Majority of Americans say stimulus checks won’t last 3 full months
Even as the U.S. economy shifts its rebound from the coronavirus pandemic into high gear, Americans are still needing all the help they can get with bills and everyday essentials, according to Bankrate’s latest nationwide poll.
Underscoring the outbreak’s lingering financial burden, twothirds (or 67 percent) of Americans receiving a third coronavirus stimulus check worth $1,400 per every adult and dependent in their household say the payment is important to their near-term financial situation. That total includes 40 percent who say the relief check will be very important and another 27 percent who say the payment is somewhat important.
At the same time, more than 6 in 10 U.S. adults (or 61 percent) say the stimulus money won’t sustain their financial well-being for more than three months, as most plan to allocate proceeds toward covering monthly bills (45 percent), daily necessities such as food and supplies (36 percent) and outstanding debt (32 percent).
At issue is the vibrancy of the U.S. economic rebound, with hiring and growth expected to ramp up over the next few months thanks to almost $3 trillion in federal spending so far this year. A substantial consumer base saddled with outstanding debt and hardship could soften the postpandemic spending boom many firms are waiting on, nearly a year after the outbreak wiped out firms’ profits and 22.2 million jobs.
“Stimulus continues to be a bit of a misnomer, with households predominantly using the money to pay monthly bills and provide day-to-day essentials,” says Greg McBride, CFA, Bankrate chief financial analyst. “Even households with those bases covered are opting to pay down debt and boost savings – prudent decisions that lead to more sustained spending in the future.”
Key takeaways:
• Nearly 61 percent say stimulus money won’t sustain their financial well-being for more than three months, with the largest group (26 percent) expecting funds to last between one to less than three months.
• While most Americans plan to funnel stimulus money toward bills and necessities (45 percent and 36 percent, respectively), just 13 percent plan to spend checks on non-essential items.
• Almost 2 in 3 U.S. adults eligible for a stimulus check (or 67 percent) say the third round of coronavirus relief payments are important to their finances.
• Women, minorities, low-income adults and mid-career Americans are among the demographics regarding stimulus funds as most important.
While nearly 61 percent of Americans report that the third stimulus check will sustain their financial well-being for less than three months, many Americans have a more dire financial situation, Bankrate’s poll found.
Making up that group are 21 percent of Americans who say stimulus funds won’t keep them going a full month and another 14 percent who say the check won’t prop up their wallets at all.
That’s only partially more optimistic than the late March 2020 iteration of Bankrate’s survey, which polled Americans on the heels of the first stimulus check worth $1,200 per every eligible U.S. adult and their child dependents. In that survey period, 23 percent said the payment wouldn’t last them a full month, while 8 percent said it wouldn’t sustain them at all.
But it’s considerably more upbeat than the January 2021 iteration of Bankrate’s poll, which was administered on the heels of the second stimulus check worth $600, the smallest relief payment of the three. More than a third (34 percent) of respondents said the payment wouldn’t last them a full month and another 18 percent said the check wouldn’t keep them going at all, the worst of any survey period and likely reflecting a stimulus check more than half the size of the $1,400 payment.