Hey everyone, and thanks for joining me this week. My name is Laura Adams. I'm a personal

finance and small business expert, author and educator who's been hosting Money Girl

since 2008. My mission is to help you get the knowledge and motivation to prioritize

your finances, build wealth, and have much more security and less stress.

This week's show is about the recent stimulus package that was signed into law. When President

Biden was inaugurated, he pledged to make COVID-19 relief a top priority. So you probably

heard that the American Rescue Plan Act, it goes by ARP, that was signed into law on March

11, 2021. So it's the third round of assistance designed to boost the U.S. economy as it continues

to struggle from the pandemic. Most of the provisions are temporary expansions just to manage

the pandemic. However, some policy experts think that some of the features of the law may become

permanent. ARP is a massive $1.9 trillion package that gives funding to state and local governments,

schools, infrastructure projects, COVID testing, and vaccination programs and more. According

to the tax foundation, about $850 billion will go to individuals, and about $65 billion

to businesses. The relief for individuals comes in the form of stimulus checks and various

tax credits building on benefits from previous laws, such as the CARES Act. In this podcast,

I'll review five ways the stimulus helps individuals will cover who qualifies for payments

and other significant benefits that will increase your income, cut your expenses, or both.

Today's episode is number 676, called Five Ways the American Rescue Plan puts money in your

pocket. And if you want to review the notes for the show, you'll find them in the Money Girl

section at quickanddirtytips.com. Alright, so let's get into the detail on several ways that the

American Rescue Plan or ARP may put money in your pocket. Number one, receiving a stimulus payment.

For this round of economic impact payments, which are also called recovery rebates or stimulus

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