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A Second Stimulus Check?
Over the past few days we’ve been hearing renewed calls for a second stimulus check. Just yesterday House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said:
We will be proceeding with another stimulus package, and we once again hope we will work in a bipartisan way
It seems that Democrats believe the first tax rebate hasn’t done enough for the economy, so they’re considering sending us another one. President Bush is taking on more of a wait and see approach. He contends that we haven’t yet seen the full effects of the first rebate, and we need to see how that pans out first.
Federal Reserve Chairman Ben S. Bernanke, testified to the Senate Banking Committee yesterday about this as well. He said:
On a second stimulus package, my own sense is that we are still trying to assess the effects of the first round, It appears that it does seem to be helping, but it might be yet a bit more time before we fully understand the extent to which additional stimulus may or may not be needed.
I’m not against getting another check, after all that first one came in mighty handy to pay off some of my wife’s medical bills.
At the same time I don’t think I’ll be getting my hopes up sitting around waiting for another check in the mail. It is an election year after all, and promises of tax cuts, rebates and stimulus checks are a dime a dozen.
So instead of waiting around for my check, and in the spirit of being proactive, here are a few ways to create your own stimulus check!
10 Ways To Create Your Own Stimulus Check
- Get a better insurance rate: Shop around to find a better rate on your health insurance, homeowner’s and auto insurance. Just by switching companies you can end up saving a few hundred dollars a year, to thousands. I know because I switched my insurance providers earlier this year and ended up saving over $1000 a year!
- Sell things online: Find things around the house that you no longer need or use, and sell them online at websites like ebay.com, half.com, craigslist.com and others. I’ve done this on occasion and end up making hundreds of dollars a year. People will buy just about anything on ebay!
- Get a part time job: Find a job where you can work on the weekends, or other odd hours. Get a paper route, work at UPS, or elsewhere. Even if you don’t stick to it for very long, it can be a good way to make a bit of cash.
- Watch how you drive, carpool or walk: Find ways to cut back on driving, like riding in a carpool to work. I do this, and it saves me upwards of $100 a month! Also change the way you drive to cut back on your gas consumption. If you live close to the places you need to go, try walking or riding a bike!
- Cut back on your food spending: In the past couple of months my wife and I have cut back on the amount we spend on dining out, and groceries. Just by doing simple things like packing our own lunches, not eating out more than 1-2 times per week, and using coupons, you can save a ton!
- Cut out unnecessary spending: Cut the cable TV, the huge cell phone bill and the super fast internet! There are always cheaper alternatives to a lot of the services out there. Either cut back on what you’re paying, or cut the services altogether. My wife and I have never paid for cable tv, and we don’t miss it!
- Use a cash rewards credit card to pay your bills: This isn’t something I’d suggest if you’re undisciplined with money. If you are disciplined enough to do it, and pay the card off every month, I’d suggest getting one of the good cash rewards credit cards, and paying your bills with it. Many of the cards will also give you extra cash back for things such as gas and groceries. Compare some of the cash rewards cards here.
- Start a blog (or other online income): Start a blog online and write about a topic that you’re passionate about, or one that you have inside knowledge about. Become an online authority, and place advertising on your site. If you do it right you can make a nice side income doing that. Other ideas for online income include filling out surveys, designing t-shirts for a cafepress.com store, or finding something you’re good at, and offering your services online.
- Pay cash and ask for a discount: This one may seem obvious, but many people don’t do it. If you’re buying something, offer to pay cash, and see if they’ll give you a discount because you’re paying in cash up front. Often you can get a huge discount. If you don’t ask, you’ll never know if you could have had it for less!
Links:
Are we going to get another tax stimulus rebate check?
7 positive ways to use your economic stimulus rebate
Democrats Are Weighing More Tax Rebates, Pelosi Says
Pelosi Statement on Today’s Economic Forum
Do you know we could figure how much you make from teh amount you received from the stimulus check? ;)
Not my check.. stock image from flickr creative commons ;)
Here in the Philippines, the government also gave “cash incentives” 2 months ago. Another batch will come this month. Economists here are telling media that it did help the poor, albeit temporary.
