Texas teacher making $54K a year opens up about having to live in his car: ‘Mistakes and bad luck’

A Texas teacher has gone public about the struggles he’s faced living with a modest salary — revealing that he was forced to sleep in his car after a series of “mistakes and bad luck” and crushing debt.

Bill Atkinson, who rakes in $54,000 a year, has shared his story on TikTok, with media outlets and even through a GoFundMe fundraiser, raising more than $18,000 as he sheds light on teacher salaries.

And since opening up about his predicament, he’s even landed a room through a rental agency after spending the summer living in his car, according to Good Morning America.

The educator, on his GoFundMe page, said he had set up the fundraiser to help fix his bad credit, which had prohibited him from getting apartments or subsidized housing in the Austin area.

“Due to mistakes and bad luck my debts are to the point I cannot afford to pay rent and payoff my debts,” Atkinson said. “I also can’t get approved at the places my salary allows me to afford nor can I get approval for supplemental housing as a single person I make too much.”

“As of right now I am living out of my car while I continue to teach as that is the best I can currently do.”

In one TikTok video entitled “Day 35 living out of my car. GoFundMe Update!”, Atkinson said that he was living in his car, but added that “it’s not too bad,” and said that he was making plans to get his car’s AC system fully fixed.

He said he needed to pay off his school debt so that he could get his transcripts unlocked, adding that his total debt, not including his car and student loans, is $13,564.

Atkinson, a fourth grade teacher who is currently teaching at NYOS Charter School, told Good Morning America he began to live in his car over the summer, after he was unable to afford rent with his salary.

“No matter how much I borrowed or scraped, there was no catching up, because I just did not make enough to cover rent — because I was so used to living paycheck to paycheck, I didn’t have anything in savings to try to cover rent for a couple months,” Atkinson said. “So I tried to get a place, [but I] was having a hard time finding a place I could afford on my own.”

Now with a roof over his head, Atkinson told GMA he hopes his story will raise awareness about teacher salaries.

“I don’t know a single teacher that wants a mansion,” he said. “We want to be able to pay our bills, have a decent place to live, you know, and if we’re in our 30s and single, a place to live without a roommate [and be able to] buy food.”