If you multiply $900 by 640,436 people, the sum is roughly $576 million dollars.
Now that's a lot of Permanent Fund Dividend dough floating around, that financial experts say will make an impact one way or another. It just all depends on how one decides to spend it.
With all hands on deck waiting to spend their annual PFD, there is no doubt how much of an impact it will make on the state.
"This is new money that is being earned somewhere else in the country or world and we bring it back here and we spend it," said Neal Fried, an economist for the State of Alaska.
But breaking down the PFD's real-term dollar value could determine the dividend's true value to Alaskans. Fried says in some areas, the PFD is as much as 10 percent of someone's income.
"It's either the fourth or fifth lowest we've seen after we adjust it for inflation," he said. "For a person in a high income bracket with maybe a few kids or no kids, that's not necessarily going to mean very much, but for someone with a family of four or five with lower wages or lower income it could be a very significant chunk."
It's hundreds of non-income dollars consumer credit counselors say people could use to pay off credit card, student loans, or house payment debt.
"The average household has $8,000 outstanding in credit card debt, so for every $900 that you could put against that debt, you would be making a substantial reduction of $180 dollars a year to reducing your debt," said Larry Snider of Money Management International, the former Consumer Credit Counseling Services of Alaska.
"It will last a lot longer than your trip to Hawaii and will actually free up your budget so that you can continue to do some things that are enjoyable for a longer time as you go forward," Snider said.
Using the money in different ways beyond shopping is a shift from the short-term to the long-term that may be the new PFD thinking.
"My guess is that it's treated more and more like regular income or a like a paycheck on the second Friday of the month," said Fried.
Now the hope is more Alaskans will follow suit and wisely use their PFD to ease some of their financial woes.
Snider says it can take as long as 16 years to pay off that average $8,000 debt plus interest, which is why using extra income like the PFD is an option for lowering that.
Contact Corey Allen-Young