Michael wants to eat healthy, but between his two part-time jobs, he has to spend his money on gas. Often in a rush between jobs, he reluctantly eats fast food.
Michael earns minimum wage as a janitor and a game store employee. He cobbles together 30 hours a week between the two, but gets no healthcare or benefits.
Michael, 25, has no savings and lives with his parents. He applies to full-time jobs every week, but there aren't many available in Topeka, he says. With no college degree, he is concerned he can't compete with the college graduates for any full-time positions in town.
The part-time lifestyle affects Michael physically and mentally, he says.
"It's depressing," Michael told CNNMoney. "Most part-time jobs are the grunt labor and the low stuff that nobody wants to do."
Michael senses a negative perception about part-time workers that he says is not true.
"People think the part-time worker is lazy. Or that we're uneducated or stupid," Michael says. He later added: "The people like me are living paycheck to paycheck, day to day. We're not getting any better. We're getting worse."
