Single Mom Who Makes $34 An Hour Says She Can Barely Pay Her Bills Or Fill Up Her Car To Get To Work
Unfortunately, many people are suffering from the high cost of living and inflation happening right now.
@nkotbluver / TikTok With the cost of living increasing steadily, many people are finding themselves in tough situations financially. One woman named Melanie Anne admitted that she's more than fed up with not being able to meet her basic necessities, despite having a full-time job.
The single mom is unable to pay some of her bills or put gas in her car making only $34 an hour.
Melanie Ann, who is a single mother living in Canada, explained in a TikTok video that despite working and making $34 an hour, which she acknowledged should be enough to sustain herself and her daughter, she finds herself having to stretch her paychecks so that she can cover her basic expenses.
"I'm having a day, or I'm having a life, I don't know. I'm sitting outside work, crying my eyes out because I can't function anymore financially. I don't understand how I make $34 an hour and I can't pay my bills," Ann revealed, getting emotional as she admitted that she couldn't even afford to put gas in her car to get to work.
She explained that whenever she gets a check, it goes straight to the mortgage on her house, a couple of "little bills," and her car. What she's left with is $80 to buy groceries for the week, which she will only buy when her daughter isn't staying with her father.
"What I’ve started doing is I buy a loaf of rye bread, and I work really hard to keep that one loaf of rye bread lasting me the whole week," she shared. "And I eat peanut butter, so I’ll eat peanut butter toast whenever I’m hungry.”
Despite her financial struggles, Ann insisted that she would never allow her daughter to see or experience the hardships of not having something to eat. "I'm saving everything I can for her because when she gets home, she's not surviving on toast."
Unfortunately, her financial problems go beyond just necessary expenses. Ann revealed that her home is deteriorating at a rapid speed as a crawl space has filled with more than eight inches of water and is now filled with mold. Ann has been searching online for a septic pump but is overwhelmed by the cost of buying it and learning how to put it together since she can't afford to hire someone to do it.
"I can't afford to live as one person let alone a woman who's raising a daughter," she continued. "There's a lot of us that are drowning so bad that even with a life vest, I'm still gonna drown."
She tried to reach out and get financial assistance but was denied.
At one point, Ann recalled attempting to get some sort of financial assistance from different resources available to her in Canada but was told she didn't qualify.
"I apparently make too much money to receive any financial benefits or help of any kind... I can’t reach out to certain resources or any resources because I ‘make too much money,'" Ann said, finding it ironic that she makes "too much money" but can't even afford to buy something other than bread from the grocery store some weeks.
According to CTV News, Ann isn't the only one who is feeling the residual fatigue of trying to keep up with Canada's cost of living. Many Canadians are choosing to relocate to different countries where they can pay less for accommodations and other essential items.
Canada's largest bank, the Royal Bank of Canada (RBC), even issued a warning that a "softer economy" is on the way as more than 1,800 jobs are on the cutting board.
Despite Ann experiencing these struggles in Canada, the same can be said for many people living in America as well.
Researchers at Brandeis University found that 35% of American families do not meet the “basic family needs budget” — the amount needed to afford rent, food, transportation, medical care, and minimal household expenses — despite working full-time year-round.
According to CBS, three-quarters of middle-income Americans say their earnings aren't enough to pay for their cost of living. It's even led to people cutting back on other expenses, with 7 in 10 middle-income consumers cutting back on eating out at restaurants, and even cutting back on upgrading their phones because of the costly charge.
Ann's story, along with the plethora of other people who can relate, is a poignant reminder that the issue of affordability is becoming people's breaking point. The inability to afford basic necessities highlights the urgent need for better solutions that can address the root causes of these challenges and ensure that everyone has the opportunity to lead a fulfilling life.
Nia Tipton is a Chicago-based entertainment, news, and lifestyle writer whose work delves into modern-day issues and experiences.