Mitzi Lacerna is on a mission.
Lacerna, a 28-year-old part-time content creator near San Francisco, wants to save $100,000 to put toward a down payment to buy a house.
To do that, she’s working two full-time jobs: one as a barista earning $27.94 an hour, and one as an overnight attendant at an apartment building earning $22 an hour. (Business Insider verified Lacerna’s April paystubs.)
Lacerna told Business Insider via email that she began working multiple jobs after immigrating to the US from the Philippines in 2018. However, it wasn’t until 2021 that she took on the two 40-hour-a-week gigs.
Lacerna is one of many people in the US who voluntarily work more than one job. The Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that around 8.4 million Americans, or roughly 5.2% of the US workforce, worked multiple jobs in April — though that figure also includes people who hold down several part-time jobs.
Business Insider’s Jacob Zinkula — who has interviewed many people working multiple jobs, also known as being overemployed — found that their reasons vary but include saving money for retirement, dream vacations, and weight-loss drugs.
Unlike Lacerna, Zinkula reports that many overemployed people work remotely in IT or other corners of the tech industry. Companies have different policies on employees working multiple jobs — some allow it, while others don’t, which means anyone choosing to do so secretly could risk being fired.
Working two jobs is no easy feat, but Lacerna said in an email she’s “more than halfway” to reaching her $100,000 target and has “already saved $52,000.”
Working over 80 hours a week isn’t for the fainthearted
Lacerna’s strategy is simple.
“I save everything from my highest-paying job, and live off one paycheck for my spending,” she said in an email.
Her schedule, however, is draining.
From 7 a.m. to 4:15 p.m., Lacerna said she’s on her feet working as a barista at a tech company.
Later, from around 10 p.m. to 6:50 a.m., Lacerna clocks in for her role as a “resident relations specialist” at the front desk of a residential condominium building.
Lacerna regularly posts glimpses of her life on TikTok. In March, she shared a video with highlights of a typical day in response to a user who accused her of faking her schedule. That post went viral, attracting more than 25.8 million views.
Some TikTok users commented on Lacerna’s schedule, citing the potential for sleep deprivation.
While sleep requirements vary from person to person, experts recommend adults get between seven and nine hours of sleep each night. Anything less can result in mild to severe health consequences.
Lacerna said in an email that she sometimes only gets two or three hours of sleep on days when she works both jobs.
In the email, she said that because she has Tuesday and Wednesday nights off from the front desk job and Saturday and Sunday mornings off from the coffee shop, she can get between six and eight hours of sleep on those days.
Lacerna also tries to sneak in extra shut-eye whenever she can.
“I take naps during my 15-minute break and 30-minute break on both jobs,” she added in an email.
Working two jobs allows her to aggressively save money
Lacerna knows that her schedule is tougher than most.
But it hasn’t dissuaded her from her goal, which she is working toward by religiously tracking the money coming in and out of her accounts and “spending mindfully.”
“I am saving aggressively this year,” Lacerna said in an email. “I haven’t spent anything on new clothes, new shoes, new bags, and even new skincare.”
She said she hopes to cut down her spending on rideshare apps and food delivery this year.
Lacerna said she knows her schedule is “not always possible for everyone.” But for those inspired by her work ethic and savings strategy, her best advice is simply to “live below” your means.
Lacerna doesn’t plan to hold down two full-time jobs forever.
When she reaches her goal of saving $100,000, she plans to quit one of her current jobs and study medical coding.
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