Good Money Blog

I haven’t. I filed a paper tax return this year, so mine will take a bit longer. Last week, IRS had admitted that some tax rebates have been sent to the wrong persons, and as many as 350,000 families have been affected. The following is the Stimulus Payment Schedule (according to the last two SSN digits):

Direct Deposit

• 00 through 20: May 2
• 21 through 75: May 9
• 76 through 99: May 16

Paper Check

• 00 through 09: May 16
• 10 through 18  May 23
• 19 through 25: May 30
• 26 through 38: June 6
• 39 through 51: June 13
• 52 through 63: June 20
• 64 through 75: June 27
• 76 through 87: July 4
• 88 through 99: July 11

If your expected tax rebate payment hasn’t yet arrived, you can look up the status in IRS’ “Where’s My Stimulus Payment.”

Where the Money Goes?

According to the findings of a National Retail Federation survey, conducted by BIGresearch, consumers plan to spend about 40% of their tax rebate checks, sending about $42 billion back into the economy.

In another recent survey of 4,000 primary household shoppers, market research firm TNS Retail Forward estimated that the majority of consumers are expected to use the stimulus payment to pay off bills or put the money aside (multiple answers allowed):

• 36% will pay down debt (32% on credit cards or other bills, 4% on mortgages)
• 30% will put it into savings
• 23% will use it for everyday expenses (e.g., groceries, gasoline, etc.)
• 19% will use it for special purchases (e.g., vacation, jewelry, or big-ticket consumer electronics items such as a computer or HDTV, etc.)
• 10% will use it for charitable donations or other

Where to Spend It?

Retailers hope to boost their sales by offering added perks for tax rebates in various ways - bonuses, discounts, or special deals. Here is a quick summary:

Food

• 15% bonus
  • Haggen
• 10% bonus
  • Kroger (Kroger, Baker€™s, City Market, Dillons, Fred Meyer, Fry€™s, Gerbes, Hilander, Jay C, King Soopers, Owen€™s, Pay Less, Ralphs, Smith€™s, and QFC stores)
  • Safeway (Safeway, Vons, Pavilions, Randalls, Tom Thumb, Carrs, Dominick’s, Genuardi’s, and Pak ‘n Save)
  • ShopRite
  • Supervalu (Acme, Albertsons, bigg’s, Cub Foods, Farm Fresh, Hornbacher’s, Jewel-Osco, Lucky, Shaw’s/Star Market, Shop ‘n Save, and Shoppers Food & Pharmacy)

Apparel, Home & Electronics

• 10% bonus
  • Meijer
  • Sears (Sears, Kmart, and Lands’ End)
• 10% discount
  • RadioShack
• $40 gift card (with a special purchase)
  • Sam’s Club
• Special deals/promotions
  • Ace Hardware (20% off sales on selected merchandise)
  • Home Depot (special deals on energy-efficient items)
  • Sony ($400 off on selected HDTVs)
  • Wal-Mart (special “price rollbacks” on food and other consumables)

Travel

• 10%/15% discount
  • Zonder.com (10% off bookings of $600 or more and 15% off bookings of $1,200 or more with coupon code “TAXES” at checkout)

I’ll make up my mind when my $1,200 check (a married couple with no children) finally arrives. For now, I plan to spend maybe $200 on sprucing up my garden (think Lowe’s), buy a $300 grocery gift card for the 10% bonus, and invest the rest. How about you?

If you haven’t decided, folks in How I Spent My Stimulus may inspire you with some interesting ideas.