Recent data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics sheds light on how the 159 million Americans who received the one-time stimulus checks earlier this year spent the money.
The majority of Americans, 59%, used their checks to pay for daily expenses like food and bills, according to the BLS. The one-time coronavirus stimulus checks were issued as part of the the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security, or CARES, Act.
The largest portion of respondents, 66%, said they used at least some of their stimulus checks to pay for food. That’s not surprising: around 26 million American adults reported in July that people in their households were not getting enough to eat because they did not have the funds to pay for food, according to U.S. Census Bureau data.