How to spend my rebate

It sounds as if it is almost a done deal that we will all get $800 rebates as part of the anti-recession fiscal stimulus package that is being developed. Some cynics are chattering that we might not see the money until the summer, but I suspect it will be in the March timeframe. Besides, there is no need to wait; simply spend the money using your credit card and then pay it off when the rebate actually arrives.

The bigger question is what to spend it on. My options for what to do with my rebate:

1. Long weekend trip to San Francisco. Maybe even stay at the Hyatt Regency Embarcadero for the first time since 1993.
2. Buy one of those cool new Apple iPod Touch devices that has Wi-Fi browsing and now maps, weather, stocks, news, etc. The 16GB version costs $399, so that only covers half of my rebate.
3. Budget for some steak dinners (at about $75 to $85 each) in the coming few months.
4. Pay down some of my back taxes. In other words, take some of the money that the U.S. Treasury will be giving me and give it back to... the U.S. Treasury (IRS).
5. Buy carbon credits so that I can be carbon neutral for a few years.
6. Simply save it. Not very attractive since I already have my rainy day fund fully funded and may not be eligible to contribute more to my retirement accounts this year. Besides, we are supposed to spend this money.
7. None of the above. Something creative. Maybe even socially responsible.

I may simply opt for #1, but I would prefer to go with #7 and come up with something that will add some significant value to my life and maybe even be socially responsible. I could simply go with #5 and then feel that I have been socially responsible.

-- Jack Krupansky