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“I’m going to save it. That would be a treat to know I had a little bit in case of an emergency.” Bonnie Shibles

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“It’s an election year. Hear what I’m saying? They’re both trying to appease the public.” Gary Schriber

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“It turns out I have no idea whatsoever” how to fix a motor scooter, so he’ll use the money to hire someone. Charles Hossain

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“I thought, I’m supposed to spend this because my patriotic duty is to be a consumer, of course, right? Onward, Christian soldiers. Let’s go consume.” Buzzy Trusiani

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“It’s a rare occasion that I would have that kind of money kicking around.” Todd Richard

SOME THINGS YOU CAN BUY FOR $600

• 186 gallons of home heating oil.

• Three cords of seasoned firewood.

• One Maine Coon kitten. n A Sony Vaio laptop with 15.4-inch screen.

• A baseball signed by Roger Clemens and Nolan Ryan.

• A full wedding, including three songs by "Elvis," at Weddings on the Strip in Las Vegas.

WHAT TO EXPECT MOST TAXPAYERS with adjusted gross incomes of less than $75,000 would get a rebate equal to the taxes they paid in 2007, up to $600. Couples with income under $150,000 could get up to $1,200, plus an extra $300 per dependent child.

INDIVIDUALS with incomes of more than $75,000 and couples with incomes exceeding $150,000 would get smaller checks. PEOPLE WHO EARN more than $3,000 -- even if they didn't pay taxes -- would get $300 each or $600 per couple. PEOPLE LIVING solely off Social Security would not be eligible for the rebate.

Source: The Associated Press

What's a taxpayer to do with a $600 windfall?

Mainers were contemplating a multitude of possibilities on the eve of a planned voted on the economic stimulus package.

Credit card debts and student loans call out for additional payments. Children's college funds beg for cash infusions, and houses demand repairs. Then there are all those coveted items on personal wish lists, whether electronics, clothes or dinners out.

For one avid surfer in his 40s, the answer is easy. Buy a new surfboard, of course.

Buzzy Trusiani, owner of the Maine Squeeze Juice Cafe in Portland, has had his eye on a 10-foot, 8-inch Dale Velzy -- a lightweight epoxy board made by a company called Surftech. The board costs $1,100, so the government check won't cover the entire cost. To stretch the money, he'll be trading in one of his old surfboards.

Trusiani considers himself "fairly irresponsible." It wasn't too hard to justify spending the money instead of saving it.

"I thought, I'm supposed to spend this because my patriotic duty is to be a consumer, of course, right?" he said. "Onward, Christian soldiers. Let's go consume."

Under the economic stimulus plan, single taxpayers with adjusted gross incomes between $3,000 and $75,000 can expect to receive rebates of up to $600. Couples making up to $150,000 would receive up to $1,200, and families would receive another $300 per dependent child.

Todd "the Rocket" Richard, 32, of Westbrook was thinking about saving for the rainy days inherent in the life of a performing musician -- but there's also the home studio to consider, as well as a set of cymbals and audio recording software.

"It's a rare occasion that I would have that kind of money kicking around," Richard said.

Charles Hossain of Portland has a blue vintage Vespa that conks out after 30 seconds. A $600 rebate probably would be enough for the fix, with some leftover for bills. Hossain bought the motor scooter last summer, optimistic that he could figure out how to restore it.

"It turns out I have no idea whatsoever," said Hossain, a 30-year-old youth worker at Opportunity Farm in New Gloucester.

Margaret Hathaway, 31, and Karl Schatz, 38, are planning to use their tax windfall on their kids -- the nonhuman ones, that is.

Hathaway and Schatz, owners of Ten Apple Farm in Gray, would use their check to fence a paddock for their goats.

Cash flow is a little tight right now, what with the cost of heating an older farmhouse and raising a young family. They have a daughter who is almost 2, and Hathaway is expecting their second child in April.

"You can't earmark thousands of dollars for fencing when you're expecting another kid," Hathaway said.

David Pendexter, a 27-year-old chef at the Hilton Garden Inn in Portland, knew immediately where his money would go.

"More tattoos!" he said, before adding that he would also like a couple of knives and to put some money away.

He would be happy to get the money, but skeptical about the plan's ability to steer the country clear of recession.

"A lot of people aren't going to use it for what it's intended for," he said.

Navy Chief Petty Officer Luis Luque, who is stationed at Brunswick Naval Air Station, would use his rebate toward tuition for a creative writing program at the University of Southern Maine.

Though the check wouldn't cover all his expenses -- about $5,000 -- it would be welcome.

"It will help me out tremendously, but it probably won't come soon enough," Luque said.

He thinks it is a good tool for boosting the economy.

"It will inject a lot of cash into the economy. That's what I am going to be doing, and I know a lot others will as well," Luque said.

Gary Schriber, a retired electronic radar technician from Westbrook, doubts that consumers will spend enough to make a big...