Economic Stimulus Package

I work in the non-profit industry, where large salaries and bonuses are not really part of the plan. Sure, I can't really complain about what I make, especially when I compare it to the less-than-full-time-hours that I work and the amount of work that I am expected to do, but I suspect that someone with an equal amount of education and tenure in a for-profit business would be doing far better than I, at least financially.

Typically, as our holiday "bonus", we receive a gift card in the amount of $100. It's not really so much a "bonus" as it is a "token". It's virtually laughable.

However, this year, the recessionary economy worked in our favor, and our railroad got a contract to store hundreds of coal cars on our line for the winter, as the coal cars were going unused because there was nothing for the railroads to haul and needed to be parked somewhere. Since our line doesn't run in the winter, it became the perfect location for storage. This has presented problems for the organization as a whole, as the coal cars are blocking Duluth residents' views of Lake Superior. My boss has taken quite the public relations beating over this, including being described by the media as "arrogant", "flip" and "myopic". I don't doubt that he is all of these things, and probably more, but I am just so used to him that it doesn't stand out to me.

The coal cars brought in a substantial cash flow for the museum and the railroad, more than we have ever seen and probably ever will see. The benefit--apart from having a boss who is arrogant, flip and myopic--is that we are getting actual cash bonuses this year.

The bonus, well into four figures, couldn't come at a better time, and now I am fighting my own fiscal irresponsibility on what to do with my bonus. What I really want to do is buy several new pairs Silver "date jeans", since I've lost a size or two, thanks to my divorce. Divorce = Best. Diet. Plan. Ever. I'd really like the new Britney Spears Circus perfume. I want a new purse or two, since it's been a few years since I've bought a new one. I'd like a trip to the Mall of America, because I want to go to Lush and spend my entire bonus picking out bath bombs and bubble bars. I'd like these pearl-trimmed sunglasses that I saw an ad for in the Minneapolis Star Tribune, and have since carried that ad in my purse, just in case I happen to find myself in Minneapolis with the spare cash and spare time to hunt down the store that sells these sunglasses. I want new lingerie from Victoria's Secret, on the off-chance that I do date again in the near future. Of course, all of these things would be made better if I had a man, or at least a date, but that, of course, cannot be bought, no matter how big the bonus. At least not a quality man or date, and at least for more than one night.

However, the sweet little angel perched on my shoulder whispers into my ear that as a single mother, I should be fiscally responsible. I've never been good at fiscally responsible. Me and fiscally responsible just don't mesh well together. I am more of the "instant gratification" girl, and I want all of the things mentioned above, plus some. The thing I should do is use it to pay off my car, but that would be boring and besides, it would drain the entire bonus. I realize it would be the bonus that keeps giving, since it would eliminate the monthly payment, but still--where's the fun in that? I should use it to pay off a credit card or two, and I'd still have money left over to blow on the above things. I should put something in savings, because God only knows I will need it as I go through this journey of singleness.

What's a girl to do? I must decide--and fast--because along with the bonus check came the news that we are getting a raise starting January 1: two percent. And that, my friends, is the equivalent of the token gift card: laughable.