Majority of Americans Plan to Spend Stimulus Check on Household Bills, but $600 Won’t Go Very Far

59% plan to use the money to pay household bills like utilities, cable/internet, rent, mortgage and mobile phone; doxo breaks down what stimulus checks will actually cover

SEATTLE--(BUSINESS WIRE)--doxo, the innovative web and mobile bill pay service, today released new doxoINSIGHTS survey data that looks at consumer sentiment toward the U.S. government’s $600 stimulus checks. With more than half of all Americans believing that they will receive a stimulus check, the latest doxoINSIGHTS survey shows that the majority of Americans (59%) plan to use the money to pay household bills, with utilities; cable/internet; rent; mortgage; and mobile phone bills topping the list. While 90% of consumers believe the funds will help their financial health in the new year, recently released data from doxo’s 2020 US Bill Pay Market Size & Category Breakout report revealed how much consumers pay per bill each month, suggesting that the $600 checks won’t last very long.

Key findings from the doxoINSIGHTS $600 Stimulus Check Impact Report include:

While more than half of all Americans believe they will receive a stimulus check, many are unsure:

• 53% believe that they will receive one
• 37% don't know if they will receive one
• 10% don't think they will receive one

While the vast majority of Americans believe that the stimulus checks will help improve their own financial health, they are less optimistic about the greater picture:

• 90% of Americans believe that the stimulus checks will help their financial health in 2021
• 41% of consumers believe it will still take more than a year for their financial health to return to pre-pandemic levels; 5% believe they will never recover
• 68% of consumers believe it will take the economy over a year to recover; 7% believe it will never recover

The majority of Americans plan to use their stimulus check as soon as they receive it:

• 59% will use the money to pay household bills
• 11% will use the money to keep their family fed
• 10% will use the money to pay off credit card bills

For those who plan to use their stimulus check to pay household bills, below are the top five bills they plan on paying:

1. 78% will use the money to pay for Utilities
2. 35% will use the money to pay for Cable & Internet
3. 33% will use the money to pay for Rent
4. 32% will use the money to pay for their Mortgage
5. 32% will use the money to pay for their Mobile Phone

According to doxo’s recent 2020 Bill Pay Market Size and Category Breakout Report, and taking into consideration the $600 amount, this is how far the check will go, per the 11 primary bill pay categories:

Bill Pay Category	Average Amount Paid/Month	Amount Stimulus Check Will Cover
Mortgage	$1,268/month	~2 weeks
Rent	$1,023/month	~2 weeks
Auto Loan	$374/month	~1 month
Utilities	$290/month	~2 months
Auto Insurance	$181/month	~3 months
Cable & Internet	$110/month	~5 months
Health Insurance	$94/month	~6 months
Mobile Phone	$88/month	~6 months
Life Insurance	$76/month	~7 months
Alarm & Security	$76/month	~7 months
Dental Insurance	$25/month	~24 months

“It is very encouraging to see that nearly all U.S. consumers believe that the government’s latest round of stimulus checks will help them improve their own financial health in the coming year,” said Jim Kreyenhagen, VP of Marketing and Consumer Services at doxo. “However, with more than half of Americans planning to use the money to pay household bills like utilities, cable/internet, rent and mortgage, it is also discouraging to see that - according to doxo’s data - unfortunately, the $600 checks won’t get them very far.”

This doxoINSIGHTS Survey and other reports on the bill pay market can be found at www.doxo.com/insights.

About doxoINSIGHTS

doxoINSIGHTS provides direct insight into household financial health and spending activity by leveraging consumer surveys and doxo’s unique aggregate bill pay data set, comprising actual bill payment activity to confirmed household service providers across the country. doxo data brings together the broadest available data set for analyzing actual household bill payment activity, pulling from over 4 million paying consumers across over 90% of U.S. zip codes. doxo’s payment network covers over 75,000 billers in 45 different service categories and enables payments using bank accounts, credit cards or debit cards. This uniquely broad statistical foundation powers doxoINSIGHTS reports – uncovering key trends for household financial health and bill payment behavior.

About doxo

doxo provides simple, secure all-in-one bill payment to any biller, with any payment method, on any device. A doxoPLUS subscription adds free bank payments and five essential financial protections that boost household financial health. Through these services, doxo currently serves over four million paying users who can make payments to over 75,000 local and national businesses, making doxo the largest bill pay directory in the nation. Billers on the network get paid directly, fast and free – and consumers have complete bill pay independence over when and how they pay their bills. doxo expanded its user base by more than 70 percent in the past year and is expanding its team to further accelerate growth and change the bill pay landscape to focus on the customer. doxo investors include MDV, Sigma Partners, and Bezos Expeditions. doxo is based in Seattle, WA. For more information visit www.doxo.com.