Thursday, October 2

money in our pockets {hello, Alaska}




Hello, day 2!

If you're not an Alaskan, today's post might be the most surprising one I'll write this month. Today marks the day, once a year, all Alaskan residents (even the kiddos) receive a lump sum of money called the Permanent Fund Dividend. Yup, just for being Alaskans. Yup, in our bank accounts. No strings attached.

The Permanent Fund was established in 1976 as a way to set aside a portion of revenues from Alaska's oil and other natural resources in investment accounts that would benefit Alaskans. Each year, residents receive a payout based on the amount of income in the fund. There's a snazzy formula they use to calculate the amount, but I've never had the desire to look into it. The least amount of math and calculations in my life, the better.

Some save every bit of their dividend. Some upgrade their vehicles. Some pay down their mortgage. Some add it to their children's college fund. Some go on vacation. Some give it to charity or missions. Some pay off credit card debt. Some buy groceries. Some put it toward home repairs. Some add to their adoption fund. If you can think of it, I'm sure someone has put their dividend toward the purchase of it.

Some even let their children spend every last penny. No joke. I used to wait at the bus stop with a kid who brought an entire Coscto-sized container of Atomic FireBalls to school that he'd bought with his dividend. His parents let him blow his entire check on junk. Even as a kid I remember being so baffled.


This year, the dividend is over double last year's amount, making a whole lot of Alaska residents gloriously happy. Are you curious about the amount given out in previous years? Check this out.

How awesome is this? It's definitely a perk. Maybe it's to make up for the weeks of below zero-temps and extra hours of darkness we face each winter? I'd like to think so.

I hope you'll come on back tomorrow for more hello, Alaska!

Would you like to start at the beginning and peruse the series archive? You can do so HERE.



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Check out all the other 31 Days series RIGHT HERE. So many topics. So much fun.

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6 comments on "money in our pockets {hello, Alaska}"
  1. What a neat series! I've ordered some travel material on Alaska, and I hope to go one day. I'm a Latvian living in Sweden, so I know all about darkness, winter, and even moose. What I'd like to know is, are there really such cute little towns in Alaska as in the movie "The Proposal"? Was that actually Sitka, Alaska, in the movie?

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    1. I'd love to try and answer your question! So glad you're here... :)

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  2. WOO HOO! It's PFD day! We're really celebrating, because this is our last one... for awhile?? Who knows.

    Just subscribed, and it worked this time. :)

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    1. So happy you get this one, Jess! And I'm happy subscribing worked too.

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  3. I'm loving this topic! I live right outside of Anchorage. Happy PFD Day!

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