Participate in the ALICE Challenge

ALICE Awareness Week
November 15-19, 2021 

ALICE, an acronym for Asset Limited, Income Constrained, Employed, is a new way of defining and understanding the struggles of households that earn above the Federal Poverty Level, but not enough to afford a bare-bones household budget.

For far too many families, the cost of living outpaces what they earn. These households struggle to manage even their most basic needs - housing, food, transportation, child care, health care, and necessary technology.

When funds run short, cash-strapped households are forced to make impossible choices, such as deciding between quality child care or paying the rent, filling a prescription or fixing the car. These short-term decisions have long-term consequences not only for ALICE families, but for all of us.

For 7 days, we challenge our community members to live off of an ALICE budget. As you take on this challenge keep in mind that this could be your neighbor’s reality. Difficult choices are made between purchasing food, or paying bills, taking care of health needs, or paying for childcare. These are just some of the many challenging decisions facing members of our own community. Maybe you too, have had to make a difficult choice, or gone without.

For one week we challenge you to budget within the daily limit. In addition to the daily budgets we also challenge you to limiting your clothing to 1-2 outfits for the week and using alternative transportation such as the public transportation system, or carpooling. You could also give up using your own laundry appliances for a week and use a Laundromat, like many ALICE families do.

ALICE Challenge Daily Budget

Food                   $9 per day

Transportation    $10 per day

Miscellaneous     $6 per day

 

 

Share Your Experiences with #UWSAWALICE. Email a narrative of your experience to info@unitedwaysaw.org and receive a copy of the book Maid by Stephanie Land.