U.S. stimulus check...

[usayit]

no one got one and spent it on something interesting? (Trying to keep this from becoming a "hot button" topic)

Perhaps a down on a new car?

 

[Heck]

Its going toward a D300 today..If I make it to B&H after leaving work on time.

 

[spiffybeth]

So what you saying is, your dad made you get horrible trainers? If you've have got the cheque you could have afforded nice ones.

actually my dad helped pay for those shoes with a gift certificate he gave me for my birthday
$70 USD is what i paid for the shoes

 

[RyanLilly]

Wow, dude long wait, Those checks started going out in March!

It's Supposed to jump start our economy while we are nearing a recession. In the U.S there are mainly 2 kinds of people, 1) those who have Credit card debt, and 2) those who don't. The former will use the money to pay off a tiny amount of money that they should not have spent over last Christmas, which is actually, paying off interest more than purchases, and the latter are getting by just fine without a $600 stimulus, and will put it into a IRA or some other savings. A very small percentage of the stimulus package will actually make it into the current U.S economy.

If anyone cares it was, $600 per individual, and $300 per child claimed as an independent.


I used mine on credit card bills (had a 50mm 1.4 on plastic) and a used 70-200 f/4.

 

[RyanLilly]

BTW, My post should not be taken politically, I was just trying to explain, the stimulus and its economic impact for non-US members. And I spent mine on fun stuff!

I removed the one line that could have been taken politically.

Now lets hear what everyone bought!

 

[usayit]

Its going toward a D300 today..If I make it to B&H after leaving work on time.

Cool!!! I used to work near B&H. It was a very dangerous place to be after payday. Thats a good step upgrade from your D40x.

 

[ferny]

actually my dad helped pay for those shoes with a gift certificate he gave me for my birthday
$70 USD is what i paid for the shoes

That's like, £3.50 here, dude.

 

[usayit]

Wow, dude long wait, Those checks started going out in March!

yes it was!!! What makes it even more "unfair" was that I filed my taxes in January way ahead of most people. First in... last out... Just luck of the draw having such a high last two digits in my SS number.

 

[Heck]

Cool!!! I used to work near B&H. It was a very dangerous place to be after payday. Thats a good step upgrade from your D40x.

Ha I know what your talking about, I work in the south Bronx so it may be a step up in the class of bum I may come across. And bringing my own bag with no lables is a good tactic I use when I don't want to look like a target lol

 

[kylerimb]

i spent $600 of mine getting my dog treated for heartworms...does that count as interesting?

 

[maytay20]

Sorry nothing interesting here. DH's went to bills, and mine went to a windshield on my car. <--It was dh's fault too. So we actually needed it. Although I didn't rely on it but it was nice to get. :mrgreen:

 

[Easy_Target]

I didn't receive one. I didn't qualify for it because even though I wasn't claimed as a dependent on my parent's tax return, I could POTENTIALLY be claimed as a dependent, even though I made enough in wages last year to qualify me. I was really counting on that check too, since I recently lost my job.

 

[Doug]

It's in the bank making 3% which I'll have to pay income tax on.

 

[mrodgers]

Wow, dude long wait, Those checks started going out in March!

Just got mine last week as well. I always do direct deposit with my refunds, except this year, so we didn't spend it needlessly, we did a regular check so we could immediately put it in the savings to use for heating oil this coming winter.

Well, a week after I send my returns in, the stimulus check was announced, and announced that direct deposits will come first. Thus, mine came late too.

Now lets hear what everyone bought!

I have oil heat. I have a very small house, and we go through 3-4 tanks of oil through the winter. I accepted that as that is how it is. I've recently found out that others with similar sized houses only go through 1 tank of oil. A few years back, from rebuilding the window frames in the bedrooms, I suspected that we had very little insulation in the walls.

Halfway through last February, my oil tank was filled, $584 (I'm on a schedule with the heating oil supplier). The end of March, they came and filled us up again, roughly the same quantity costs us $865! We keep the thermostat set at 67 F in the winter. That was at $4.19 per gallon and just last week I had heard heating oil was $4.89. That will be over $1000 to fill the tank. It's time to figure something out!

So, I took mine, spent half on a late house payment (wife and 2 dependents, got a nice chunk of "stimulus"). The other half, I had 32 sheets of OSB and I think it was 11 bundles of insulation delivered, $557, and a roll of housewrap from Lowes for $100. We tore the siding off, ripped the crap 'blackboard' sheathing off the house, and found why I would be spending over $1000 every 6 weeks for heat....

The walls have only 1 inch of insulation in them. We have cold air drafting in through the electrical outlets and lightswitch boxes. You can see why in the pic. The very little insulation in the walls is just tucked around the boxes (bottom left).

The non-standard stud cavities (standard is 16 inches on center) just had cut pieces tossed in them as you can see in the above photo next to and underneath the left corner of the window. Some of the smaller non-standard stud cavities had NO insulation. Pictured next is the space between a wall stud and a jack stud for the bedroom window. There is some space that doesn't have insulation. A few of these spaces had nothing!

So, I have spent my stimulus check on the house. I am hoping to cut my heating bill by 75%. I think it is money well spent since during the winter we can barely eat because we pay out our behinds in heating bills.

On top of the heating costs, we can sit in the living room with someone in the driveway and hear everything that they say clear as day through the walls. As such, anyone in the driveway can clearly hear everything that is going on inside the house through the walls. The house was sheathed with a fiberboard that offers no structual rigidity, thus we are also replacing all sheathing with OSB. This project should also soundproof the house as well.

The bad part about it all though, I'm having trouble typing this because I ended up with a nail stuck about 3/8 inch- half inch into the fleshy part of the hand just below my thumb pulling nails out of the studs.....

 

[usayit]

Good way to use that check! Very smart.

Several years ago, we replaced the entire oil heating system too... New oil burner, new oil tank, dug up the old one, new indirect heating coil for water. It helped a lot too....

I had a 1 year lock in with my oil provider last year.... here's the kicker... $2.86 per gallon! My lock-in expired last month... so it went up to well over $4.00 per gallon. The difference was truly disheartening.

I think we are just going to sleep near the chimney this coming winter.. wood is cheaper. (in fact considering a wood burning stove insert). If I had a crystal ball I would have opted for the wood stove before redoing the entire oil heating system....