Figuring out the Economic Stimulus Check Amount

We're not different from any of the other semi-hand-to-mouth, paycheck-to-paycheck families out there--when we heard about the Economic Stimulus Payments we were definitely excited.

And confused.

There's so much information floating around about how to figure out how much you qualify for, who qualifies, whether it will affect next year's taxes, how it will best serve the economy (which, mind you, is supposedly NOT in a recession, but I guess that's a different topic, best saved for another day...)

So, today in the mail we got our Economic Stimulus Payment Notice. This is apparently the first of two notices taxpayers will be receiving and is very general. And still confusing.

Now, I'm an educated person, as is J. and the jargon in the notice is still somewhat bewildering. If you consider that the average American reading level is supposedly 7th or 8th grade, then there's going to be more confusion than clearing up.

After a little research, I think I got it all figured out and have a sense of how much we should receive. But I also came across this little gem at Consumerism Commentary and thought I would share it. Behold the Tax Rebate Calculator!!