I got my notice in the mail on Tuesday that my stimulus check should be here this week. As I check the mailbox every day, I think about what I am going to do with it. I have gone back and forth between increasing my emergency fund or paying off bills. Either way my stimulus check will not be used to purchase anything.
Its funny as I sit here and think about what I would have done with it a year ago. I would have considered it ‘found’ money and used it to purchase something that I needed or wanted. It would have been outside of my budget and I would have felt no guilt about using it to buy something.
There are many things that I could purchase with it. I could put a down payment on a smaller used car that gets better gas mileage. I could buy new living room furniture. I could make some home improvements. I could even use it to buy the countertop for the new shop. I could even buy a decent lawn mower so that I could mow my own grass.
Yes, there are many, many things that I would like to have but my priorities are paying off debt and saving money. My emergency fund is only $500. It’s better than nothing but still not large enough for me to be comfortable with it. I have been whittling away at my debts but honestly, keeping a roof over my head and some food has been most of what I could manage. There hasn’t been a lot left over for paying extra on bills.
I have finally decided that the stimulus check will go to pay down my debt. My emergency fund will have to suffice for the moment as the difference in what I earn in interest on it and what I pay in interest on my debt is huge. So rather than stimulating the national economy, I will be making my creditors happy.
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Tags: debt, stimulus check
Sounds good to me. And that money will still be going to the economy…it just won’t be extra.
In my opinion, paying down debt is always a wise decision
Enjoy the found money – and sleep better with some dept out of the way!
I’m putting 3/4′s of the stimulus check in my E fund, am using 1/8 for new clothes and 1/8th for a planned weekend away the end of July. My check should arrive by the end of June…I wish I had it now.