That ain't your money. Where are you donating your COVID bucks?

[flyingaway]

Never received one, even in 2008.

[Bloop Bloop]

Never received one, even in 2008.

Also never received a stimulus

[coppertop]

What does that mean?

Trump sent out letters to everyone that received a check and most that got the direct deposits.  I presume he did so because he wanted to create the impression that he was the reason the money was distributed.  Had I received the $1200 I would have sent the money to the Biden Campaign for President, which 5 years ago is an idea that would have never occurred to me.     

I have not received such a letter, even though I have been looking for it.  Strange.  I got my check weeks ago.

[Master of None]

What does that mean?

Trump sent out letters to everyone that received a check and most that got the direct deposits.  I presume he did so because he wanted to create the impression that he was the reason the money was distributed.  Had I received the $1200 I would have sent the money to the Biden Campaign for President, which 5 years ago is an idea that would have never occurred to me.     

I have not received such a letter, even though I have been looking for it.  Strange.  I got my check weeks ago.

We got a letter a few days ago. I told my wife to hang it up since it was going to be worth millions since it had Trump's "Signature" on it. She wasn't amused.

On Topic: We have parked the money for the time being in our savings account pending on how everything works out. We have family who are furloughed that may need assistance, but it is possible that one of us could still be laid off. Its a waiting game for right now until a good decision can be made.

[fuzzy math]

My furlough loss of $$ somehow equals the exact amount of stimulus $$ my family received. So there's no real extra to go around, but I should still find some ways to be generous.

I've been trying to support a neighbor's restaurant. They keep trying to give our tip $ back and I had to leave it unattended on their counter near a 3rd party delivery driver. I need to find another local restaurant and give someone a memorable tip.

[Eventuality]

I've been furloughed for over a month but have been receiving unemployment. I tucked most of the stimulus check into savings, but I donated some money to a local food bank, a restaurant that's been providing free bagged meals for local kids and a fund to provide meals for healthcare workers who have to quarantine. I'm also buying takeout from a local restaurant once a week and bought a CSA share for the first time this year to support local agriculture.

[Blue Skies]

I have made a couple of small donations.  I am expecting a pay cut for DH and likely for myself as well, but nothing announced officially yet.  I'm waiting on that before I decide what to do with the rest of it.

[paulkots]

I thought about donating my covid bucks but people that I know who got effected either got decent unemployment, PPP loan or both. I did put the word out that I can help if someone really needs help since I think people will need help later this year when all stimulus packages dry up.

[Firehazard]

The letter received from Trump was very timely, as we had just run out of toilet paper.

[Jack0Life]

Mine is no where to be found. I've been furloughed since March 14th. I filed unemployment and still haven't seen anything. My tenant hasn't paid me since April. My SIL asked us if we get a break on our mortgage, can they get a break on paying us back for helping them buy a out.
Seems like nothing is going right but my wife is still working though. If I did help someone it would be my SIL. They both got furloughed too.

[canadianrose]

I'm Canadian, so because I couldn't go back to my seasonal job, I'm getting ei of $2000, or roughly the same as working. I'm lucky to be living with my mom in her solar powered off grid cabin, so my expenses are minimal. I'm hoping I can go to school this fall, so I've been putting about 90% away for tuition, etc.

[MasterStache]

What does that mean?

Trump sent out letters to everyone that received a check and most that got the direct deposits.  I presume he did so because he wanted to create the impression that he was the reason the money was distributed.  Had I received the $1200 I would have sent the money to the Biden Campaign for President, which 5 years ago is an idea that would have never occurred to me.     

I have not received such a letter, even though I have been looking for it.  Strange.  I got my check weeks ago.

I laughed when I received mine. And somewhat cringed at the thought of how much it cost to produce and distribute all those letters. That money could have been put to better use in times like this. I just used it as kindling to roast some smores for the kids.

[goatmom]

I am donating money to https://www.gofundme.com/f/NHFC19Relief.  I am ever grateful for the kindness these people showed my people.  I want to help in their time of need. https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2020/may/09/irish-native-american-coronavirus-historic-bond.  I didn't get a stimulus check but have been fortunate to be working from home and actually spending less. (no gas, no lunch, no haircuts, no tolls)

[Dicey]

I am donating money to https://www.gofundme.com/f/NHFC19Relief.  I am ever grateful for the kindness these people showed my people.  I want to help in their time of need. https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2020/may/09/irish-native-american-coronavirus-historic-bond.  I didn't get a stimulus check but have been fortunate to be working from home and actually spending less. (no gas, no lunch, no haircuts, no tolls)

If you haven't done it yet, consider giving to them directly. Go Fund Me takes a slice of every dollar it collects. If they reach their goal of $5M, GFM will keep $145,000.30 of that. That is a shitload of money.

[dignam]

We both got the stimulus deposited last month, then that pointless letter a few weeks later.  How much did that cost to mail out?

We've been purposely eating out more at local restaurants, spending within the town as much as we can.

[iris lily]

All of it going to my dog rescue organization. I haven't written the check yet because I would like to actually see the stim money from the  FedS first,, but
I am more or lessI confident we are getting the full amount so we’re going to give $2400.

I had to choose Who gets it since that’s not a lot of money and my other organizations need money as well, So I’m withdrawing some from my Roth account to sprinkle that around.

