In a mammoth effort to provide much-needed cash to financially struggling Americans, the Internal Revenue Service and U.S. Treasury have disbursed one hundred fifty-six million coronavirus stimulus checks worth $372 billion under the American Rescue Plan.

While millions of Americans already have gotten their hands on the money and are spending it as they see fit, there are millions more who are left on the sidelines, wondering daily if their check will ever arrive.

In these times of high anxiety, there are tools out there that could help put Americans’ minds more at ease. One is the handy option to track USPS mail delivery. People can just sign up for Informed Delivery here, which enables them on a daily basis to digitally preview and manage USPS deliveries, such as stimulus checks and debit cards. And best of all, it is totally free.

“Informed Delivery provides eligible residential consumers with a digital preview of their household’s incoming mail scheduled to arrive soon,” the USPS website says. “Users can view greyscale images of the exterior, address side of incoming letter-sized mailpieces (not the inside contents) via email or an online dashboard.”

Keep in mind that it can take up to three days to activate Informed Delivery on an account, and people have the option to cancel the service once they finally receive their stimulus check or debit card.

Another option that’s popular among waiting taxpayers is the IRS “Get My Payment” tool. To use it, one will just need to enter his or her full Social Security or tax ID number, date of birth, street address, and ZIP code.

Know that people don’t have to waste their days by constantly checking on the site, as the IRS says that the tool “updates once per day, usually overnight.”

However, be aware that some individuals will receive the dreaded message that says, “Payment Status Not Available.” “If you get this message, either we have not yet processed your payment, or you are not eligible for a payment,” the IRS says. “We will continue to send the 2021 Economic Impact Payment to eligible individuals throughout 2021.”

Others will get a “Need More Information” message, which means that the stimulus check was returned to the IRS because the post office was unable to deliver it. If a taxpayer’s address has recently changed, the best way to update it is to “file your 2020 tax return with your current address, if you haven’t already done so. Once we receive your current address, we will reissue your payment,” the IRS noted.

Finally, some people reportedly have gotten a confirmation letter (Notice 1444 or Notice 1444-B) from the IRS stating that their payment was issued even though they have yet to receive it. In this situation, the affected individuals have the option to request an IRS payment trace.

Ethen Kim Lieser is a Minneapolis-based Science and Tech Editor who has held posts at Google, The Korea Herald, Lincoln Journal Star, AsianWeek, and Arirang TV. Follow or contact him on LinkedIn.

Image: Reuters.