Anyone buying a next-gen system with their tax checks?

[RickHarrisMaine]

As some of you may know, the gov't is sending out checks to just about everyone in the country, hoping to kick start the economy. Rebate checks will range from a low of $300 to a high of $600 per person, $1200 per married couple, and $300 per child.

Is anyone thinking about buying a new system with this cash? 360 Elite? PS3? Wii?

[zemmix]

I already bought my PS3 and won't buy a 360 until they redesign the whole unit. So umm I might get stuff for my computer. Need a better mouse, tv capture card, another 500gb harddrive maybe. Woot for the $1200 married deal!

[debian4life]

I am getting a Wii and a PC upgrade!!!!

[Fuyukaze]

I'm getting nothing gaming related for now. For the moment my plan is to squirel it away and save it for either a rainy day or a decent car. I have a wii and I have a job, if my job cant afford the rest of the next generation, it aint worth having right now.

[The Great Dane]

My wife told me about that yesterday and I instantly asked if I could buy a PS3 with part of it. She said as long as she can buy something big that she wants too :D

Of course, a big chunk of it will be going to our debt we have building up.

[Kitsune Sniper]

I won't, because I haven't made enough money to pay the US government in years.

However, I will tell my brother about this. He'll probably use the money to pay back a bit of his debt to the IRS (he failed to report taxes for two years and is paying them off, plus the fines).

[thetoxicone]

I'll probably stash it away like I have with my money I've made recently by selling games possibly toward a new (at least new to me) car as Iowa winters are not kind to the man without a working heater in his car (and the car is old enough that I'm not about to fix it as my car is probably on its last legs anyway)

[RASTAN]

I'm damn near 30 years old. I've got "other" things I HAVE TO spend my tax return on unfortunately. If I could would I though? In a word... No. I'm always going to be a gamer, but the days of being a rabid foaming at the mouth gamer have passed me now. If I could allocate the funds, I'd much rather buy me a .50BMG Barrett Sniper Rifle or a AR-47 (the new combined AR-15 and AK-47 custom built rifles) or even a good Russian made SVD Dragunov versus those ROMAK-3 PSL clones. But to each their own. I know a bloke who spends his tax return every year (most of it anyhow) on further tricking out a prototype sports car he had built using some kit car chasis, and he's not going to be happy until he hits 400mph on the ground and implodes into another dimension probably.

[XYXZYZ]

I'm buying an arcade game from Stonic, and I'll use the money to fill in the gap that will leave.

I've heard that the federal reserve is printing the money for these checks out of thin air, and all this "kickstart the economy" business will actually cause the value of the dollar to fall even lower. But I don't really know enough about economics to argue about this, any college edumacated people want to chime in?


I shall vote for Ron Paul, and use my check to buy a gram of gold! The end is near! @_@

[bcks007]

I will be buying a ps3. :)

Not sure what gig model though.

[XYXZYZ]

I have a wii and I have a job, if my job cant afford the rest of the next generation, it aint worth having right now.

I wish more Americans thought this way. I know several people who are up to their ears because their "job" couldn't afford that $600 a month SUV. Mastercard to the rescue!

[bcks007]

You sure he didn't mean his job.:2gunfire:

[geneshifter]

I'm getting a PS3 finally. That'll give me all 3 finally. I just hope the white one is available by then otherwise I may wait for that.

[namzep]

I'll be getting a PS3. I was initially wanting it just for the blu-ray play back but, after observing some of the games, I can't wait to play some stuff (especially Assassin's Creed and Rachet and Clank).

[Cornelius]

Probably won't be spending ours. Just put it in the Roth or money market.


I won't, because I haven't made enough money to pay the US government in years.

However, I will tell my brother about this. He'll probably use the money to pay back a bit of his debt to the IRS (he failed to report taxes for two years and is paying them off, plus the fines).
Not sure of your situation, but what I heard was that even people not earning enough to pay income tax would be getting a 'rebate'.

[RickHarrisMaine]

I understand the money will be coming from loans against T-Bills, which are securities that lately have been purchased by China and the Arabs.

More than likely I'll be buying a new refrigerator. Ours does nothing but freeze everything in its path. I'm sure it could be fixed, but we really hate it anyways....

However, I did notice a local discount store in NH put a flyer in the paper this morning on no interest no payments on HDTV's, and the Super Bowl is coming up......

If I was smart, I'd use the $300 for each of my two children to start them a proper college fund, then start squirrelling away money every week for them. And hope they decide to go to community college or the local state school, not stupid private colleges like my wife and I went to.....

[Kitsune Sniper]

Not sure of your situation, but what I heard was that even people not earning enough to pay income tax would be getting a 'rebate'.

