People of EarnIn: Yocelyn Gonzalez

With her five-year-old son and newborn child, Yocelyn definitely has her hands full. Luckily, her family’s got her back, and they also happen to be just down the street. Read more about her family ties, her job, financial goals, and how she found EarnIn!

“I’m located in New Jersey. I grew up here and my entire family actually lives on the same street as me. They’re here basically every day, especially now that I have a newborn and a five-year-old at home. When I got home from the hospital I thought, “Oh my God, how am I going to do all this by myself?” But my family was really hands-on and uplifted me.

I'm pretty much always around my mom and my dad. My mom and I used to click heads, but ever since I had my son, she's been closer with me. I'm also really close with my sister and her girlfriend. She’s basically my sister-in-law and has been pretty helpful with the baby and especially my 5-year-old son. She's the only other one that can do virtual school with him because my son has ADHD and she's the only one that really has patience with him.

Before my pregnancy, I was working at Macy's in fulfillment. I do want to go back, but I'm trying to figure out the whole COVID situation with schooling. I don't have a committed person to be with the baby or to do school with my 5 year-old. I know a lot of daycares are closed down due to COVID so it's a lot of planning. It's difficult, because I don't want to throw my children to just anybody. Their dad has to do his job because he makes more money than me. It makes more sense for him to stay working. So, I'm just figuring out what my options are.

I was thinking about unemployment benefits as an option, but then my concern is that I'll eventually not get any income coming in. I wouldn't be screwed because their father works and we'd have just enough, but we'd be tight every month. Plus, I usually have some free money or emergency money but if I'm not working, it won't be that way. Basically, we’d be working just to pay bills, and I know sometimes, the kids are going to want to go somewhere, do something, or eat out and we won’t be able to. I just want to be able to make bills and put some money to the side for emergencies like if the baby needs something medically, or if my son needs something medically, I'm able to get it.”

I discovered EarnIn a few years ago. I was short on money and then I had a friend tell me about EarnIn. I said I didn’t want to get an extra charge to get money and they were like, “No, it's not. They just take it out of your paycheck.” Then, every time I was short on money or I needed money for bills, I always looked to EarnIn. I actually got some family members on it too. I've had it for a few years and it's way better than all the other apps that I've ever had. Some of them don't even give as much as EarnIn does and they expect to take a fee from you.

Check out the rest of our People of EarnIn series! If you’d like to share your story with us, reach out to stories@earnin.com!