A Washington DC mom has shared how she splurged most of a $10,000 taxpayer-funded lump sum intended for impoverished mothers on a luxury holiday to Miami.
Canethia Miller, 27, was accepted onto a DC government pilot last year as she and he three children were struggling to make ends meet. The Strong Futures program is one of many across the US – but the only one to offer the cash as a $10,800 lump sum, rather than in 12 smaller monthly installments.
Miller opted for the former – and confessed to the Washington Post that she splurged more than $6,000 of the windfall on a five night trip to Miami for herself and her three sons.
‘I wanted to blow it. I wanted to have fun,’ she said. The spending spree included 15 brand new outfits for her kids – one for each child for each day of the vacation – and a $180 haircut to make her not ‘look like a working, stressed mom.’
Joined by her children’s father, they splashed out on luxury amenities including steak dinners, new gadgets and toys for her kids, brand new outfits, and a boat tour past Miami’s most expensive mansions.
Miller justified the extravagance by saying she hoped to inspire her children and teach them that if they work hard they too may be able to afford a Miami mansion.
Canethia Miller, 27, splurged through over $10,000 of taxpayer benefits intended for impoverished mothers in a matter of months, with a majority going to a five-day luxury trip to Miami
The stay-at-home mom said despite struggling to make ends meet, she wanted to spend over $6,000 on a one week holiday that her family ‘never would have been able to do if I didn’t have that money’
Miller’s Miami vacation included steak dinners, new gadgets and toys for her kids, brand new outfits, and a boat tour past Florida’s most expensive mansions
While others who shared their stories on the program were more pragmatic, Miller said she splashed through the entire $10,800 in a matter of months and struggled to keep $50 in her savings account.
The young mom shared her story as part of a profile into DC’s ‘Strong Families, Strong Futures’ pilot program, showing how the no-strings-attached money helped various low-income mothers.
It was unveiled by the city’s Democrat Mayor Muriel Bowser and is one of a number of programs set up across the US where those living on or below the poverty line are given cash to try and help them achieve a solid financial footing.
Almost $1.5 million in taxpayer money was dished out in the program, with 132 mothers selected to receive either monthly payments of $900, or $10,800 lump sum.
Miller opted for the lump sum, and said being accepted onto the program was a slice of luck as she missed the application deadline but submitted her paperwork anyway.
The stay-at-home mom said her financial struggles worsened when she welcomed her third child in the summer of 2022, but received an array of help including a subsidized two-bedroom apartment in Anacostia.
Funds through the Temporary Assistance to Needy Families (TANF) program also helped cover her $120 monthly rent, while food stamps barely helped reach the end of the month.
‘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.’
After pausing her degree in social work to focus on her growing family, Miller was accepted onto the program – a bonus that turned her mind straight to planning a holiday.
She said she set aside some funds to cover essential bills, but put a majority of the windfall into giving her family a vacation that they ‘never would have been able to do if I didn’t have that money.’
Although other mothers in the program gushed over how the program allowed them to pay off their debts, Miller decided to spend over $6,000 on a five-day trip to Florida.
‘Every outfit they wore was new,’ she added.
While others only took home $900 monthly payments, Miller decided to take $10,800 in a lump sum – putting well over half of it into a Miami vacation
Miller said sky-high inflation left her struggling, and was already on an array of food stamps and benefits before the $10,800 windfall
She is seen playing Uno with another young mother who took part in the ‘Strong Families, Strong Futures’ pilot program
Miller also spent $180 on new hair and nails, a transformation that she still loved in her follow-up interview with the Washington Post.
‘Do you know how good I look in this picture? I didn’t have to look like a working, stressed mom,’ she recalled.
While some may have thought the funds could be better spent, she maintained that the vacation could help motivate her children for success by showing them the spoils of hard work in the glitzy Florida city.
She added that she had never been taught financial literary or important lessons on saving cash for a rainy day, something that was offered to her for the first time in the program.
This led her to open a savings account, which she said she aims to keep at least $50 in, and although she spent the remaining $4,000 in a matter of months, she insisted the funds helped her learn about saving money for the future.
‘A lot of communities in my area don’t know the financial gain of credit, saving for your kids; that’s why we’re broke, that’s why we don’t have nothing to pass down or no house to give down,’ Miller said.
‘I’m trying to get to the level where I’m passing something down that really matters, so I can be set and my kids can be set, and they don’t need to push so hard like I’m doing now.’
She is now set for a new remote job that could pay up to $30 an hour, a new opportunity she credits with the confidence she gained in the program.
In comparison, mom Erika James, 34, shared a starkly different approach.
Erika James, 34, shared a starkly different approach to saving the money, and said her only regret was not spending any of the windfall on herself
Putting away most of the funds to her debts and children, James’ only spending spree was on her son’s first birthday party (pictured)
The Strong Futures pilot program was enacted by DC’s Democrat Mayor Muriel Bowser, pictured, and is the only one in the US to offer cash as a lump sum
Already with an 11-year-old daughter, De’Vire, she began struggling financially after the birth of her son, Loyal, in January 2022.
Her high-risk pregnancy forced her to stop working, but as she scrambled to make ends meet, a friend texted her urging her to apply to the program.
James was already putting almost her whole paycheck into De’Vire’s savings account, and would dip into the funds as needed to pay for bills and expenses.
‘If it was in my account, it would just be swipe, swipe, swipe — it’s better to put it in her account,’ James said. ‘I look in my bank statement and see De’Vire and I want to touch it, but I know I can’t.’
While the tactic kept her disciplined in her spending, sky-high inflation meant she was still behind on a number of payments.
Namely, James put her struggles down to her demanding work schedule, and hoped the payments would help her navigate childcare and be there for milestones.
‘I was always at work. But the older I got, I learned sometimes, the mail just has to sit there,’ James said. ‘I don’t want to miss those moments with my son.’
Compared to Miller’s exorbitant Miami splurge, James said she regretted barely spending any of the money on herself, and her only spending spree was around $600 on Loyal’s first birthday party.
‘I think I should’ve took at least $200 and spent on myself. But every time I blink my eye it’s a bill,’ she said.
‘You look back on things and say: ‘Well I should’ve did this,’ and that’s how I feel. Maybe I could’ve did something different. But the money did help me a whole lot.’