The paycheck covers just enough to keep you broke, anxious, and hanging by a thread.

You can work 40+ hours a week and still lie awake wondering if you’re about to lose your home. That’s the gut punch no one wants to talk about. You show up, do your job, hustle through the exhaustion—and yet, stability feels like some distant reward you never quite reach. Rent climbs, bills pile up, and one unexpected expense sends everything into panic mode. It’s not laziness or bad decisions—it’s the math just not adding up anymore.
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, over 21 million renter households—about 49.7% of the 42.5 million renter households—spent more than 30% of their income on housing costs in 2023. Households spending more than this threshold are considered “cost-burdened,” and those spending over 50% are “severely cost-burdened.”
That’s nearly half of renters feeling the pressure every single month—and a lot of them are full-time workers. This isn’t about skipping lattes or budgeting harder. It’s about a system that doesn’t reward effort with security anymore. And when your paycheck disappears the second it hits your account, the fear of eviction isn’t dramatic—it’s a daily, creeping reality.








