I fit into a class of person who fell on hard times many years ago and had to ask for public assistance. My wife and I used California Healthy Family assistance to have 2 children and make ends meet during a rough patch.
What came out of that experience was I appreciated working and I appreciated my wife taking care of business at home including raising the boys. I so enjoyed spending time at home but I felt like a failure some days when I couldn't provide properly and we were sparsly eating.
Skip forward slightly and I bounced back and got a job. But then because I was now flush with so-called wealth the government came calling. After not being able to resolve their list for money they just took it from my bank account.
How did they know? Well. Because I used direct deposit when I needed assistance. Yes the government can find out where you bank, but it turns out they always fall back on where you tell them, just like vampires.
So then it plunged me into another struggle in having to tell the bank where my house money was and the kids we had to pull some food from the freezer again. You see they just took the money and told the bank to hold onto it like some debt collector. Oh wait. They were.
I was on the phone with these agencies for a week before I worked it out. I had to drive down to the IRS and California revenue board and promise my first born and next several paychecks to them in return.
So you never leave the clutches of the "family" they always pull you back in.
From that moment on I have been paralyzed in keeping any significant money in a bank. Which of course presents it's own troubles like how do you cash checks etc.
I am blessed I came out the other end and have a thriving life. It wasn't the government but my own force of will that I will remember.
In this day of Corona hysteria don't give the government your banking info. Just have them mail it to you. Deposit or cash it anywhere other than your primary bank.
I have a throw away bank who are down to earth people, just so I have a place to deposit and take out money or make cashier's checks. I don't use a large mega corporation to store money. I have some debit card online accounts and good old hard cash rotating as I need it.
You can read some older 2008 posts I have but Silver and real money came in handy too as I went through hard times. Including now. These lessons will sit with me for a while and I have stories to tell you and my boys now.