Next month, the U.S. government is expected to start sending out the economic stimulus checks. So this week big retailers, including Kroger, Sears and Kmart, announced promotions to help consumers spend their IRS refunds and stimulus checks. This got me thinking about the purpose of the stimulus checks, and why travel is a good way to spend them.

Travel has a very large ecosystem that supports a lot of different employees and suppliers. Consider how many people work in jobs that support air travel—from designing planes to loading baggage carts to serving food to driving taxis. Think about destinations with large attractions and the people it takes to successfully operate a theme park such as Walt Disney World in Orlando or SeaWorld in San Diego.

Personal travel within the U.S. is one way consumers can spend their checks to stimulate the economy. As you are driving or flying to your destination, think about all the people behind the scenes who are employed to help you along the way. Once you arrive at a destination, think about the local businesses, including restaurants, attractions, vacation rental property managers, and more that benefit.

While you might wonder if you have enough for a vacation, there are easy ways to stretch those dollars, including staying in a vacation rental home, shopping at the grocery store and cooking in the rental home’s kitchen—all of which still support the economy of the town you are visiting.

Whether you agree with the program or not, how about taking the unexpected money to spend time with friends and family away from the daily grind, knowing that you get to relax, away from work, but are helping other people in the economy, too.