The National Alliance on Mental Illness maintains a help line that can provide referrals to local resources as well. Its number is 1-800-950-6264.

Help for the Self-Employed. The self-employed often have fewer protections than employees working for companies and other organizations, but two legislative packages extended several new benefits to help them cope during the pandemic. Paid sick and family leave is now available in the form of a tax credit. Unemployment insurance is also newly available to gig workers, independent contractors and freelancers who are usually ineligible. And self-employed people who can no longer afford their health insurance or want to buy new polices may have more options. Tara’s story has more details.

You have some flexibility with your federal student loans. In fact, you should have automatically received relief without lifting a finger: Borrowers have been placed in so-called administrative forbearance, which allows you to temporarily stop making payments until Sept. 30. In August, President Trump issued a memorandum extending this relief through the end of December. No interest will accrue during this period, and borrowers who want to continue making loan payments can do so. The Education Department says that these skipped payments will still count toward loan forgiveness for borrowers in income-driven repayment and public service loan forgiveness programs, as long as the other usual requirements are fulfilled. If you have more questions, check out the Education Department’s Q&A here. Some private lenders are offering relief programs, too.

Payroll tax deferral. As of Sept. 1, a payroll tax deferral is in effect for four months if you meet certain income requirements laid out in a presidential memorandum. You’ll still need to pay the taxes, but you will have to until 2021 to do so. It’s not clear that many employers will facilitate this for employees given the looming eventual due date, though the I.R.S. did issue some instructions for those employers.

How to help. There is no shortage of need right now — and no shortage of guides to helping. The New York Times has a basic guide to coronavirus giving, suggestions on where to donate money, some practical tips on what not to do and an explainer on donating clothes. Ron wrote a column about the kind of direct giving that allows you to channel money to individuals with immediate cash needs. The New York Times has also started our own campaign as part of our Neediest Cases fund.

Don’t forget about property taxes. Despite the economic strain caused by the virus, in many places, homeowners are still expected to make property tax payments by the usual deadlines. If they were postponed, they could wreak havoc on local budgets. Our colleague Ann Carrns has a story with more information. You can find details on jurisdictions that may offer some leeway in this chart. There are situations where you may get a break. If you have paused payments on your federally backed loan and you pay taxes and insurance from an escrow account, your mortgage servicer should continue to advance those payments as well, according to the Federal Housing Finance Agency. But if you don’t use an escrow account for taxes and insurance, you will need to continue making those payments on your own unless your locality provides some flexibility or relief.

Mistaken stimulus payments. Think you received a payment by mistake, say, for a relative who is among the over one million deceased individuals to whom the government made payments? Don’t spend the money. The Internal Revenue Service may well realize its mistake and ask for it back come tax time in 2021.

Financial planners are offering free advice. Dozens of members of the XY Planning Network have offered to help people through phone consultations. The Financial Planning Association has its own list of volunteer certified financial planners, as does the National Association of Personal Financial Advisors.

What to know about Social Security. Older workers who have lost their jobs and are short on savings may be contemplating whether they should file for Social Security earlier than they had anticipated. Filing before your full retirement age has serious implications, which may reduce your monthly check forevermore. Before you decide, consider the following strategies. (And if you’re eligible for unemployment, you might apply for that first.) The Social Security Administration has mostly closed its 1,200 offices for routine requests like help with benefit claims. Those requests should go through the agency’s toll-free phone line, 1-800-772-1213, and its website. In-person assistance is still available for crucial services, like reinstatement of benefits and assistance for those with severe disabilities. Those seeking in-person help must call in advance. Mark Miller has details here.

You can use a retirement account in new ways. Many people who are out of work may be turning to their retirement accounts for emergency cash. Under normal circumstances, that would trigger taxes and penalties. But the CARES Act provides more flexible hardship options for 401(k) and individual retirement accounts. But even newly jobless people who don’t need to tap their savings have a decision to make: Leave the money in a former employer’s plan or roll it over to an individual retirement account? All of these situations require some analysis. This story can help.

Get your free credit report. Consumers can now check their credit reports from each of the Big Three credit firms each week, free of charge, instead of just once a year. Routine checks have always been wise, but now they are essential — particularly if you’re skipping payments with the permission of your lender. Even if your lender says this relief won’t hurt your credit profile, mistakes are bound to happen. To find out more about how to check your report and what to look for, read Ann’s story here.