President Donald J.Trump's name is printed on a stimulus check issued by the IRS to help combat the adverse economic effects of the COVID-19 outbreak, Thursday, April 23, 2020, in San Antonio. According to the Treasury Department, it marks the first time a president's name has appeared on any IRS payments, whether refund checks or other stimulus checks that have been mailed during past economic crises.

Brody Whited has always been a planner.

“That's my thing,” joked Whited, a 22-year-old senior at Slippery Rock University. “It finally paid off.”

Whited has been one of the lucky ones — and one of the few of her age to receive the Coronavirus Tax Relief and Economic Impact Payment, better known as the stimulus check, from the federal government.

The Karns City High School graduate worked part-time as a waitress, filed a tax return in 2018 and is not claimed as a dependent by her parents.

That made her eligible for the $1,200 stimulus payment, which she received April 15.

The restaurant where she worked in Grove City closed not long after Gov. Tom Wolf's decree to shut down all non-essential business.

Whited saw the writing on the wall and also applied for unemployment benefits before the avalanche of claims.

But her stimulus check helped her in myriad of ways.

“It saved my butt,” she said.

Whited was able to pay off her student loans, freeing up funds to pay other bills.

While Whited, who is out of work during the pandemic, is living back at home in Parker, she still owes $700 a month in rent at her off-campus apartment.

“(The stimulus payment) definitely helped,” Whited said. “Right now, all I have to pay is my rent. My parents feed me.”

Others aren't so luck, like some of Whited's friends who did not qualify for the stimulus payment.

“They're all mad at me, honestly,” she said, chuckling.

Falling through the cracks

Patty Burdett of Cabot and her husband, Larry, are still working despite the corornavirus pandemic.Patty has worked from home for 20 years as a programmer for TEGNA Inc., a broadcast company in Tysons, Va.Larry works as a warehouse manager for Klingensmith Drug Inc., which has a chain of family-owned drug stores in Armstrong County.His hours have been cut slightly, but he's still considered an essential worker, Patty said.The couple received their stimulus payment April 15.The pair's 21-year-old daughter and student at La Roche College, though, will not receive one at all, despite working part-time in 2018 and filing a tax return.The Burdetts claim their daughter, Carly, as a dependant.Patty contacted Pennsylvania Senators Bob Casey and Pat Toomey to voice her concern and displeasure, but only received form-letter responses.She doesn't think it's fair college students like Carly are being left out of stimulus package.“Right now $1,200 is a lot of money for everyone, especially for a college student,” Patty said.Still waiting for an answerBarry Steele is a 26-year-old young father of three.The Saxonburg resident's hours at Brayman Construction in Saxonburg were slashed, forcing him to tighten the belt on the family's finances.Steele could use the nearly $4,000 stimulus payment he's eligible to receive, but he has yet to see a dime.Steele tried to check the status of his payment on the IRS website, only to receive the message, “Payment Status Not Available.”He's not alone. Many Americans have been hit with the same four words on the agency's “Get My Payment” app.“I've tried calling the IRS office, any number I can find, and you can't get to talk to anyone,” Steele said.The IRS stresses people who receive that message should not call the agency.There is no one to talk to, the agency said.The IRS is also stressing patience and released a list of possible reasons why people are receiving that troubling message:You recently filed your 2019 return.Your information simply hasn't been updated on the database yet. The IRS claims there is a backlog of data that still needs to be processed.You're not eligible.The overarching message from the IRS: just wait.For Steele, though, waiting is the hardest part for his wife, Jade, and children Loki, 8 months, Jaxson, 5, and step-daughter Korahlin, 7.“We're cutting out all nonessential things,” Steele said. “Cutting back on snacks and energy drinks and things like that to get by.”When will it come?Approximately 80 million people already received their stimulus payment through direct deposit.But for those still waiting and without a bank account on file with the IRS, help will be on the way.Depending on your income level, that is.The IRS is now sending out paper checks, starting with taxpayers who have the lowest annual adjusted gross income as reported on their 2018 or 2019 return.The first batch will go out to those making less than $10,000. Those checks should be in the mail the week of April 24, according to the IRS.On the week of May 1, the IRS expects to mail the next round of stimulus checks to those who made between $10,001 and $20,000. Each week, checks for the next bracket will be mailed until all checks have been distributed by Sept. 11.What they are doing with itPeople are using their stimulus payments in a variety of ways.Most are being cautious with the funds.For Patty Burdett and her family, some of it is going into savings and some will go to filling in the gaps when she is furloughed from TEGNA in June and to cover the lost hours Larry is experiencing at Klingensmith.Karns City graduate and Chicora native Clara Stoughton received hers and used it to invest in a mattress and bed frame.Most of those who responded to a Twitter poll said they are taking a wait-and-see approach.As one responder said: “It's hard to stimulate the economy when you don't know what will happen next.”

Brody Whited, of Parker, used her stimulus payment to pay off her student loans, freeing up funds for her to pay her rent. She said all her other needs, like food, are provided to her by her parents now during the pandemic.