Assuming that the House will pass the Senate's version of the "stimulus" package--2 trillion dollars, in all--I decided to calculate how big a check Uncle Sam is going to send me.
As it stands now, single people without kids will get $1200 if they earned under $75,000, and $50 less for every $1000 over that. Looks like they'll use 2018 pay (last year's taxes) and adjusted gross income. I don't want to get last year's taxes out and look those up, and I don't know my AGI, but I estimate I'll get maybe half of that $1200.
I'm a saver. Even when I was poor--and I was working poor, back in the day--I saved money. It may not have been much, but I kept money put away for a rainy day. I don't recall every borrowing money from friends or family. I have paid cash for every vehicle I've ever owned, and only ever borrowed money to buy a house. I'm not rich, but over the decades I've worked my way out of being poor and now consider myself firmly in the middle class. And I still earn more than I spend each month.
I say that to show that my initial inclination upon receipt of that $600 or so would be to save it, but that's not the right thing to do. I have been blessed in so many ways, including that I continue to receive my pay as I work from home, at least for the rest of the school year, it seems. Yes, I could always sock that $600 away for the next rainy day, but in this situation I'll act for the better good. I'll spend it.
I've tried to think of how best to spend it. I don't need more stuff, more toys, so I don't really need to buy anything. That leaves services.
Having been hermetically sealed in my house for the past several days, I decided to mask up and venture out tonight. I had a hankerin', and went through the drive-thru window at Dairy Queen to get a banana split. Wore my mask, even gooped sanitizer on my hands before touching my money, and boy did that banana split look good! Saw my neighbor sitting in his garage as I drove by, so I stopped in the middle of the street and we yelled to each other for a couple minutes--the first person I'd really spoken to face to face in days. The banana split didn't last long when I got home, and oh did I need that!
That's how I'll spend whatever stimulus money I get. I don't often eat out, but I'll start when the restaurants open for eat-in business. Until then I'll consider take-out and even home delivery. That's the best way I can think of to spend this money; if you have any better ideas, please share them in the comments.
And now for the down side.
I hope that the economic downturn after 9/11, in 2008/09, and now will convince more Americans to save more. It's actually a little embarrassing when I read how little Americans have saved up, how we talk about being independent but so many people are complaining about not being able to afford being out of work for a couple weeks. I'm not talking about the poor, I'm talking about the middle and upper classes. More Americans need to save more. We're all going to pay for this stimulus package, aren't we?
That $2 trillion has to come from somewhere, and no doubt it'll be added to the federal debt. We'll all pay for this "stimulus" in interest on that debt if not in higher taxes. It shouldn't be this way, not $2 trillion. Individuals, families, corporations, government--we all should have rainy day funds. It's not that hard. Heck, two months ago we had the best economy this country had ever seen, and the lowest unemployment to boot--why couldn't people have been saving more? Because they chose not to. We Americans need to make better choices.
Will we have to pay back this $1200, or fraction thereof, that each of us is to get? Is it just a loan? Will it be considered income in this year that, even if we don't pay it back, we'll pay taxes on? I don't know. I'm going to spend it anyway and pay what I have to for it, because that's what this country needs. I'll do my part in this one small way.
But I eagerly await the PSA's in the coming months and years reminding Americans to save more for a rainy day. Because it does rain, you know, even in California.
2 comments:
I am also a saver. The first $500 I get every month goes into a rainy day fund. The next $500 goes for 1-2x/year expenses (auto repairs, car insurance, car tags, medical expenses). The next $500 goes into a vacation fund that I use for my big annual summer trip (this year is supposed to be a Mediterranean Cruise out of Italy). I don't understand why more people don't save for a rainy day fund. Is that $5 Starbucks everyday really worth it?
I will probably be like you and use the $1200 for local restaurants. I rarely go out to eat at a restaurant. If I need a fast food fix, I usually walk down to my local pizza place and get a slice. However, I will probably go to my local Jersey Mike's, Chipotle and local pizza place several times over the next few weeks. I already have had several local restaurants close even before this incident so I don't want more to close.
My husband and I have always saved. That being said, we've never made the type of incomes that some of my more materially gifted neighbors have received. We're the types who buy cars new and drive them until the wheels come off. That kind of mentality doesn't seem to exist much anymore. We know people who buy the newest gadget or service with little regard for the cost or necessity. As a result we have a generation of kids who never had the Wants vs. Needs discussion and this is something sorely needed on a national level. While spending does drive the economy, too many folks have the attitude that despite their income or lack of effort, they deserve all the marbles all the time. That's unrealistic and wrong. In order to feed that need, big box stores came up with cheaper alternatives to give the masses the feeling they were achieving the status that came with the newest electronic toy, forcing retailers to find cheaper suppliers. And that is how China came to own so much American debt.
It's time to clean up our act. That means perhaps paying more so that American goods can be made here. It also may mean reining in that reflex to buy things without a thought. Maybe if we can start doing that on a cultural level, some of it will rub off on Congress.
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