How a United Way virtual experience simulates the hard choices faced by workers struggling to make ends meet

The best way to learn about someone is to walk in their shoes for a day.

For about 90 minutes this week, the The United Way of Central Maryland  30|30 Experience allowed a group that included this reporter to navigate the life decisions of the Asset Limited Income Constrained Employed (ALICE), or households that earn more than the federal poverty level but less than basic cost of living.

On Giving Tuesday, the 30|30Experience took 50 participants on a 30-day journey of difficult decisions, providing a simulation of what it’s like to live below the poverty line and trying to make ends meet as a low-wage earner. The United Way of Central Maryland is centering the experiences of the the 30% of Maryland households that make more than the federal poverty level of $12,140 for a single adult and $25,100 for a family of four, but less than the average cost of living in Maryland at $33,636 for a single adult, and $87,156 for a family of four.

“Imagine you are working hard, you have limited income coming in, your bills are due and you have to make some tough choices to take care of your family,” said Amy Novak, director of development at the United Way in Harford County to help participants to get in the right frame of mind for the simulation.

Designed by San Francisco-based custom simulation company Forio, the simulation set me up as the head of a household, with a partner and two children. I had to make choices between essentials like rent, fixing the car I need to pay rent and my child’s education. The simulation is broken up into 10-day increments. At the end of each section, the group of 50 participants would come back to the Zoom and discuss events, decisions and sacrifices needed to make ends meet.

Below is a brief journey of the 30 days living in a household that couldn’t yet meet the basic costs of living, with gifs to illustrate my experience.

Deciding which bill not to pay was probably one of the easiest choices in the 30 days, while the hardest choice, based off of discussions with the other participants in small breakout rooms, was the choice of how to celebrate a child’s birthday on a shoestring budget.

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Another scenario required feeding a family of four with $75.

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The reoccurring theme was that when it rains it pours. Every step forward was followed by life punching me in the face and taking me two steps back. If I got a new job, then someone would get sick, I’d have to take off to handle the doctor’s visit, and lose pay. I’d get the car fixed for $300, but because of the stress of juggling work, kids and a relationship with my partner, I’d neglect to renew the registration so the car would get towed and put in an impound lot.  My child was failing in school and the rent was going up. There was always another expense I didn’t foresee, leading to an increasing dependence on my credit card as a safety net because I didn’t qualify for government programs like Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP).

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As the gifs show, my wallet never got particularly low, but my debt got extremely high. In a month, I went from $800 in credit card debt to over $3000 in credit card debt.

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The intended takeaway from the experience is to shift perspectives. It’s intended to inspire more than just a one-day donation, but a month of actions. The org follows up with “30 days, 30 ways,” an email campaign that provides a challenging, impactful action a day towards helping low-wage earners.