‘Counting On’: How Does Jana Duggar Earn Money While Living at Home?
Of all life’s mystery, how the Duggars earn their money is one of the most perplexing. Most 19 Kids and Counting Fans realize that Jim Bob Duggar builds wealth through real estate selling and investing. With smart purchases, the family patriarch was able to amass about $3.5 million.
Many of Jim Bob Duggar’s sons work for the family business and earn their money that way. But in the Duggar family, women are most often cast into the role of wife and mother, rarely earning money on their own except with side gigs. For example, several Duggars are trained as midwives, but that’s never the family’s main source of income.
But what about the eldest unmarried Duggar daughter, Jana? With no husband to provide for her and no discernible full-time job, how is Jana earning the cash for all those plants she keeps buying? Read on to find out.
Jana Duggar still lives at home
Jana Duggar, 29, is the second oldest Duggar child (in a tie with her twin brother, John-David). In the Duggar’s specific sect of Christianity, unmarried women do not move out of their parents’ house until they move in with their husbands. As for Jana? With no courtship announcement and no ring on her left hand, it means she’s still living under Jim Bob and Michelle’s roof.
Some Duggar fans see this as cruel and even speculate that Jana is being held captive. But actually, living with parents is becoming increasingly popular with millennials as cost of living rises and wages stay stagnant. At least Jana isn’t stuck with crippling student loan debt! (The one benefit to not attending college).
Assuming that Jim Bob isn’t charging Jana rent (more on that in a minute), she probably doesn’t need that much money to survive. Think about it – she’s not paying for housing, utilities, food, or any other big expenses. Therefore, her income doesn’t need to be exorbitant.
She most likely doesn’t have any debt
One thing the Duggars instill in their children is a set of values and morals for living. Much is made of their religious principles, but that isn’t the only thing the Duggars teach their kids. They also instruct them on financial responsibilities.
Jim Bob and Michelle famously live debt-free and openly talk to others about their methods. Their secret? Thrift shopping, buying secondhand, driving used cars, and avoiding purchasing more than they can afford. As Jim Bob said on TODAY, “How do [other] people pay interest for the debt on top of making ends meet? What we’ve done is something that a lot of people don’t want to do.”
It helps that the Duggars don’t tend to place value on material possessions but rather focus on maintaining their spiritual life instead. Plus, all those $1 shoes Michelle says she buys at yard sales.
Jana might make money in other ways
They don’t call her “Cinderella Duggar” for nothing – Jana is expected to help with chores and taking care of the younger kids just like any other older sibling in a large family. But that doesn’t mean she has zero income.
Michelle Duggar came under criticism when she called Jana a “concert pianist.” But besides just her musical abilities, Jana seems to have plenty of skills, including interior decorating. She also trained to be a midwife.
It’s not unrealistic to believe that Jana’s parents pay her for helping homeschool the youngest children. While this idea has never been specifically addressed, that could be a good way for Jim Bob and Michelle to compensate their daughter for all the time she spends helping out.
Free room and board is great, too. Sounds like Jana is perfectly content to stay at her parent’s house for now – at least until a courtship is announced.
