How will you spend your $600?
That question is going to be on your lips and in your ears for the next 3 months while we wait on our happy little tax refund from the IRS. Retailers are already whining about how the rebate won't do enough. Well it's time to piss them off a little more.
Here's what we're going to do: we're going to save that money. Or use it to pay off debt, which is basically the same thing. Why? Well, a diary I read a few weeks ago suggested we shouldn't spend it because we don't want to help the economy under Bush. This is actually a great reason, but I'm about to give you another: because it's good for your financial health. And it will eventually be good for the economy.
If you use the $600 to pay down credit card debt, that will either:
a) lower your minimum payment, so you'll have more disposable income each month, or
b) allow you to pay off the debt sooner, so you'll have more disposable income sooner (this is if you make more than the minimum payment, which you should).
If you save the $600, you will either:
a) be able to buy that big screen TV without going into debt, or
b) have more money in retirement to blow on Doritos and beer.
What I'm trying to say in a completely convoluted way is: if you do what "they" want you to do, you'll spend the money on something, then be back in the same boat you're in now. You will have put money in some corporate pockets, and you'll be back to square one. This is not helping the economy or strengthening the middle class. If you save the $600 or use it to pay down debt, you're making an investment in your future income. You bring yourself up a notch, and empower yourself to be a good consumer without being an agent of consumption.
It's all about the Hamiltons, kids. And someday, when we're all rich, we can be the corporate bigwigs that run the country! Muhahahahaha!