Tuesday Morning Update: Today we're focusing on stimulus payments, which should begin to arrive in the next 8 days. For those who will be receiving a stimulus payment, you likely are experiencing one of three distinct realities. 1/

You’ve either already been affected financially by the economic shutdown, may be in the near future, or you have a good degree of employment and financial stability. 2/

Below are best practices for each group, as you consider the best way to put your stimulus payment to work for you. 3/

Already financially impacted by the economic shutdown
* First and foremost, use the stimulus payments to secure economically-efficient meals for you and your family. 4/

*Once food sources are secured, do your best to stay current on rent payments. Staying current on mortgage payments is important too, but there are some provisions under the CARES Act which provide relief for federally-subsidized mortgages. See your lender for details. 5/

*Talk to your utility providers about your potential instability, and put a plan in place to make best efforts to stay current on those obligations. 6/

*Try and make minimum payments on consumer debts, but you don’t have to feel compelled to pay the debt down aggressively under these current economic conditions. 7/

If all other obligations are satisfied, set the stimulus money aside to help add a layer of financial stability for the coming months. 8/

Potentially impacted by the the economic shutdown in the near-future
* Use the stimulus payment to build-up your emergency fund.
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* Take time to understand your potential eligibility for unemployment benefits and how those benefits, paired with your stimulus payment, may provide stability. 10/

Try and make minimum payments on consumer debts, but you don’t have to feel compelled to pay the debt down aggressively under these current economic conditions. 11/

If instability never arrives and you have plenty of emergency savings, be prepared to inject your share of the stimulus into the local economy via spending. 12/

Unlikely to be impacted due to employment stability and healthy emergency savings
*Your community needs you. In order to rebuild, we need to support local businesses. When appropriate, responsibly support local businesses via targeted spending. 13/

In order for the stimulus package to have the biggest impact, the people who are the most stable should strongly consider stimulating the economy to the best of their ability. 14/

As long as we stay together as a community, we will get to the other side of our current reality. Look out for your fellow brothers and sisters in the community, and prepare to give your local economy everything you’ve got. 15/15