Coronavirus Latest: Experts Say Assess 'Your Rainy-Day Fund' After Getting Stimulus Check
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- If you haven't checked your bank account today, you may want to. The federal government deposited a new wave of stimulus checks overnight and experts have tips about what you should do with the money.
"Everybody's situation is different. There are no cookie-cutter situations for anyone," said Camari Ellis, owner of Philly Tax Team.
Everyone is different but the one thing many Americans have in common is they received their stimulus checks overnight. They are part of the $2 trillion federal stimulus package.
The average American will have $1,200 deposited in their back account, but it depends on your income, number of children and marital status.
"What I will say is, always assess your savings, your rainy-day fund, because you never know when it's going to rain, as we've just seen," Ellis said. "It's like a bridge, so to speak, between now and the time everything resumes and gets back to normal. The sad part is, we don't know when things are going to get back to normal."
Since the coronavirus pandemic hit the region, nearly 2 million people have filed for unemployment in Pennsylvania, New Jersey and Delaware.
Other benefits are also available to people who need them.
"Last year in Philadelphia alone, $450 million worth of public benefits were left on the table," said Trooper Sanders, CEO of Benefits Data Trust.
Benefits Data Trust will be taking part in a virtual town hall with Philadelphia Councilwoman Jaime Gauthier on Thursday. They'll discuss public benefits that are available and how to make the process of applying for them easier.
"We are here to help. We want to get you screened, see if we can get you applied for these benefits. So please don't go without and suffer because there is help that is available," Sanders said.
