You Got a Stimulus Check — Did It Make You Smarter or Sloppier With Money?
Written by
Cindy Lamothe
Edited by
Levi Leidy
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Picture this: A little extra cash shows up in your bank account — unexpected, unearned, and oh-so-tempting. For many, that’s exactly what happened when stimulus checks rolled out. Some people put the money to good use, paying off bills or padding their savings. Others? Well, let’s just say the online shopping carts filled up fast.
But here’s the bigger question: Did that sudden windfall sharpen your money habits, or did it loosen them up a little too much?
GOBankingRates spoke with Chris Kirksey, CEO of Direction, to discuss his experience.
“The way I handled my stimulus check was the same way I handle company finances — every dollar needs a purpose and should create returns,” he said. “That’s why my perspective ties directly to both personal growth and entrepreneurial discipline.”
Below, he speaks more about his experience.
The Money Represented a Challenge
“When I was sent the stimulus money, I took a long hard look in the mirror at my own financial behaviors and tendencies,” said Kirksey.
To him, it wasn’t unexpected bonus money, or easy come, easy go money. This money represented a challenge.
Kirksey thought to himself, “If I can’t handle my money well, and use it wisely, with a few extra thousand dollars, then how am I going to even contemplate scaling a business that runs into a million dollars?”
Here Is What He Did
“I divided the money into three buckets,” Kirksey explained.
The first bucket was around strengthening his business. He made some intentional upgrades to some of the software tools he and his team were using at his company, because efficiency equals profit.
“The second bucket was investing into the market,” he said.
He had been wanting to buy a few shares of a couple companies he had been following for quite some time, and the new cash made him take a deeper dive into backing these names.
“The third bucket was my own personal development,” Kirksey added.
He bought into a mastermind group that surrounded him with sharper, more talented human beings.
“The value adds learned from these people alone was worth at least 10 times the check.”
Prior to Stimulus Money, He Wasn’t Stretching Himself
Prior to receiving the stimulus money, Kirksey said his finances were fine, but a bit flat.
“Even if I was saving and investing and running a decent business, I was not stretching myself,” he said.
The injection of cash made him realize that money is only valuable if you make an effort to put it to work.
He Started Tracking His Funds Much Tighter
“My reserves looked better, I finally took the time and effort to diversify my investments and I developed a greater appetite to demand that every dollar was accounted for and should be treated with value.”
Currently, he said he tracks cash flow tighter, measures returns on every expense over multiple years (whether directly or indirectly) and doesn’t just let free money sit long-term.
“I learned discipline in finance does not come from just earning, it comes from treating every dollar in your life as if it had value, whether you earned the dollar or if it was a stimulus dollar or gift.”
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