Last night, two of my friends and I decided to hit the new IKEA store that created such a big buzz in Cincinnati. (Scott wrote about the strange happenings earlier during the grand opening/camping.)  I am someone that loathes shopping.  You might find this hard to believe given my strong opinion about Costco. OK, maybe I just hate clothes shopping. Seriously, I buy clothes only 2x a year, if that! When it comes to shopping at places that have anything to do with the home, I go nuts and drop a ton of dough. [Note to self: need to talk to therapist about my shopping problem!]

While I have visited an IKEA store in the past, it has been a long time since I have purchased anything from IKEA. I really don’t recall the “experience” of shopping at an IKEA. Last night was … overwhelming … for me and one of my two friends. My friend made a good observation; it’s not a typical store that you walk in and browse, you tour. We got there at 6:30 and pretty much closed the store at 9. I highly recommend you create a list BEFORE you go vs. doing it while going from showroom to showroom like I did.

At the end of the second floor, before you head downstairs where the real shopping is done (and you actually get a cart!), is the food court. You will need some food to replenish all the energy lost while touring the second floor. My friend had received a recommendation to try the Swedish meatballs. TOTALLY worth the $5. I saw this sign by the drink machine and got a kick out of it.

Who says we are in a recession? IKEA has already sucked $ out of me!

Bush signed the Economic Stimulus Act of 2008. The package will pay $600 to most individual taxpayers and $1,200 to married taxpayers filing joint returns, so long as they are below income caps of $75,000 for individuals and $150,000 for couples. There is also a $300 per child tax credit.

Will you spend the $? Will you save? Will you pay down debt?