In short, I've only worked (as in, been hired and gotten checks) twice in the last three years, and both times were seasonal jobs at Toys'R'Us. I declared my earnings in 2006, skipped 2007 (no work, no declaration), and will probably skip this year too (I made less than $1000). The rest of the money I've gotten has been through eBay, and I don't think I have to declare that stuff. I don't think. >_>;;

(To be honest I have no idea if I can / should declare my eBay earnings. If I took that into consideration, I might have to pay money. :p)

[Rob2600]

As some of you may know, the gov't is sending out checks to just about everyone in the country, hoping to kick start the economy.

I read an article about this on Yahoo! yesterday. Is it definite yet?


I wish more Americans thought this way. I know several people who are up to their ears because their "job" couldn't afford that $600 a month SUV. Mastercard to the rescue!

True. I can't relate to that mentality. "I know I live in a vermin-infested, nearly-condemned shack with no heat and broken windows, but hey, check out my gold plated false teeth, hot pink velvet sweatsuit, and humorously oversized station wagon...I mean SUV. Aren't you impressed?"


I know a bloke who spends his tax return every year (most of it anyhow) on further tricking out a prototype sports car he had built using some kit car chasis, and he's not going to be happy until he hits 400mph on the ground and implodes into another dimension

Hilarious!

[Nintendork]

Yeah, my wife and I will be planning on paying off our TV if it gets here before the tv is paid off (they may not be leaving until May I believe I heard). If it gets here after the TV is paid for, then we'll probably put it in a vacation fund of sorts.

[secretvampire]

(To be honest I have no idea if I can / should declare my eBay earnings. If I took that into consideration, I might have to pay money. )
Dude. It's income just like anything else, YES you need to declare it. I'm surprised you would even wonder about it when you have a sibling in trouble for tax evasion!!!

[RadiantSvgun]

If I do get a check, its going towards a Jamma Cab. Anyone know when these checks are supposed to arrive?

[Damaniel]

I'm not planning on buying any game-related stuff with my check -- in fact, at this point, I'm not even sure whether I'll get the full check amount or whether I'll fall into that stupid 'income limit phaseout' group! :( Assuming I get anything, I'll just throw it into savings. Of course, if the government keeps on creating money out of thin air, that $600 (and everything else in my savings account) won't be worth much in a few years anyway.

While I'm ranting -- the US economy has larger underlying problems that rebate checks aren't going to fix. If we keep digging ourselves into this never-ending deficit spending hole, and continue to print money to keep up the charade of economic strength, our economic underpinnings will eventually collapse, and possibly bring large chunks of the global economy down with it. I'd much rather have real solutions instead of conjured money in my pocket. Sorry about the depressing rant -- I'm just upset about the way our economy has been heading for the last 8 years or so.

As to when the checks will actually arrive, I've heard the May to June timeframe. I wouldn't be surprised if they try to get them out sooner than that if possible.

[Rob2600]

As to when the checks will actually arrive, I've heard the May to June timeframe. I wouldn't be surprised if they try to get them out sooner than that if possible.

Is this definitely happening though or is it still being voted on?

[Frankie_Says_Relax]

I already own all three next/current gen systems.

Maybe I'll buy a second PS3 (40 gig, maybe used) for my bedroom that I can use as a BluRay player and/or set up as a private server for ranked games of Warhawk.

[Retsudo]

Im spending mine on woman & cheap booze.
Or maybe cheap woman & booze

[Dreamc@sting]

Well, I doubt I will buy any next gen consoles, maybe a Wii since mine was stolen. Otherwise I will most likely use it at an anime convention =x

[Cornelius]

Is this definitely happening though or is it still being voted on?
Yes and Yes. The announcement yesterday was of an agreement between the House and the White House. The Senate has yet to weigh in. They will likely be trying to add a couple smaller items to it, such as extended unemployment benefits and additional food stamps, which are two methods of getting money into the hands of people that will spend it much faster than these rebates. The IRS is at capacity dealing with the normal tax season (as they should be), such that these rebates can't really be dealt with until after that... so May or June. It is weird how they keep talking about how urgent this is, but even if they pass something tomorrow it would still be until summer till anything happens (unless those Senate changes make it in). I would guess there might be a couple other provisions that take affect sooner (business investment incentives or some such), but not the type of thing that would help individuals at the level being discussed here.

I'm curious about this 'printing extra money' rumor. What is that based on? I would assume this will be funded by additional loans that will add to the federal deficit. Just like the war and most everything else above what is collected in taxes. I'm not saying I understand how the federal deficit works, really, just that I don't think this is anything exceptional.

