A new announcement out of the IRS on stimulus checks. Also, some new updated information on federal student loan forgiveness and a separate report specifically focused on the low income and fixed income that I’d like to share with you on this topic. We have a lot to talk about, and I have all the details and everything you need to know right here on this topic.
All right, So first off, I’d like to start off by talking about that specific report on the low income and fixed income because I know that a lot of you here in this community do fall into this category. And I want to keep you posted on everything going on.
But I just came across a new report and I want to share with you some statistical data based on what is actually going on out there because these numbers are actually really big. All right, So over the last week or so, I’ve seen numerous different reports popping up showing that low-income individuals and of course, fixed income beneficiaries simply don’t have enough money right now, therefore, can’t buy all of the necessary food to fill up the pantry to keep on the table and, of course, to put in the fridge. As a result of that, many more people are starting to go to local food pantries and food banks to help fill the gaps. However, check this out.
I just came across a report. Now, this is out of a food bank in Northern Illinois. Now, again, this is just one location But here’s the thing. Based on all the reports I’ve been seeing, this is basically the same story across the entire country right now.
This one food bank is reporting 40% more people are visiting their food bank just in the last three months. Let me put that into perspective. Let’s just say that previous to the last three months here, 100 people were going into this food bank. Well, now there are 140 people going in there. So there you can see the numbers behind this.
That is a lot of extra people right now trying to get extra food because the money’s not there to cover everything that is needed. So it’s kind of a scary and honestly, it’s just a really sad thing right now with everything going on. Simply basically, prices are getting out of reach for a lot of people. That’s basically what it comes down to. Prices are literally just getting out of reach.
Anyway, I know that I’ve talked about that a few times over the last week or so, but I wanted to give you that percentage just so you can see here the real numbers behind all of this that’s actually going on.
I’m breaking it all down into these short topics so that you can stay updated with reports just like what we covered there and these announcements I’m about to talk about in just a second here in regards to the IRS stimulus checks, as well as the new updated information on federal student loan forgiveness and, of course, a stimulus package update. Yeah, we have a lot to talk about once again. So I’m doing all this research because I truly want to help you out in any way that I can. There’s a lot going on right now. Things are changing very rapidly.
And as we’ve seen so many times here over the last several months, there are a lot of different things that are being proposed, introduced, and hitting the table on a very regular basis. And I want to help you grab as much money, benefits, programs, and anything else we can possibly grab right now. So again, if you haven’t done so, make sure to hit that subscribe button right down below the topic. And let’s get into the rest of this update, All right.
So let’s quickly talk about federal student loan forgiveness. Now, over the last week or so, we’ve been hearing a bunch of different updates. In fact, the President was out about maybe a week or so ago and said that they are seriously examining the actual removal or forgiveness, cancelation whatever you want to call it, essentially the same thing of millions and millions of federal student loan borrowers to basically wipe out a bunch of their debt. So let me tell you the details on this, because this is actually a pretty big deal. And I do know that this does impact quite a few people here in the community.
So as of right now, there are 43 million federal student loan borrowers. Collectively, they have over $1.6 trillion in federal student loan debt. Well, here’s the thing the President is examining, looking at the possibility. And again, this looks like a thing that probably will be happening based on everything that I’m seeing on this, canceling a minimum of $10,000 per borrower. However, there are now some new restrictions. Well, no restrictions. Possibly some new limitations. But I’m going to say this much, if you’re in this community, you probably don’t need to worry about it. There are not that many people that really need to worry about this, but I want to share the limitations with you anyway. So you have all the details.
Here’s what they’re saying. $10,000 minimum. It’s a starting point, right? It’s a starting point. That’s what they want to start at, $10,000 per person, provided as an individual.
They give a range. You’re provided your income is below $125,000 to $150,000. And again, there are not that many people out there that aren’t $125 to $150,000 a year. So it’s not going to pertain to that many people, provided your income is below that, it looks like you are pretty much in. Now, there’s also no threshold for married couples if your income is $250,000 or $300,000 as a married couple.
Again, those are the cutoffs that they are giving as of right now. Again, there are not that many people out there that are earning 250 as a married couple or 300,000. And I don’t really think many people in this community are probably doing that, Right. Just because there are a lot of low-income and fixed-income beneficiaries here.
I just don’t think that pertains to pretty much anybody out there. I mean, a very small percentage of people, maybe a few doctors or dentists or whoever has federal student loans. They probably have a PhD. I mean, seriously, they’re probably making a couple of hundred grand anyway. Right, So anyway, I just want to give you those limitations that are being examined right now. Now, another thing here’s what’s interesting about this. So over the weekend, Representative AOC. Right, We’ve talked about her a couple of times.
One of the progressive Democrats, she was out basically advocating for $50,000 of federal student loan debt, basically saying $10,000 doesn’t really make the cut, but $50,000 is where you see change. Now, she also did point out a couple of other things. By doing this, it would actually eliminate all the federal student loan debt for 80% of borrowers, about 36%, 36 million of the 43 million people. It would cover all of their federal student loan debt provided they wiped out $50,000 per federal student loan borrower. So I think that’s a stretch.
I’m going to be honest with you. I don’t think 50,000 is going to happen, even though there are some people out there lawmakers, a few of them who think that they’re going to do $50,000 AOC, Chuck Schumer, Elizabeth Warren, all the Progressives, they all think that 50,000 is going to be the new thing. Highly doubt it. I’m just being real with you right now. I highly doubt $50,000 is going to be canceled.
