Stimulus Check Smart Spending

SALINAS, Calif. (KION) Jade Lacuata of Salinas is a bit relieved to have woken up with the stimulus check in her bank account this morning.

"Around like you know right at midnight when the direct deposit shows up," she says.

But, Jade is a new mom with a 4-month-old baby and already has a use for the money.

"Honestly, it's going to go to diapers, formula, wipes… because those were hard to come by in the last couple of weeks here," Lacuata says.

I spoke to a Salinas financial adviser, John Musni with Edward Jones.

"This is probably coming at a really good time, and so they need to prioritize what they most immediate needs are," Musni says.

The C.A.R.E.S Act has suspended some penalties for early withdrawals from retirement accounts.

"While I don't recommend taking out of your long term investments that you've set aside for retirement, some people may meed that money now," says Musni.

However, there are some people who want to tuck that money away as soon as they get it.

"It might be a really good idea to put it into something that's liquid and doesn't have any volatility or risk so they can get a hold if it if need be," Musni says.

Small business loans have also become available for those struggling, but resources are quickly drying up.

"So, for small businesse, they need to act quickly and get to their banks now to get in line for a loan there," says Musni.

For Jade, the community has been a big help during the pandemic when it comes to baby supplies.

"Everyone has reached out, so as a community everybody seems to have come together, but without that and without the stimulus check, we probably would have been in a bind." says Lacuata.

There is a government website called "Get My Payment" where you can track your stimulus check if you haven't received it yet.