I never get a receipt when I go to the ATM, I think it’s because I don’t want to know how little money I actually have, but a couple weeks ago I did get a receipt and for a moment, thought I was getting away with something pretty sneaky.
    I wondered why my balance was higher than usual and pictured myself laughing all the way to the bank, so to speak. Was there a mistake? No mistake, my economic stimulus check had been deposited in my account, oh, the possibilities.
    I hear many Mainers plan to spend that money on necessities – bills, fuel costs, groceries – so I’m left wondering what I’ll end up doing.
    I have plenty of bills I could catch up on – those student loans I never seem to make a dent in, the department store credit cards I keep running up because I can’t shake that shopping bug – yet I still haven’t decided if I’m going to be responsible with that $600.
    The whole point of the government issuing this money, essentially, is so people will be irresponsible with it. Stimulate the economy, spend it on frivolous things so merchants can gain a leg up. I would like to think I’m smarter than that, that I’ll save the money and give myself a leg up, but I’m starting to wonder.
    I don’t own a house. I don’t pay for heat. And while I do feel the pinch from gas prices, my financial situation could be worse. This is where my mind starts to wander and I think about that money burning a whole in my bank account.
    I’ve noticed it already. I think I bought or went out to lunch every day last week. I generally try to be conscious of doing that because it definitely adds up. However, shops and restaurants on Main Street in Biddeford have definitely benefited from my spending, so far.
    Last weekend I spent $124 on concert tickets without a second thought. That’s really not a lot of cash, but I generally try to consider such a purchase more carefully. Not this time.
    If I had children to support I know my priorities would be different – right now the only ones depending on me are a couple parakeets and a cockatiel – and seed is cheap.
    I should save the money for the house I want to buy this summer or the car trouble that’s bound to happen, but I know I won’t. 
    The way I spend, I’m sure that money will be gone in no time and when that next student loan or car insurance bill comes in, I’ll wish I would have been smarter with it, but what I can I say?
 I have bought into exactly what the government wanted me to do.
– Molly Lovell is a reporter for the Leader