Use Your Stimulus Check to Invest in Yourself
As people everywhere frantically refresh their banking app hoping that their $1,200 stimulus check was added to their account, we need to stop and consider what we need to use this money for during the pandemic.
If you are still waiting for your check, you can check the status of it on the IRS website.
The last thing you want to do is to spend the money haphazardly only to find ourselves in just as bad of a situation in the future. With loads of frivolous things you could put the money toward, why not consider investing in yourself and your future?
Do: Pay your most pressing bills
If you are currently out of work, your bills are probably pilling up. First and foremost, your stimulus money should be used to pay off your more pressing bills.
Rent, medical bills, credit card bills, insurance, utilities, and your grocery bills should all be gotten out of the way before anything else.
Do Not: Stockpile supplies
At this point, you would have to be blind to not see the sheer amount of people who are stockpiling items like toilet paper, hand sanitizer and food in excess. Although you might be tempted to buy in bulk while you can, you shouldn’t ever have more than two weeks worth of supplies in your home at a given time.
Do: Invest in yourself
If you are currently out of work, or if your professional future seems to be in limbo, consider investing this money in yourself.
If you can launch your side-hustle with this money, or make a down-payment on a class or certification to help get you to the next level of your career, consider using the money for that.
Another great way to invest in yourself is to use a small fraction of the money to hire a professional resume writer. A professional resume writer can help make you stand out from the competition, and put your best foot forward when applying for jobs.
Click here to schedule a free consultation. Remember, all services can be done virtually, so you do not have to come in and risk your safety during the COVID-19 pandemic!
Do Not: Book a bunch of flights since they are cheap
If you’ve been paying attention to flights, you would see that airlines have severely reduced the prices of their flights during the pandemic. Flights that once cost a few hundred dollars can now be booked for around $50 in a lot of cases.
Although you might think this is the best time to book your vacation to Cancun, think twice before you put the money down. According to the CDC, there is a high chance that once this pandemic is over, COVID-19 will make a comeback in the winter. That means that people will be self-quarantining again, and businesses will be shut down.
Along with putting yourself at risk to catch the virus, you wouldn’t get anything out of vacationing to a place where everything is closed.
According to Yahoo Finance, the money will not be considered taxable income, so the federal government will NOT be able to get it back come tax season.
Do: Save for your future
As soon as you got the money, you might have heard your mother in your ear saying, “Don’t let that money burn a hole in your pocket.”
As usual, mom is right.
Although the virus is showing signs of peaking, it is still too soon to tell just how long we will be in quarantine. Even if you are working, there isn’t any guarantee that you will remain working for long. With that being said, you should consider saving some of the money for the future.
Do Not: Buy something frivolous
Personally, I highly considered buying a new TV and a few video games. However, along with the fact that my wife might’ve killed me, it would have been frivolous and irresponsible.
Again, we don’t know how long this pandemic is going to last, so spend your money wisely on things that will keep you and your household safe.
Basically, wait until we get back to something resembling normal life before you get a new flat screen for your place.
As things grow increasingly dire, there is no guarantee that the government will issue a second stimulus check, so keep some in your account for if you need more to survive.