In the long run, they say that it will leave unnoticeable mark in our economy. I’m not really sure if the same things goes on a 1st world country like yours.
Sams last blog post..Doing Financial Planning during Tough Times
Great post – if people started making their own every year, the government would not have to send our borrowed money to people to get their votes. I think this is a terrific idea you should run with, start a movement!
Davids last blog post..How Do You Decide To Tip Or Not?
This is all great advice. My husband and I have never paid for cable either and we are perfectly fine without it.
I think a cheaper alternative to cable would be to just have a netflix account or something, you can still watch good movies but not have to pay $100 per month to get them.
BTW – I found your blog via the “Problogger Social media Love On” :D
Heathers last blog post..Wordpress 2.6 is Now Available – Get your upgrades here!
@Heather – that’s how i found your blog as well! After doing the problogger social media love in I gained at least 30 subscribers, and a ton of twitter followers.. not bad!
@Curt – I’m not sure how i feel about gold really.. I think I might actually invest in a good mutual fund instead. what do other people think?
Talking about first stimulus check would have been nice to have gotten one got my letter stating it would be in mail by June 27th still waiting no check
I would be considered as lower class. So can someone please explain to me why middle class would qualify and lower class wouldn’t. I work Monday thru Friday, eight hours a day without the assistance of the government. I pay for everything I get while I support two children alone. Everything has gone up lately except minimum wage. We lower class need it just as much as anybody else. I want to be able to save something for my childrens college education. We need a master plan. Not sure about the Gold.
We’re considered middle class but we can’t save money for our children’s college. ;)
I would do the same as I did with my first check.
Pay off my credit card. Thanks to the government I now only owe 2,000 and after this check I will be credit card free. Thanks Bush. This is the only good thing to come out of the past eight years. Unfurtunatly everyone around me is suffering for it.
one of the possibilites was starting a blog for income. how much could i expect to make monthly if i did this? month 1, month 2, month 3 etc… and what other tips do you have for setting something like that up?
Saint, writing a blog for income as stated above isn’t going to be super profitable right away. It took me a few months to make anything, and even then it took a bit of luck. I’m at the point now where its a nice side income, nothing to quit my day job for, however.
We would need a whole other set of blog posts to talk about starting a blog, but basically..
1. start a blog using wordpress self hosted with a custom domain name if you can.. otherwise test the waters with a blogspot.com blog. You can export from there later on if you decide you want to continue.
2. Put adsense ads on your site.
3. Pick a niche, preferrably one that has some good traffic and where others have been successful.
4. Write lots of good content, daily at first.
5. Promote your blog by commenting on other popular blogs, and by networking with other bloggers – guest posting if possible.
6. Wash Rinse repeat.
7. Discover other sources of website revenue like text links, ad banners, CPM ad networks and affiliate income.
there’s a quick start for you. A good place for pointers is blogthority.com and problogger.net
Good luck!
p.s. oh, and sign up for cash crate through my link on this page, that’s an easy way to make some side income!
We’re considered middle class but we can’t save money for our children’s college. :-)
Your dumb….Not getting a second job, I enjoy seeing my family. As for paying cash for everything, credit or debit is easier for people to take than cash these days and unless you shop at a flee market people don’t just give you a discount for being nice. Get a clue.
Okay, your comment was really stupid you are not trying to save or create ways to bring in better income and you have the nerve to tell someone to get a clue? Go figure!
I do thank you for informing most Americans on how to create their own stimulus check but for the average hardworking American who lives check to check I have cut back everything and still owe everyone and I currently work two jobs and attend school, so I need a stimulus, any suggestions now?
It may be time to try and find other ways to cut back – for example, maybe school needs to be put on hold until debts can be paid off – and you’re in a better financial position. Or try finding another better paying job? I know it’s not easy, but there’s usually another way.