America will see the first batch of rebate checks to "stimulate" the economy as early as April 28th.

I was curious as to how people plan on spending theirs and why?

Personally, I am dumping all of mine into savings. Maybe buy a video game.

probably going to use mine to recover from a speeding ticket fine that i will need to pay this time next month. aside from that? my kittens need spayed...the rest (if any) will go to pay down credit cards.

Originally posted by TruthWithin
Personally, I am dumping all of mine into savings.

and therein lines the problem with the rebate. The last time we received one of these governmental gifts, everyone got them and the result was rather stimulating. The gov't is hoping the same will happen but they did a bad thing by limiting the recipients based on their income being below certain thresholds. What they've done is given money to people that will probably not put it back into the system. Many economists and financial experts think one of two things will happen. Either the money will be used to pay off credit card debt or it will go into the bank. Neither will help stimulate the economy as the gov't so desires. The truth is, the folks making over $75k ($150k for married filers) are more likely to have disposable income and, therefore, more likely to take the stimulus and spend it on something rather than pay off credit card debt or put it in the bank. Unfortunately, those income figures are the starting point for the phase out of the stimulus checks so the people most likely to spend that money are the same people the gov't is excluding from the recipient list.

When my clients bring up the rebate and ask how much they are entitled to, the majority of them, when told the amount, say "well, it will cover the interest on my credit card bill for a month" or some variation thereof. I have yet to hear one client say "I'm buying myself a (insert any product here)."

As for what I am doing with it, you can't spend what you don't get.

either take a trip to the coast or put it in the bank until we can take a trip to the coast. My husband and I are in dire need of a vacation and this could be the start of a vacation fund that we finish off with the tax refund (we filed a bit later then usual so we still need to get our refunds back). It'll be in the savings account for a little bit but then it will get spent. Just probably not fast enough to make Georgy happy but whatever.

Tela

Mines going into the bank. We're talking about building a vacation home in the near future and have been banking as much as possible so that we can build mostly from cash that's already in the bank.

If we pay as we build, we won't have a mortgage on our little hideaway. That's very nice if we can pull it off.

when you say waste, you are referring to exactly what the gov't wants - spending. the more money put back into the systemy, the better our retailers do etc.

When did the IRS run these polls? Curious because things have changed for lots of people and the economy today, with $4 gas (cost me $80 to fill up yesterday) etc is going to cause more debt for many people and the money might not be spent as they had said it would be several months ago.


While I agree with your advice to bank it and put it towards IRAs or other savings, that is not what the gov't wants and that is where this is going to fail. Even if it does work to kick start the economy, I can't see it being sustained. I think your comments in this regard are rather accurate. I don't think we'll see the bump they want and I think the fallout could make things even worse.

ammo,canned foods,mason jars for canning, more canned food, and few dollars worth of gas, then its all gone, oh well easy come easy go!

Aigh, and WASTE is exactly how I refer to it.. nothing productive comes from it, it does not help the personal debt crisis, it gives a false sense of security and it prolongs the problem in the long run.

$600 bucks will be easy to waste in a day.

When did the IRS run these polls?

The IRS began conducting polls before a President proposal was made. They began contracting with news papers and online marketing firms to ask the populace "what would you do if the government gave you money?" The IRS then gave an official report to Congress during the debates, and the Democrats urged the IRS to re-do the studies to see which "demography would spend more" .. Low income families, particularly urban, would waste the money in the largest amounts in the fastest time frame.

Curious because things have changed for lots of people and the economy today, with $4 gas (cost me $80 to fill up yesterday) etc is going to cause more debt for many people and the money might not be spent as they had said it would be several months ago.

Oh they know....

Politicians 3 weeks ago accosted the IRS and Federal Reserve board for not doing something sooner.. they had to explain in details that hey.. we had to draw new computer programs (the latest implemented last week) we had to send letters (original letters alone cost millions) we have to FIND people to give the money to (vets, poor, elderly, those who fell between the cracks) and we have to deliver, which cost millions in its self, not to mention another round of digital deposits ONTOP of regular tax preparation ..

This is tax time, and the Gov decided now is the best time.

Well the Gov got pissed AGAIN .. now the rebates are being called small and inefficient, not enough money to stimulate the economy "to little to late" and the IRS is being blamed for it.

The IRS is beginning rapid deposits of funds into accounts via digital deposits to get people spending more now.

The IRS has already recognized that there is a large level of fraud with people above the threshold trying to get these funds, fake returns from fake SS numbers on top of an exploited open gate as IRS agents are working on the rebates, loopholes will go unwatched in the regular tax filing..

It can only be described as chaos.

And it won't help the economy..

I don't think we'll see the bump they want and I think the fallout could make things even worse.

The governments hopes that the false sense of security will give the retail industry a significant enough bump for investors to pull out of commodities and into these companies once more, giving them the capital to expand and hire new employees.. however, as oil and food sky rocket the majority of the money wasted will now actually be spent on food.. if food has risen 15% in the last month, 15% of the rebates are likely to go towards food, and investors won't move from where they are safe.

