$600 rebate daydream meme
March 8, 2008 by Jennifer Hofmann
(www.myorganizedbiz.com) – Everyone’s getting them: those rip-open envelopes announcing that the $600 carrot is dangling out there if you submit your 2007 tax return.
This isn’t a political blog so I won’t go into my opinion on this, um, turn of events (biting tongue). Whether you agree with this stimulus plan or not, there’s a pretty good chance a juicy check will be winging its way to you this spring.
It’s kind of exciting when I think about it. $600 in cash! It’s like winning a mini-lottery.
My Plan:
What I’ll probably do is something responsible and organized like spend some on rent and the rest toward paying off a credit card. I am a sole-proprietor, so I am my business, economically speaking. My goal is to be debt-free in the next 5 years, so I’m glad to have a little extra cash to contribute toward that. (Not exactly economic stimulus, eh?)
My $600 daydream:
If I was gonna go wild and blow it all, throw responsibility and caution to the wind, here’s how I’d spend my $600:
- Get my car detailed.
- Schedule an Aveda pedicure.
- Spend a day at Powell’s World of Books.
- Take my sweetie out for a fancy dinner – and dessert.
- Sign up for a 3 month gym membership.
- Get a cute outfit for work.
Now, I’m tagging some of my favorite business owners with these two questions and encourage you, dear reader, to chime in too:
- If you could do whatever you wanted, how would YOU spend your $600?
- Is that the same or different from how you actually plan spend it?
I’d love to hear from Anne Wayman at The Golden Pencil, Kelly Phillips Erb at TaxGirl, Kristen King & and Bridget Wright at Biz Chicks Rule, Mary Emma Allen and Yvonne Russell at Home Biz Notes (new blog, very cool!), and Shannon Cherry at Start Up Spark.
Then send it along to 6 (for the $600) people for their answers.
If your credit card was one of those subprime credit cards (i.e., given to those with a credit score of over 600 or a credit rating below 5), the most profitable use would be to pay off as much of your credit card that the tax windfall will cover. Subprime credit cards carry from 18% – 30% interest. Paying off would be tantamount to making an investment that would earn that much.
Wow! See, that’s why I like you, Ren. Check out Ren Garcia’s blog at http://www.accountingsolver.com.
The good news, I *don’t* have one of those plastic nasties. I did my homework when I started up the biz and got a 9.9% card with 2.9% transfers – and no time limit. Whew!
I still agree that the more put towards paying off a card, the better. Still, I can whine that it’s not nearly as fun as choosing the right pink polish for my piggies.
We’re expecting $1200 (married). I want to put it toward turning our back dirt into a back lawn.
Have you considered going S-corp. or LLC instead of sole proprietorship? The tax advantages are there. If I was still a sole proprietorship this year, I’d owe more than double what I’m paying as an LLC…
Miranda – The “back dirt” cracked me up. It’s amazing what a little grass can do, ain’t it?
Thanks for the advice on the corp status. I’m actually getting a return this year with all my writeoffs (yay!). I’ve no major assets or employees so for now it’s simpler this way. Mark my words, though, the status will be changing in the next two years.
Thanks for playing!
This gives me something to consider. Will be replying to the meme at Home Biz Notes.
$600…hmmm….pay off bills, OR, buy myself another designer handbag!
http://www.bangingbags.com