What you can buy with Democrat Andrew Yang’s $1,000-a-month Freedom Dividend
'It's time to trust ourselves more than our politicians,' Andrew Yang said during the third presidential debate.
Andrew Yang's rivals for the Democratic presidential nomination laughed when he offered to give $1,000 a month to 10 people to illustrate how his plan for universal basic income would work.
The audience, however, applauded -- no doubt preoccupied with what an extra grand a month could buy.
Recipients of the cash, which the candidate calls a "Freedom Dividend," will be chosen at random from submissions to Yang's campaign website, yang2020.com.
While his campaign account will pay out the $120,000, the candidate was already using personal funds to pay the $12,000-a-year dividend to three families in Florida, New Hampshire and Iowa. Here's a look at some of the things they could do with the money:
Rent a one-bedroom apartment
An extra $1,000 would cover the $960 median rent for a one-bedroom apartment, according Apartment List’s September 2019 National Rent Report.
Yang's Freedom Dividend would cover the rent for a one-bedroom apartment. (iStock)
Pay student loan debt
The average monthly student loan payment among borrowers not in deferment is $393, according to Student Loan Hero. The freedom dividend would pay nearly three months of that.
The average student loan payment is $393 per month, according to Student Loan Hero.
Pay a gym membership for a year
Health is wealth. The average gym membership costs about $696 per year, or $58 a month, not including the monthly initiation fees most gyms charge.
Americans would be able to afford a gym membership for a year with an extra $1,000.
Save for an emergency
An emergency room visit typically costs $150 to $3,000 or more for patients without health insurance. Just 39% of Americans said they would be able to cover a $1,000 setback using their savings, according to Bankrate’s financial security index survey from 2018.
The average American doesn't have $1,000 saved up in case of an emergency.
Save for retirement
An investment of just $1,000 in an individual retirement account, or IRA, can grow at an average annual rate of 6.5% over the next 25 years, so you could end up with more than $5,000, according to Interest.com.
Americans can contribute up to $6,000 a year, or $7,000 if they’re 50 or older.
Buy hundreds of lattes
The average price of a latte is $4.50, and Americans would be able to buy more than 200 with $1,000.
Americans drink a whopping 400 million cups of coffee per day, according to the International Coffee Organization. And with a latte costing around $4.50, Americans could buy around 225 with $1,000.