What are we meant to do with stimulus?

[starry_solo]

I don't get any, but my parents do. It's already been spent. Late last year, some weenie drove through two of the fences in the backyard and damaged them beyond repair. So, the money went to new fencing

 

[wvjules]

Those are the ones that will be buying beer, smokes and pizzas. Maybe some pot and lotto tickets while they are at it. What do they care. It’s free to them. At least the economy will be stimulated. Some.

Wow. You have low opinions of poor people. How about some compassion for those less fortunate than you.

I do not get the stimulus. Am I bitter that others are? No. I used to be poor. I lived in a trailer, got food stamps for while, and got EIC. Any and all help was appreciated. I am blessed to not be in that position anymore and I will never forget where I came from.

 

[Colleen27]

I can't speak for everyone but our expenses went down significantly due to the pandemic. An entire summer of no daycare, less gas and tolls, food costs went down as cooking at home is always cheaper than eating out for lunch, we postponed 5 tips we had planned, and we did way less stuff like the theater, concerts, etc.

Ours was a mixed bag. My frivolous spending mostly goes to eating out, live arts and travel so my discretionary spending went down. I don't commute and DH worked all the way through, so we had no change in those expenses. But paying rent for our college kid who would otherwise have had no room & board costs this school year was a big new expense, as was having all the young adult kids come home last spring/summer. Since Aug. or Sept., when school/work routines went back to normal, our expenses have been lower but those first few months were marked by much higher bills that offset most if not all of the money not spent in more enjoyable ways.

 

[wvjules]

I did lose some money because I used to get mileage reimbursement. I think I was getting @$130 per week that went straight into savings. Food costs went down due to eating at home more and electricity went up a little. I'd say overall I'm personally down slightly. But my boyfriend did lose his job back in April so I've been shouldering most of the burden for bills for the past 11 months or so.

He is currently on his second zoom interview for the day. Both are final interviews so here's hoping things are turning around. He's been getting a lot of interest lately so at least in his field things are looking up.

 

[TippyThomas]

Those are the ones that will be buying beer, smokes and pizzas. Maybe some pot and lotto tickets while they are at it. What do they care. It’s free to them. At least the economy will be stimulated. Some.

Wow. And somehow I'm not surprised at all.

 

[soccerdad72]

Wow. And somehow I'm not surprised at all.

The first trolling comment didn't draw enough attention, so Art had to double down this time.

 

[TippyThomas]

The first trolling comment didn't draw enough attention, so Art had to double down this time.

So predictable.

 

[mrodgers]

Those are the ones that will be buying beer, smokes and pizzas. Maybe some pot and lotto tickets while they are at it. What do they care. It’s free to them. At least the economy will be stimulated. Some.

Broad brush? They say nearly half the households don't pay taxes. If you have 2 kids, you don't pay taxes if you are at the household median income. A lot of those folks are families with 2 kids trying to keep ends from unraveling at the median income. So I wouldn't put a family with 2 incomes and the expense of 2 kids having to keep the house from falling down, 2 cars on the road along with the gas and insurance costs, etc in the drinks beer, smokes, shoves pizza down the throat, smokes pot, and buys lotto tickets group.

 

[RamblingMad]

Broad brush? They say nearly half the households don't pay taxes. If you have 2 kids, you don't pay taxes if you are at the household median income. A lot of those folks are families with 2 kids trying to keep ends from unraveling at the median income. So I wouldn't put a family with 2 incomes and the expense of 2 kids having to keep the house from falling down, 2 cars on the road along with the gas and insurance costs, etc in the drinks beer, smokes, shoves pizza down the throat, smokes pot, and buys lotto tickets group.

One of my lower income friends used his stimulus to get a new HVAC unit. They have lived in FL without AC for most of last year. The husband lost his job when COVID hit. There are a lot of people that need this stimulus. Another one of friends is using his to replace a nearly 30 year old fridge.

The reality is that wages are just too low. And the stimulus really helps.

 

[BlueStarryHat]

I really had no choice but to spend mine somehow. As an SSI recipient I'm not allowed to have money in the bank over $2000. I just happened to have a trip coming up that I was scrimping for, so why not?

Well, I paid off the trip *after* I ate that pizza while smoking a joint and gulping down a cold one. We poor must have our priorities.

 

[Skippy918]

I really had no choice but to spend mine somehow. As an SSI recipient I'm not allowed to have money in the bank over $2000. I just happened to have a trip coming up that I was scrimping for, so why not?

Well, I paid off the trip *after* I ate that pizza while smoking a joint and gulping down a cold one. We poor must have our priorities.

Wait, what? They don’t want you to save? That’s crazy! Is this retirement SSI or something else?

 

[BlueStarryHat]

Wait, what? They don’t want you to save? That’s crazy! Is this retirement SSI or something else?

SSI Disability. That's the rule, no savings over $2000. I guess if you can afford to have that much in the bank they think you don't need the SSI anymore. I've been pretty much forced to live off the kindness of my relatives. I pay my aunt 'rent,' $300 monthly and my third of the phone bill and half the WiFi. I usually have about $400 left over to last me the entire month, less if I'm saving for something.

 

[dreamer17555]

I think having an emergency fund is a smart plan so we don’t end up back here with so many who were in desperate need of help.

 

[tex1989]

The one that millions of people are getting. It's been in the news. I'm surprised you haven't heard of it.

HaHa! Yeah. As in I am quite aware of it but have not received any of them. Sorry for the obviously bad joke.

 

[NYCgrrl]

SSI Disability. That's the rule, no savings over $2000. I guess if you can afford to have that much in the bank they think you don't need the SSI anymore. I've been pretty much forced to live off the kindness of my relatives. I pay my aunt 'rent,' $300 monthly and my third of the phone bill and half the WiFi. I usually have about $400 left over to last me the entire month, less if I'm saving for something.

I hear you loudly.
The Social Security system needs a serious overhaul!
As a for instance the death benefit is right out of the 1960s and barely worth the time it takes to collect- in fact I can’t be bothered. I’m tired of hearing some of my acquaintances’ gyrations at the end of the month and wonder what kind of civilization this is. GRRRRR.

 

[Skippy918]

SSI Disability. That's the rule, no savings over $2000. I guess if you can afford to have that much in the bank they think you don't need the SSI anymore. I've been pretty much forced to live off the kindness of my relatives. I pay my aunt 'rent,' $300 monthly and my third of the phone bill and half the WiFi. I usually have about $400 left over to last me the entire month, less if I'm saving for something.

Terrible!

 

[RamblingMad]

Terrible!

I agree. Our social safety nets here suck. Bring on more stimulus.

 

[Disneyfan754321]

I think it's working to stimulate the economy here.
We just moved and we have been trying to replace things in our house with every paycheck. We went to walmart and people had baskets full of stuff. Went to best buy and they were out of TVs

 

[MomOfDisneyPrincess]

Interesting factoid: One of our clients runs several restaurants and told us that as soon as the employees got their checks, they stopped coming to work. They are struggling to staff the restaurants and serve their customers.

People are going to do what they are going to do. Hopefully, they will come back to work once they have spent their money and stimulated the economy.

 

[Disneyfan754321]

What do you guys think about the monthly kid stimulus payments?