I think I should start retracting every mean, spiteful and completely inappropriate statement I've ever made about the government.
…Nah.
But, who can honestly say they haven't been pleasantly surprised with the sudden increase in their bank account status? That's right; I'm talking about that glorious little thing called a stimulus check.
Back in February, President Bush approved and signed the Economic Stimulus Act of 2008, calling it a "'booster-shot' for the American economy," according to CNN.com. If you haven't gotten yours already, they're most likely on the way.
The clue to cracking the code of when yours will arrive? Check your numbers.
Rebate payment dates are based on the last two digits of your Social Security number. For example, if the last two digits of your SSN are 00 through 20 your payment was sent out on May 2. Those SSN ending in 21 through 75 were sent out May 9; SSN numbers ending in 76 through 99 will be mailed May 16.
Of course – that's only if you filed your taxes electronically.
For those who opted for the paper method, your schedule is as follows and is again, based on the last two digits of your SSN:
SSN 00 through 09: May 16.
SSN 10 through 18: May 23.
SSN 19 through 25: May 30.
SSN 26 through 38: June 6.
SSN 39 through 51: June 13.
It's the hope of the government that we'll all do the obvious – spend, spend, spend. But it's your money and ultimately your decision. So this week, in lieu of our original 20 Questions format where we ask one person 20 questions, we've decided to ask 20 Richmonders one question.
Ricmond.com wants to know: What do you plan to do with your stimulus check?
Rachel Duval
"Put it in a CD!"
Scott Baldridge
"Make payments on my credit card."
Josh Shifflett
"Drink!"
Kristen Dean
"Give it to my dad because I owed on taxes and he paid it for me."
Joedy and Lindsey Felts
"Honestly, we'll be paying back some of my student loans and doing some home improvement."
Sara Johnson
"I don't get one! My fiancé put it towards my ring, so we did exactly what the government didn't want us to do."
Matt Nilson
"Put the money right back in the U.S. economy and use it towards a little vacation."
Joe Godbolt
"Strippers! No, I'm kidding – I bought tires for my Denali."
Brock and Nadine Bryan
"We are going to put the money in Mutual Funds and towards our mortgage."
Shawn Tuthill
"I plan to throw it in the bank."
Lauren Saady
"I put $400 in my savings and I spent $200 of it on new clothes."
Shona and Nathan Price
"My entire stimulus check is going to pay off one, single bill and fill up my gas tank."
Kevin Ayres
"Pay off debt."
Jason Harrell
"I'm using mine to take a vacation."
Cindy and Joe Hernandez
"Pay off some bills, buy my daughter a new bed and buy some little things we need around the house."
Lauren Nunnally
"Yeah, I'm not getting one! My mom still claims me. It's great."
Allison Harvey
"Pay my dad back for the loan he gave me!"
Amy and Alex Taloma
"We are doing some home improvement projects and saving for when the baby comes."
Cameron Clark
"Well you see since I was still in college for the first five months of 2007 and depended heavily on my parents and their financial support, I get nothing! That's right -- nothing because my parents still claimed me as a dependent. Now, had I gotten that money, the things I would do! First off I would probably set aside $200 for my vacation so I could do a little shopping and treat myself to a big seafood dinner. Next, I would put some of it into a new cell phone. If there were any left, I guess I would do the smart thing and put it in savings, but that is a big "if" because as everyone knows I am a sucker for a sale at the mall!"
Mary-Chris and Mike Escobar
"We will probably save it or invest it."