Holy hot dogs. Would you cash it in if it happened to you?

I told her to be veryyyyy careful here, the last thing she wants to do is cash it and then later owe the Gov't back the $300 + interest at 17%!

But is it possible that it's correct? I don't think so. My friend is single, has no kids, and has no extreme circumstances. I can't imagine any other reason she'd get more than her alotted $600, so what gives?

That's exactly what she's trying to figure out. Apparently she got a note with it stating that they will be providing her with more information on WHY she's receiving what she did via mail shortly. But even that is strange to me. What's funny is that the letter also states if it is incorrect, she better notify them as soon as possible! haha... doubt much?

It's now been 2 days since she received it, so it's very safely collecting dust on her desk until she gets it all figured out. Have any of you come across this in '08? Unfortunately she hasn't shown it to me, and since she really doesn't know i'm posting about this cuz of the whole anonymous stuff, i don't feel comfortable asking to make this post better ;)

She's got my attention, though, that's for sure. And she promises to keep me updated, so that's the best we can do at this point. As soon as I get word, you know i'll be hollering as fast as my fingers can type!


***Update @ 3:02pm***

So yeah....um...turns out my friend isn't all that detailed oriented. Apparently 3 MORE "stimulus" checks just came in, when it hit her that they aren't in fact stimulus checks! Yeah they all looked the same, but it wasn't until they started piling in that she realized what was going on. D'oh.

The $900 one, actually a few dollars and cents over $900, was this year's Federal tax re-imbursement. The 2nd one, for $500 and some change, was from her State's taxes. The 3rd check, for $1400 something, was from 2006's taxes where something was awry (she told me, but i can't remember it exactly....something about estimating her returns, but then re-doing them?), and the last $600 one was finally for, drum roll please... her STIMULUS CHECK! he he.

So yes, I, J. Money, was a bad blogger journalist (slaps his hands for not doing his homework), and yes, my friend now has over $3,000 that she wasn't expecting. At least it ended up better than expected! What a mix up though...aye.

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- The 411 on Bush's stimulus checks
- Rebate checks hit stands on Monday!

Labels: stimulus check, taxes

I salute you, Government, and take back all those dirty little words I've said about you. And as soon as this bad boy clears, it's off to the race tracks i go! haha...j/k. you know very well i am MUCH too frugal/nerdy to do something as exhilarating as that.

It'll be partying with the other greenbacks in my Emergency Fund.

Labels: emergency funds, safeway, stimulus check, tax rebates, taxes

Maybe i'll use this imaginary $600 to buy some imaginary cookies and unicorns? haha

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UPDATE: According to msnbc.com, the "00 to 20" ones will be deposited in the bank BY Friday, May 2nd ... likely story ;) For other ss's, check out the latest round of dates.

Labels: safeway, stimulus check, tax rebates, taxes

800,000 Rebate checks are going out on Monday (April 28th), hooray!

According to money.cnn.com:

"The federal government, eager to boost the flagging economy, will start distributing special tax rebates on Monday - five days earlier than expected, the Treasury Department said Thursday."

All in all, 130 MILLION tax filers will receive a rebate check this year! According to this new change, i should be getting mine MONDAY. How about you?

It's all dependent on your last 2 digits of your social, and how you filed. You can visit the IRS page for more details, but keep in mind you'll be getting it sooner w/ these new changes. OPAH!

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ps: check out the Q&A i had w/ my accountant for more info on these rebates.

Labels: crazy economy, safeway, stimulus check, tax rebates, taxes

The IRS is spending $42 MILLION to inform us that the rebate checks will soon arrive!

Direct quote from MSNBC.com:

"The notices are going out this month to an estimated 130 million households who filed returns for the 2006 tax year, at a cost $41.8 million..."

I'm not the smartest man around, but there has gotta be a cheaper way to alert everyone right? I'm racking my brain to come up w/ an idea myself, but crazily enough i can't! haha..... i know posting it online, such as the MSNBC site, as well as in newspapers is a start, but not everyone reads the news. Next i thought about emails, but how would they have ours? They COULD get it off of our tax returns, but not everyone posts it. Plus, not everyone uses email, particularly the elderly. What about calling around using one of those automated messages like those annoying car warranty people? Nevermind, that's stupid cuz we'd hang up anyways even if they DID have our #.

So perhaps sending out a letter IS the most effective way, and i'm just a sucker for statistical headlines? All i know is that it just sounds really freakin' C-R-A-Z-Y!

*more info the the rebates here.

Labels: cockamamy indeed, rant, safeway, stimulus check, tax rebates, taxes