On top of all of this, few are planning to put the money into mortgages, which we are expecting another record breaking foreclosure rate, big banks will write down more debt and the insurance agencies that insure mortgages will take another big hit.

Not to mention the original plans to give a rebate AND bail out those who cannot hold onto their house ha fallen through, 75% will now not get assistance.

As the Fed prepares for the Rate's to banks to be slashed yet again, the dollar will drop to another low, and your $600 bucks won't go as far as it could have back in February ..

The OTHER big problem is the IRS simply cannot take the work load in getting every check out at once like Congress wanted.. it was supposed to be like pouring lighter fluid into a camp fire and it would flare up.. all the money to get out will still take until July .. so its more or less like adding kindling, no big change will be seen, and the US Treasury just wasted 110 billion not including hundreds of millions in IRS over time, printing, mailing, marketing, research and so forth....

It just shows how Congress and the President are so far detatched from reality..

Ammo for my new Springfield M1A and water.



Seriously though, I'm going to pack it away in my savings, which I keep in a safe in my home, I'm not kidding. I have been paying off all of my credit cards and stashing cash from side jobs. No checks written to my business account this year. I'm kind of sitting on the sidelines seeing how things are going to play out.

Im not, I phased out so no rebate for our household. It cheeses me off to no end that someone with ZERO taxes can get a rebate though

The sad fact is I know people at work who spent it when they first heard of it............ So its money already in thier debt total

[edit on 4/27/08 by FredT]

Well, since works dropped off a good bit lately and I'm not getting paid yet at my otherone, It'll be paying off most of my credit card that i've more or less relied on to ease through,a dn adding money to my account to get the bank off my back.
I have a fairly low credit card limit, making it easy to pay off. But I wasn't expecting a crunch like this either, work was nearly nill for about two weeks, and I wasn't even required to come if for another four days, but I ended up sweping so I could get paid.
Since this is going to be a hard time, when I get this I think I'll stop paying for as much extra stuff as possible, time to start saving strictly.

Guns. And Ammo.
Lots and Lots of Ammo, before hillbama decide to revert to type and limit us to partial supervised visitation rights during supervised range sessions.

I'm going to spend my rebate as any good American should according to the word of bush. I've had my eye on a new telescope that should stimulate some economy as well as myself.

I just find it funny that george feels it's the government's responsibility to throw a few bucks at the economy, when this goes against the philosophy of real conservatives when they say the government should not interfere with business.

Is it me or does this sound like something Liberal's would do to spur the economy?

It's hard to tell them apart anymore.

I have my eye on a couple of handbags Oh and of course shoes! Maybe some new rims for my Jeep.

I could use a vacation...hmmmm. Italy sounds nice this time of year

Isnt that what I am suppose to do? Shop Shop Shop! LOL

Well there's this cute little red headed prostitute who works the corner a few blocks down...

Nah not even anything that good... bills damnit.

Already spent... on education. If I get back what I expect to, it'll just cover those dual-enrollment courses for my daughter's senior year in high school.

As to the debate over why it won't work, that's a moot point as far as I am concerned. It won't work, and it will drive the Federal budget further into the red. So it'll make things worse.

Face it: we've spent ourselves into oblivion. The greed of a baby-boomer era has finally taken it's toll, with everyone in a bloated population range now struggling for every last precious dollar. It's led to several bubbles, some long collapsed, some now collapsing, some yet to burst, wild out-of-control government spending, a massive sell-off of US interests to foreign investors to get that quick $, and more and more taxes and fees and tolls as the government wants their share as well.

Leaders lead, and we have followed our leaders' examples. Credit card debt is one of those balloons I mentioned, as is oil (through speculation), the housing market (through our new-found sense of entitlement), gold (as people panic and look for something 'safe'), and even food. Debt is used to buy investment, and now that the investments are beginning to deflate, who pays the debt?

Rockpuck and Crakeur, you're both right. But the only way to ease the coming storm is to withdraw as much as possible from the financial system. That's what I have done. Mortgage = $0. Car payment = $0. Credit card balance = $0. Total monthly obligations to installment credit = $0. Investment in commodities/stocks/bonds = $0. Bank deposits = minimal. Actual ownership of items which will help me survive without help, there's my 'gold'.

I'll take the cash since the US is generously giving it out. I'll use the cash. Maybe there'll be enough left over for a new TV, as this one is starting to have trouble. If not, the refund will handle that, plus a few tools I still have a need for, and maybe even finish that chicken-house. There's some economic stimulus, so maybe it's not all a useless exercise in impotency. But I will not spend above my means, nor will I engage in activities that tie me to this sinking ship. I like the life-raft I'm sitting on just fine.

See you on the other side of the iceberg.

TheRedneck