Carrice: Managing Cut Hours With a Newborn During the Pandemic

When the COVID-19 pandemic swept the east coast, Carrice was almost nine months pregnant. Even before the shutdowns began, Carrice and her husband tried to limit how often their family—including their two year old—went out. Her husband’s job, though, made it difficult to stay home. 

“My husband is self-employed. He drives for Uber and Lyft,” Carrice said. “So he was constantly out with people, working.”

On March 19, Carrice gave birth. By the time she was released from the hospital, she was terrified. 

“I was terrified to bring [the virus] home to my newborn,” she said. “My husband had to stop working. It was really scary.”

On top of bringing a baby home, Carrice’s mother-in-law, who lives in Brooklyn, came to stay with them in New Jersey. 

Five days after giving birth, Carrice returned to work as depositions coordinator for New York City. Her office let her return to work remotely with the condition that her hours would be cut. 

Other people in Carrice’s department were laid off or had their hours reduced. So although Carrice’s wages were effectively slashed, she ended up doing double the work. 

“I’ve been doing the work of three or four people for less pay,” she said. 

Before the pandemic, Carrice had relied on working 10-20 hours of overtime each week to make ends meet. Without those extra hours, and with the loss of income from her husband’s job, they struggled to pay the rent. 

Because she was still employed, Carrice did not qualify for unemployment benefits. Her husband applied in March and didn’t receive anything until June. For three months they relied on their parents and other grants to help them get by. 

Carrice used a $500 grant from SaverLife and MetLife Foundation to help pay for rent and her car bill. Since receiving the grant, she’s been an active SaverLife member. 

“I did the Race to $100 and Scratch & Save,” she said. “Right now I have $105 in savings, which makes me feel a little bit better.” 

Over the summer, her husband’s unemployment benefits finally kicked in, and the couple had some breathing room. But when extra federal unemployment benefits expired at the end of July, their financial situation changed yet again. 

“The [extra federal unemployment benefits] stopped and now we’re back in the same boat,” Carrice said. 

As the pandemic dragged on, Carrice and her husband had to drain the $8,000 they had in savings. 

As she said, “We had savings and it’s all gone. We’re now living paycheck to paycheck.” 

Carrice and her husband are monitoring the rates of COVID-19 infection in their area to determine if it’s safe for her husband to go back to work. For a while it looked like things were getting better, but with the rate of infection increasing, they may delay his return. 

“With no income from my husband, it’s been insane,” Carrice said. “As much as we want him to work, I don’t know if that’s possible. We don’t know what to do.”

After her grandmother contracted the virus and her great aunt passed away from it, Carrice didn’t want to take any chances.  

After receiving some breaks on their bills, Carrice is now dealing with creditors because they owe $200 on their car bill. They also owe $800 in back rent. 

As the pandemic drags on, Carrice is trying to stay focused on the present. 

“It’s been rough,” she said. “We’re figuring out how we’re going to get through it from month to month.”