Biden Bucks: How I will Spend Mine!
Yesterday, I noticed that the March 2021 stimulus payment, AKA #BidenBucks was pending in our bank account, and will be available on March 17, 2021. It took its sweet time getting here, the last round of pandemic relief stimulus checks was in December 2020, thanks to the snail pace of congress getting anything done, in the meantime people still have to pay rent, bills, car payments, buy food, etc.
Don’t get me wrong, we are not as desperate as some; I have remained gainfully employed; however, my wife has been out of work for three months, meaning we are down about $1,100 per month, which is significant, with no unemployment payments forthcoming. We have been smart with our last stimulus check and tax refund, sipping from those funds to make up the shortfall that my income does not cover.
That said, without the March 2021 round of stimulus checks, within 6 to 8 weeks, we would have been in financial trouble, my income alone is not enough to cover all the bills, debt payments, and groceries. The majority of our debts are due to unexpected expenses, such as car repairs, medical bills, and grocery purchases, as you know, we need to eat, we absolutely do not frivolously spend on things we want.
Our debt payments alone account for 27.2% of our total net income, which includes child support payments for my stepson. Another 28.85% goes to rent to keep a roof over our head, that’s 56% of our income before paying monthly bills and buying groceries, So my plan is to pay off $4,400 of debt, saving us $412 per month, while keeping the remaining $1,100 to cover any shortfalls over the next few months.
There are things I would like to buy; for example, I would like to purchase a Sigma 12-24mm f/4 DG HSM Art Lens for my real estate photography. This is something I have been drooling over for 2 years, but it would be irresponsible to drop $1.6k on something that is a want, not a need to have. I have a real hard time justifying buying myself anything, when the going is good, let alone when times are fiscally tough.
I honestly cannot imagine how the really hard-up people feel, the families with several months of backdated rent due soon. The people that have no income, being screwed over by states, not being able to claim any unemployment benefits due to inadequate infrastructure, and constantly busy phone lines, if you can get through at all. The US has failed its citizens at a state and federal level during this pandemic. Biden has done better, but still a long way short of what is needed by everyday Americans, In the meantime, big business and the wealthy have made out like bandits during the COVID—19 pandemic.
Ending this blog on a political note; not a single Republican in the US House of Representatives or the US Senate voted for the stimulus checks, it passed with 50 democrat and independent senators votes +1 tie-breaking vote from Vice President Harris. Republicans represent the poorest states in the union, yet every one of Team Red voted NO, sticking a middle finger up to their constituents. I hope that the people of their states remember this in 18 months, and vote them out. I doubt it will happen, Americans, especially in red states seem to vote against their own best interests consistently, this is why Republicans (and Democrats on occasion, I’m looking at you, Joe Manchin and Kyrsten Sinema) in Washington DC vote to screw over the very people that put them in power in the first place, they don’t fear being voted out.