As many people are starting to receive their stimulus checks this month, which start at $1,200 and increase depending on various personal circumstances, dependents and tax brackets, a recent WalletHub survey finds that 84% of Americans already think that one stimulus check won’t be enough.
Back in March, a previous WalletHub survey found that 67 million Americans were worried about being unable to pay their bills due to COVID-19. Now, just over a month later, WalletHub found that 160 million Americans — more than a third of the U.S. population — are in danger of going broke, being less than three months away from running out of money.
Due to this overwhelming financial concern, it’s not surprising that so many are hoping for another stimulus check. But what is surprising is the way people are spending theirs. The recent survey found that just under 24 million Americans are planning to spend parts of their stimulus check on vices like drugs, tobacco or alcohol.
Despite this, WalletHub analyst Jill Gonzales told the Deseret News she believes most people are spending their stimulus checks responsibly.
“The greatest percentage of people will use their check for mortgage or rent payments, followed by savings and then food purchases,” Gonzales said. “About a third of Americans will be generous and donate part of the money to coronavirus relief.”
This appears to be true. Out of the 350 people surveyed across the nation, 33% of them said they would be donating at least part of their stimulus check money to a coronavirus-related charity.
In addition, the survey found there isn’t a lot of support for means testing when it comes to worker stimulus checks, but there is when it comes to business relief packages. While 62% of people believe that everyone should get a stimulus check, 70% of people believe that only businesses with a significant revenue loss should get stimulus money from the government. In fact, the survey found that 50% of Americans are most concerned about impact of COVID-19 on small business, more than the 47% of Americans who are most concerned about its impact on consumers.