Lately the water-cooler discussion at work has been surrounding who the ultimate beneficiary of my rebate check will be. Knowing I am obsessed with technology, most of my co-workers assumed that I would take my $1,200 and head straight to Best Buy in search of a bigger TV. Others assumed I might pick up a batch of video games or an iPhone. In reality I used my rebate check for a much simpler and exciting purpose, and no, it wasn't blown on quarter wings at Buffalo Wild Wings.

My wife and I spent our stimulus package on debt. Yep; unsexy, non-shiny, can't-unwrap-it-debt. Of course we got there in part from spending on things like gifts, the occasional vacation and things you can unwrap as well as a super-fun MRI last year so getting there was fun anyway. From our actual tax return and our stimulus check we have knocked a nice chunk out of our credit card debt, even paying off one card in an attempt to snowball our way to wealth. The decision to pay down a credit card rather than pick up scrapbooking and electronic items was easier than at least I thought it would be.

Just as my fellow blogger Lita Epstein found that making an extra payment to her mortgage translated into savings above and beyond the initial payment, I know that knocking a grand off of my credit card debt no matter my current interest rate will save me even more in the months to come. This payment is part of our effort to be out of credit card debt by the end of the year. After that we can start looking at our student loans!

I know this isn't the most exciting use for the stimulus package, but It was the best use for us and made the most financial sense. Have you received your stimulus check yet? What are you using it for; Fun, debt reduction, starting an emergency fund, hookers?

Did you receive your economic stimulus check yet? These companies are offering you something extra if you will spend those bonuses with them.

SUPERVALU, nationwide chain of 2,500 grocery stores.
The deal: For every $300 gift card purchase purchased with a stimulus check, Supervalu will add an additional $30.
The catch: Good 5/2/08 thorugh 7/31/08

Staples, nationwide office supply chain.
The deal: $150 off $1,000 of furniture: $40 off purchase of $300 or more (except computers).
The catch: Expires 5/18/08

Sears, KMart and Land's End, retailers of fashion and home goods.
The deal: Convert your check to a Sears, K-Mart, or Land's End gift card and they'll give you another gift card worth 10% of that value. For those receiving a full $600, that's a free $60.
The catch: The offer begins May 14th and expires 7/18/08, and is only good for in-store purchases.

Home Depot, retailer of construction and home supplies.
The deal: discounts on environmentally-friendly items.
The catch: None noted.

Wal-Mart, the world's largest retailer of home, fashion and food products.
The deal: Will cash checks free, no purchase required.
The catch: None noted.

Sam's Club, Wal-Mart's bulk sales membership-required retailer.
The deal: Free membership for non-members or a $40 gift card for existing members with purchase of selected items. Free cashing of the stimulus check.
The catch: May 18-31.

Lowe's, retailer of construction and home supplies.
The deal: Will cash checks for free, no purchase required.
The catch: None noted.

Meijer, retailer of home goods, clothes, and groceries.
The deal: $30 gift coupon for every $300 Meijer gift card purchased with rebate
The catch: Valid 5/2/08 to 5/31/08

RadioShack, nationwide vendor of electronics.
The deal: 10% off purchases over $50, with the balance of the check put on a Mastercard gift card.
The catch: Valid May 4- July 12, 2008.

Kroger, national grocery chain.
The deal: $30 bonus on every $300 purchase of store gift cards.
The catch: May 2 through July 31, 2008.

Shop 'N Save, Cub Foods, Albertsons, Acme, Farm Fresh, Jewel-Osco, groceries owned by SuperValu Co., grocers.
The deal: $30 bonus on every $300 purchase of store gift cards.
The catch: May 2 through July 31, 2008.

CVS/pharmacy, pharmacies.
The deal: For loyalty club members, $5 off a $30 purchase.
The catch: None noted.

Food Lion grocers.
The deal: $30 bonus on every $300 purchase of store gift cards.
The catch: None noted

Safeway grocers.
The deal: shoppers that cash their check at Safeway will receive a coupon good for 10% off groceries purchased within two days.
The catch: Good May 14- July 19th.

Menards, construction and home supplies, in the Midwest.
The deal: 5% bonus tacked onto store credit when you cash your check at Menards.
The catch: None noted.

