Rising costs and tight budgets strain Americans ahead of midterm elections

Stacy Eichel, an empty nester in Florida, spent years balancing two jobs. One was in healthcare; the other was her own venture: a small business making custom-branded merchandise for corporate clients, such as coffee mugs and T-shirts that companies hand out at conferences and holiday parties.

For Eichel, the business was more than a paycheque. It was a side hustle for a woman who couldn’t sit s...