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Home » Our Work » United for Financial Security » Paycheck-to-Paycheck

Paycheck to Paycheck Experience

Step into the reality of making ends meet in Orange county.

The Paycheck to Paycheck Experience highlights what people in our community face and how United for Financial Security’s programming supports them. It merges real people, real budgets, real decisions, and real stories.

 

This experience goes beyond the data and statistics, allowing participants to walk the path of someone trying to make ends meet and make the “right” choices, when in reality, it’s often more complicated than it seems. How do you balance an extremely tight budget with the social and emotional costs that can come with each financial decision?

Interested in This Experience?

What do I learn from the Paycheck to Paycheck Experience?

The Paycheck to Paycheck Experience is an immersive experience where participants face the reality of making difficult financial decisions that impact themselves and their families. 

 

During this experience, participants embody a profile: a real Orange County resident who is living paycheck-to-paycheck. Participants go through each season of the year, using the budget provided to guide their decision-making, hoping that they can make it through the year.

Why We Created This Experience

Orange County is one of the most vibrant and economically diverse regions in California, but beneath the surface, nearly 1 in 3 households are struggling to make ends meet. These are people with jobs, sometimes more than one, but after paying rent, food, gas, and other basic needs, there’s often nothing left over.

Orange County Housing Costs Are Outpacing Incomes

0 %
of households are housing burdened*

*Housing burdened means the household is spending more than 30% of their income on housing. Source

$ 0 k
income can still qualify as "low income"*

*Qualifies as low income according to the U.S. Department of Housing & Urban Development (HUD) income guidelines. Source

$ 0 /hr
required to afford average rent

3.3 times the minimum wage. Source

Our team identified a gap between individuals knowing what we did to support our community and truly understanding WHY we do it. So, we created the Paycheck to Paycheck Experience.

The Experience Was Created To:

Immerse people in the reality of those making difficult financial decisions.
Build awareness, understanding, and empathy for our community members.
Demonstrate why our work really matters.

Learn more about our work

United for Financial Security is an Orange County United Way initiative, which offers programs to that focus on the most important tools to build financial stability:

Sparkpoint OC

1:1 financial coaching to help individuals reduce debt, improve credit, build savings, and work toward long-term financial stability.

Apply for Sparkpoint OC

UpSkill OC

Connects job seekers with career coaching and training to increase their earning potential.

Apply for UpSkill OC

OC Free Tax Prep

Provides free tax preparation, helping low-income families and individuals claim valuable tax credits and keep more of what they earn.

File your Taxes for Free

Need Additional Resources?

Connect with 2-1-1 Orange County for help finding local support and services.

Dial 2-1-1 (Toll-Free)
Visit 211oc.org

Contact Us

For questions or additional information about the Paycheck to Paycheck Experience, please contact our team at:

 

[email protected].

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