$10,000 Yeah, probably. I probably see $10,000 being canceled probably relatively easily simply because the President thinks he can do this through executive order, like I said in a previous topic, I don’t know. I’m going to be honest with you. I don’t know the rules on that one.
I’m not sure if it can be done through executive order or not. Again, just being honest with you. I don’t know the answer on that one. So I’m going to leave it up to those guys to figure out because that’s their job. So maybe they should be able to figure that one out.
And as I get the information on that, of course, I will keep you posted. All right, So that’s the details on the federal student loan debt. However, they are making progress on it. And the President did say about a week or so ago that an official announcement would be released on this in about a couple of weeks.
So we got about another week or two to go until we get an announcement out of the President, according to what he said. Anyway, I’ll keep you posted. Next, let’s quickly talk about the announcement out of the IRS on stimulus checks. All right, so the IRS has made a statement on stimulus checks, and it’s kind of interesting. So last year in 2021, the average tax return was a little over $2,800.
However, as of the end of April 2022, the average refund for all of these millions and millions of people getting tax refunds right now is $3,012. So nearly $200 more, which happens to be 4.9% more in the form of tax refunds this year. Now, you might be wondering, oh, that sounds pretty nice, but Where’s the money coming from? Well, they’re actually citing stimulus checks and the other half or the lump sum payments of the other portion for the child tax credit payments is exactly why they are sending out roughly $200 more this year in 2022 on the behalf of 2021 versus last year’s tax season in the form of tax refunds. Again, $3,012 is the average as of right now, or I should say, as of the end of April when they actually reported this.
So again, yeah, hopefully, you’re grabbing some of that money. Seriously, there’s so much money out there right now, it’s unbelievable. But anyway, there are a lot of things out there that can be claimed on the tax return. Let me buzz through a couple of really fast here. The stimulus checks, the $1400.
If you did not get yours for yourself, a spouse, a dependent, a new dependent, a new baby, anything like that, please grab the money. You got one $400 sitting there waiting for you. Please grab it. Next, the other lump-sum payment for the child tax credit payments. Again, if you receive the advances last year or you did not receive the advances, you can get a lot of money.
Thousands and thousands and thousands of dollars this year just by filing a tax return. Again, really quickly. This is not accounting advice. I don’t know your situation and I’m not your accountant. I cannot tell you what to do as far as financial or accounting information.
I’m just trying to help you out with some basic information here. Next, if you are somebody who either has kids or even if you did not have kids, if you worked a little bit last year in 2021 and you have even just a teeny tiny bit of earned income, you could possibly take advantage of the EITC earned income tax credit. Check it out. Thousands of dollars on the table. If you have kids, you can even get way more than thousands and thousands and thousands of dollars. Even as somebody with no kids, it doesn’t matter.
You can still get some money out of the EITC over $1,000. So anyway, check that one out as well. It’s called the Earned Income Tax Credit. EITC is the acronym behind that one. So anyway, I’d highly advise check out some of those things if you haven’t claimed some of that money.
Seriously, tons of money sitting out there right now. All right, So really quickly, let me give you a stimulus package update. Yes, these things are still rolling around out there. All right, So we got further word today. Yes. In fact, Democrats will be working on another reconciliation bill between now and the midterm elections. So that’s basically all the information that we have as of now on the stimulus package. But here’s the thing.
Remember, a reconciliation bill can contain virtually anything except for raises to Social Security. It cannot contain that. But it absolutely can contain monthly stimulus checks, a lump sum stimulus check. It could contain all kinds of stuff. So those are some of the things that can be in it.
And we got further information today saying yes. In fact, Democrats will be working on yet again, another package before the midterm elections because honestly, this may be their last opportunity to get one of these done before the midterm elections, and again, I have no idea what’s going to happen. Not taking political sides. I’m just simply saying if they lose the Senate or the House, It’s game over on reconciliation. That’s it.
So they may want to use it up now while they still have the opportunity, just in case something were to come in November. Again, I have no clue what’s going to happen. I don’t have a Crystal ball, I don’t know how to read palms and I certainly can’t predict the future. So anyway, I just want to let you know, full Disclaimer, I am not a fortune teller, okay? I’m not wearing a funny hat and I don’t have funny cards that I read.
I’m just saying I’m not saying anything against fortune-tellers. I’m just simply saying I’m not a fortune teller. I don’t have a clue what’s going on anyway. Actually, I do. I watch things pretty closely.
If you’ve been watching the channel for any length of time now, I do a ton of research every single day and I actually feel like I have a pretty good pulse on what is going on out there right now. And I deliver it to you in these topics along with a ton of other information that I read every day that I don’t actually share within these videos because honestly, it just doesn’t really matter. There’s a lot of weird stuff going on out there. Anyway, I know this is a fast one. I know that I was talking fast in this one, but honestly, I wanted to buzz through this because there was a lot to talk about.
I wanted to cover a lot of ground. So like a marathon, sometimes you got a sprint and sometimes you got to just take your time. This time we had a little bit of a sprint, talk fast, ran through it, and try to wrap it up quickly. Anyway, this is what I have for you.
It might be a little bit different, but I think you may enjoy it. I hope anyway away anyway. Just trying to do what I can to help you out during this time.
Enjoy your day and I’ll catch you again later in the next.