Your Money: Why You Might Be Afraid to Spend Your Stimulus Check

If you got your stimulus payment from the IRS and it is still in your account, are you afraid to spend it?

There are all sorts of suggestions for ways to make use of it, such as buying gift cards from local businesses. Above, Cassiana's Pizza in Manhattan has continued to operate during the pandemic. David Dee Delgado/Getty Images

NEW YORK—If you got your stimulus payment last week from the IRS and it is still in your account, are you afraid to spend it?

Many recipients immediately deployed the money they received as part of the CARES Act—up to $1,200 per adult and $500 per child—for urgent necessities, including food, rent, and unpaid bills. Some didn’t even have the deposit register before it was swept away to cover overdrafts, unless they use a bank that pledged not to do this.