Have Fun with Your Tax Rebate Check

There are some very practical people who will take their tax rebate check and put it in a savings account. Others will pay a credit card debt, or an extra mortgage payment. That's not fun and not how it was intended to be spent. So whether you are getting $300 or $1200 or something in between, why not do what the President wants and go out and spend it? Purchase something you might not be inclined to ordinarily and walk away with a smile knowing you've done something for your country!

Here are some suggestions in case you have no idea how to spend money frivolously.

For those of you with $1200 in the mail this will be pretty easy and almost down right extravagant. First on the list would have to be, take a trip! You can go on a cruise; fly to Mexico and spend a few days spoiling yourself in an all-inclusive resort; or since it's summer, why not treat yourself and your spouse to a couple of days at the ocean, with a view!

Other ideas for that $1200 might be buying a large screen TV; treat yourself to a piece of fine jewelry; or with gas prices being what they are, purchase a moped to get around town on. See? That wasn't so difficult. Check spent, you've done your part for the country, and you're having fun.

Now for the rest of us with more modest checks on the way. There is still a good deal of fun to be had. First on my agenda would be purchasing season tickets for the family to Six Flags and Hurricane Harbor. That might not be your cup of tea. So forced to come up with alternatives I made a small list.

For $300-600 you can purchase a nice, new sound system for your TV; host a really great blow out backyard bash for your friends and family complete with entertainment; take a camping/fishing trip with the kids; buy new outdoor furniture or an above ground pool; purchase something special and extravagant for yourself like a Coach handbag or some really nifty golf clubs.

These are merely suggestions. You probably have your own ideas for throwing caution to the wind and spending some dough. You may even think I'm crazy to even entertain such flights of fancy. Go ahead and save the rebate if you must. But remember, with prices being what they are this summer, if you treat the rebate check like a windfall and have some fun with it, you might actually have reason to smile while pumping $4.00 a gallon gas, and make some wonderful memories along the way.