Stimulus Schmimulus!
This upcoming Economic Stimulus check, if you have one forthcoming, is a joke. Like bailing out the ocean with a teacup. $600 is chicken feed. But hey, if somebody sends me $600, it’s not like I’d throw it out with the rubbish.
Back when I was a teenager if I had a fight with my father, and I was running around fuming, he’d take out his wallet give me $5 or $10, and say, “here, go get yourself something” Just his way of saying, “I’m sorry. Let’s not fight”
I’m laughing because that seems like what the government is trying to do: “Sorry about the war, sorry about the $4 gal gas; sorry you lost your house….here, go out to dinner, and get some new shoes”
As I understand it, the whole point of this gift from the government is their hope that you will go out and blow it frivolously and “stimulate” the economy. Nah, I’m with Suze Orman on this one: use it to directly benefit your own life, not a retailer’s bottom line.
It’s definitely a time to put your needs ahead of your wants. I’ll probably end up paying (off hopefully) an iceberg named “Credit Card Debt” But there’s other cool things that could be done. Like make a couple of car payments to give yourself a break. Make a principal payment on the mortgage. Putting it in the bank always works, but as Suze herself would, I’d caution you that a regular bank savings account is paying less than 1% interest (so awful!), and a lot of people have 13/15% finance charges on their credit cards. No brainer- pay down the debt.
New Blog Feature- The World On A Shoestring: Where I will tell you about cheap stuff I’ve found.
Groceries: I bought cereal at Wal-Mart yesterday. Their store brand of Raisin Bran was only $1.88. Post Shredded Wheat (what happened to Nabisco anyhow?) was $2.50. Coffee always seems to be consistently cheaper too. I was looking at flower and vegetable seeds and the tomato seeds that were $1.59 at Wally World were 1.79 at the local garden center store- same brand and variety!
Cheapest 3 course meal in town It’s not healthy, but it’s a deal. If your health allows it- head over to Target and get the Beef Hot Dog combo. Don’t laugh. The frank is a Vienna beef frank- that’s a Chicago hot dog! (some out in Chicagoland swear there is none to compare with a Vienna frank!) Well, if you count your drink and the chips it’s a 3 course meal for $3. Also pretty good for the price would be a small chili and a baked potato from Wendy’s. I haven’t looked it up yet, but it might be less fat grams than the Target hot dog. Add a drink and it’s a little over $3. The trick is to call it a snack, and make sure you eat some vegetables and keep it simple the rest of the day.
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