A mother of two who works full-time as an intensive care nurse while pursuing a doctorate broke down in tears as she discussed her financial struggles.
Mackenzie Moan from Pennsylvania revealed that even though she and her husband were both making “good money,” they were still living “paycheck to paycheck” and only had a few hundred dollars for living expenses two weeks after paying their bills.
She recently went viral after posting a video on TikTok expressing her frustration with her family’s lack of money.
In the clip, the healthcare worker sobbed as she explained that she and her spouse Steve earned a decent salary and weren’t “living beyond their means” but barely had enough money to get by.
A mother of two who works full-time as an intensive care nurse while studying for her master’s degree broke down in tears as she spoke about her financial struggles
She revealed that even though she and her husband both made “good money,” they lived “paycheck to paycheck” and only had a few hundred dollars for two weeks
Mackenzie Moan from Pennsylvania recently went viral after posting a video on TikTok expressing her frustration with her family’s lack of money
“I feel like my husband and I are doing everything right,” she told the camera as her eyes watered.
“We both have good jobs.” I’m a qualified nurse, I work full time, he works full time.
“We just got our money last Friday and paid off the mortgage, bought some groceries, put some gas in the car, and guys, it’s Tuesday and we have about $200 to $300 left for next Friday.”
The mother explained that she and Steve live with their two sons in a three-bedroom, one-bathroom, 1,100-square-foot ranch.
“We don’t live in a big house,” she continued. “Somebody has to do something to change this because I make good money, he makes good money, we’re not living beyond our means, but we’re living paycheck to paycheck.”
“I go to school full time, I work full time, and he works more than full time, he works overtime every week.” I don’t know what to do. “I’m so stressed, this isn’t how it should be.”
Mackenzie admitted that she was once “a homeless drug addict” but explained that she was able to “turn her life around” when she decided to go to college to study medicine.
She recalled telling herself throughout school, “It will get better when I graduate and start working.”
“I thought I could pay my bills and not have to check my bank account when my kids say, ‘Mom, can we go to the movies this weekend?'” she continued.
“I thought we would be comfortable, but that’s not the case at all. Growing up we were told, “Go to college, get a degree, work to support your family.” Here we are. Was that what now?’
The mother explained that she and Steve live with their two sons in a three-bedroom, one-bathroom, 1,100-square-foot ranch
“We don’t live in a big house,” she said. “I make good money, he makes good money, we don’t live beyond our means, but we live paycheck to paycheck.” She and her husband are seen
Mackenzie said she often saw people online “talking about how out of control prices were,” but it felt like they had “no influence or power to change things.”
She encouraged her followers to share her video and continue posting about it online, hoping that if enough people spoke out, it could bring about change.
“Maybe someone who can do something about it will see one of our videos,” she said.
“I just wanted to share our struggle and maybe someone else could relate. “We just need to support each other until things change. Thank you for watching.’
Mackenzie’s video has been viewed more than 1.3 million times and received thousands of comments from people relating to what she was going through.
“I promise it’s not just you. It’s all of America,” one person wrote.
“We have 98 cents in savings,” another shared. “It’s so rough out here. “We’re all depressed and drowning.”
“Wages are not keeping up with inflation,” another commenter agreed.
“Honey, $200 between checks is rich at this point.” “It’s bad out here,” a fourth comment read.
“Our country has failed us,” another user said, while a fifth added: “Overtaxed and underpaid.” “It’s getting harder to survive financially every year.”
Many others thanked Mackenzie for sharing her story, spoke about their own struggles and reminded her that she was “not alone.”
“This honestly makes me feel a lot better,” someone else added. “Like, the fact that everyone is struggling should mean something, it’s so sad.”
Mackenzie’s video has been viewed more than 1.3 million times and received thousands of comments from people relating to what she was going through
While most people supported Mackenzie, the video also sparked some negative reactions. Mackenzie then responded to some of the hateful comments
She adds that “just because she’s stressed” doesn’t mean she isn’t also “grateful for what she has.”
While most people supported Mackenzie, the video also sparked some negative reactions, most of which have since been deleted.
In a follow-up reply, Mackenzie responded to some of the hateful comments by saying, “According to the video, I clearly have enough problems that are making me stressed out in my life.”
“I don’t have to deal with this.” I don’t owe anyone an explanation, especially a stranger on the internet.
“I didn’t make this video to ask for help or a breakdown of my finances, I didn’t ask for compassion, I didn’t ask for anything in this video.” The internet is just wild. It’s just crazy to me.’
She adds that “just because she’s stressed” doesn’t mean she isn’t also “grateful for what she has.”
She also reached out to someone who encouraged her to “sell the artwork” that was hanging on her walls in the background of the first video.
“These came from Walmart and were like $30 or $40,” she shared. “I’m not in a situation where I have to sell everything.”
“I know I’m in a much better situation than a lot of people, I understand that because I’ve been on the other side.”
“I’ve been there and I’m extremely grateful for what I have and what I’ve worked for.” Yes, I’m very lucky to have all of these things, but I can still be stressed about my financial situation.
“You don’t have to mean anything to others, if you don’t like it, keep scrolling.” What we’re not going to do is make assumptions based on a ten-minute video you saw on the internet. Don’t assume you know everything about my life.”
She concluded by adding that she was “absolutely overwhelmed” by the “kindness” that was also shown to her, and described those who shared their own stories in the comments as extremely “brave.”
“The point was that we’re all stressed out and we’re all struggling, so we need to come together,” she said. “We just need more kindness, love and acceptance.”