What did you do with your stimulus check?

By now, you should have received your stimulus check from the IRS.  It will be either $600 or $1,200 depending if you’re married and single, and there’s an additional $300 per dependent child under 17.  That’s like getting your Christmas bonus early.

The question now is what did you do with it?  If you’re like most people, you’ve already spent it.  Isn’t that what the government wants you to do?  Go to the mall, and buy that coach bag you’ve always wanted.  Or maybe it’s time to buy a car, some dealers’ double it up.  Or to be more responsible, use it to buy groceries. 

Some people recommend that you take $2, buy a pair of scissors, cut up your credit cards, and pay the rest to your credit cards.

Others would say that you need to sock the money in a safe savings account and call it an emergency fund in case we have not hit the worst yet.

Well, in case you haven’t spent your stimulus check yet, I will give you another idea.  Why not use that money to start a small business on the side.

I know what you’re saying…what business could I start with $1,200 let alone $600.  Hear me out here for a second, there are a lot of things you can do with that amount of money.  Let me explain first why I think, this is most patriotic, if not the most financially rewarding thing that you can do.

Why do I think it’s patriotic?  Small businesses are the backbone of the US economy.  Did you know that 36% of the Gross National Product rides on the back of small businesses?  99% of the employers in the United States are small businesses.  They generate 60-80% of the net new jobs annually.  So if you think spending your stimulus checks in consumer goods is patriotic, what about spending money to start a business?

Now why do I say it will be financially rewarding?  Instead of spending money on an I-phone, you can actually spend your money on something that will give you money back in the future.  And I am not even going into the tax advantages of having a small business.

Now, back to the question on what business can I start with $600?  You have to hold on to your money (resist the urge to spend it), and I will tell you more next time.