How Should I Spend My $1,200 Stimulus Check?

Nov 19, 2020

Close up of a US Treasury stimulus check with a calculator displaying 1200

Smart Ways to Use Your Stimulus Money

Beginning this week, most Americans are now starting tornreceive a $1,200 stimulus check plus $500 for every dependent child to helprncurb the impact of the Coronavirus situation and stimulate the economy. Forrnmany families who have lost jobs or have reduced hours, the decision on how tornspend the stimulus check is easy. Food, rent, utilities, medications, and anyrnother essentials would come first. However, if you are still working and yourrnbills aren’t impacted, the decision can feel a bit harder. Here are a few smartrnways you should consider when using your stimulus money.

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Invest in Yourself

The best way you can spend that extra cash is to invest in yourself. This can include catching up on bills, putting the cash into savings, starting or building your emergency fund, or even putting some of the money aside for future bills like your rent for next month. After all, it’s important to cover your living expenses and give yourself a safety net in case an emergency like this were to happen again.

Pay Towards Loans

Many lenders are offering relief to those affected byrnfreezing payments and even interest accrual. However, every lender is different,rnand you may still be seeing your interest build. If you have a loan thatrncharges interest, like student loans or car loans, you can put some of yourrnextra cash into paying your loans. Doing this will save you money in the longrnrun as you won’t have to pay as much money in interest. Make sure you arerncomfortable financially and caught up on bills before doing so.

Splurge Strategically

Man working on his laptop

We don’t want to give the impression that you shouldn’trnsplurge at all. While those that have no longer have income should put the cashrnon necessities, it’s okay to spend some of the money on something you want asrnlong as you can afford it. This will help you feel sane and get a sense ofrnnormalcy back.

How should you do it? We recommend determining a certainrnamount to spend on luxuries while applying the rest strategically. For example,rnyou may consider using $200 for splurging while using the remaining $1,000 forrnsavings and debts. In addition, think of where you want that splurge money torngo. Consider putting it towards your favorite establishments, like gettingrndelivery from your favorite restaurant, buying gift cards for your favoriternstore, etc. This will help your favorite establishments stay in businesses as mostrnare struggling to stay afloat.

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How are you planning on using your stimulus money? Let usrnknow in the comments! For more financial tips like this follow the OkCarz blog.