6 ideas to spend your stimulus check

The time has arrived and the stimulus checks are being sent out. The idea of receiving extra money is always exciting. The problem is money does not last very long any more. The cash seems to quickly disappear from our pockets before we even know it. What happens is that we spend a little here, spend a little there, and in the blink of an eye it is gone leaving us back at the stating line. All the money is gone and we often have little to nothing to show for it. I think a lot of this is due to a lack of financial planning. Knowing this information sparked a few ideas to help you decide where to spend the extra cash headed your way.

How many times have been in a situation where you needed money, but had no way of getting any? I know I have been there more then once! It is a horrible feeling to be stuck in a financial hardship.

Since you are going to be receiving extra money, why not put some of it aside? Unless you have just been let go or your regular source of income has changed, saving money is a good idea. You never know what tomorrow will bring and being prepared eases a lot of stress.Take half or all of it and put it into a savings account at your bank. If you do not have a bank account, then get one. There are so many great banks out there offering rewards and programs to help you save your money.

Recommended banks:

Charles Schwab: This bank is simply amazing! They offer a 2.01% variable APY, no fee ATM withdrawals, and no minimums or account fees. This bank is a great place to put any money. The tools and help they offer are endless.

Bank of America: They offer free online banking and a program called "keep the change". This program rounds up the change in your account to the nearest dollar and places it in to your savings. For the first 3 month they will match your change 100%

WaMu: One of the few banks that offer free checks for life. You can't beat free!

Each of this banks offer a variety of options for savings. These are also financial institutions that I have found to be the most accommodating. The customer service is outstanding and they have great people that can help guide you in making your financial decisions.

Before making any financial decisions I recommend you speak to a professional and ask every question you can think of.

Investing money can be scary and overwhelming. However. these days there are a variety of programs out there centered around newbies to the investing world. T D Ameritrade, E Trade, and Scottrade have a viariety of progras that are low cost or offer incentive programs oriented around helping you reach your financial goals.

Maybe you don't want to invest your money in stocks, bonds, etc. Another suggestion I would then make is invest in your own business. If you already have one, spend some of your money on areas that need improving. If you do not have one and you are interested in starting your own business, then I recommend E Biz-U.com . The people at E Biz-U will provide you with everything you could possibly need. There is no need for an extensive knowledge of website buiding or HTML. You can choose what you want on your site, how you want the site to look, and you decide on the name. They have a variety of tools to help you get the most out of your online business. Check out theshopperstar.com to see an example of one of their stores. After you pruchase your site it is ready in no more then 3 days and you have only spent 10% of you stimulus check.

Did you know the average American debt is $8000.00? That number can seem pretty big if you are already struggling just to pay for gas! So why not take this opportunity to put a dent, however big or small, in that number? Even if you are already making regular payments towards your debt, adding a little extra to the pot will shorten the duration of payments you have to make and possibly decrease those high percentage rates they charge you every month. Paying debt may not be fun, but it is a good feeling to know you are that much closer to pulling yourself out of that black hole of.

We all have a few projects or chores that have been put on the back burner because of cost or time. Now at least you can eliminate cost from some of those projects. Perhaps your car is in need of new breaks, tires, or routine maintenence. You can try Ebates to help you save some money on those projects.

With sites like Orbitz and travelocity finding a great low cost vacation package is easy. Also, Disney packages allow you to make affordable monthly payments toward your trip. This is convenient for people like me who can not necisarrily afford paying for an entire vacation all at once. Disney also provides restaurant and store coupons, tickets to shows, and keepsakes with each vacation package. Those extras are a nice bonus and trmendously useful.

Another suggestion I would make to dispurse payments on a vacation would be to pruchase your flights, hotel, and rental car all at seperate times. You can reserve the dates needed for each item and pay for them when you can.

Planning a trip is exciting and when you know you have a great vacation approaching it makes your day's fly by. At least that has been my experience.

OK, so maybe you don't need any advice on spending your money. You already pay all you can on your debts, or financially you are doing pretty good! Then spoil yourself a little. I am sure you deserve it. We all deserve a little treat now and then. Go out and have some fun! Though I am sure you didn't need me to tell you to have fun.