- April Schultz and her husband struggle financially, despite earning a combined income of $130,000.
- The couple, once stable on one income, now find themselves working four jobs and struggling financially.
- They spend $200 a week on groceries for their family of seven and have canceled most subscriptions.
April Schultz, 40, and her husband, Kevin, 45, make $130,000 a year between four jobs and a side hustle, but Ms. Schultz said she was shocked that their income “feels like poverty.”
“If you have $100,000, you can spend a little more,” Schultz said. “You can have a little more fun. You can shop at Costco and not worry about anything.”
A few years ago, she said, her husband was the sole breadwinner and she stayed home with the kids and had few financial worries. But now, she says, she doesn't have enough money to comfortably afford a Netflix subscription, which costs $15.49 a month for a standard subscription.
“It's crazy that a family has to work four jobs,” Schultz said. “In 2017, we were working one income and we were doing just fine. It seems crazy to me.”
Despite making well above the federal poverty line ($47,340 for a family of seven), Schultz and her husband are on the upper end of the ALICE (Asset Limitations, Income Limitations, and Employment) bracket, which often exceeds the income threshold needed to qualify for government benefits like food stamps but not enough to comfortably cover daily living expenses. Many live paycheck to paycheck, forcing them to cut back on some essentials in order to buy others.
“The frustration, the stress, the day-to-day pressure to make really bad choices is hard to put into data,” Stephanie Hoopes, national director of United for Alice, previously told BI. “Do I go get my child's medicine, or do I eat dinner tonight? Do I leave the lights on? Do I take them to daycare?”
A simpler, cheaper era
She said her family struggled financially during their first two children and relied on Medicaid and other assistance, but after her husband got a job as a government contractor for the Department of Defense, their finances have been much more stable after they had three more children.
She was a stay-at-home mom for 12 years, but returned to work when her youngest child started elementary school in 2016. For the past six years, she worked as a bookkeeper and secretary while her husband's job moved the family around states including California, Arizona and Minnesota.
“We were able to move out of our own pockets and live a really comfortable life,” Schultz said. “We were making less money than we do now.”
Her husband started a second job at the airport last year, helping load and unload planes a few nights a week, and Ms. Schultz coached at a local school during the day and worked part-time as a bookkeeper.
In October 2023, the family sold their home in Idaho and bought a house in the small town of Mascotah, Illinois. Mascotah is about a 30-minute drive from St. Louis and is near Scott Air Force Base. Most of the residents are military or married to military members, she said. Still, she said she's noticed a recent surge in home prices in her area, and the topic of housing affordability is “always a hot topic.”
Her husband earns just over $100,000 before taxes from two jobs, while she earns around $30,000. There are job opportunities in her area, but most don't pay enough to keep up with the cost of living, she said. She is happy with her current job, Get closer to your kids.
She said part of the financial strain comes from their decision to live and raise their family in Illinois instead of Missouri, where they pay $600 a month in property taxes and have the second-highest effective tax rate in the nation. Still, she said the past few years have been shockingly tough for them.
“We can pay our bills, but we don't have any extra expenses,” Schultz said, noting that they haven't eaten out, seen a movie at the cinema or traveled. “We've never taken a family vacation.”
Reduce extra costs
They have canceled cable TV and subscriptions to platforms like Amazon Prime and Netflix. Their car is over 15 years old and has over 200,000 miles on it. They don't have a car payment, but they are worried that their car will break down and they won't be able to buy a new one. In addition, they buy used clothes and furniture.
They're both still paying off student loans, which forces them to use credit cards for everyday purchases, something she says she hates. They've been budgeting mostly in cash to see how much they can save for an emergency fund, but with rising utility bills, especially for city-managed utilities, they don't have much left.
Schultz said she tries hard to keep her family's food budget to $200 a week, less than the USDA recommends for an economical food budget for a family of four. She shops at Aldi and often watches recipes on YouTube for cheap meals. They canceled their Costco and Sam's Club memberships after deciding that buying ingredients in bulk only increased expenses there.
“Since COVID, we haven't been able to move forward,” Schultz said. “It's just a constant struggle to get to a place where we can live without worrying all the time.”
A few years ago, she was suspected of having cancer and had to pay $500 for tests, and she says no one should have to take that much money out of their savings to stay healthy.
She said they never cut corners because investing in their kids' sports adds up quickly. They always buy their kids cheerleading and choir gear and clothes so they can excel academically. But they tell them if they want to go to college, they'll have to get a scholarship or figure out how to pay for it themselves, because they don't have the means to pay for college.
She isn't too worried about retirement; although her workplace requires her to contribute to a 401(k), her employer won't contribute more than she needs; her husband gets a government retirement pension, so they're both comfortable. They both plan to downsize and move to a more rural, less expensive area once their children leave home.
Still, she worries that she won't be able to give much to her children in the future: She doesn't give them pocket money and only buys them presents for birthdays and Christmas, and encourages them to find ways to earn money by doing chores.
“When you think about 20 years from now, when we have kids going to college next year, unfortunately, this is kind of a 'future us' issue,” Schultz said.
Are you an ALICE struggling to make ends meet? Worried about retirement? Contact this reporter nsheidlower@businessinsider.com.
