After all of the drama, Congress managed to push through a payroll tax cut extension just before the holidays. The payroll tax cut was extended for two months, saving the average taxpayer a grand total of $166.
These days, that won’t get you very far. Depending on where you live, it works out to:
- 43 gallons of gas
- 84 loaves of bread
- 277 pounds of potatoes
- 49 gallons of milk
- 11 pizzas
- 14 movie tickets in Philadelphia
- 79 cups of Starbucks coffee
- 2/3 of a seat at a Lakers game (or a pair of seats at a 76ers game with money left over for snacks and beer)
- 377 postage stamps
- 74 New York City subway tickets
- 187 hamburgers at McDonald’s (or 1,107 hamburgers when McDonald’s first opened)
- 50 minutes of time for an average lawyer
- 2.55 hours of time for an average electrician
- 167 newspapers
- 35 packs of cigarettes
* Commodities prices courtesy of The People History except where otherwise noted, obvious (like stamps) or city/brand name specific.
Just for fun, I asked folks on Twitter and Facebook how they would spend it. Here’s what they had to say:
- Angela Backus: Go to the Las Vegas Hilton and get a massage by Juan.
- Andrea Schneider: buy a few more Christmas gift items! I didn’t quite get everyone!!!
- Robert Phillips: Fill my truck up twice!
- Angie Kenison DeLong: It could cost the small business owner more than $166 to comply with modified payroll reporting requirements for two months. (taxgirl note: completely agree!)
- Johanne Vickers Hayes: Get groceries
- Dawn Pelej: I was going to say what Angie said. Pay my payroll company’s additional fees for this bs payroll tax extention.
- Erica R Barber: I would put it in my hsa account because as I cross into the new year I face a $400 prescription every 30 days until I pay $2500
- Larry Brown: Take my wife out for a nice dinner alone, and maybe catch a movie.
- Marta Ramirez Rodriguez: i would use the money on a trip so my daughter could spend the holidays with her daddy. =) Merry Christmas everyone!
- @Your911NotMine: I would give it to the food pantry I help run. $166 will provide 25 families with groceries.
- @aggerj: $166 = buy an iPod Touch
- @RSeanOConnell: anything and everything I want to do!!
- @mona57: pay for my new monthly prescription which now cost about 100 a month and my kid’s college bill. My health insur. don’t for script.
- @PhillyGG: Get PECO off my case.
- @appealofwords: I might consider splurging on @typogforlawyers’ “Equity” font.
- @PeteTerranova: Being a CPA, I suppose I’d use $166 to pay off debt but I’d rather buy one of those fancy coffee machines.
- @sharynesque: Pay off less than 1/1,000th of my law school debt.
As for me? I should use it to pay off law school debt a la @sharynesque but if I could pick anything, I’d spend it on iTunes, tax related apps for my laptop and non kid-related books!
How would you spend $166?
