Now, I'm not trying to be a party pooper, but the plain truth is, I don't really like this government plan to try to stimulate the economy and pull us away from a possible recession by having you hurry out and spend the money at some store. President 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.? The President needs to read 'The FairTax Book: Saying Good-Bye to the Income Tax and the IRS' 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 plastic has sneaked into every corner of American life. Consumers used to put only discretionary expenses on credit cards. Now, many are so strapped for cash that they use revolving credit cards to pay for necessities like groceries and gas just to survive. That is economic slavery.

The government's idea may sound like it will work, but I don't think it is the best idea. I believe a better idea is to use that rebate to reduce your debt. If you have less debt, you will eventually have more money to spend on things like groceries and gas. We are talking about basic survival for many families. No economy 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 rebate? I'm encouraging the idea of using your stimulus tax rebate towards financial freedom! Here's my best advice.

Do NOT mentally go shopping and spend the money before it arrives in your mailbox. Instead, figure out how you can use the money so it improves your financial condition.

Use the money to pay off debt. There is no good reason to go out and spend the money 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 saving to buy that gizmo you have had your eye on.

If you don't have debt, then invest the money so it will make 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.

Okay, okay. If you just HAVE TO spend some of the money on a splurge item, limit the amount you use by going out for a nice dinner or buying that book or music CD you've been wanting. Then use the rest to pay off debt or put into an investment. The faster you get out of debt, the more often you can do fun things with your income instead of spending sleepless nights worrying about how you are going to pay off those credit cards and get out of debt.