Are Those Rebate Checks Helping?

"It looks like vehicle, gas, and travel-related expenses are number one," Adler noted on Tuesday, "followed by home-related expenses, and then a combination of buying food and paying off debt." When asked about the tattoos and arcade machines -- and the .45 pistol that Chase in Spokane, Washington, purchased to defend himself against "the zombie uprising" -- Adler points out, "The things that stand out are kind of the crazier purchases, but for the most part, it's what you would expect."

Liz, 42, a school bus driver in Fort Worth, Texas (pictured with her five children) writes, "What I did with my check was to catch up on my rent. I am still behind a bit, but working my way out." (Generosity also has its place on the site. One commenter responded, "Hello, Liz. If you get this message, send me an e-mail. I'd like to help you catch up on your rent with my stimulus check.")

D.S., 40, a homemaker in Pittsburgh, is less sanguine. "I was hoping to take my daughters to the beach with the stimulus check. Unfortunately, I had a shut off notice for electric, and there were other bills pending...many past due…grocery shopping to be done."

Several users made forward-looking purchases, hoping to stretch the $600 a little further. Brent, a 26-year-old "IT guy" in Houston, writes, "My wife and I both drive large trucks, and the cost of gas is killing us. So we spent our stimulus check on a moped." Julia Davis, 26, of Beltsville, Maryland, says, "I used my stimulus check to supplement my income for 2 weeks while I took a bartending class. I hope it pays itself off soon." Irish M., a 34-year-old in Barre, Vermont, writes, "I spent my check buying materials for a large home garden. Food is just getting too expensive, especially fresh fruit and veggies."

So is the stimulus package working? It depends on your perspective. Big-picture skeptics protest that the budget deficit hit an all-time record high in May. But Adler is more focused on the personal. "It's hard to come to one conclusion," he says, "because the stories are so different. But all the stories that are heartbreaking really show resiliency."

One particularly poignant post (with a postoperative photograph that's not for the faint of heart) comes from Diane Mower, a 30-year-old early childhood educator in Eugene, Oregon. "After having emergency surgery to remove a baseball-sized brain tumor that put me on the edge of death, I spent my stimulus check on medical bills due to the unfortunate fact that I am one of the many uninsured Americans in this country. While it was nice to receive the money, I do not believe that this is an appropriate solution to our country's rising economic crisis."

When asked about the tenor of the political commentary on the site -- one person bought a "George W. Bush Memorial Dyson" that will "suck as hard and for as long as this administration" -- Adler admits that he wishes people would leave politics out of it. "You'll notice that a lot of people attack Bush," he says, "but you also get the sense that they're really happy to have the money."

Obama, too, must have picked up on this appreciation -- or relief. Regardless of whether the stimulus package can be labeled a success, the Democratic presidential candidate announced on Monday that he will push a second round of rebates next year.