I spent mine catching up on bills. I dont feel like I really saw it. What a joke!

Well, someone is being stimulated (from the WSJ)

Stimulus Boosts Consumer Spending

By JEFF BATER

June 27, 2008 1:15 p.m.

WASHINGTON -- Consumer spending surged in May, fed by mounting inflation and the round of income-tax rebates unleashed to brace a soft economy.

Personal consumption increased by 0.8% compared to the month before, the Commerce Department said Friday. That was the biggest gain since 1.0% in November 2007. April spending went up 0.4%, revised from a previously estimated 0.2% increase.

Personal income increased at a seasonally adjusted rate of 1.9% compared to the month before. That was the largest gain since 3.2% in September 2005. Income rose 0.3% during April, revised from a previously estimated 0.2% increase.

Economists had forecast a 0.4% increase in personal income during May and a 0.7% climb in consumer spending.

Consumer spending makes up about 70% of U.S. gross domestic product, reflecting a big part of the economy. Climbing prices helped elevate spending last month. In fact, when adjusted for inflation, spending in May climbed 0.4% -- which was the largest gain of its kind since 0.5% in December 2006, yet much smaller than the unadjusted 0.8% increase in May spending. Friday's data revealed a price index for personal consumption expenditures rose 0.4% in May compared to the prior month -- double the increase of 0.2% in April.

Compared with a year earlier, the PCE price index climbed 3.1% in May. The year-over-year climb in April was 3.2%.

The PCE price index excluding food and energy, or core PCE, rose 0.1% in May, after rising 0.1% in April. Year over year, it climbed 2.1% in May, after increasing 2.1% in April.

The Federal Reserve watches the year-over-year PCE price index excluding food and energy closely for signs of problematic inflation. Fed officials define their statutory goal of price stability as inflation of 1.5% to 2%. At their meeting Wednesday, policymakers at the bank decided to leave interest rates alone, citing inflation risk.

The Fed had slashed the fed-funds rate by 3.25 percentage points to 2.00% September through April to keep a housing slump and credit crunch from dragging the economy into recession, defined as two straight quarters of economic decline.

Data this week confirmed the economy in early 2008 didn't slump but grew -- sluggishly, yet still faster than its end-of-2007 speed. GDP rose 1.0% in the first three months of this year, nearly double its 0.6% rate of increase during the fourth quarter of 2007.

Aside from Fed rate cutting, another spur for the economy was an economic stimulus package, passed by Congress and signed on Feb. 13 by President George W. Bush to free up spending money for people in the form of tax rebates. Those payments, which began going out in late April, likely were a driver of the unadjusted 0.8% increase in May consumer spending reported Friday.

The stimulus payments were reflected in Friday's income data as personal current transfer receipts, which increased $186.8 billion in May, compared to an increase of $19.3 billion during April. The payments will continue through mid-July.

The income report showed private wage and salary disbursements increased $15.9 billion in May, compared with a decrease of $9.6 billion in April.

May disposable personal income -- income after taxes -- surged by 5.7%, after rising 0.4% in April.

Spending on durable goods, those designed to last three years or longer, declined 0.2% in May, after falling in April by 0.3%. Non-durable goods spending increased 1.2% in May, after rising by 0.7% the month before. Spending on services went up 0.7% in May.

The Commerce Department reported personal saving as a percentage of disposable personal income was 5.0% in May, the largest rate since March 1995, 5.0%. It was 0.4% in April.

I read that report, too, Nick. So far everyone I know has used it to pay bills or banked it. We may use it to fill our propane tanks for winter heat!

We put ours in the education fund. Every little bit helps!