ICYMI: Just a reminder that we’re having a big sale on annual subscriptions right now for my birthday. Until November 30, you can get an annual subscription for $45.60 (usually it’s $80), and we’ll be donating $5 from every new annual subscription to a food bank.
I know many of us have been limiting our news consumption over the last year as a form of self-care. I try not to doomscroll, but I do listen to NPR’s Morning Edition most mornings, and some days I wonder why. It’s hard not to feel a lot of anger and sadness over the state of our country, and yesterday when I woke up to the news that eight Democrats had capitulated and joined Republicans to vote in favor of the spending bill without reaching a deal on ACA subsidies, I was mad. What was the point of the shutdown if we were just going to give in to the status quo after 41 days?
Last week, I had a call with today’s Home Economics writer, who is a furloughed federal employee living in Tucson, Arizona, with her husband and two small kids. After we ran through the usual questions, I asked her how she felt about the shutdown. She’s the breadwinner in her family, and even though she has a lot of money tied up in retirement and brokerage accounts, her cash savings are more limited.
Politically, she said, she supports the shutdown, even though “not getting paid is a bummer.” She also told me that working for the federal government right now is hard. “Morale is absolute trash,” she said. But it’s not easy to walk away from the job when the labor market is shaky, and she’s the primary earner.
I emailed her yesterday to get her reaction to the news. “I’m absolutely apoplectic about these Dems caving for no more than a pinky swear promise to have a vote that will go nowhere in the House,” she wrote to me. “I am glad to be getting my backpay (which hopefully doesn’t take too long), but the [continuing resolution] only goes to January 30. At that time, there will be no holiday travel and SNAP threats1 to pressure folks into ending the shutdown*, so I anticipate it could be an even longer shutdown. As a result, I’m going to be keeping my money in my HYSA and other cash-like accounts rather than investments, as who knows how long it might be…. This whole situation has really upped my interest in financial independence, as I’m close to my breaking point.”
There’s no denying that today’s Home Ec writer comes from a place of privilege that perhaps allows her to be more supportive of the shutdown than someone who doesn’t have a healthy savings account. But it feels unfair to me that we’re putting federal workers and SNAP benefit recipients in this position in the first place. Our leaders are playing politics with the livelihoods of millions of Americans, and frankly, it’s just gross. We deserve better.
Has anyone figured out a way to manage their anger over the state of our country? Do I need to take up boxing as a way to release the rage?
I should say this with every Home Ec, but a big thank-you to today’s writer, who was so generous to give us a peek at her life during a particularly vulnerable moment. We’re always looking for diverse stories to tell. If you want to submit your own Home Ec, you can fill out the form here.
Age: 41
Location: Tucson, Arizona
Relationship status: Married
Age of partner: 37
About me: I am a furloughed federal employee, and my husband is a freelance musician who cobbles together symphony and chamber music gigs, teaches private lessons, and does non-music adjunct work at the local university. We have two kids in preschool in a state without any kind of public preschool, so we spend a lot on child care.
Income:
- Your job title/salary: Associate counsel, $165,000
- Partner’s job title/salary: Musician, ~$18,000-$20,000
- Your monthly take-home pay (paycheck amount after taxes and other deductions): $7,100
- Partner’s monthly take-home pay (paycheck amount after taxes and other deductions): $500. My husband’s pay really, really varies depending on the gigs available and how many private lessons he’s giving at any one time. (It’s always slower in the summer.) In a good month, he can earn as much as $1,500 from gigs and lessons, though this isn’t typical. He also earns money from his adjunct professor job, but we put 90% of that directly into his 457 account. (More below.)
- Total monthly income: ~$7,600