[Greg2600]

The Federal Reserve system is a disaster. And yes, whenever there is a deficit, they print more money. Debt that is being bought up by foreign governments. Mike Huckabee had a good line last night, saying the "stimulus plan" will only stimulate China's economy, since that is where everything gets made that people buy.

I am fortunate that I can afford the new systems if I wanted, but haven't bought anything. The reason is time, I just don't have enough of it to play the new stuff. Plus I really can't get into the online play because I can't stand that companies like EA drop the multiplayer servers after the game is out a year.

[Kitsune Sniper]

Dude. It's income just like anything else, YES you need to declare it. I'm surprised you would even wonder about it when you have a sibling in trouble for tax evasion!!!

Ah, well, technically I'm not earning this. I think. :p

Blargh, now I'm worried. :(

[YoshiM]

I'm probably going to sock it into savings so next winter we can get a new car for the wife. Maybe I'll juice up the new PC with a better power supply and a better graphics card.

[roushimsx]

We're not really expecting all that much back from taxes, but what we do get is most likely going towards a new TV. Using the tv side calculator thingy, it looks like a 52" would be perfect for our room / viewing distance....so we've been shopping around, looking at various LED DLP tvs. The only alternative we'd take to an LED DLP is an SED...and...yea... getting one of those would take either an act of god or insane connections :(

[blissfulnoise]

I'm spending mine on gold.

And by gold, I mean Warcraft Gold. The true measure of currency.

[JustRob]

...giving every penny to the girlfriend to pay off her credit card debt. Since she has credit and I don't, one of us has to have decent low balances...

[Overbite]

It's tough, should I use my check to help pay my car off (I got like 5500 left on it) or get a new console. Hmm....

[Rob2600]

It's tough, should I use my check to help pay my car off (I got like 5500 left on it) or get a new console. Hmm....

Trust me. Resist temptation and pay off your debt before you buy a $500 toy.

[geneshifter]

...giving every penny to the girlfriend to pay off her credit card debt. Since she has credit and I don't, one of us has to have decent low balances...

Don't give girlfriends cash man. They are fleeting. I have several friends that did that crap and ALL of them ended up with someone else. Dump her. LOL

[Icarus Moonsight]

I'm curious about this 'printing extra money' rumor. What is that based on? I would assume this will be funded by additional loans that will add to the federal deficit. Just like the war and most everything else above what is collected in taxes. I'm not saying I understand how the federal deficit works, really, just that I don't think this is anything exceptional.

Here ya go: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cy-fD78zyvI

Part 1 of 5 so your going to have to look in related vid window for the other four - It's scary shit.

So, when the government starts writing checks to EVERYONE it's all bank credit... with interest... which is payed through tax revenue, with the principal getting lumped in to the national debt. Yeah, free money my ass.

[JustRob]

Don't give girlfriends cash man. They are fleeting. I have several friends that did that crap and ALL of them ended up with someone else. Dump her. LOL

Girlfriend only because Florida doesn't have Common Law Marraige laws and we've been too lazy to go get the papers signed.

[geneshifter]

Girlfriend only because Florida doesn't have Common Law Marraige laws and we've been too lazy to go get the papers signed.

Ah. Sorry, I was just being stupid lol. Good luck man.

[Push Upstairs]

Nope. I'd like to see exactly what I get before I decide on anything.

But I'm leaning towards a CD.

[keiblerfan69]

I am paying off a credit card and then putting it towards upgrades to get better gas mileage out of my truck.

[otaku]

I've got a car payment and a girlfriend so mine probably won't be going towards anything other than the necessities of life though a PS3 is tempting

[slip81]

I guess I'm in the minority here, I'll most likely get a 360 or PS3 with it.

[incubus421]

I'm with you slip...if I don't get a PS3 then me and the wife are looking into upgrading to a computer that isn't the bar minumum and wasn't purchased 3-4 years ago.

[josekortez]

Is it wrong to use this check to buy Japanese imports from playasia.com?

[slip81]

Is it wrong to use this check to buy Japanese imports from playasia.com?

no, no it isn't. Unless of course by "Japanese Imports" you mean mail order bride, but I don't think they have those at payasia anymore, not since that whole Chun Li debacle.

[diskoboy]

I'm gonna go buy a pound of some killer weed, and smoke it all.







Just kidding.

I already have all three systems. But my PS3 is sorely lacking games. I only have 2 ps3 games, 1 ps2 game, and 1 PSN game. So games will probably be on my list.

Ad since we probably wont get our checks until mid-summer, that would be perfect timing. I'm usually strapped for cash during the summer.