As you’ve probably heard, our honorable (ha) President Bush has announced an economic stumulus package to help antidote a possible recession. The government is hoping that we take our checks, run out and buy crap at the malls and give consumer spending in the economy a jolt. Makes sense, right? Well, in Bush’s non-sense world, I suppose.

In my opinion, the average American consumer eligible for the rebate is not financially in the position to spend their money on a shopping spree but will rather opt to make an extra mortgage payment or pay down debt.

The average rebates for individual taxpayers will range from $300 to $800 and up to $1,600 for married couples. So…what will you do with yours? If you aren’t using it to go shopping, pay down debt or putting it towards a major repair, here are some ways you can use your money to make money online.

Since I would get $800, we’ll use that figure and five years investment time as an example.

1. Invest and Save

If I open a high-yield savings account such as the 4.70% rate at Savings Square.com, I would make about $200. Not real inticing but definitley practical for emergencies! I could always take a chance on the stock market, and take my money over to and online stock market broker and if the long-term market return is 10%, I would make $400. Better, and more risky…but I could also on the flipside end up making thousands if I choose wisely and the markets level out.

2. Create a Profitable Network of Websites and Blogs

Starting a business is always a wonderful long-term investment…if things go your way I could take $200, go buy ten dot com domains and a year of hosting with GoDaddy. If I wasn’t a graphic designer, I would spend about $25 for a logo on each website which would be a total of $125. That leaves $475 to scoop up some bargain bin wordpress templates, cheap articles and to buy some links or advertising. Now, if I’ve done my research and hit some good niches, I would make my money back within 6 months and averaged a combined modest profit of $100 per week with all 10 sites with things like AdSense, Affiliate programs, selling links, paid posts, etc. then I will make around $24,000 in five years. Now there’s some real cash! It’s also A LOT of invested time…think of the 80/20 rule

Want more ideas? I recommend checking out a book like The Rich Jerk for a plethora of ways you can use your money to make you money online.