What to Buy With Your Stimulus Check

By David Oh, Staff Reporter

ERIC GAY/Associated Press

On the week of April 13, eligible U.S. citizens started receiving money as part of the Coronavirus Stimulus Package passed by Congress to ease financial burdens on both businesses and unemployed workers.

With an extra $1,200 in their bank accounts, some people may feel compelled to use that money on unnecessary items. However, here are a few beneficial ways you can use that money.

The Essentials:

With most people laid off of work, the financial struggle has become a harsh reality for many. Since only a few people have emergency savings, most have felt the negative impact of being unemployed for an uncertain amount of time. Directing some of that extra $1,200 to bills and any debt that you may have will help reduce financial issues and should be the first thing the stimulus check should be used for.

Start Your Own Business:

With $,1200 in your hands, starting a new business should be relatively easy. Since a majority of people are now doing their shopping online, creating a business that targets a high audience online will have positive results. By investing in a hobby or something you are interested in, you pave the way for growth, instead of using that money for something that will depreciate in value over time. That $1,200 that you use to create your own business can eventually yield $2,000, then $5,000, and with enough effort, you can have a side business that earns you money. This will mean that you will no longer have to worry about being unemployed since you have your own source of income.

Invest:

An alternative to creating a business of your own is to let other people grow your money for you. Investing in stocks right now is perfect since the prices of stocks are lower than what they were at their peak. Finding stocks that will bring in much money will be difficult for beginners, so after researching stocks and the stock market, beginners should look into Exchange Traded Funds (ETF). ETFs are funds in which people manage your money by investing it into stocks while you are investing in the fund itself. Therefore, even if you have little to no knowledge about stocks, investing in ETFs will usually result in extra money that will benefit you in the long run. However, like many things related to money, it is best to research investing and stocks to make sure you do not lose all of your money.