan ($100 a week auto-transfer from checking to savings), so I don't feel guilty about treating myself.
I'm not worried about job loss, at least not for this year, as the place I work is still growing instead of shrinking.
And by the time I get back from vacation, the only debt I'll have will be and credit card expenses incurred during the trip plus my student loans. I consolidated the loans down to 2% interest rate, so I'm in no great hurry to pay them off.
]]>Drugs.
]]>Trip to Cuba!!!
]]>Vegas baby...
]]>Heh.
]]>i had to write a check to the IRS and the Colorado department of revenue this year. This money is earmarked to return to savings.
]]>My July bonus is going for a new HDTV however. No More Credit. If we can't buy it with cash and it's not an emergency we don't buy it.
]]>You're a sonofabitch, but that was hilarious.
]]>Although I might use the actual checks to go get the Kroger gift cards and just mentally shuffle the money around. :)
]]>I'm paying off the deposit on a dog for my daughter, bank some, pay-ahead some bills, take $1 and "go nuts" stimulating the economy.
]]>Just need to cancel out at least 3 other people using theirs to help the environment.
I kid I kid.
]]>I only have a car loan debtwise and I'm already massively overpaying that to pay it early, so I'm not going to use my stimulus check for that.
I already set aside savings each month.
]]>Let's say I owe $1,000 (I wish!). If I'm like lots of people and have high interest on that debt, a substantial amount of my monthly payment is paying that interest and not making much of a dent in my debt. If I go ahead and pay the damn thing off, I've got that extra money each month to spend on things like flat screen TV's. :)
]]>So I will be paying off my credit card debt!
]]>@ironchef: sounds to me like your the lucky bastard!
anyway, hookers and blow all the way!
]]>@ironchef:
Yet we are the lucky bastards. Because you make too much.
goes right into savings.
]]>I will get done with this degree...
]]>The rest is going to pay for our trip to Albania and Greece in 4 weeks. Too bad America we're going to go help another country's economy!
Seriously though, as nice as it is to get free money, this stimulus check really isn't substantial enough to make a big impact.. in my opinion.
]]>Not buying anything is better for the environment, unless you're replacing something that is worse for the environment.
]]>No rebate for me either. But if I got one, I'd probably go on a shopping spree as I don't have any high interest debt and hate the thought of investing it only to watch it die the slow death of stagflation.
]]>Used a tip from Consumerist 'deals of the day' to finally get my first flat screen TV. $599.00 for a 42".
And since my cable company provides one free converter box and will not sell more (only $10.95 monthly rental x 2 TVs), in less than 3 years, the savings in rental fees will pay for the TV,
Thank you Consumerist!
]]>Buy bricks of nickels to resell in the future
]]>hmmm, perhaps I'll fill my car a few times and buy some groceries ... that should use up my check fairly quickly.
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