The Stimulus Check Came In… Now What?

With that stimulus money finally arriving, here are some good ways to prioritize how we spend it.

Within the next few days and weeks, the long-awaited government stimulus checks should be making their way to our bank accounts. That sudden burst of money is enough to make anyone excited, especially with the uncertainty regarding the current job landscape, and it may be very tempting to spend it all on that fancy gadget or mini vacation you have been eyeing. Dave Ramsey, author of The Total Money Makeover and one of America’s leading financial planning experts, has some great advice for what to do with that money in his article “HEROES Act: What You Need to Know About the Government’s Latest Stimulus Plan.”*

Protect the Four Walls

If you are someone who is out of a job or missing a paycheck, Dave recommends protecting your “four walls” with the stimulus money before doing anything else.

Food: Before anything else, it is the most important to make sure that your essential needs are being met. Make sure that food is on the table for you and your family to maintain health and keep morale high.
Utilities: Keeping the lights on and the water running is another essential in times like these. If you are confined to your home, it is important to keep that home running! If you have kids, keeping that TV on might be another important step towards maintaining your sanity.
Shelter: Keeping a roof over your head is more important now than ever. Pay that rent or mortgage!
Transportation: If you are an essential worker on the front lines of this pandemic, keeping your transportation running is important! If that means keeping the fuel tank full or having enough money to keep your bike in good shape, make sure to keep up on it.

In the rest of the article, Ramsey talks about how cutting costs and keeping spirits high are important steps to staying afloat in these uncertain times as well. You can find the rest of the article here.

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*Ramsey Solutions. (2022, January 27). HEROES Act: What you need to know about the government’s latest stimulus plan. Retrieved June 23, 2022 from ramseysolutions.com/saving/government-stimulus-plan