Big Retail Will Cash Your Rebate Check
Lowes and J.C. Penny want your economic stimulus rebate check. So much so, you may be able to cash your check directly in the store in order to pay for your purchases.
Neither store has officially confirmed the plan, but if history is any bit of a guide, I wouldn’t bet against them giving it a try.
Temptations are everywhere these days to spend. The era of the credit card has made it easier than ever to overextend yourself. That may very well be coming to an end. The evening news tells the story rather bluntly that consumer spending is pulling back as the economy weakens.
Take a moment and prioritize your financial goals and put your rebate check where it will do the most good. I will more than likely use the funds to help payoff my car loan. Doing so will give me an instant $250 a month raise. No car payment also means a slightly lower emergency fund since I won’t have to replace that income in the event of a financial need.
This raises the question, how many of us really are going to blow the money at retail outlets like the government wants? Conscidering you are a reader of personal finance blogs, I’m guessing your money is going to be saved and or invested. Will the stimulus plan work?
Yes, but not as was originally intended. I’d like to add at this point that I think there are many better ways the government could spend $152 Billion, but I don’t think it will be a total waste either. Regardless, check is (practically) in the mail.
My check is not going to end up in the coffers of some department store. I’ll be paying off debt. I expect to pay off that debt completely within this year. With that extra money in my pocket at the end of each month, I’ll be able to invest more. And more investment is ultimately good for the economy as a whole.
I doubt that my tiny contribution would do much, but en masse, the results could be more pronounced. There is a proverbial army of personal finance bloggers and readers who I expect see things the same way I do. We are not all going to pay off debt at the same time, but $600 or so will certainly advance each cause significantly. It may take longer to see the effects, but in the end the economy would benefit greatly and more importantly, it would be sustainable. That is far better a result than a good quarter of retail sales could ever provide.