Stimulus Check Update | The Latest News

To try and lessen the effects of the pandemic, the federal government enacted legislation in the form of stimulus checks. We’ve already seen two of them, but a recent stimulus check update will give Americans $1,400 per person with an additional $1,400 for every eligible child.

This third round of stimulus check update is called the “American Rescue Plan”. In this infographic, you can see what exactly the American Rescue Plan is. The stimulus check update will affect Americans earning less than $75,000. For couples, the check will include $2,800 plus an additional $1,400 for every qualifying child. So when is the next $1,400 stimulus check update?

What Is the American Rescue Plan?

The Coronavirus pandemic isn’t stopping anytime soon. This has forced the federal government to roll out the third round of stimulus checks. The American Rescue Plan is a combination of direct payments, direct aid to state and local governments, unemployment benefits, and other programs. The total monetary support for these programs includes $1.9 trillion.

The most expensive program is the direct payments program. This amasses to $411 billion. The American Rescue Plan also aims at helping the state and local governments with a series of payments that amass $362 billion. The pandemic has racked up expenses, so the stimulus check update will also help governments cover losses and expenses.

Businesses are also heavily impacted by the pandemic. Small businesses are constantly under threat of permanently shutting their doors to customers. Brick and mortar stores and small businesses with physical locations are mostly impacted by the Covid outbreak. While reports vary, some estimates say that 200,000 businesses have closed from the start of the pandemic.

A survey from Statista found that 1.4% of surveyed businesses had closed due to the pandemic up until last week. So there is a case to be made that small businesses are most impacted by the pandemic. The American Rescue Plan aims at providing $203 billion in the expansion of unemployment benefits.

AS more vaccines roll out, the American Rescue Plan will also provide $174 billion in public health spending. This includes funding for vaccine production, tests, and enhancing US public health measures.

Stimulus Check Update – When Is It Coming?

The federal government has put December 31st as the date it hopes to distribute Americans the financial aid they so desperately need. Despite the deadline being two months away, some states are already in the process of sending out stimulus checks to residents. These are the people that are considered most vulnerable. So when is the next stimulus check update?

States use different factors to determine which residents need the stimulus checks the most. The state of Florida has already sent out $1,000 stimulus checks to teachers and administrators. Mississippi doesn’t currently have a stimulus check update, and many experts say that a new round of financial aid looks unlikely. The state of Vermont sent out financial aid in the form of $1,200 and $2,000 checks to frontline workers who continuously risk their lives.

So at the current time of writing, different states have their own stimulus check update. More so, it looks highly unlikely that a popular Change.org petition will change the minds of the federal government to increase the stimulus checks to $2,000. The petition has already gained 3,000,000 signatures and is one of the most top-signed petitions on the platform until this day.

How To Get Your Stimulus Check?

The IRS is in the process of sending Americans the third round of economic impact payments. While their website says the status of these checks is available, not every American will get their check soon. We mentioned previously that the due date for the total distribution of the economic relief payment is December 31st.

So if you haven’t gotten your payment yet, that doesn’t mean you won’t get it soon. To check when the IRS plans on sending you the third stimulus check, you will need to download the “Get My Payment” application or visit the IRS’s website for more information.

When downloading the application, you will need to log in. Then, you will see a message that will either read “Payment Status”, “Payment Status Not Available”, or “Need More Information”. The first message means you are eligible and the payment is scheduled, or a date isn’t available. The second message means you aren’t eligible or the payment hasn’t been processed yet. While the third message means the IRS needs more information from you.

Is A Fourth Stimulus Check On the Horizon?

So far eligible Americans have received a total of $3,200. This doesn’t take into account the extra $2,500 for eligible children. All three rounds of stimulus checks have helped struggling American families with some financial stability. But the general public doesn’t believe $5,000 covers the costs of job loss, medical expenses, and ongoing financial struggles caused by the pandemic.

So there are always discussions about a fourth stimulus check. Is there even going to be a fourth stimulus check update? To give you the short answer, there is no fourth stimulus check planned at the current time of writing. There are no plans proposed and no discussions held on the subject. While President Joe Biden is open to ideas, the fourth round of financial aid seems unlikely at the current time of writing. In a way to try and help US households, President Biden prolonged student loan payments. For more information on that, we have an article here that thoroughly explains the decision.

How Are Americans Spending Their Stimulus Checks?

There is no point in discussing a second stimulus check update as most Americans have already received it. A study found that most Americans use the stimulus money to pay off debt. This further reinforces the idea that Americans are getting more into debt. A CNBC report found that credit card debt is on the rise in America. More than 50 million Americans have racked up credit card debt in the past two years. This brings the question of how many credit cards should Americans have? Furthermore, does owning more credit cards help your credit score or means to get out of debt?

To find out the answer to that question, we have an article explaining that here.

The stimulus checks do show on your credit report and can help you improve your credit score. Since many Americans are indeed using the stimulus money to settle debt, it puts them in a more advantageous position to improve their credit score. While not every American will have excellent credit, the stimulus money does help your credit score and make you more favorable in the eyes of banks and lenders.

But not all Americans are using their stimulus money to pay off debt. 32% of households save the money, while 19% spend it all. From that 19%, 13% of study respondents said they will use the money on essential items. This data comes as a total surprise considering that the number was much higher in the first round of checks – 74% compared to 19%. So this shows us that Americans are using this round of stimulus checks more to pay off debt.

And as you’re waiting for your stimulus check update, we have to look at how all three stimulus plans have helped the US economy.

Source Peter G. Peterson Foundation

How Is the US Economy Benefiting From the Third Stimulus Check?

All three rounds of financial aid hoped to increase consumer spending and boost personal income. While Americans are patiently waiting for their stimulus check update, the US economy has seen improvements from the previous rounds of financial aid. The third round of financial aid will also replace the need to take small personal loans for emergencies.

If data from the first and second rounds of financial aid is anything to go by, then we can safely say the economy will rise over time.

Finishing Thoughts

Spending habits are important to analyze when looking at how effective all three rounds of stimulus checks are. While many people are still waiting on a stimulus check update, a percentage of Americans have already received the third round of financial aid packages. As more people eagerly await the next stimulus check update, it seems like only a matter of time before we start talking about the fourth round of financial aid.