Best Results Organizing

Money buys everything except love, personality, freedom, immortality, silence, and peace.
~Carl Sandburg

Have you heard the exciting news? The government is actually a week ahead of schedule–Paper Doll approves of this time management success. So, starting this week, the first of approximately 130 million American households will be receiving their 2008 Stimulus Package rebates … via direct deposit in their bank accounts. (OK, Paper Doll will wait while you click open your online banking window to see if you have your money yet.) It’s also been announced that paper checks, for those who opted for a more tangible rebate, will start going out by May 9, also a week ahead of the previously-announced schedule!

If you’ve been so buried under informational clutter that you haven’t even heard about this rebate, the details are simple:

The vast majority of Americans qualify. You probably do if:

–You have a valid Social Security Number.
–You can’t be claimed as a dependent on a someone else’s tax return.
–You have a either an income tax liability (which means you paid taxes or had taxes taken out of your paycheck) or “qualifying income” of at least $3,000. Qualifying income generally includes any combination of earned income (like from working, but not from rental properties) and/or certain benefits from Social Security, Veterans Affairs or Railroad Retirement.
–There’s an income cap point such that the rebate starts to phase out at $75,000 per person.

And what did you have to do to qualify? Just file a tax return for 2007. (That’s why Grandma and Grandpa got special mailings from the IRS about a month ago with a letter encouraging them to fill out a special 1040A return, even if they didn’t necessarily need to file.) So, even if you didn’t owe any taxes (at all, or beyond the payroll taxes taken out of your weekly check) or normally wouldn’t have to fill out a tax return because you didn’t make “enough” money, it’s worth it to make sure you file, even though it’s already after April 15th. In fact, you have until October 15, 2008 to file your tax return to get this rebate.

Your rebate is not taxable (yay!) and you won’t have to account for it when you file your 2008 tax return next year. However, in addition to the directly-deposited amount or the check you’ll receive in the mail, the IRS will be sending you a letter later this year, verifying the amount you were rebated. SAVE THIS LETTER, preferably in your 2008 Tax Prep folder in your financial section of your family files. As the IRS notes, “if you do not qualify full amount [of the tax rebate] on your 2007 return but you do on your 2008 return, you will need to have the letter as a record of the amount you previously received.” So, even if you didn’t qualify this year, depending on your financial status next year, you might still eventually get a rebate.

So, leaving aside the argument of whether a rebate of up to $600 per person (plus up to $300 per qualifying child under age 17) will do anything for the country on a macroeconomic level, what does this mean at the mini-microeconomic level for YOU and your household?

Let’s look at what one might do with, say, an additional $600 in the coming month:

• Buy essential tangible goods(e.g., food, clothing, shelter, gasoline, diapers, medicines, etc.) or pay for necessary services (e.g., utilities, medical services, school fees, etc.)
• Buy luxury items (like a new digital camera or iPhone, even though yours works fine)
• Save for a rainy day
• Pay down credit card or other debt
• Invest in your future, directly (by contributing to your IRA or a nice no-load index fund for your retirement or any of a number of low-risk options)
• Invest in your future, indirectly (by putting the money towards self-improvement efforts or education)

Now, the government wants to STIMULATE the economy, so they’re not all that thrilled with the idea of you buying the essentials you’re already acquiring anyway, saving the dought or even investing right now. They want you to buy stuff. The truth is, the more conspicuous consumption for which you use your rebate, the happier the government is likely to be. True, there’s unlikely to be much irrational exuberance with the typical family of four getting only up to $1800, but it’s better than a sharp stick in the eye.

So, how about investing in your future by getting organized? What tangible goods or services could you or should buy with your rebate check to help you get your paperwork, household, office and life in order so you can save time and money, reduce stress and be more productive? Stay tuned, because next week, Paper Doll will be reviewing your best priorities for spending your rebate wisely and creatively to invest in yourself and your family’s future.

Until then, watch your bank account and your mailbox, and I’ll see you back here next Tuesday!