Hello everyone. It looks like the IRS decided to send out the economic stimulus rebates early. I have no problem receiving my rebate almost a week earlier than initially scheduled!

My wife and I don’t actually have any big plans for the money - after paying my tax bill this year ($1,100) and receiving the rebate ($1,200), my wife and I end up about $100 ahead. I guess we’ll just stick it in the bank for now.

A 6 word memoir. I was tagged by Antishay Ventenne to give my life in 6 words. Boy, this is really tough… I put a lot of thought into this, and in the end, I stole my answer from my wife.

The best is yet to come.

I have led a great life so far, but I would hate to think that I have already peaked in everything I will do. I work hard, I do what I can to put myself in the position to succeed, and most importantly, I have a great family that loves and supports me. I truly believe the best is yet to come.

Smart Money Moves in College. Plonkee started another writing theme this week. The topic: smart money moves in college. I shared mine, which was having someone else pay for my college education. It was one of the best moves I ever made! Here are a few other people’s stories:

• Jim from Blueprint for Financial Prosperity started an eBay business.
• Remodeling This Life decided to become a state resident to lower tuition fees.
• Rocket Finance worked his way through college.
• Mrs. Micah’s best financial move was studying.

Here are my favorite articles of the week:

Career:

• Brip Blap is joining the ranks of the probloggers, at least temporarily.
• Getting a second job to reduce debt can be a great way to get ahead of your payments, but sometimes a second job is not a good idea.

Personal Finance:

• Have you ever been tempted by a BMW? I know I have! I would still love to own one… Just not yet.
• Lynnae saves money by baking from scratch.
• Frugal Trader says now is a good time to Getting Organized for Tax Season.
• There is more to life than money, and there are some things that money can’t buy.
• The Dough Roller says you shouldn’t rely on your home equity line of credit in an emergency.
• My Two Dollars shares some rules to follow in times of inflation.
• PaidTwice is working on building her emergency fund while she pays down debt. It’s an important balance.
• Pinyo shares 34 ways to save money on car expenses.
• Does it bother you when people take a long time at the checkout because they write checks?
• Five Cent Nickel shares a way for people to get an instant 10% return on their rebate check. Sounds like a great deal to me!

I participated in the following carnivals last week:

• 149th Carnival of Personal Finance - Chasing Dreams Edition was held at The Happy Rock. My article, Spending Money is Good, was included.
• Money Hackers Carnival #9 - Scream Edition! was held at Quest for Four Pillars. My article, Taxes - Which is Better: Large Refund, or Owe the IRS?, was included.
• The Festival of Frugality #122, The Paragraph Edition was held at On Financial Success. I submitted My Shopping Diet (a guest post from Sherylle from Sher’s Corner). Thanks for the guest post, Sherylle!

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