HOW HOUSEHOLDS MET EXPENSES With insufficient income and little or no savings, households below the ALICE Threshold struggled before the pandemic, often pushed into difficult, no-win choices to make ends meet. The pandemic added to this stress by further destabilizing ALICE worker income, as well as adding new and unexpected expenses. This section provides the first detailed analysis of the different resources that households above and below the ALICE Threshold had access to and used to get by during the pandemic. Well into the pandemic (May 2021), the Household Pulse Survey asked respondents to select which of the following actions they or their household members took to meet spending needs over the previous seven days (Figure 24). Most households used regular income sources like those received before the pandemic to cover spending needs, but those above the ALICE Threshold were significantly more likely to use regular income than those below the Threshold (87% vs. 61%). To cover spending needs, 74% of households below the ALICE Threshold reported using additional income sources (other than regular income sources, like those used before the pandemic) compared to 46% of households above the Threshold. Households below the ALICE Threshold were significantly more likely to have used: • Stimulus payments (36% vs. 17%) • Credit cards or loans (30% vs. 26%) • Money from savings or selling assets (25% vs. 18%) • Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits (15% vs. 1%) • Unemployment insurance (UI) benefit payments (11% vs. 5%) • Money borrowed from friends and family (19% vs. 4%)
Figure 24. Ways Households Met Spending Needs by the ALICE Threshold, May 2021 100% 87%
Percent of Households
90% 80% 70% 60%
Above ALICE Threshold Below ALICE Threshold
61%
50% 36%
40%
30% 26%
30% 17%
20%
25%
18%
19%
10%
15% 4%
0% Regular Income
Stimulus Payments
Credit Cards or Loans
Used Savings or Sold Assets
Borrowed From Friends/Family
11% 1%
SNAP
5%
Unemployment Insurance
Question: Thinking about your experience in the last 7 days, which of the following did you or your household members use to meet your spending needs? Note: Respondents could select all that apply. Source: ALICE Threshold, 2018; U.S. Census Bureau, Household Pulse Survey, Week 30: May 12–May 24, 2021
ALICE NATIONAL COVID SURVEY REPORT
32
OCTOBER 2021
