Guidant Financial Group Blog

So, the time has come to tell what Americans have done with their extra cash sent with love from our government. Unfortunately, while the checks were sent with good intentions – to stimulate spending in a slow economy – Americans are using the money to … well, uh, we don’t know.

The New York Times reported today that consumer spending hardly increased in April, which tends to show that American’s aren’t spending the money (see Consumer Spending and Personal Income Slow).

As reported in our 4.28.08 post, some people planned on putting their newfound funds into a retirement account – and perhaps that is what everyone is doing! Or, maybe they’re hiding it under their mattresses to shield the dollars from turmoil in the stock market, or to save it for when gasoline prices hit $14 a gallon.

Either way, it is becoming apparent that the economic stimulus checks aren’t “stimulating” anything, aside from our curiosity as to where all the money is going.

If you haven’t decided what to do with your funds yet, consider taking that cash out from under your bedding and putting it into a self-directed IRA. Because of all the options a truly self-directed IRA can give, you can rest assured that the money will be going toward an investment you choose and you manage!