A Washington DC mother has told how she spent most of a taxpayer-funded $10,000 lump sum intended for impoverished mothers on a luxury vacation in Miami.
Canethia Miller, 27, was accepted into a D.C. government pilot project last year because she and her three children were struggling to make ends meet. The Strong Futures program is one of many in the U.S. — but the only one that offers the money as a lump sum of $10,800 rather than in 12 smaller monthly installments.
Miller chose the former – admitting to the Washington Post that she cost herself and her three sons more than $6,000 of her winnings on a five-day trip to Miami.
“I wanted to screw it up. “I wanted to have fun,” she said. The spending spree included 15 brand new outfits for her children – one for each child and each vacation day – and a $180 haircut so she didn't look “like a working, stressed out mom.”
Together with the father of their children, they treated themselves to luxury amenities such as steak dinners, new gadgets and toys for their children, 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 worked hard, they might also be able to afford a mansion in Miami.
Canethia Miller, 27, squandered more than $10,000 in tax benefits on impoverished mothers in just a few months, with most of it going toward a five-day luxury trip to Miami
The stay-at-home mom said even though she was struggling to make ends meet, she wanted to spend over $6,000 on a week-long vacation, something 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 children, brand new outfits and a cruise past Florida's most expensive mansions
While others who shared their stories on the show were more pragmatic, Miller said she spent the entire $10,800 within a few months and struggled to keep the $50 in her savings account.
The young mother shared her story as part of a profile of DC's Strong Families, Strong Futures pilot program, showing how the no-strings-attached money helped various low-income mothers.
Introduced by the city's Democratic mayor, Muriel Bowser, it is one of several programs across the U.S. that provide cash to people living at or below the poverty line to help them build a solid financial foundation.
Nearly $1.5 million in taxpayer money was spent through the program, with 132 mothers selected to receive either monthly payments of $900 or a lump sum of $10,800.
Miller chose the flat fee and said being accepted into the program was a stroke of luck because she missed the application deadline but submitted her paperwork anyway.
The stay-at-home mother said her financial problems worsened when she gave birth to her third child in the summer of 2022, but received a range of help, including a subsidized two-bedroom apartment in Anacostia.
Funds from the Temporary Assistance to Needy Families (TANF) program also helped her cover her $120 monthly rent, while food stamps did little to help her reach the end of the month.
“The first three weeks of the month I have enough groceries, then I try to figure out when I can get my benefits in the last week,” she said. “It takes time, but it cuts close.”
After pausing her social work studies to focus on her growing family, Miller was accepted into the program — a bonus that immediately led her to plan a vacation.
She said she put some money aside to cover important bills, but used much of the proceeds to give her family a vacation that she “never would have been able to take if I didn't have that money.”
Although other mothers in the program raved about how the program enabled them to pay off their debt, 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 monthly payments of $900, Miller decided to take a lump sum of $10,800 – and invested well over half of it on a Miami vacation
Miller said soaring inflation left her struggling and she was already on a number of food stamps and welfare benefits before the $10,800 windfall
She plays Uno with another young mother who participated in the Strong Families, Strong Futures pilot program
Miller also spent $180 on new hair and nails, a transformation she still enjoyed 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-out mom,” she recalls.
While some may have thought the funds could be better spent, she claimed the vacation could help motivate her children to succeed by showing them the spoils of hard work in the glittering Florida city.
She added that she had never been taught financial literature or important lessons about saving money 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 in which she said she wanted to keep at least $50, and although she spent the remaining $4,000 within a few months, she insisted the funds helped her do so , to learn how to save money for the future.
“Many communities in my area don’t realize how much money a loan brings when you save for your children. “That's why we're broke, that's why we have nothing to pass on and no house to pass on,” Miller said.
“I'm trying to get to the level where I'm passing on something that's really important so that me and my kids can be committed and they don't have to try as hard as I do now.”'
She is now ready for a new remote job that could pay up to $30 an hour, a new opportunity that she attributes to the confidence she gained through the program.
In comparison, mother Erika James, 34, took a completely different approach.
Erika James, 34, shared a completely different approach to saving the money and said her only regret was not spending any of the windfall on herself
James put most of the money away for her debts and her children, only buying for her son's first birthday party (pictured).
The Strong Futures pilot program was created by D.C. Democratic Mayor Muriel Bowser (pictured) and is the only one in the U.S. to offer cash as a lump sum
Already with an 11-year-old daughter, De'Vire, she ran into financial difficulties after the birth of her son Loyal in January 2022.
Her high-risk pregnancy forced her to stop working, but as she struggled to make ends meet, a friend texted her and urged her to apply for the program.
James was already depositing almost all of her salary into De'Vire's savings account, drawing on the money as needed to pay bills and expenses.
“If it was in my account it would just be swipe, swipe, swipe – it's better to put it in their account,” James said. “I look at my bank statement and see De'Vire and want to touch him, but I know I can't.”
Although this tactic disciplined her in her spending, soaring inflation meant she was still behind on a number of payments.
James attributed her problems to her demanding work schedule and hoped the payments would help her navigate child care and meet milestones.
“I was always at work. “But the older I got, the more I learned that the post office just had to stay there,” James said. “I don’t want to miss these moments with my son.”
Compared to Miller's exorbitant luxury in Miami, James said she regrets spending barely any of the money on herself, and her only spending spree amounts to about $600 for Loyal's first birthday party.
“I think I should have taken at least $200 and spent it on myself. “But every time I blink my eyes, it's a bill,” she said.
“When you look back on things you say, 'Well, I should have done that,' and that's how I feel.” Maybe I could have done something differently. But the money helped me a lot.'