Save or Spend: How Americans Used the First Round of Stimulus Checks
Some Americans were fortunate enough to save the first round of checks, while some struggle to make ends meet, so they spent theirs to the last penny.
With a promise of a Monday introduction to the new stimulus bill, Americans will also likely do either of the two things once the check comes: save or spend.
This gives us the story of two kinds of Americans, a split that the coronavirus has done in the United States. With it, there is a clear line between Americans, who are comfortable financially and those who are hoping to get the second round of stimulus checks as soon as possible.
A USA Today report explores this divide between Americans in the face of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic.
To Save or To Spend
Chelsie Caudle, a self-employed mother of two in Portland, is one of those who had to spend unemployment benefits to make ends meet.
She felt a sense of panic as she run through her entire savings, while also facing delays in applying for unemployment and food stamps.
Working in a salon, her work was affected greatly by the pandemic. She put in fewer hours and handled fewer clients because of social distancing measures.
With no income coming in for months, her bills piled up and she struggled to provide groceries for her family. "If the state shuts down the salon again, I don't know what I'll do," she said.
On the other part of the country is Pennsylvanian senior credit and collections specialist Sarah Walker. Unlike Caudle, she was able to save money.
Walker and her husband have cut down on their daycare and driving expenses as they were both working from home during the pandemic. The removed costs saved her family about $2,000 a month, helping them keep more money away for their retirement accounts.
A Need for Stimulus Checks
More than two out of three Americans said they still need a new stimulus check from the government to help provide for everyday needs, data from tax preparer Jackson Hewitt shows.
About a third of the group said the check amounting to $1,200 needs to be more than the previous round. Only a quarter of them said they don't need a new emergency payment.
Gregory Daco of Oxford Economics noted the strong need for another round of stimulus. He added that there could be a "severe shock" to people's income with the expiration of enhanced unemployment benefits.
He believed that the shock can be caused by the amount promised in the stimulus checks that is not as large as they were before.
Most Stimulus Payments Go to Household Expenses
According to the U.S. Census Bureau's experimental Household Pulse Survey, most adults in households that received a stimulus check from the government said they used the first round or checks or planned to use most of it on household expenses.
Only about a third of their respondents said they will use the money to pay off debt or add to savings. They noted that most of the households with incomes below $25,000 planned to use their payments for expenses.
Forbes said Americans did what comes seemingly natural at a small hand-out-spending it in things they need the most.
The Household Pulse Survey collected data from June 11 to 16 using surveys sent through email and text messages.
With available data, people hoped that lawmakers will take those into account in the coming bill introduction. Until then, details on the coming stimulus bill remain unclear.
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