Michelle Boisjoli, a 37-year-old mom of three from St. Louis County, Minnesota, starts her days early and ends them late — not because she wants to, but because she has to.
As a full-time teacher earning $37,000 a year, she’s become part of a growing demographic of working Americans who need a second job to get by.
“It takes multiple incomes to survive in this economy,” Boisjoli told CBS News.
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A day-to-day struggle
Boisjoli’s days are a strained balance of child care, lesson plans and DoorDash deliveries. She feeds her young children — ages 1, 4 and 8 — before eating whatever leftovers remain to "try to make every dollar count.”
“I always grew up thinking about the stereotypical American dream, where you own a house and you have a yard to play in. And I think that dream is dying," she lamented.
Her story highlights a harsh reality confronting many today. A CBS News poll found that 2 out of 3 Americans are stressed about their finances, and 3 out of 4 say their income is not keeping up with inflation.
For Boisjoli, the reality is more cereal, less eggs and bacon — and the constant calculation of whether she can afford to gas up the car.
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The cost-of-living crisis
Boisjoli’s experience is far from unique. The cost of basic necessities, like food, gas and housing, has risen dramatically in recent years.
In early June, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Consumer Price Index showed a 2.4% year-over-year increase in inflation, driven largely by housing and food prices.
Wages, however, have not kept pace. According to a report by Pew Research Center, real wages — what people earn when adjusted for inflation — have fallen since the pandemic, eroding purchasing power across the board.
The median adult full-time, year-round salary dropped by more than $4,000 per year (from $64,321 in 2021 to $60,000 today).
Americans are working multiple jobs to get by. Since May 2024, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics consistently found that more than 5% of the workforce — about 8.5 million people — were holding more than one job.
That figure includes professionals like Boisjoli, who, despite full-time employment, must work evenings or weekends to afford life’s basics.
“I’ve had to take on a second job just because everything has gotten so expensive,” she said.
An out-of-touch system
Boisjoli’s frustration isn’t just with the cost of living, but also with the systems that allow it to persist.
“A lot of the people making the decisions for us are wealthy, don’t know what it’s like to work two jobs, don’t know what it’s like to have to pay for gas with quarters,” she said.
“If they knew a little bit about the average person who is fighting every day to make ends meet, I think that maybe they would make decisions that were actually helpful for the average person.”
She represents a disillusionment of younger working-age people with the American dream — a concept once defined by upward mobility, homeownership and economic security.
More than half of U.S. adults under 50, feel the dream is no longer possible — or was never possible.
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