Lou McCall is ready for the sound of something that will change his life.
Up until then, overdue electricity bills, an averted power cut, impending childcare costs and annoying car sounds were part of the background noise for the married math teacher with three young children.
McCall, 32, hopes a bank notice will inform him that $ 7,000 of stimulus check funds have just been deposited.
“That’s not a number I’ve had on my account before,” said McCall, a Woodbury Heights, New Jersey-based math teacher in seventh grade. He already knows how he and his wife, a social worker, will use their money: “$ 1.9 trillion seems wrong, but $ 7,000 seems life changing to me,” he said.
US $ 1.9 trillion in direct payments from the US bailout plan started the implementation last weekend, with more to come this week. The law allows $ 1,400 per person checks in households making less than $ 75,000 for individuals and $ 150,000 for married couples filing together.
Lou McCall will split the economic review money between past debt, current costs, and future savings.
Photo courtesy Lou McCall
McCall will use his payment for overdue utility bills, upcoming childcare bills, car repairs, and to support McCall’s woodworking company, which in part helped the money keep arriving this year. If there is any money left, it will be transferred to the college savings account for their three children. The oldest is eight years old.
The 32-year-old man said he got goosebumps talking about the money. “I’m not lying,” he said. When he checked “Get my payment” portal, He saw that his money is expected to arrive on Wednesday March 17th. “It was cool to have a date,” he said.
Like millions, McCall and his wife received the first and second stimulus checks.
The first round was paid US $ 1,200 for adults and US $ 500 for children, while the second round was paid US $ 600 for children and adults. If you combine the two previous rounds, the IRS has already distributed around 307 million direct payments for $ 412 billion.
The pandemic ended after-school, coaching, and summer programs that McCall relied on for additional income. The previous direct payments have “kept his family afloat and stayed in the race”.
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“It feels like the first thing we can say we can make a plan for the year.”
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This round feels different to him. Of course there is the increased wage of $ 1,400 per person. But there is also a time when the number of COVID-19 cases is falling, increasing vaccination rates and a labor market that, as some say, “green shoots of recovery.”
“It feels like the first thing we can say we can make a plan for the year,” said McCall. The American bailout plan too extends child tax credit for one year at $ 3,600 for children under six and $ 3,000 for children under 17.
According to President Joe Biden, who signed the bill on Thursday, 85% of all households in the country will receive the third round of direct payments.
In this group of people there are people like McCall who can finally see a way forward, but others who just hold on to it – a reminder that not everyone sees light ahead.
Lori Taylor will do the stimulus checks on bills and groceries, she said.
Photo courtesy Lori Taylor
$ 1,100 for property taxes
Others are less satisfied with the current administration. Lori Taylor told MarketWatch that her body is on fire, shooting needles and pens. The incoming payments pick up a small burden, but they don’t fix what really hurts them, she said.
Taylor, a 55-year-old woman in Morgantown, West Virginia, has complex regional pain syndrome from a failed neck surgery. A special spine treatment every three months numbs the pain.
Her insurance company paid for the treatments for more than two years. However, this July, her porter said the treatments were no longer being paid for because they were “experimental”. At this point, Taylor and her husband, a hoist operator at a coal mine, were already paying their $ 6,000 deductible.
Taylor learned of the porter’s rejection months after her brother died of bone cancer. Taylor’s 24-year-old daughter-in-law died of brain cancer in January.
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‘It takes a little burden off. It takes a bit of stress relief knowing you will be caught up again. ‘
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She has lost 13 pounds and all muscle tone in her limbs because it is too painful to do everyday leg and arm movements. Her legs are “as thin as possible,” she said.
So, as for the stimulus checks that come to her and her husband? “It takes some of the pressure off. It takes a bit of stress relief knowing you will be caught up again. “
The money will be used for property taxes of approximately $ 1,100, a car payment of $ 599, and an overdue truck payment of $ 625. She’ll use what’s left for groceries and meat for the freezer. The last two checks were for bills and taxes, Taylor recalled. “I always pay taxes with someone.”
Taylor is a member of WorkMoney, a nonprofit committed to pushing for consumer financial relief, including the latest stimulus package, during the pandemic. She credits the organization with her endorsement, but looks grim at Capitol Hill.
Taylor, who voted for then President Donald Trump, said: “I’m not hopeful right now. I’m not at all happy with the way Democrats run things. “
Taylor blames the Affordable Care Act – enacted by then-President Barack Obama with Biden as Vice President – responsible for her sky-high deductible. Now she is blaming Biden for steps like withdrawing a permit for her Keystone XL oil pipeline. “That was the worst decision he has ever made,” she said.
Other organizations have pointed out the benefits of the Affordable Care Act. The Kaiser Family Foundation estimated that 20 million more people had health insurance as a result of the law.
“Among races and ethnic groups, Hispanics, Blacks and Asians saw particularly sharp falls in uninsured rates, with each group seeing a decrease of over 8 percentage points from 2013 to 2016,” it said.
A sizeable majority of adults in the United States (70%) say they are in favor of legislation that has exceeded $ 1.9 trillion Coronavirus Aid package. According to a poll by the Pew Research Center, only about three in ten (28%) oppose the bill, which provides economic aid to businesses, individuals, and state and local governments.
Congressional votes on the American Rescue Plan were deeply divided according to the usual partisan lines, but the public is a little less divided: 94% of Democrats and Democratic-minded people support the package, while 41% of Republicans and Republican-minded independents support the measure, it said.
Republicans are far more likely than Democrats to view spending in the bill (61% of Republicans versus 11% of Democrats), according to the survey.
But while party politics bothers and worries Taylor, the pain bothers her more. And figuring out how to deal with it and how to pay for treatment is Taylor’s focus after the stimulus checks come and go.
In the meantime, she is fully dedicated to her medical problems and how to pay for them. “I’ve called everyone in the world, every agency, every possible person,” she said. “I’ve been on the phone for hours.”
“For the first time in my life I am confident about my finances,” said Angel Guerrero (picture left).
Photo courtesy Angel Guerrero
800 dollar donation to their Buddhist center
At 35, Angel Guerrero felt like she was always behind on her finances, struggling with credit card bills and a student loan debt of approximately $ 25,000. “I felt like I was always catching up,” the Long Beach, California resident told MarketWatch.
Guerrero, facility manager at an insurance broker, tried to get back on his feet even before the pandemic. The first two checks and now the third will consolidate that foundation, she said.
So far, she’s used the first two direct payments on bills, leaving a few hundred dollars in their Robinhood trading account.
This enabled Guerrero to donate $ 800 to their Buddhist center last year. It also means she doesn’t have to think twice about wanting a little waste like extra guacamole.
Guerrero is fortunate to have kept her job during the pandemic and she wants to make the most of her luck.
“I have extra money to give, extra money to invest. I feel great that I can pay my bills, ”she said. “For the first time in my life I feel confident about my finances.”
Like Guerrero, McCall said that he and his wife are fortunate to have weathered the devastation of 2020. Despite the stress, they kept their jobs, health and home.
McCall renovated the unfinished basement into a virtual classroom where he can better teach his students. He used some of the previous direct payments to fund the project that will get him through those school days.
Now he’s looking ahead.
“We are grateful that this incentive provides a measure of security for today,” he said, “and hope for tomorrow.”
