Today's July retail sales report shows what we've been saying for some time--people seem to be spending their government stimulus checks on necessities such as food and gas, and not on shopping sprees.

President Bush's economic stimulus program--which doled out up to $600 per person to over 130 million households--might not have had the desired impact on the economy, but an extra $600 bucks surely helped your bottom line, right?

What's that you say...you haven't gotten your stimulus check yet?

Well, if you filed your 2007 tax return--which you must do in order to be eligible--more than 8-12 weeks ago, it's time to track down your missing money. Maggie B., one of our Dolans.com readers, followed the advice we're about to give you and discovered her stimulus check was collecting dust at the IRS because it was returned as "undeliverable" by the post office.

So take 5 minutes right now to visit www.irs.gov and click on the button right smack in the middle of the screen that says "Stimulus Package."

We're shocked to hear ourselves saying this, but the IRS has put together pretty useful, easy-to-understand information that can help you track down your check. The most common reason people don't receive their checks is because the check was returned to the IRS as undeliverable.

And that doesn't just apply to this year's stimulus checks. The IRS is holding BILLIONS of dollars of unclaimed tax refunds. In 2006 alone, the IRS owed a whopping $110 million in refunds to more than 155,000 people they couldn't find!

So download Form 8822, which is the IRS' official change of address form, right from that main stimulus package web page and find out if you have any unclaimed refunds coming to you.

The site also lists all the eligibility rules and reasons why you might not have received a check (for example, Uncle Sam kept it to pay back taxes you owed). The IRS will even put a trace on your check to help you track it down if it's been more than 8 weeks since you filed your return.

(By the way, if you haven't filed your 2007 tax return, it's NOT too late! You have until October 15th to file and still be eligible for your rebate. After that, say sayonara to a quick 600 bucks.)

Like the idea of finding lost money you didn't even know you had? We can show you more where that came from! Check out our new video, How to Find "Missing" Money at Dolans.com.

Personal finance experts Ken and Daria Dolan help people like you learn to save more, spend less and live richly at Dolans.com.

The Atlanta Journal Constitution has written about one industry that is actually being greatly stimulated from the government's economic stimulus plan: The online porn industry.

According to Adult Internet Market Research Co., a research firm in New York that keeps tabs on what adults are doing online, more customers than usual were purchasing accounts at adult entertainment web sites shortly after the first wave of checks went out in mid-May. The market research firm polled 800 pay-site members and 4,000 affiliate sites, learning that 20-30% of the people who replied were inspired to log on after receiving their stimulus checks.

Many of these online porn sites are about $50 a month to join (er, I know from reading the article, and not my own research), and so a $600 stimulus check could pay for a year's worth of adult online porn. (insert your own joke or limerick here...)

Well, we were encouraged by the government to shop. Apparently, some people decided that they wanted to use the United States' economic package to, uh, see someone else's package.

That said, we'll add a postscript to this post. After this post originally ran, an alert WalletPop reader directed us to this story put out by Silicon Alley Insider, which reported on a blogger, Tom Johansmeyer, who did some digging on the press release that was initially put out by the Adult Internet Market Research Company. He wrote two posts -- this and this -- about the research that this company did, and he sincerely doubts the accuracy of the original press release that went out. Johansmeyer says that he's been studying the porn market for his doctoral dissertation, and he and Silicon Alley Insider conclude that this porn study surge was really just designed so that journalists and editors would have an excuse to create eye-catching headlines.

Well -- it worked, didn't it?

While there are lots of opinions pro and against the Economic Stimulus Package checks (hitting your bank account beginning May 2!), the fact is: they're coming no matter what you think. We all have heard the prevailing skepticism as to whether $300 - $3,000 a family will do anything to help the failing dollar or to create jobs; in the end, who knows? But we have some ideas about how we could spend together to create the change we want to happen. And we'd be remiss as a personal finance site if we didn't come up with some ways you can truly stimulate your own personal economy.

Let's start with a couple of Don'ts. Don't use your rebate check for conspicuous consumption -- TVs, DVD players, large bottles of Champagne, imported Kobe beef, a trip to Cancun. Don't use it to create a greater need for fossil fuels; not as a down payment for a new car (if your very survival depends on a car, at least get a used one), or to trade up to a bigger gas guzzler, or for a power mower, or to put a new hot tub in. Do this and you'll help stimulate us into the worst possible direction.

Here's a better idea. Do try to spend it locally on something that will benefit your financial future! I've been reading a lot of smart people's musings about this (and coming up with some of my own), and have identified some areas of absolute crisis in our economy. Our country's farmland is being stripped by the wrong-headed over-production of corn and soy (in complete ignorance of sustainable farming practices). Our limited fossil fuel resources are being frittered away unnecessarily so we can continue to cling to our isolated, wasteful car culture. Our healthcare expenditures are reaching a panic point, while we are eating ever-more-expensive, ever-more-damaging food. Life as we know it is not sustainable, and no one seems to have the willpower to reverse the societal tide.

Doing something radical with your Economic Stimulus Package check can be both fun and good for your own financial bottom line. You'll end up with more money left after your pay your bills, you'll be healthier, and you may just spur a tiny bit of social change. At the very least, it can't hurt you. Here are some ideas: