Freelance Finance

Here’s an item to be filed under the heading, “too little, too late”:

The lame duck calls a quackin’ from Washington D.C. about an economic stimulus package.

For the good of the American people.
For the hard-working taxpayers.
Riiiight.

As part of this, we stand a chance of receiving checks valued between $600 and $1,200. Well, smack me silly and hand me to me mama.

Let’s stop and think for a second, shall we? What do you think the government is hoping you do with that precious little check when it lands in your mailbox? Do you think they want folks up to their asses in a newly adjusted mortgage rate to make an extra house payment to keep the wolves at bay? Unlikely. Do you think they want you to make an extra payment to your student loan? Or, perhaps they want you to put it in your health savings account? Doubtful.

What they really hope you do is take that money out on the town and spend some big bucks at one of the Big Boxes. They’d all be happy as clams for you to keep perpetuating your own cycle of debt so long as you buy a flat-screen and keep the economy pumping along.

Don’t take the bait. Fight back!

So if this “make people go shopping” package passes, take that check and do something with it that is going to put YOUR financial needs first. Deposit that check in your emergency account (better yet, open one if you haven’t yet). Make an extra payment on your house. Pay down your credit card debt. Add to your retirement account. In short, make that money work for you—not for them.

You wield a mighty power when you spend those dollars, people. Put them toward a worthy cause—your financial sanity.