What are you going to do with the $300 to $1,200 tax rebate the government will be handing out?

Save it? Pay off debt? Do your part to boost the economy by buying American-made products?

When interviewing economists and financial advisers last week about the rebates for my column, I asked them about their plans for the rebate if they got one. Here are their answers:

David Wyss, chief economist with Standard & Poor’s, is remodeling his kitchen. “Maybe as a result we would buy a fancier refrigerator than we would have otherwise.”

Nomura Securities chief economist David Resler isn’t keen on rebates because it adds to the country’s debt. He says he’ll use his rebate to buy some of the Treasuries the government will need to issue to pay for the program.

James Chessen, chief economist at the American Bankers Association, has a son who’s a senior in college and a daughter who will be a freshman in the fall. “I’m going to be dirt poor and every available dollar is going to my kid’s education.”

Diane Swonk, chief economist at Mesirow Financial, advocated that rebates should go to lower-income households that are most likely to quickly spend the money. “I don’t think I should get one,” she says.

Tom Ochsenschlager with the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants says he would invest his money in the stock market — as long as prices are still low when he gets his check.

Joanna Smith-Ramani, director of the Baltimore CASH Campaign, would use the cash to pay down a student loan.

Robert McIntyre, director of Citizens for Tax Justice says, “Save it. Right now, nothing looks good.”

Consumer Federation of America’s Executive Director Stephen Brobeck says he and his wife would initially save the money and later donate it to charity.

Silver Spring financial planner Peg Downey says, “I’ll invest it.”

In my case, I would put the money in the bank. And if I get to take a vacation in Europe this year, I’ll think of the rebate as helping to make up for the weak dollar.

So what would you use the rebate for?