I'm getting hit everywhere. Just this past weekend, $70 for gas.
Across the United States, nearly three-quarters of public school teachers now work second or third jobs to meet basic living expenses — a quiet crisis that places one of society's most foundational professions in a precarious position. Amid inflation running at 4.2 percent annually, teachers like 26-year veteran Christine Regal of Plainfield, New Jersey, find themselves waitressing on weekends and spending their own money on classroom pencils, not out of indifference from policymakers, but as a symptom of wages that have long failed to keep pace with the cost of living. The question this moment poses is an old and urgent one: what does a society reveal about its values when those entrusted with its children cannot afford to stay in the room?
- A new Walton Family Foundation and Gallup survey finds 71% of U.S. public school teachers work at least one second job, with 21% reporting outright financial hardship — numbers that signal a profession under serious structural strain.
- Inflation at 4.2% annually is compounding the pressure, driving up the cost of gas, groceries, and the classroom supplies teachers routinely purchase out of pocket — sometimes up to $1,500 a year of their own money.
- Experienced educators are being pushed toward early exits: Christine Regal, a beloved 26-year elementary teacher, is now planning to retire at 60, years ahead of what she once envisioned, simply to escape the financial grind.
- The ripple effects reach students directly — teachers are already discussing cutting back on classroom supplies, and the loss of seasoned educators threatens the relational continuity that effective teaching depends on.
- Policymakers and school systems face a narrowing window to address teacher compensation before financial attrition hollows out the experienced workforce that no recruitment campaign can quickly replace.
Christine Regal has spent 26 years teaching elementary school in Plainfield, New Jersey. She still loves the work. But love has not been enough to live on, so she works three jobs: breakfast and lunch duty during the school day, tutoring after the bell, and waitressing at the Cheesecake Factory on evenings and weekends. Even then, the math barely holds. A tank of gas costs $70. Two bags of groceries run $160. She spends up to $1,500 of her own money each year on classroom supplies her school budget does not cover.
Regal is far from alone. According to the Teaching for Tomorrow report from the Walton Family Foundation and Gallup, 71 percent of U.S. public school teachers work at least one second job, and one in five say they are struggling financially. The survey arrives as inflation continues to erode household purchasing power — the Consumer Price Index rose at an annual rate of 4.2 percent in May, its highest point since April 2023.
At 54 and single, Regal describes the pressure as relentless. She once imagined teaching well into her sixties, but has now recalibrated: she plans to retire at 60, praying that economic conditions will have shifted by then. Her co-teacher, recently back from having a baby, is feeling the same squeeze. Together, they have already begun talking about cutting back on what they buy for their students — a small but telling sign of how financial strain travels from teacher to classroom.
What Regal's story makes visible is not a personal failing but a systemic one. Teachers are not asking for luxury — they are asking to afford gas and groceries without working three jobs, to stop funding their own classrooms, and to plan a retirement that does not hinge on economic luck. The deeper question for schools and policymakers is whether the profession can hold onto people like her, or whether the financial pressure will eventually push its most experienced voices out the door.
Christine Regal has spent 26 years in a classroom in Plainfield, New Jersey, teaching elementary school. She still keeps in touch with former students. She loves the work. But loving it has not been enough to live on a teacher's salary, so she works three jobs.
During the school day, she handles breakfast and lunch duty. After the final bell, she tutors students. On evenings and weekends, she works part-time at the Cheesecake Factory. When summer arrives, she will pick up more waitressing shifts. Even with all of this, the math does not work. A tank of gas costs $70. Two bags of groceries run $160. She spends up to $1,500 of her own money each year buying supplies for her classroom because the school budget does not cover what her students need.
Regal is not alone. According to the Walton Family Foundation and Gallup's annual Teaching for Tomorrow report released in March, 71 percent of public school teachers in the United States work at least one second job. One in five teachers surveyed—21 percent—said they are struggling financially. The timing of the survey coincides with persistent inflation that has eroded household purchasing power across the country. In May, the Consumer Price Index rose at an annual rate of 4.2 percent, the highest rate since April 2023.
For Regal, a single woman at 54, the pressure is relentless. "I'm getting hit everywhere," she told CBS News. The cost of living has forced her to recalculate her future. She had once imagined teaching longer, but now she is planning to retire at 60—a decade earlier than many of her peers might have hoped to leave the profession. "I'm going to just keep hustling and just keep putting money away, and then pray that when I hit 60, that things will be a lot different," she said.
The burden extends beyond her own finances. Regal shares a classroom with a co-teacher, and they split the cost of supplies. But her colleague has just had a baby and is feeling the squeeze too. They have already talked about cutting back on what they buy, knowing that both of them are stretched thin. This is the hidden cost of teacher shortages and low wages: experienced educators, the ones who know how to build relationships with students and manage a classroom, are forced to choose between staying in the profession and staying afloat.
What Regal's situation reveals is a systemic problem. Teachers are not asking for luxury. They are asking to be able to afford gas and groceries without working three jobs. They are asking not to spend their own money on pencils and paper. They are asking to plan a retirement that does not depend on economic conditions improving by the time they turn 60. Instead, they are hustling—tutoring, waitressing, doing extra duties—just to keep up with inflation that has outpaced their wages. The question facing schools and policymakers is whether the profession can retain teachers like Regal, or whether the financial pressure will eventually force them out, taking their experience and their commitment with them.
Notable Quotes
I just love working with kids. I've been teaching for 26 years, and I still remain in contact with a lot of them.— Christine Regal, elementary school teacher
I'm going to just keep hustling and just keep putting money away, and then pray that when I hit 60, that things will be a lot different.— Christine Regal, on her plan to retire early
The Hearth Conversation Another angle on the story
Why does a teacher with 26 years of experience need to work three jobs?
Because her base salary doesn't cover basic living costs in an inflationary economy. Gas, groceries, rent—they've all gotten more expensive, but teacher pay hasn't kept pace.
But she's choosing to spend her own money on classroom supplies too. That's a separate problem, isn't it?
It is, but it's connected. When you're already stretched thin paying for essentials, you still feel obligated to buy what your students need because the school budget won't. It's a choice made under duress.
The survey says 71% of teachers work second jobs. That's almost everyone. How is that sustainable?
It isn't. That's the point. You can't build a stable profession on the assumption that workers will hold multiple jobs indefinitely. Eventually, people burn out or leave.
Regal is planning to retire at 60. Is that early?
Yes. Most teachers work into their mid-60s if they can. She's cutting her career short because she needs the money now more than she needs a longer career later.
What happens to her classroom when she leaves?
It gets filled by someone else, probably younger and less experienced. You lose institutional knowledge, relationships with students, stability. And that new teacher will likely face the same financial pressure she did.