"Your check is in the mail" is widely known as one of the top lies people tell. But in this case it's true.

Passed by Congress, the Economic Stimulus Act of 2008 directs the Internal Revenue Service to give taxpayers rebate checks to spend. They are intended to help get the economy get back on track.

It's no fortune, but every little bit helps these days.

So how much are supposed you get? $600 if you're single, $1,200 if you're a married couple, and another $300 for each eligible child under 17.

So, Where's My Check?

By now, most of the stimulus payments have been electronically deposited or mailed as checks. So what if yours is missing in action? Here are the steps:

• Verify that the IRS has your current address. If you've moved since you filed your 2007 return, you'll need to notify them of the change.


• Check to see if you ever received a notification that your payment was being processed. If not, you may have a problem.


• Check the IRS schedule for sending out money. It's based on the last two digits of your Social Security number.

If the IRS has your direct deposit banking information on file from your 2007 tax return, you should have received your stimulus check by May 16th.

If you don't have direct deposit information on file, then you probably should have gotten a check in the mail. Here is the schedule:

00 through 09: May 16
10 through 18: May 23
19 through 25: May 30
26 through 38: June 6
39 through 51: June 13
52 through 63: June 20
64 through 75: June 27
76 through 87: July 4
88 through 99: July 11

Okay, so you've confirmed that you should have received a check, but none has arrived.

Now what do you do?

Go to http://www.irs.gov/individuals/article/0,,id=181665,00.html and click on the link called: "Where's My Stimulus Payment?". And be prepared to answer a few simple questions such as:

• What is your Social Security number?
• What is your filing status (Single, Married Filing Jointly, Married Filing Separately and so on)?
• How many exemptions show on your 2007 tax return?
• The IRS site warns you not to fall for e-mail scams about your stimulus payment because says the IRS never initiates e-mails.

Bridge Loans

Some people are turning to payday loans to bridge the gap. A payday advance is a small short-term loan without collateral usually repaid on the borrower's next payday.

Typically, a customer uses a payday loan to cover small, unexpected, expenses between paydays to avoid expensive fees on bounced checks, penalties on late bill payments, overdraft charges and other less desirable short-term credit options.

According to Cypress Research Group, nearly 65 percent of payday loan users are women and most are married. Six out of 10 payday loan customers are middle class homeowners and 65 percent have household incomes between $25,000 and $75,000 a year.


Industry analysts estimate that more than 22,000 payday advance locations across the United States extend about $40 billion in short-term credit to millions of middle class households that experience cash flow shortfalls between paydays.

Credit conscious young people new to the workforce are also discovering payday loans. Faithful repayment of cash advance loans can help those with limited credit histories — recent college graduates for, example — establish their credit worthiness.