'I wanted to blow it': This DC mother received $10,800 in taxpayer funds for poor families — but spent most of it on a luxury Miami trip to 'inspire' her kids. This is what she learned

Miller, 27, was given a choice: to receive the funds in 12-month installments of $900 or as a $10,800 lump sum. She chose the latter.

However, her interview with the Post generated plenty of online discourse after she revealed how she’d spent the money: $6,000 went toward a five-day luxury trip to Miami for herself, her three sons and their father.

“I wanted to blow it,” she said. “I wanted to have fun.”

Although many of the other Strong Families, Strong Future DC recipients profiled by the Post revealed they’d used the money to pay off outstanding bills, purchase baby formula or set up a savings account, Miller’s choice to make a big-purchase statement is reflective of how some members of her generation are coping with financial strain and the stresses of life in general.

A generational trend

According to a study from personal finance company, Credit Karma, 35% of Gen Z and 43% of millennials reported that they cope with stress by spending.

Within the last year, Miller, who lives in a two-bedroom subsidized apartment in one of Washington, D.C.’s poorest neighborhoods, had put her education on hold, forgoing her social work degree to raise her three kids — the youngest of whom was born in the summer of 2022.

With the Temporary Assistance to Needy Families (TANF) as her only source of income, she leaned on food stamps and WIC, a program that offers low-income mothers nutritional support, to keep her family fed.

“Groceries last us the first three weeks of the month, then it’s trying to figure out the last week of my benefits,” she said. “It lasts, but it cuts close.”

With the Miami trip, Miller said her kids got to experience something she never could have previously offered them, in addition to a significant mental health boost.

During those five days, Miller and her family enjoyed steak dinners, a lavish boat cruise and plenty of souvenirs for the kids. Much of the remainder of the funds went to bills and a used car.

Allocating the remaining funds

A 2023 survey from fintech company Intuit found that 3 in 4 Gen Z members would rather have a better quality of life via experiences than more money in the bank.

“Gen Z is interested in living for now,” said Brittney Castro, certified financial planner and consumer finance advocate at Intuit. “This is more about comfort, less stress, less pressure to save for the future and really balancing it out.”

Although some of this might ring true for Miller, she told the Washington Post that she has a financial plan in place for her family.