I’m Feeling Economically Stimulated
By Ryan Healy | June 11, 2008
…because I just cashed my $2,100 economic stimulus check.
Am I supposed to feel stimulated or is the economy supposed to be stimulated?
Regardless, I now need to decide which debt to pay down…
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Topics: Economics |
5 Responses to “I’m Feeling Economically Stimulated”
Comments
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June 11th, 2008 at 11:33 am
No, no, no, no, Ryan! You don’t get it…
That check is so you can go spend, Spend, SPEND, SPEND!!! Go by a big screen TV, a weekend getaway, something that will help stimulate the economy, create jobs for people.
What nerve you have using it to pay off personal debt! That only means the credit card companies will have to lay people off, because they aren’t making as much in interest.
Think of it… if everybody spends their $2,100 that’s probably around $2.1 billion dollars. That will put demand back into place and create maybe 500,000 jobs…
Oh, of course, unless the government sends you another $2,100 cheque next week… then I guess they’ll have to fire all those 500,000 people… and it was only their first week back at work.
Okay, maybe, you’re right. Put it aside. Pay off some debt. Increase your equity. Set an example for the Whitehouse about how to really stimulate the economy.
June 11th, 2008 at 12:06 pm
@John - Well now that you talked me into it, maybe I will go out and buy that new flat-screen TV!
Oh, wait. I don’t watch TV.
Nevermind.
June 11th, 2008 at 4:59 pm
A friend of mine and his wife had just some rabbit ears and a little TV. They mainly just used the TV to watch some rental films once and while. They had a HUGE library. Read every Shakespeare play, loved sci-fi novels, collected Science Journals.
Then one day, they got called by their movie rental outlet: “Congrats, you won our customer contest for a 50″ (circa) TV!”
So they collected their TV. Would be easier to watch movie, no?
But, their rabbits ears couldn’t connect to the new TV. So they went to TV shop and asked for antennae that would connect. The guy laughed, witha TV that big you need a satellite!
So they got the satellitte… and now the TV is on constantly any time of the day I call them.
Not that I’m saying widescreen TVS are bad (probably better on the eyes)… just be careful when you are getting one for the washroom!
June 16th, 2008 at 12:00 am
I was listening to a radio program the other day, I think it was Dave Ramsey, but he was saying that the ONLY way the stimulus checks will stimulate the economy is if we use them to pay off debt.
Think about it:
1. Paying off $2100 in debt means an extra $30-100 worth of minimum payments each month that you don’t pay that can go to actually purchasing things.
2. If your ratios are a bit off for buying a home, paying off debt can mean the difference between a 6% and an 8% interest loan. You qualify for more house that costs you less.
3. Same is true of cars. Drop your debt ratios to 30% of maxed and you can drive away with a loan payment $200-300 less than someone with their cards maxed.
June 16th, 2008 at 6:54 am
Great points, Becky!
Perhaps paying off debt *IS* the only way to stimulate the economy.