Malachite Berry is a freshman at the University of Alaska Fairbanks. He moved to Fairbanks from Oklahoma two years ago, but it’s the first year he’s eligible to receive the Permanent Fund dividend.
Berry has a list of what he’ll spend his PFD on, but his main priorities are heating fuel, car repairs, and paying off tuition. He said it’ll be gone on the first day.
“The PFD is definitely going to keep me going, and keep up with the demand and the cost,” he said. “I wouldn’t have this if I had not been in Alaska and I don’t know where I would be without it.”
Berry was one of over 70 people who responded when we asked Alaskans to share their plans for their yearly check. Most people, like Berry, said they planned to spend the money on essentials, like heating fuel, new snow gear for their children, and rent. Many respondents said it’s coming at a much-needed time.
The dividend landed in bank accounts across the state Oct. 3. The total amount includes a normal dividend of $1,403.83 plus a $298.17 energy relief payment. Over 600,000 residents will receive the PFD this year.
Berry said the PFD is a huge help to his overall financial situation, and the timing, he said, is perfect. He works in the tourism industry, which is in its off season.
“Whenever I’m getting into this time of year, I’m losing a lot of my tips that I’d normally occur,” said Berry.
Berry expects that other college students are looking forward to their dividend too. His friends, he said, are buying essentials, from groceries to a Costco membership.
He said the PFD is a selling point for nonresidents. He even has a friend planning to move to Alaska in the next few months because of the PFD.
“The idea, especially with the way things are in the lower 48 right now financially, the thought of having something that’s going to be there regardless every year, is really a good selling point,” he said.
Coming from a state that doesn’t receive PFD’s, he wishes it was a higher amount, but said it helps make it possible for him to live in Alaska.
It’s a similar story for Dominique Davis. She moved to Kupreanof Island near Petersburg from Arizona four years ago, and said the PFD feels like a reward for living here. She and her husband will each receive a PFD, for a combined total of $3,404.
“We make plans for it, we sit here and we’re like, ‘God, I hope it’s you know, at least this that we get, you know, per person, because we could really use that when we combine it,’” said Davis.
Her first year eligible for the PFD was in 2022, when the check was $3,284 per person. Davis and her husband didn’t apply that year, because she didn’t understand the filing process. She said the missed dividend would’ve been helpful, but now Davis makes sure to file when she does her taxes.
Fuel is also at the top of her list, because it’s expensive in rural Alaska, and she needs a lot of it for transportation and heating. Then, she’ll buy propane and shelf-stable groceries.
“Any little bit that comes in helps out, because it is so expensive here,” she said.
Davis said she won’t spend any of her PFD on unnecessary expenses.
Tina DeLapp in Anchorage is giving her check away to her grandchildren. Her and her husband’s PFD will be split and deposited into their four grandchildren’s college savings accounts. It’s what DeLapp did for her children too, and she said they graduated college basically debt-free.
DeLapp said she’s paid no mind to giving up the over $1,700 check.
“I haven’t even thought about it,” DeLapp said. “It meant that I could put more money in my grandchildren’s college fund.”
DeLapp described the PFD as “free money,” but knows not everyone views it that way.
DeLapp thinks wealthy Alaskans shouldn’t get a PFD, so it would benefit less fortunate residents more. She doesn’t have an income limit in mind, but said she’d be happy giving hers up if she met the requirements.
“I think a young, struggling family who’s trying to find a place that they can all afford to live in needs that PFD,” she said.
If she didn’t have grandchildren, DeLapp said she’d donate the annual check to local organizations.
Ava White reports on economics and hosts the statewide morning news at Alaska Public Media. Reach her at awhite@alaskapublic.org or 907-550-8445. Read more about Ava here.