Anytime you go car shopping you get slapped in the face with dealer incentives swathed in bright colors and exclamation points. While many people filter out similarly structured sales pitches online, for some reason car dealers are given a pass on the use of ALL CAPS and big promises. Take for example the $500 in free gas which many dealerships are quick to offer. This "generous" offer is yet another way to convince the buyer that they are putting one over on the dealer and getting a better deal. One of the providers of the gas rebate service is FreebieGas.com, which still proclaims an all time high gas price of $2.50 per gallon. Like all dealer incentives there is a catch, and in all my years of dealing with rebates I don't think I have heard one with this many hoops to jump through.

What the dealer doesn't tell you about the gas rebate you just used to rationalize purchasing a more expensive car, is that it will cost you money just to sign up for the rebate program. From here the process only gets shadier and trickier, you must buy $100 in gas each month to receive a $25 gas card AND you have to make all these purchases at the same gas station. After you spend your monthly quota for gas you better head to the post office and overnight your receipts as they need to be received before the first day of the next month in order to count for redemption. Finally 2 grand and 20 months later -- if you are lucky you'll have recouped the $500 in gas incentives. In case this still sounds like a good deal or you feel like you can beat the system with your moleskin notebook and in-car stapler, the $500 in gas you receive still needs to be reported as income on your state and federal taxes. I like to consider myself a frugal shopper but a gas rebate process like this is too involved even for my stingy ways.

Heading out to purchase a used car soon? Be sure to read, Tom Barlow's latest post to learn how to make a car dealer your agent as you search for your dream car.

The USA Today reports that, for some reason that is totally beyond me, the IRS has decided that wasting $42 million to mail everyone letters saying they didn't need to do anything special to receive their "economic stiumlus" payment wasn't enough.

No, apparently we need to be subjected to YouTube videos as well -- 4 of them. I just watched 1 of them and, frankly I can't bear any more. This is the worst YouTube video I've ever seen: boring, containing no information, and condescending, all at the same time. See for yourself below: I wonder how much the IRS blew on these videos. So far the video has received only 6,129 views. Perhaps the IRS needs to spend another $42 million to send everyone letters telling them to watch the video to find out that they don't need to do anything except file a tax return to get the rebate.

If you're in the market for anti-virus software, Norton anti-virus is available in a "grabber" offer right now at Buy.com . The software is the 2008 version of the popular Norton anti-virus application which regularly retails in the area of $59. Shipping is free but supplies are limited. As usual, be certain to read all the fine print before you buy.

Buy.com is offering two companion rebates on this product. The first is an "outright purchase rebate", available just for buying the product. The second rebate is called a "competitive / upgrade rebate" for previous users of Norton products and you'll want to check out the details which may apply. Remember, rebates are sales tools used to create and stimulate consumer interest. Companies win when you don't follow through on rebate redemption, so sometimes they make it tricky for you to claim your rebate. It appears that the rebates in this offer will come in the form of a Visa debit card rather than a check.

Consumer reviews on this product are generally positive, with an average product rating of 4.5 out of 5 points. However, reviewers seem to indicate that the software will not accommodate operating systems older than Windows 2000. There are also hints that the software may not be real friendly with Windows Vista either. Overall, the comments I reviewed were quite positive and people who needed additional customer service were generally satisfied with that experience.

Just when millions of Americans are busy mentally spending their likely tax rebate check from the government ('hmm... a new flat-screen TV or a vacation to Disney this Easter?'), comes a new scam.

The Internal Revenue Service is warning that email and telephone con artists are attempting to grab taxpayers personal financial information (all the better to steal your identity with, my dear), by saying that if they hand it over, they will get their rebate check all the sooner.

One reported phone scam asks people for their bank account information so the rebate could supposedly be supplied direct deposit. An email scam sends a message, supposedly from the IRS, and asks the recipient to click over to a site and enter personal information in order to claim their rebate (a new flavor of 'phishing.')

The IRS wants to remind everyone that not only does it NOT COLLECT INFORMATION BY TELEPHONE (got that?), but Congress hasn't even enacted the legislation that would allow for the tax rebate to be sent. Last week the House voted for a plan that would supply most Americans a rebate of $600 for individuals and $1,200 for couples, plus an extra $300 per child. The Senate will vote on a different version.

Once they vote, the check will show up in the mail. There will be anything else you need to do to claim it, besides filing your income tax.