How to Spend Your Stimulus Check(s)
As I sit here hammering away on my keyboard, with the letter q and the number 3 both stuck from an unfortunate event where my coffee found itself no longer in the comforts of its ceramic condominium but in the crevices of my silicone computer, I have received news that the House has passed the COVID relief bill, putting all the pressure on the Senate to make it a reality. If such a reality should come to pass, and as the minutes pass by it seems more and more likely, it would mean most Americans approved for the bill would receive either $2,000 or $600 with an added $600 for each dependent (somewhere, the Duggar parents are scoffing at Powerball jackpot amounts).
Assuming you don’t have more children than the population of a small rural town in Vermont, how should you spend your $2,000 when it arrives? Here are three ideas that, although they don’t have the flair of Brewster’s Millions, will still give you some fun and security should 2021 be the kissing cousin of this year.
Idea #1 — Pay Down Debt
Whereas this might not sound so sexy, the reality is that this is what a good number of Americans did when the first checks came around. According to a Forbes article from August, only 15% of Americans blew through their check while 33% saved theirs and a whopping 52% used it to pay down debt. The Day of Dave Ramsey has come!
There’s nothing more annoying than getting a paycheck each month to see the first fruits taken by Uncle Sam and then the next helping go toward debt. Fifty-two percent of Americans knew something the last go-round, a something that put them in a better position to thrive and survive when money got tight.
Idea #2 — Start an Online Selling Business
What if you could truly work from home in 2021 only you became your own boss and set your own hours? More than likely, the new normal from the fallout of COVID will be a mass migration of people from offices to the living room, giving the name of the room a whole new meaning. Forget the yard sales of yesteryear, rummage through your house to be amazed at all the stuff you might be able to sell on your own seller’s page. Once you get the hang of it, you might consider doing it full time. A simple search on YouTube will reveal thousands of videos of how to start your own business with as little as $1,000. It’s just a thought.
Idea #3 — Patron a Local Business
This was a hard year for sure. The government isn’t issuing these checks so you could Scrooge McDuck it in your vault or pay down debt; no, they are hoping you will stimulate the economy with it, and your local small business could sure use the influx of funds. Why not use some money to pamper yourself after one of the roughest years in recent memory? Go get a great meal, a massage, some new clothes, or even that new keyboard from Mack’s world of Macs.
