A friend of mine works at a gas station in my hometown (a fairly low-income, rural city, pop. ~4600). After seeing him post Facebook statuses such as "Oh boy, it's the 31st and I get to work tonight" (in a sarcastic tone) a few times, I asked him about it.
He tells me that on the last day of every month, there are a number of people who come to the gas station starting as early as 9 p.m. and simply "hang out". They wander in and out of the store but mostly linger in the parking lot, chatting with others in their large group, and simply trying to entertain themselves, in general.
Naturally, I asked him why they would do this. Apparently their government "checks" are now "deposited onto their card" (a debit card, basically) at exactly midnight on the 1st of every month. They know that at 12:01 a.m. on the 1st, their money will be available and so they hang out at the gas station in anticipation of being able to load up on cigarettes, basic groceries (more expensive than a typical grocery store, of course), lottery tickets, and such.
He tells me that on the last day of every month, there are a number of people who come to the gas station starting as early as 9 p.m. and simply "hang out". They wander in and out of the store but mostly linger in the parking lot, chatting with others in their large group, and simply trying to entertain themselves, in general.
Naturally, I asked him why they would do this. Apparently their government "checks" are now "deposited onto their card" (a debit card, basically) at exactly midnight on the 1st of every month. They know that at 12:01 a.m. on the 1st, their money will be available and so they hang out at the gas station in anticipation of being able to load up on cigarettes, basic groceries (more expensive than a typical grocery store, of course), lottery tickets, and such.