More than likely you are already getting excited about the large check you are probably 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 ploy to try to stimulate the economy and pull us away from a possible recession by suggesting you barge out the door and spend the money at some retail store. Our current President, George Bush said, '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 definitely thinkThe President needs to read The Fair Tax Book by Neal Boortz.

The Wall Street Journal recently reported that in December 2007, Americans had $944 BILLION in total revolving debt, most of it on credit cards. Spending with creditcards has sneaked into every nook and cranny of American life. Consumers used to put only discretionary expenses on plastic cards. Currently, many consumersare so short on cash that they use revolving credit cards to pay for basic survival items like groceries and gas just to survive. That is economic slavery.

The government's plan might sound like it will work, however,but I don't think it is the best idea. In my opinion a much better plan is to use that rebate money to reduce your credit card debt. If you have less debt, you eventually willwill eventually have a bigger bank account to spend on necessities like gas and groceries. This is about basic survival for families like yours. There is not an economy on the planet that can flourish when the public is buried under a mountain of unbearable debt.

Do you already have a plan for what you are going to do with your stimulus tax rebate? I'm encouraging the plan of using your rebate to move toward gaining your financial freedom! Here's the best advice I can give you.

Do NOT spend the money before it even arrives in your mailbox by going on a mental shopping trip. Instead of doing that, plan out how you can utilize the rebate to improve your current financial condition.

Use the cash windfall to reduce your credit cardpay off debt. There is no good reason to go out and blow the cash 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 start putting money aside to buy that gadget or gizmo you have been salivating over.

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 double or triple in value at an 8 - 12% return.

Allright, allright. If you just HAVE TO spend some of the cash on a splurge item, just limit the amount you blow by going out for a nice dinner or buying that music CD or book you've been wanting. After that use the rest to pay off debt or invest for your future. The quicker you become debt free, the more often you can spend your income on enjoyable things instead of spending sleepless nights worrying about how you are going to pay off those credit cards and get out of debt.