Read the original article by Emily Barone on Time.
In late February, Jessica Bonner-Gomez, an elementary school speech-language pathologist, signed a yearlong lease for an apartment in Birmingham, Ala. She and her husband, a hospital nurse, thought it would be a temporary move. The couple had recently qualified for a real estate purchase in a housing subdivision, but could only afford the down payment if they tapped into their retirement funds. Ultimately, they decided to save more cash while paying rent.
Bonner-Gomez was making enough to cover expenses and grow her savings. She supplemented her $1,000-per-week income with teaching and tutoring jobs that paid about $400 a week. But when schools shut down in March because of the COVID-19 pandemic, those side jobs dried up. Then summer recess started, and her total income dropped to $80 a week. Her husband’s hospital also cut employee wages for several months. To cover their $1,300 monthly rent, plus car payments, health-insurance premiums, groceries and other expenses, the couple depleted their savings accounts and started relying on credit…