Jasmine Cherie, a TikToker based in Orlando, recently shared a very raw and relatable moment after receiving her first paycheck from a job at McDonald’s. She took the role after getting advice from her viewers, as she navigates a difficult personal chapter involving a divorce, a custody fight, and the financial responsibility of paying child support as a weekend mom.
In a video posted to TikTok, Cherie captured her reaction while opening the paycheck email for 82 hours of work. You can see her initial hesitation before she starts to laugh, a reaction she described in her caption as “laughing through my pain.” She noted that she was only smiling because she had anticipated a number below 1,000 dollars, and the actual total was slightly higher.
In the video, she says, “I just worked 82 hours and I got paid. It’s my first check. Let’s see what’s going on. Okay. Okay. It’s not. It’s not as low as I thought it was. Haha. Not feeling okay. Haha. I’m not feeling okay. Uh.”
The federal minimum wage isn’t livable, according to investment experts
The post struck a chord with many viewers who shared their own frustrations with modern wages. One user named Thakingken1 commented, “1100 for 82 hours no sir,” to which Cherie replied, “I agree.” Another user, Play_boyJ, stating, “Shi I work at Mc Donald’s, I worked 85 hours and only got 870$.” However, no one captured the emotion quite as well as chelsea, who wrote, “after 80 hours my check is like 950 😭 gross pay like 1550. im tired.”
Per Investopedia, the federal minimum wage hasn’t actually been a livable wage for a long time. Not only has the federal minimum wage remained stagnant at 7.25 dollars since 2009, it also hasn’t kept up with the cost of living since 1970. This creates a difficult cycle where a full-time worker earning the federal minimum often finds themselves hovering right around the federal poverty line.
According to the Department of Labor, in Florida, where Cherie is based, the minimum wage has been 14 dollars since September 2025. Although the National Conference of State Legislatures notes that it will increase by a dollar on September 30, 2026, to 15 dollars. While this is higher than the federal rate, many workers still struggle to make ends meet.
The concept of a “living wage” varies significantly by location, but it is almost always higher than the poverty wage. That being said, for a single worker, or especially for a parent, these gaps can be incredibly stressful to manage, and Investopedia notes that the struggle is often compounded by factors beyond just the base hourly rate.
Many companies do not offer consistent full-time hours, and workers frequently deal with fluctuating schedules or split shifts. Wage theft, such as erased time cards or unpaid time spent on security bag checks, can also further reduce a worker’s take-home pay. As one user named solo dolo pointed out in the comments, “the more hours you work the more taxes they take😳.”
Not everyone in the comments section focused on the frustration, though. An older commenter named SCOTTY offered some perspective: “$15 an hour, young lady here is some sound advice, congratulations because in life a person has to do what they’ve gotta do until they can do what they wanna do, I’ve been in business probably as long as you are old, but I had to bust my ass to get here, keep doing what you’re doing and always remember, $1100 beats $0 every day and every hour of the week.
On the flip side of this dynamic, there are people who illicit envy because of how much they earn. One Southwest flight attendant revealed that no matter how sick she gets of her job, a reminder of the insane paycheck she takes home keeps her going. Last year also brought the fascinating story of a French Telecom worker who sued her company for paying her a full salary for 20 years.
Published: Jun 7, 2026 06:13 am