From a scuba trip to household bills, here’s how 8 Alaskans are spending this year’s PFD

Eligible Alaskans will see Permanent Fund dividends arrive in their bank accounts Oct. 5, with paper checks expected by Oct. 26.

The $1,312 payments are less than last year’s PFD, which included an energy relief add-on, but they’re still highly anticipated.

And many, if not all, Alaskans already have plans for their PFDs, whether they’re spending it on retail items, vacations, paying bills or putting the money into savings.

A recent trip to downtown Anchorage revealed that dividend recipients are considering a wide range of options.

Listen:

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The following transcript has been lightly edited for clarity.

Lynn Palensky: Well, I spend mine on my annual November diving trip, and I usually go somewhere warm. So that’s where I go, South Pacific, anywhere where it’s great to dive.

Casey Grove: Is that that’s where you plan on going?

LP: Yes, yes.

CG: How long have you been scuba diving?

LP: Oh, I’m dating myself, but since 1987.

CG: How much of your PFD will either cover that or how much will be leftover?

LP: I will use 100% of it, because the trips aren’t cheap. So it will go towards a seven- to 10-day dive trip somewhere. So yeah, I’ll have to kick in some of my own money. But it does help. It does. It does take a significant portion.

Mark Hoffman: For my PFD this year, I got an e-bike this summer, it’s the first time I got an electric bike, so I will probably get some accessories to go with that. Probably need a bike lock. But otherwise, I have no real plans. But happy to have the PFD, as always.

Temi Parra: It’s only, like, what, $1,300? Probably gonna spend it on sneakers. What else? I’m going on vacation. So I leave on the 6th, we get it on the 5th. So, you know, I’m gonna spend it over there in another state, you know.

CG: Where are you going?

TP: I’m going to Arizona, and I’m probably gonna be over there for like a week, gonna be staying in Scottsdale and just go all over.

If you guys do come downtown, make sure you guys pay the meters, all right? I don’t want to give you all tickets.

CG: There’s an app for that.

TP: Yep, Pay By Phone. If that thing expires, it gives you a notification and everything.

CG: You have the badge on, so you have to say that, right?

TP: Yep, always. It’s just for whenever people have questions. Yeah, I mean, if you guys do got tickets, and you guys don’t pay ’em, I’m gonna have to go tow you guys, you know.

CG: Well, you know, we don’t want our PFD to get garnished.

TP: Yeah, man, a lot of people’s PFDs are probably going to go to us anyway.

Chase Lykins: What you guys got going on?

CG: We work for the local public radio station. We’re just asking people what they’re spending their PFDs on this year.

CL: Oh. Court fines.

CG: Really though?

CL: Yeah. Yeah, for the most part, I mean, whatever they leave me, you know what I mean, it’ll probably go to housing or, you know, surviving gear. You know, good ol’ Alaskan winter.

CG: I guess if you pay the court fines up front, they won’t just, like, garnish it from you.

CL: Yeah, no, no, no, they won’t. But if you if you don’t, there’s that police service fee and all that other good stuff. And if you mess up or go to jail, you know what I mean, though? They’ll get it, one way or another. But other than that, yeah, if they leave me anything, it’ll go to survival gear, and, you know, some good stuff.

William Rodney Vandervoort Jr.: Well, first, I’m gonna go to Pete’s Barbecue Shop and get me some ribs and a couple cases of beer, you know, and enjoy the the end of summer.

Jelani Campbell: Well, I’m having a boy in January, but my daughter’s three, so she gets one as well. So basically, hers goes to her, like, any clothing or any extra things that she might need, and then everything else into savings.

CG: Is that kind of how you usually do it?

JC: Yeah. That, just like trying to save what I can and using other things for like whatever’s current, whether it’d be like something to help with rent or extra things for the house or home, like that kind of stuff.

So, she got the one last year, that was a lot more and stuff. So that one was really nice, because basically just getting her any necessities and kind of setting her up for long-term things, which was really nice to be able to do that, for her. Especially being a young, single mom, it kind of gave me the opportunity to, like, set her up for long term things.

CG: Yeah, like what what kind of long-term things are you talking about?

JC: Just like being able to put it into like a college fund or, you know, kind of a rainy day policy kind of thing. So like, if anything were to happen, making sure that she has money that will cover her for things. Or like, say, the car were to break down or something like that, especially in Alaska with car accidents. Cars can’t be like the most reliable. And so just being able to have that in case anything were to happen. So it’s really nice to have.

Mabel Generous: Oh, I just moved back from New Mexico last year, so I don’t qualify to get it. I used to get it.

CG: Oh no. But you used to get it?

MB: I used to get it.

CG: If you were getting it, how would you spend it?

MB: Probably buying food and saving for transportation. I live in the village, so a roundtrip ticket to go 400 Miles is like $450.

CG: Oh, yeah. So where do you live?

MB: I live in the village of Nulato.

CG: Oh, cool. Can I get your name?

MB: Mabel Generous, like “very generous.” But I’m going to change it to Stingy.

Max McGuire: I’m on the spot. I haven’t even thought about it. I’ll probably just pay bills. Bills. Yeah. I don’t know. If I want something, I usually just get it. And it’ll help pay that, pay that back, I guess.

CG: Kind of like it’s already spent sort of thing?

MM: Yeah, probably. Yeah. I would imagine, people don’t really want to admit it, but I think we’re all kind of that way. But I’m grateful to get it. So, you know, it all helps.