meta-dad

What the new Stimulus Plan will mean for Amercian Families

Most of us know that the House passed President Obama’s Stimulus Package and it is now being passed through to the Senate for approval. First, the Senate and House will have to reconcile their versions of the package, which would also have to be negotiated with the Obama administration. This could be a sticky process, to say the least, since the details are far from bipartisan and current debates are drawn heavily on party lines. If and when the Senate passes it it will end up on the president’s desk for final approval.

But what does it mean for the millions of struggling families or unemployed families? Will there be check sent like the Bush Stimulus? How will parents and their kids benefit from the current draft of the bill?

Understanding that this package has not gained final approval and is still going through substantial revisions, the centerpiece of the current draft promises for American individuals and families a tax break, not a stimulus check. Individuals will receive $500 and couples $1000. Aside from the tax incentives, there is more of an effort to provide heavy-handed government subsidies for COBRA health coverage going to unemployed individuals and older workers as well as the high profile job creation portion of the plan. The job creation portion of the plan as it is currently stated would shore up the Education Sector to avoid lay-offs and cancellation of existing programs (ex. Head Start, Early Head Start, etc.).

A recent audit of the bill brought the original number of $819 billion to $816, but there is ongoing mentions of additional tax incentives and other initiatives that may be tacked on (or deleted) to get it through the Senate, which have estimates pushing it as high as $900 billion. The bottom line is it is still a work-in-progress. The fact that there is little bipartisanship in the House or Senate means that there will probably be quite a few drafts before it is pushed all the way through.

Related Links;
NY Times | House Passes Stimulus Plan With No G.O.P. Votes
US News | 3 Ways the Stimulus Package Would Help Laid-Off Workers

meta-DAD | How the 2009 Stimulus Plan will benefit me and my family

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This Week in the World of Parenting

• Nancy Shute at U.S. News & World Report did an interesting blog posting on a few ways to ensure your breastfed baby is getting the (newly defined) proper vitamin D in their diet [*that would be the breast milk diet], including supplements for newborns as well as kids and teenagers, fortified milk, cod liver oil and she forgot to mention broccoli which is high in vitamin D.
• I stumbled across a wonderful post by Starr King Elementary School in the San Fransisco area describing “Five Easy Ways to Earn Money for Your School.” Great ideas that I am going to being sharing at the next P.T.A. meeting.
  
• The fine folks at the San Fransisco Gate posted an article this week aptly titled, “Hey Kids, Go Outside and Play” This article describes the pitfalls of kids spending too much time indoors. Good stuff.
• Also, over at Datamation, writer Mike Elgan posits some interesting thoughts on how social networking websites (using Facebook as the prime example) are endangering the commonly head concept of the nuclear family in his article, “How Facebook Is Destroying the ‘Nuclear Family’“. I will leave it up to you whether that is a good thing or bad.
• And with Halloween quickly approaching I have been sifting through the sands of the web for that prefect low maintenance solution. Over at Associated Content I found an interesting list of “Single Dad and Son Halloween Costumes Ideas.“ My favorite is definitely – The Man with the Yellow Hat and Curious George.

And Now for a Moment of Zen…

During the course of the Great Depression, the market fell from 380 points to 41 points in just under two and a half years. Year-to-date the market has fallen from a high of just over 14,000 to today’s close of 8,500.

Look at the most recent snapshot of the market (above), pay close attention to the right side of the chart, especially the month of October (in the last week it has fallen from 11.4k to 8.5k!). Yes, this is a superficial look at a complex issue but it is still something to marvel at. This is one for the history books!

Sited Links;
Yahoo Finance | Dow Jones Industrial Average

Save Your Family Thousands of Dollars

Without really thinking about we throw away our hard earned money on things that are by-in-large minor conveniences – coffee, bottled water, cigarettes, etc. Here’s the breakdown based on recent reports of the top ten biggest daily expenses.

• Coffee – Average price for brewed coffee is $1.38 a cup. Considering the U.S. average consumption is 3.2 cups a day, we’ll assume one of those cups is purchased on the go. There are 260 weekdays a year – that’s $358.80 a year on a modest Starbucks routine.*BTW – Women indicated that having a cup of coffee was their way of relaxing whereas a cup of “joe” for the guys, was inspiration to get the job done.
• Cigarettes – Current national average are hovering around $4.54. In NYC they are as high as $8 a pack on the street. Pack-a-day smokers fork over $1,660-$2920 a year! Weekend smoker? Buying a pack once a week adds up, too: $236-$416 annually.
• Alcohol - Depending on your “poison” and the mark-up of your favorite “watering hole” be-it the local Sports Bar or the VIP Room, we can set an average of $5 per beer including tip, buying two beers per day adds up to around $3,650 annually and you can figure twice that for two mixed drinks a day at the local bar which is a whooping $7,300 a year annually for celebrating the spirits.
• Bottled Water – A very common vice for soccer moms, kids and dads on the go. A average bottled water costs about $1 at the convenience store. One bottle of water per day costs $365 annually – never mind the negative impact on the environment with all those plastic bottles. Buy yourself a reusable water bottle (preferably a non-toxic kind) and fill it up with filtered water at home or at work. Actually you could add a positive offset to this line item – recycle your other bottles at the end of the week. At a nickel a pop, and that starts adding up quickly!
• Manicures – Surveys found that the average cost of a manicure is about $20. A weekly manicure sets you back about $1,040 per year. And if you indulge in a Mani’ and a Pedi’ expect an annual set-back of $1,560.
• Car Washes – It is common to get a basic wash once a week here in LA primarily because of all the pollution (sediment) that’s about $12 per car or $14 for a SUV — that’s $676 a year. The average cost for a basic auto detailing package is $58, according to Costhelper.com. The tab for getting your car detailed every two months: $348 per year.
• Weekday Lunches Out – $7-9 will generally cover a decent lunch most work days. If you buy rather than pack a lunch five days a week for one year, you shell out between $1,820-$2,350 annually.
• Vending Machines Snacks – The average vending machine snack costs $1. Buy a pack of cookies every afternoon at work and that’s another $260 per year.
• Interest charges on Credit Card - According to a survey released at the end of May 2007, the median amount of credit card debt carried by Americans is $6,600. Rate tables on Bankrate.com indicate that fixed interest rates on a standard card average 13.44 percent. Making the minimum payment each month, it will take 250 months (almost 21 years) to pay off the debt and cost More »

Stimulus Check Disbursement Schedule

DIRECT DEPOSIT
Based on the last two digit of your Social Security Number, Payments will be transmitted no later than:
00 through 20 – May 2nd, 2008
21 through 75 – May 9th, 2008
76 through 99 – May 16th, 2008

Paper checks will also go out based on Social Security number. For Social Security numbers ending in 00 through 09, the paper checks will be mailed starting May 9 and will continue through May 16. A similar process will be repeated in the following weeks.

PAPER CHECK
Based on the last two digit of your Social Security Number,  Payments will be mailed no later than:
00 through 09 – May 16th, 2008
10 through 18 – May 23rd, 2008
19 through 25 – May 30th, 2008
26 through 38 – June 6th, 2008
39 through 51 – June 13th, 2008
52 through 63 – June 20th, 2008
64 through 75 – June 27th, 2008
76 through 87 – July 4th, 2008
88 through 99 – July 11th, 2008

Please follow the link below for more information regarding the conditions and terms of the Federally approved Stimulus Package. Call their toll free number (1-800-829-1040) for questions not answered on their website.

Sited Links;
IRS | Stimulus Payment Schedule for Tax Returns Processed by 04/15