11/04/2025
Youâre a single parent working full timeâŠ
$15 an hour, 40 hours a week, you bring home around $1,800 a month after taxes.
Your basic necessity bills:
-$1,100 rent
- $175 electric
- $280 car payment
- $120 insurance
Thatâs $1,675 gone before you even think about groceries, gas or your kidâs lunch money.
Youâre getting by, barely. Then your daughter gets strep throat. You miss a week of work to take care of her and now your paycheck is short by $300.
The rent check bounces. The landlord adds a $75 late fee.
You make a partial payment, but by the time your next check comes, youâre already behind again.
Now youâre facing eviction.
You pack your things into your car and move in with a friend for a bit but she can only let you stay for a few weeks.
You try to get a new place, but every application wants a $50 fee and a clean rental record.
You donât have either.
So you start living out of your car. Your child does homework in the backseat with a flashlight.
You shower at the gym, eat sandwiches and try to keep hope alive.
But one day, someone calls the cops about a âsuspicious vehicleâ in the parking lot.
Next thing you know, CPS is involved and everything youâve fought to hold together falls apart.
And it all started with one missed paycheck.
We walk past people in these situations every single day.
Theyâre not lazy. Theyâre not broken.
Theyâre doing their best in a system designed for them to fail.
So before you judge, remember youâre one unexpected bill, one illness, one broken down car away from being in the exact same position.
99% of us are way closer to homelessness than we are to being rich.
Stay humble. Be kind. Be grateful. And be careful with thinking âthat could never happen to meâ.