Mark Luigi Dacumos
The Negative Impact of Financial Stress
So many of us focused on how COVID-19 can affect our health if we catch the virus. And while it can be deadly in some instances, we often forget about its indirect impact on our wellbeing.
Besides a fear of catching the virus itself, COVID-19 has caused a ton of financial stress. If you lost your job or saw your income drop, you probably felt worried about how you’d pay your bills or feed your family. What can this financial stress lead to?
Problems like:
- Accelerated heartbeat
- Alcohol abuse
- Anxiety
- Depression
- Diabetes
- Drug abuse
- Excessive sweating
- Gastrointestinal issues
- Headaches
- Heart disease
- High blood pressure
- Insomnia
- Loss of appetite
- Overeating
- Panic attacks
- Self-harm
- Shaking
- Social withdrawal
- Weight gain
- Weight loss
Even worse, the problems above or financial stress itself can cause relationship issues, unhealthy habits like gambling, and more than can put your life in a tailspin.
Will money make your life perfect during the pandemic? Of course not. It can help, though, and one source of money that can improve your situation is the government and its Economic Impact Payments or stimulus checks.
How COVID-19 Stimulus Checks Can Reduce Financial Stress
The government approved two rounds of stimulus checks to help stimulate the economy and give struggling families a helping hand. While these checks won’t make you rich or solve all of your money problems, you can use them to:
- Buy food and other household necessities.
- Pay bills.
- Create an emergency fund.
Use your stimulus payments to do any of those things listed above, and you could find that your financial stress decreases a bit. This can cause a positive chain reaction where you avoid stress-related symptoms that can make your life more complicated than it already is.
What should you avoid doing with your stimulus checks? Buying things you don’t need, gambling, etc. While you may get a rush from such spending, your financial stress will return once your stimulus money is gone, and it will probably be even worse than before.
As for some details on the stimulus payments so you can get your stress-reducing money, have a look:
Details on Economic Impact Payments
Amounts:
- First stimulus (announced in March 2020): $1,200 per adult, $500 per child
- Second stimulus (announced in December 2020): $600 per adult, $600 per child
Eligibility:
- Must file a 2020 tax return to get paid
- U.S. citizen or resident alien
- Not listed as a dependent on another tax return
- Valid Social Security number
- Adjusted gross income below $75,000 for individual, $112,500 for head of household, $150,000 for married couple filing jointly
- For reduced payments, income can be up to $99,000 for individual, $136,500 for head of household, $198,000 for married couple filing jointly
Payment methods:
- Direct deposit (to the same bank account where you received your tax refund or federal benefits)
- Check or prepaid debit card by mail
Help with your stimulus payment status:
- Call the 211 Economic Impact Payment Helpline at 844-322-3639
- Contact IRS-certified volunteers
