What would you be willing to sacrifice to look and feel the best you ever have?
One Utah mother has revealed how she juggles a full-time job and three side hustles in order to afford her GLP-1 weight-loss medication.
Madi Shaum, 29, who lives in St George and works as a social media strategist, started taking semaglutide a little over a year ago after struggling with her weight for most of her life.
She told the Daily Mail she had tried ‘every fad diet imaginable,’ but nothing stuck. After having her daughter, she was determined to get healthy – both for herself and her child.
Then she saw an Oprah special about GLP-1 inhibitors.
‘I thought, “Yes, I’m going to give this a try,”‘ Shaum said. ‘It genuinely changed my life in a way I never expected.’
But the medication came with one major hurdle: the cost.
At first, she was paying around $300 a month using her HSA account. Now, her local pharmacy offers her three months-worth of semaglutide for $300 – still entirely out of pocket, with no help from insurance.
Madi Shaum (pictured), a St George mom who works as a social media strategist, started taking semaglutide a little over a year ago after struggling with her weight for most of her life
Shaum had tried ‘every fad diet imaginable,’ she said, but nothing stuck. After having her daughter, she was determined to get healthy – both for herself and her child
So, to make sure she could afford it, the busy mom took on three extra jobs, often clocking 12-hour days.
‘I just had to find a way. Anyone who wants to do this should be able to,’ she said.
Her most lucrative side gig is data annotation, which involves training artificial intelligence systems – a meticulous process that pays $25 to $40 an hour once you’re accepted. ‘It’s tedious, but it adds up,’ she told the Daily Mail.
Then, because Shaum has more than 1,000 followers on TikTok, she was able to become an affiliate for TikTok Shop, filming product videos that earn her commission when viewers buy through her links.
‘Some companies give 5 percent, others 10 percent plus bonuses. It depends,’ she said. Holiday months like November and December are especially profitable.
Using her marketing and graphic-design background, she also creates digital poster designs and sells them as instant downloads on Etsy.
‘There’s unlimited opportunity – posters, wedding invitations, birthday cards. If you find the right niche, it can bring in good money.’
Between her full-time 8am-to-5pm job and her side hustles, Shaum often spends up to four extra hours a day earning the money she needs for her medication. She says that, over the last 16 months, she’s earned around $5,000 from her side jobs alone..
She wakes up before sunrise – and before her husband and daughter – to squeeze in the work.
‘After my daughter goes to bed, I try to relax,’ she said. ‘But my biggest sacrifice has definitely been my time.’
Shaum has lost 40lbs since starting to take semaglutide 16 months ago
Since starting semaglutide, Shaum has lost nearly 40lbs over 16 months after years of barely being able to lose even 5lbs.
But the biggest change for her is not the number on the scale – it’s the silence.
‘The food noise is gone,’ she explained. ‘I’m not constantly thinking about what to eat next. I can focus on hitting my protein and calorie goals without that overwhelming urge to just keep eating.’
She now has more energy, feels happier and can keep up with friends and family in a way she never could before.
Online, Shaum has found a community of others also turning to side hustles to pay for the pricey medication.
‘I know at least two of my TikTok mutuals who also do TikTok Shop just to afford their GLP-1s,’ she told the Daily Mail. ‘A lot of people want to start, but they just can’t find the extra money.’
Some, she’s heard, pay up to $600 a month for brand-name medications like Ozempic.
Her advice for anyone considering it: ‘If you’ve been thinking about it – do it. It’s changed everything for me.’
Approximately 40.8 million Americans are taking some form of GLP-1 inhibitor
The three most popular GLP-1 inhibitor drugs – Ozempic, Wegovy and Mounjaro – can range from around $900 to $1,400 per month on average
For the approximately 40.8 million Americans taking some form of GLP-1 inhibitor, the drug is no doubt a financial strain.
The three most popular GLP-1 drugs – Ozempic, Wegovy and Mounjaro – can range from around $900 to $1,400 per month on average, depending on the medication, the dose and whether a user has insurance.
Nevertheless, cost has seemingly not deterred weight-loss drug users, as a new report from November revealed that 12 percent of adults – about one in eight – are currently taking a GLP-1 inhibitor.
Most adults who have taken these drugs say their insurance covered at least part of the cost, but about 27 percent of people with insurance still have to pay the full price themselves.
Cost is also a major reason people stop using these medications, with 14 percent saying they quit because they couldn’t afford them.
Most users (76 percent) got the drugs from their doctor, while smaller numbers got them online (17 percent) or from medical spas (9 percent).
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