[Sam Summer]

November 11, 2026 at 9:46 am

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Strain. Pain. And pivots. That’s what nearly 10,000 NBC and Telemundo viewers told us when they took our recent Affording America survey.

“We’re screwed,” said Cheyenne Riggs, 33, of Martinez.

Riggs said she’s “on the payroll” at one company. She said that one paycheck would be plenty if it were a generation or two ago – when young people could buy a home and fund a nest egg on one income. But in 2026, in her prime of life, Riggs said she needs several part-time jobs just to make ends meet.

“I say yes to any sort of opportunity to make any sort of anything,” she explained.

Riggs’ thoughts resemble many hardworking yet frustrated viewers who answered the NBC and Telemundo-owned stations’ survey.

“There are a lot of survey responses saying, ‘I already work 12 hours a day. What else am I supposed to do,’” said Lucia Walinchus, Managing Data Editor for NBC and Telemundo owned stations. Walinchus  says only 37% of people who took the survey said they’re financially comfortable right now. That number drops to just 7% in Cheyenne’s age group, 25-34.

Most people who took the survey are living paycheck to paycheck or worse: they’re racking up debt to pay essential bills.

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“Only about a third of people could pay their credit card bills each month,” Walnichus noted. “And about a quarter owed more than $10,000 dollars in credit card debt.”

To help pay her bills, Riggs says she collects package deliveries for a local family that’s often on the go.

“I get paid $25 each time I go over there. I also cat sit, dog sit, bird sit,” she said.

No matter what you call it: ‘moonlighting,’ a ‘side hustle,’ an ‘odd job’ or ‘income stacking,’ data from the Federal Reserve show about nine million American workers are juggling multiple jobs; more than 800,000 estimated in California.

“It’s a solution that people have turned to for decades,”said Kimberly Palmer, a personal finance expert at the website NerdWallet. “Even where you can just spend a few hours a week bringing in some extra money, that can make a big difference by the end of the month.”

Federal Reserve research shows more people than ever appear to be working multiple jobs. Why? Palmer points to two things: first, inflation. Second, she noted the so-called ‘gig economy’ is more accessible than ever.

“There are some things about this moment that make it easier to launch a side hustle, for example the online platforms that exist to help people find opportunities,” Palmer explained.

For Riggs, one job would be nice. But, at the same time, she fears artificial intelligence shrinking the workforce. “It’s scary that we have thousands of people losing their jobs every day because of A.I.,” she said.

So, Riggs is charting a new course. She’s going back to school to become a nurse full time. It’s a professional pivot from education that she hopes will A.I.-proof her paycheck.

“Robots can’t draw blood,” she said.

Doing anything cute.