Dear Crabby, How Will You Spend Your Stimulus Check?

Dear Crabby, How Will You Spend your Stimulus Check?

Sincerely, Paycheck to Paycheck

Dear Paycheck,

Words are a funny thing. When used by the government, they rarely mean what you and I consider them to mean. And such is the case with the third round of stimulus checks. Let’s explore those two words: stimulus and checks.

We’ll start with the easy one, checks. Very few checks will actually go out, most will be direct deposits. Therefore, they really should be called payments. But I’ll give Uncle Sam a break on that one, it’s kind of like saying you’ll film something or dial a phone number – we all know what it means, even though we use the old term to describe the action.

Stimulus, is the real head-scratcher. You see, the word stimulus suggests the payment will spur the economy or will act as an incentive to spend money. But in most cases, people will do one of two things with their new found money – pay off debt or save it – neither of which will stimulate the economy. The better off you are, the more likely you’ll hold on to the money in a savings account. And the less off you are, most of the time you’ll pay your rent, mortgage, or another monthly bill.

To spend time or money, usually suggests free or fun. While the stimulus was free (from the taxes we pay them) to receive, it will rarely be used for fun items. Don’t get me wrong, paying off bills is a good thing. So the idea that a stimulus check will help Americans, is still true … but very few will spend it on fun items, such as a new TV, jet ski, or vacation. People going on vacation, where small businesses like restaurants and hotels would benefit, would be a huge boost to the economy.

So, if our lovely government is reading, the next round of stimulus checks should be called vacation payments. Once it’s okay to travel again, every American will get a paid week off of work and money that can only be used on fun things like a vacation and/or on American-made products, such as Louisville Slugger baseball bats, Wilson footballs, Crayola crayons, Gibson guitars, Harley-Davidson motorcycles, Airstream campers, or Detroit Bikes … you get the idea.

That’s what I plan to do with this one, if Mrs. Crabby will let me, I’m getting a new motorcycle. But if you see me riding a new bicycle around town, then you’ll know what her answer was. Please leave in the comments how you plan to use your money from the government.

Sincerely,

Dear Crabby

Stuck in a rut? Need some biased advice from a crabby old baby-boomer? Then email me your question at dearcrabby@rochestermedia.com. You can also head on over to my Facebook page and tell me how wonderful I am.