What To Do With Your Stimulus Tax Rebate
I am sure you are already pumped up about the fat check you are more than likely going to get from the government. You may even be mentally shopping for some gizmo you have had you eye on. That can be a fatal mistake.
Now, I'm not trying to be a scrooge here, but the plain truth is, I am not really liking this government plan to try to stimulate the economy and pull us away from a possible recession by suggesting you rush out and spend the money at some local store. Our current President, George Bush stated, 'Letting Americans keep more of their own money should increase consumer spending, and lift our economy at a time when people otherwise might spend less.' I strogly suggest thatThe President needs to read The Fair Tax Book by Neal Boortz.
As recently reported in the Wall Street Journal, in December 2007, Americans had accumulated $944 BILLION in total revolving debt, most of it on credit cards. Spending with plastic cards has infiltrated every corner of American life. Consumers used to put only discretionary expenses on credit cards. Now, many consumersare so short on cash that they use revolving credit cards to pay for basic survival items like groceries and gas just to make it through the month. That is economic slavery.
The government's plan might appear like it will work well, however,but I don't think it is a workable idea. In my opinion a better plan is to use that rebate check to reduce your credit card debt. With less debt, you eventually willwill eventually have more money to spend on things like groceries and gas. This is about basic survival for families like yours. No economy can flourish when families are buried under a mountain of unbearable debt.
Have you already planned out how you are going to spend your stimulus tax rebate? I'm supporting the plan of using your rebate to move toward gaining your financial freedom! Here's my best advice.
Do NOT spend the money before it even arrives in your mailbox by going on a mental shopping trip. Instead, plan out how you can spend the rebate to improve your current financial condition.
Use the rebate to reduce your credit cardpay off debt. There is no good reason to hurry out and blow the money on 'stuff' when you can't pay for the stuff that's already sitting on your credit cards as debt. When you are DEBT FREE, you can begin saving up to buy that gizmo or gadget you have had your eye on.
If you don't have debt, then invest the money so it makes more money for you. It doesn't take but a few years before that $600 or $1,200 dollars can grow to double or even triple the value at an 8 - 12% return.
Allright, allright. If you can't control yourslef and just have to blow some of the money on a splurge item, just limit the amount you spend by going out for a nice dinner or buying that music CD or book you've been wanting. Then use the rest to pay off debt or put into an investment. The faster you become debt free, the more often you can do fun things with your income instead of spending sleepless nights worrying about how you are going to pay off those credit cards and get out of debt.
Sandra Simmons, President of Money Management Solutions has years of experience helping business owners and individuals manage their money to achieve financial freedom. Watch the FREE 5-minute demo video on her website www.MoneyMgmtSolutions.com
Published February 18th, 2008
