How to know if you're an ALICE: You're barely paying your bills but don't qualify for government assistance

Tech Insider : Economy, Economy, Politics
Parents with a baby sitting in their kitchen
More Americans are becoming ALICEs — asset-limited, income-constrained, and employed.

Westend61 / Getty Images

New York tech workers make $135,000 on average, but can't afford the vast majority of apartments on the market

Tech Insider : Economy
An aerial view of Lower Manhattan in New York City.
New York City's home vacancy rate is just 1.4%, its lowest in over 50 years.

DeAgostini/Getty Images

A Gen Xer who barely lives above the poverty line sells plasma to cover her rent because she doesn't qualify for government assistance: 'There's a lot of praying and just hanging on.'

Tech Insider : Economy, Economy, Politics
Woman donating blood
Lisa Kelley (not pictured) is low-income but does not qualify for government assistance. She sometimes sells her plasma to make ends meet.

WC.GI / Getty Images

A rural Kansas county wants remote workers to move there. It's giving new residents $4,500 cash, an internet stipend, and fresh eggs.

Tech Insider : Economy, Economy, Politics
remote worker
Lincoln County, Kansas is paying remote workers $4,500 cash to move to there. The region hopes to add 70 households.

d3sign / Getty Images

I'm a Canadian who's lived in the US for over 30 years. I don't get why so many Americans want to move to Canada.

Tech Insider
Hands holding the Canadian maple leaf and a star with the American flag in between them

Getty Images; Alyssa Powell/BI

Low-income Americans wait years to get housing vouchers that are often impossible to use. Fixing the system could mean more funding and less red tape.

Tech Insider : Economy, Politics
Apartment buildings on Orchard Street in the Lower East Side neighborhood of New York City.
Apartment buildings on Orchard Street in the Lower East Side neighborhood of New York City.

Andrew Lichtenstein/Getty Images

A low-income millennial mom was evicted from her apartment but isn't 'homeless enough to get help'

Tech Insider : Economy, Economy, Politics
Melissa in a cap and gown
Melissa Hedden's household income is above the poverty line, but she struggles to afford housing and healthcare.

Courtesy of Melissa Hedden

Don't call them DINKs. Many childfree adults are ALICEs.

Tech Insider : Economy, Economy
Don't call them DINKs.
More Americans are becoming ALICEs — asset-limited, income-constrained, and employed. They live above the federal poverty line, but struggle to afford basic necessities.

Douglas Sacha/Getty Images, Tara Moore/Getty Images, Yevgen Romanenko/Getty Images, We Are/Getty Images, Abanti Chowdhury/BI

Austin offers the jobs and city life of San Francisco but with Atlanta's cost of living. Here's how.

Tech Insider : Economy
An aerial view of Barton Springs Pool and downtown Austin, Texas.
People gather at Barton Springs Pool on June 21, 2023 in Austin, Texas.

Brandon Bell/Getty Images

A couple who moved 15 times in 25 years says Taiwan was the best place for their finances but moving so often took a toll

Tech Insider : Economy, Economy
moving to Taiwan, Canada
A couple says moving 15 times between Taiwan and Canada was challenging on their finances but made their relationship stronger.

Becky Martin

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