I asked a financial expert what to do with my stimulus check and he told me to invest it even though the market is a mess
- My income has been slashed by the coronavirus, so when I learned I'd likely be receiving a stimulus check, I knew I wanted to put it to good use.
- I decided I'd put about $100 in my emergency fund; I keep that money in a high-yield savings account where it continues to earn interest.
- I asked a financial expert what to do with the rest, and he recommended investing it in well-diversified exchange-traded funds, so that's what I plan to do.
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Checking in on my money has become a morning, afternoon, and evening ritual lately. I used to eyeball my accounts (bank accounts, credit card, investment, and retirement funds) just once a week, but now my daily sense of panic over how much money I'm losing to the coronavirus has taken over.
The virus has been devastating so far, from both a health and economic perspective. I've lost projects, jobs, and clients at an incredible speed over the last few weeks, leaving me with a declining income and a set of recurring bills.
On Friday, when President Trump signed the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act, or CARES Act, into law I immediately sprang into action, planning out how I'd use my stimulus check.
According to SimplyWise, a website that helps people make retirement decisions, 17% of Americans plan to invest part of their stimulus check and 56% are planning to save some of their check.
I figured if I had a strategic plan, it could turn that one-time payment into something with long-term benefits.
What I plan to do with my stimulus check
I decided I'll take 15% of the check and put it into my emergency fund. After getting laid off a few years ago, I started to slowly build up my emergency fund. I put away as much as I could every month (once I started working again) and tried not to pull money out of that savings account.
While I'll likely only put $100 from the stimulus check into that savings account, it still adds to the overall balance of the fund, which is in a high-yield account and earning interest.
With the rest of my check, I plan to make smart, well-researched investments. This year I did a deep dive into the world of investing and have decided to listen to financial experts, like Matt Woodley, the founder of Credit Informative, who says it could be best to invest the money into equities.
"I would be thinking long term and wouldn't be looking to individually pick stocks but rather invest in a well-diversified ETF (exchange-traded fund)," says Woodley. "Be careful to invest slowly into this, though, as we probably haven't yet seen the bottom of the market. Only ever invest what you can afford to lose."
While investing this money comes with a risk, it's something I'm willing to do - the hope for a reward, years down the road, could be greater than using the money for personal purchases now. Once I get the check, I plan to research the state of the market and make a decision about where I want to invest the money.
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