I’m treating money to support society in the same way that I treated volunteer jobs when I retired: I’m sticking with the same organizations, services, and goals that I supported before I retired,, only I’m just putting in more hours. In this case I hope to put in more money but that hasn’t happened —yet.

So that means that I’m not giving a ton of money to local restaurants because honestly we don’t eat out that much. But I feel guilty about that because I like our local restaurants. Within  a block of my house I have two and within another block I have five, and they are all excellent independently owned restaurants. So I probably need to up my game on that, but since I’m also doing a
Weight Watchers reducing diet that is a consideration

[hops]

We received a reduced amount, gave a portion to a food pantry and are holding onto the rest for a bit to see what happens. The bulk of our household income comes from a university and an affiliated hospital, two institutions currently losing extraordinary amounts of money with no end in sight. We want to be well-positioned in case of furlough, and to help our more vulnerable relatives if they experience job loss. The balance of the stimulus money will eventually make its way to the food pantry.

[24andfrugal]

I get the point of this post, but to be honest, the title rubs me the wrong way. Having finally gotten around to starting my taxes over the weekend, it looks as if my tax liability to the federal government will be about $8,000. In what way is this $1,200 "not my money"? Government money (we'll pretend they didn't print it out of thin air) comes from the taxpayers, which I am - from my paychecks, that I worked for. Who else's money would it be?

Before anyone jumps on me, I do plan to donate some, and I plan to consciously spend some of it in the local economy (particularly as restaurants begin to open up again). Some will probably go into my nest egg. I'm just irked by the idea that despite having paid many multiples of this amount even over the few years I've been in the workforce, I don't have any rightful claim to a stimulus payment.

[dignam]

I get the point of this post, but to be honest, the title rubs me the wrong way. Having finally gotten around to starting my taxes over the weekend, it looks as if my tax liability to the federal government will be about $8,000. In what way is this $1,200 "not my money"? Government money (we'll pretend they didn't print it out of thin air) comes from the taxpayers, which I am - from my paychecks, that I worked for. Who else's money would it be?

Before anyone jumps on me, I do plan to donate some, and I plan to consciously spend some of it in the local economy (particularly as restaurants begin to open up again). Some will probably go into my nest egg. I'm just irked by the idea that despite having paid many multiples of this amount even over the few years I've been in the workforce, I don't have any rightful claim to a stimulus payment.

I share your sentiments.  I'm sure there are many, many like us that have never used unemployment or government assistance yet we are each paying thousands of dollars a year into said programs.  I'm not knocking the programs, just stating facts.  They are there for a reason and I hope I never have to use them. The assumption in the thread title is a little off-putting.  Even if it "isn't our money", we're going to be the ones paying it back over the years anyway so...

That said we have been focusing our spending within our town as much as we can as I stated earlier.

[Master of None]

Donating out stimulus checks directly into our savings account. Our son had his $500 deposited into his savings account. That is where it shall remain for the foreseeable future. We will continue our current charitable giving, but we may boost what we give to the Parkinson's Foundation in memory of my Aunt who recently passed.

[coppertop]

The OP also assumes that the people on this forum are not being negatively affected by the current economic situation. We are retired and live partially from the proceeds of interest-bearing investments.  The proceeds are way down from where they were in January and February, so we have definitely been impacted in our wallets. The "stimulus money" will enable us to draw less from our retirement accounts over the next couple of months.  We live quite frugally, so I will be able to stretch that money out for a bit of time, maybe into July barring any unforeseen events. 

[solon]

I think it IS your money. Congress created this law to give money to everyone, for the purpose of seeing you through the shutdown. There was no means testing, everyone got it, to spend on themselves, in whatever way they see fit. Some will spend it on rent, some on food, some on medical bills. Others might do nothing but save it, since we don't know if we will lose our jobs at sometime in the future.

Certainly, giving it away is also an option, but the idea that you SHOULD give it away, since it isn't your money, I think is incorrect.

[slappy]

The OP also assumes that the people on this forum are not being negatively affected by the current economic situation. We are retired and live partially from the proceeds of interest-bearing investments.  The proceeds are way down from where they were in January and February, so we have definitely been impacted in our wallets. The "stimulus money" will enable us to draw less from our retirement accounts over the next couple of months.  We live quite frugally, so I will be able to stretch that money out for a bit of time, maybe into July barring any unforeseen events.

Yeah this is how I took the title too. I thought the author assumed that its "not our money" because it was meant for people who were negatively impacted/lost jobs, etc. I guess in your case, you were negatively impacted. For me, I am WFH 100% right now, saving money on going out to eat, gas, etc. I also have three kids, so I got a good size stimulus. I used it to pay of my car loan and I did donate some as well. I'm feeling thankful for the ability to feed my family and sad that some are not able to do to so as easily, so I donated to a local non profit that is providing groceries for families in need. I don't know how they choose the families and I don't care. All I care about is that people are being fed.

[dogboyslim]

... There was no means testing, everyone got it, ...

Nitpick, but yes there was, and not everyone got it.  I don't recall the income caps, but if you made above a certain level, you got no stimulus checks.  I don't know anyone in that camp complaining, but did want to be sure you were aware that not everyone got one.

[dresden]

We don't actually get ours until we file our return but it's going to cover the extra expenses we incur:

- Masks
- Shipt/Instacart fees
- Tips

I haven't done the math but am thinking it's close to a wash or close enough that we aren't going to do anything special with the money other than use it for what it was intended.