What are you doing with your stimulus check?

JB - May 12, 2020

Advice

Finally got mine. Are you guys spending some of yours on more preps, especially in this window before we might have more lockdowns? If so, on what?

A lot is sold out, so I was thinking about getting some workout stuff but I haven’t decided. Not being able to go to the gym is really effecting me, and I think fitness is a part of prepping.

20  

I put mine in the emergency fund as more padding against the possibility of job loss/ salary cut.  I definitely hear you on fitness equipment but I bet you can find a way to maintain without spending those Trumpbucks.

 

I worry most about the economy. Most is going to bills and things I need to pay down. Some to home defense but it’s not enough for what I really need. A tiny fraction for additional food preps. Currently all our freezers are full but we could use a few more canned or dried goods.

 

Paying off cards. I put a bunch on them when all this started. I actually read somewhere that the credit card companies might take off some people’s debt but I doubt it now. They delayed my student loan payments so I was happy about that. Why can’t they do the same for cards?

 

Locally if I can. Lots of places are still open where I live, so will go to the mom and pop places. I hope they got the small business loans before they ran out. That happened too fast and I bet a bunch of money went to larger companies who didn’t even need it.

 

In case this goes on a lot longer (which it looks like it will), I’m going to try and save as much of it as possible. Being prepared is more than the fun stuff like guns and powdered sour cream. The financial prep aspect is huge. Bear in mind that the amount CARES is giving out isn’t a fortune, but it can shore up a lot of people if they don’t act irresponsibly with it. Just don’t buy cruise tickets. Please.

 

I wouldn’t call powdered sour cream fun. Unless you were using it in a prank. Otherwise, it’s just sad.

 

I wonder if it could serve a dual purpose. Perhaps as an alternative adhesive or spackle to prevent leaks in containers around the house? Some sort of rodent repellent? The mind reels!

 

I’m just keeping it in savings for now. But my goal, at least for the near-future and probably the rest of my life, will be investing into my small farm. As soon as it’s practical I’ll run electricity and water to my shop, plant trees on my big hill, get bee hives, maybe a tractor, stuff like that.

 

A little for food preps, a few bills but the rest in savings. Trying to make my nest egg bigger. We’re not going out right now like everyone else so if we can keep money coming in, it’s easier to save it. Especially bc I don’t think this is going away just because it gets warmer.

 

straight to the bank. i’m still a little worried that I should be taking my money out but it seems ok now. i want to be able to not touch it at all and even better if they do it again. i saw a headline that they planning to. just let it get bigger.

 

I’m pretty new here so I still am working on building up my pantry. Using the extra money to buy a few more things every trip to the store.

 

Put half in the bank, and took the other half in the form of cash. A little cash on hand is not a bad thing.

 

Food like eggs, potatoes, meat and cheese from our neighboring farmer/homesteaders.

The (South American) country I live in only gave us about 200$ but it was still enough for two months of extra food for a family of four.

I would suggest everyone to buy as local as possible.

 

I used it to pay off the remaining balance on a credit card, and then with the leftover I bought  a water filter.

 

 

That’s a good idea. I was wondering if my card would get lower interest because of the pandemic but I haven’t seen anything about that yet. A few banks in Canada did in April but no luck here yet.

 

I’m fortunate (?) enough to be getting unemployment and stimulus. My unemployment is being put toward paying debt, buying everyday necessities; my stimulus is being held in reserve and is earmarked for (surprise!) preps.

For those with a somewhat tighter budget, I just want to drop this reminder: You can defer your credit card, mortgage, etc. payments -especially if you feel your money belt tightening. This may give you some wiggle room to either save your stimulus or continue your preps. You do not have to pay (for example) 4 months of mortgage in one lump sum at the end (whenever that is). Of course, you’ll want to do your research and reach out to your lender to coordinate this deferral.

Personally, I think purchasing fitness equipment is a waste of a good resource. Yes, fitness is a part of prepping, but I, personally, don’t need a machine when I can walk, run, hike, bike, do crunches, push-ups, or use my own body weight to maintain fitness.

 

I stashed most of mine away, but I’ve also been investing heavily in preps, specifically garden equipment and kitting out my bug-out bag.

 

I spent a small portion of my stimulus check paying two bills that would come due in the following month.  The rest I spent on additional long-term food storage items, particularly protein rich foods such as OvaEasy Egg Crystals, canned and freeze-dried meats and fish, quinoa, rice, and dried beans, that I wanted in order to fill some gaps in my preps.

Zabeth

 

Food bank.