Fabulous Financials

I received my $900 Economic Stimulus rebate today!!

In a previous post titled, 5 Ways to Spend My Economic Stimulus Rebate, I mentioned that I might spend it on shopping, savings, vacation, bills, rental property, or maybe even donate it. I thought it was pretty funny how the readers who visit my blog daily pegged me so well. Many of you probably know me even better than some of my closest friends. LOL

For those who may be curious, I plan to spend the $900 by:

1 - Donating $500 to the non-profit that helped my family.

2 - Spending $400 on ME - either shopping or vacation. Yes, ALL ME!! LOL

The reason? All others expenses would have been incurred whether I received the stimulus rebate or not. So I already have a plan for them in the budget. As for saving, I’m in no rush. I have a pretty robust savings plan and I have no doubt that I will meet my goals.

Instead of being responsible, I’m going to be a good American citizen and help stimulate the economy! First stop? The Designer Shoe Warehouse! LOL!

I’ll post pictures if I find anything fabulous.

photo credit: jonnyphoto

According to the IRS Economic Stimulus Calculator, the Economic Stimulus Payment Schedule, and this handy dandy Where’s My Stimulus Payment status form, I expect to receive a $900 check sometime this week - hopefully tomorrow. So I’ve decided to do a variation of BK Diva’s fantasy vs. real world analysis. Fact or fiction, here are 5 ways I may consider spending my economic stimulus rebate.

1. Go shopping!

Surprise, surprise! LOL!

What? A girl can always use some M.A.C., a new suit, wrap dress, handbag, two or three pairs of shoes… You know, a little something something. I’m just saying.

2. Save it.

Last month, I increased my eFund goal from 15k to 20k. Da hell was I thinking? This eFund is a moving target so I guess I need to tighten the bootstraps. With an $18k balance, I only need another $2k or so. By the time I hit the next milestone, I’ll probably bump it up again. Weird, huh? Saving is addicting!

I also have that ‘other’ goal I’ve been ignoring all year. You know the one, invest $5k in taxable non-retirement accounts. My plan is to buy index funds through Vanguard, so I need at least $3k to get started.

3. Spend it on a summer vacation.

Although Paris is no longer an option for this year, I am planning two outings within the next few months - one with my fam and the other with my friends. Both can be managed with monthly cash flow, but it sure would be nice to have extra money earmarked for acting a plum fool. LOL

4. Pay bills.

My car insurance policy expires in mid-June. Currently, I pay $460.30 for six months and I’ve been a good girl on the highways and biways. So I’m going to shop around for a better premium. Hopefully I can get it down to $425. Then again, with my luck, I’ll get a speeding ticket on June 1st. I aint lying!

Let’s see, what else?

Oh yea, my tags also expire in June. I’m not sure what the costs will be, but I assume I will have to pay for another state inspection, property taxes, and fees for the license plate and registration. If my memory serves me correctly, that could be about $350.

One more thing, BabyGirl is having her braces removed on Monday and she’s being fitted for retainers (top and bottom). Those little things are expensive!! Can you say a few hundred a pop?!?!

5. Spend it on my rental property.

My tenant is moving out at the end of June, so that means cleaning, painting, and advertising. Depending on the extent of the wear and tear, some of the expense will be deducted from the security deposit, but I know I’ll have some out of pocket expenses as well. Then, finding new tenants will be a challenge in and of itself. I’d rather assume the carrying costs than have a tenant from hell. So I’m estimating ~$500 out of pocket if things go well and ~$3k out of pocket for the worse case scenario.

BONUS: Donate it.

As a result of my recent personal issues, I discovered a wonderful non-profit agency that has been heaven sent. Prior to this year, I didn’t know they existed, but they helped my family overcome a situation that would have otherwise been catastrophic. I can’t remember how I found them, but I do know that God doesn’t make mistakes. Since they operate 100% on donations, I would like to pay it forward for the next family who may need to use their services.

Which option(s) do YOU think I should choose?

Which option(s) do you think I will mostly likely choose?

How will YOU spend YOUR economic stimulus check?

Federal Income Tax Refund Status

State of Maryland Income Tax Refund Status

State of Virginia Income Tax Refund Status

Now let me hold $5?

[image credit: oneviewsiteworks.com]

At least three times this week, I have watched news segments that mentioned employer incentives to lose weight and live a healthier lifestyle. I can’t remember the company’s name, but I heard they were offering each employee an extra $150 per pay period (up to $300 per month) to eat healthy, exercise, and report their daily health regime on the company’s database - specifically created to monitor employees’ progress.

The intent, of course, is to motivate others towards a healthier lifestyle, but also to save money on health insurance costs. According to Wellness MD, obesity (30+ BMI) is the #1 killer in America. It’s a major factor for heart disease, hypertension, diabetes, etc. All of this results in very expensive health care costs for everyone.

From a business perspective, an incentive to live healthier makes perfect sense. It reduces the cost of group health insurance premiums, reduces absenteeism, and increases productivity. From an employee perspective, earn extra money and be motivated to live healthier. It’s a win win. Although it’s a sad reflection of our society that we have to be paid to do what we should be doing anyway, I’m just glad this idea is not subsidized with government tax dollars. I commend any corporation that jumps on the bandwagon.

As for me, I need to lose weight but my arse is lazy. Outside of work and mommy duties, my lifestyle is pretty sedentary. I cook a healthy meal at least 4x per week, but I’m also a junk food junky. Add in my new found love for wine and I’m done. But if my employer offered to pay me an extra $300 just to eat healthy and exercise - and held me accountable - I’d be all over it!

What do you think of this new incentive?

~*~*~*~*~*~
Work to achieve, not to acquire.
And as always, BE FABULOUS!

If you enjoyed this article, subscribe to Single Ma’s Fabulous Financials via email or RSS feed so you can receive notifications when I publish new content.

ING just refreshed my referral links!! I’m so excited!

I was all out of them but it seems ING has decided to reissue referrals to all of their customers. If you currently have an ING account, check your referral page. There should be 25 referrals for the orange savings account and 25 referrals for the orange electric checking account. As mentioned in my previous ING referral link post:

If you open an ING Orange Savings Account with an initial deposit of at least $250, use a referral link and ING will give you a $25 opening bonus. That’s an immediate 10% return on your money!! The referrer (me!) will also receive a $10 thank you bonus for referring you.

Links Update 20 April 2008

Link #1: $25 ING Referral

Link #2: $25 ING Referral

Click on one of the above links, then scroll down to find the blue “OPEN NOW” button.

When you click on “open now,” you should see this message:

Start savings with a great rate. To receive your $25 bonus, open and fund your Orange Savings Account with at least a $250 initial deposit.

But if you click “open now” and see something like this:

We’re sorry, but the referral link within the email you received has expired and is no longer valid. We recommend that you contact the sender and ask them to re-send the referral email. Or click ‘Continue’ to proceed with the application process without the account opening bonus.

…try the next link. When all links have been used, I’ll add new ones.

-or-

Email me and I’ll send the $25 referral link directly to you.

Thanks to BK Diva for the heads up!