Their housing costs are low because they took advantage of pandemic interest rates. They like watching free movies and buying season passes to amusement parks.
Jesse Williams, right, and his family live in Austin on a fixed income that totals $120,000 annually. When Jesse Williams enlisted in the Navy in 2006, his plan was to become a nuclear reactor operator.
But after working in a shipyard, he said, he developed lung and autoimmune diseases. After retiring from the military in 2012 for medical reasons, Williams, 39, moved back to his native Central Texas. “I was smart enough, at least while I was still in, that I started applying for disability benefits,” Williams said. Between those benefits and the workers’ compensation his wife gets, the family of three — the couple have a 13-year-old son — live on $120,000 a year in Austin. on how Texans are making ends meet, are going down, gas is the highest it’s been in years, and the price of things like childcare and groceries continues to rise. The median household income in Austin is about $91,000 a year — higher than the $76,000 statewide — but families often argue they need to make much more to live comfortably in the capital city.After Williams retired from the Navy he worked a series of odd jobs before enrolling at Texas State University in 2016 to pursue a media degree to get a job in TV news. But after spending grueling days in the field reporting stories, Williams had to pivot because of his lung disease.You're required to walk and run all over the place,” he said. “And especially in TV news, like, hey, you need to carry this 30-pound camera all over a college campus for the day.”Law is writing intensive,” Williams said of his major. Of his minor: “You're trying to convince a jury that they need to see things the way you see things. I'm like, well, that's what theater's about.” Months before he was set to graduate, in 2023, the family’s home was significantly damaged in a fire. Then in 2024 Williams had to have a double-lung transplant.The family’s biggest monthly expense is housing. They pay about $2,000 per month toward their mortgage, which Williams acknowledged is relatively low in Austin. That’s because the family took advantage of lower pandemic-era interest rates.If we were to get a home loan now, it would be through the roof,” Williams said.If I still had to pay taxes on , even that alone would probably be $3,500 a month. A tax break really helps a veteran like me to stay in the neighborhood I'm at and be in Austin,” he said . The family spends about $650 to $700 per month on their phones, utilities and internet and anywhere from $200 to $250 a week on groceries. They’ve cut back on red meat for their health and to save money, and Williams likes to browse the clearance aisles at grocery stores. The family spends about $150 per week on gas for their two fuel-efficient cars. He said they don’t make enough to contribute to a savings account or a traditional retirement account. Williams is able to bring home movies for his family to watch for free through his work as a volunteer with the. In the summer the family will buy season passes to local amusement parks, like Typhoon Texas, and leave their lunch and snacks in a cooler in their car to avoid paying for concessions.“We're both on fixed incomes, and I've been wanting to get back into work,” he said. Do you want to be featured in the next installment of our affordability series? We’d love to hear from you!Austin
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