So the economic stimulus package is a done deal. Let’s take a look at what this really means for you and me.

The government is going to send you some money. The knee-jerk reaction is, “Woohoo! Free money!!” But, like your grandpa used to tell you, “There’s no such thing as a free lunch.” The $150 billion dollars that Uncle George is dolling out is not coming from some store house of cash on the White House’s back lawn. It’s a tax rebate. Again, knee-jerk, “Wooho! Lower taxes!” Well, not really. Think of it more like an advance.

When you go to one of those check-cashing scams er… businesses, they advance you some money (that’s what intelligent people call a loan) and then when you get your actual paycheck, they take a slice out of it to cover what they loaned you, plus interest (sometimes a lot of interest). That’s what we’re about to experience.

Now, as for me, I stay away from loan sharks and thus avoid the mess all together. But Big Brother has made that decision for us. We don’t get the option of staying away. Imagine if Guido’s Cash Hut sent you a check with a little note. “Here’s $1000 for you. We’ll come by in twelve months to extract $1500 from you at gun point. No need to thank us. We live to serve.”

Surely our government is no Guido. Surely they have some good intention. Yes. They do. They want you to spend that money in order to buoy the economy. (I talked about this before.) But, when you think about it, what should you do with that check? What’s going to benefit your economy more? Should you go out and buy a big screen TV? Or should you wisely pay down your debt, even if this ends up just being a drop in the bucket? Or if your debt is under control or even nonexistent, you could put the money into a high-yield savings account or other investment.

“But Trint, it’s my responsibility as a patriotic American to help the economy by spending money I don’t have!” Of course it is. And when you get kicked out of your house for defaulting on your mortgage, I’m sure one call to the White House will solve everything. Good luck with that.

As for me, I’m probably going to open a high-yield account with mine. Then I’ll sit back and live the high life with that $50 a year in interest. Well… $42 actually. Can’t forget about those taxes.

[Edit: Thanks to RandyPants for the digg.]