‘Counting On’: How do Derick and Jill Support Their Family?

Derick Dillard and Jill Duggar met and married in a matter of months. Dillard, who was on a mission trip in Nepal when the couple met, headed back stateside to be near his new bride. While their courtship unraveled in front of the cameras, much to the delight of Duggar fans, the shine quickly wore off Derick Dillard. Not only did the 29-year-old Dillard ditch a stable job to take part in missionary work in South America with his new wife in tow, but he famously lost the family income when he went on a Twitter rant aimed at a transgender teen.

Now, more than a year after the famous tweet and its fall out, the family of four continues to trudge along in Arkansas. Fans, however, have been questioning how Derick and Jill are supporting their family without that sweet TLC paycheck.

Derick quit his Walmart job

When Derick and Jill first got hitched in 2014, Dillard was employed by Walmart. Now, Derick was no cashier. Instead, the college-educated Arkansas native was a tax accountant for the retailer. In 2015 Derick abruptly left his job, with an autoreply email alleging he had taken a position outside of the company, according to Radar.

Fans quickly learned that Dillard hadn’t taken another job offer. Instead, he quit his job just as his family was expanding to do mission work in South America. Fans were concerned for Jill Duggar and the couple’s young son, as the family traveled to South America at the height of the Zika Virus outbreak.

TLC pulls the plug

Even without a traditional 9-5 job, fans surmised that the Dillards were fine financially; at least they had money from their show to float the family. According to E! the stars of the show are probably pulling in anywhere between $10,000 and $40,000 per episode. Even split among the siblings, it would be enough money to float the family.

Derick’s infamous tweets, however, put the family in financial peril. TLC yanked the pair from Counting On, replacing them with new Duggar households, of which there is no shortage. Dillard then enrolled in law school, making fans scratch their heads about the family’s financial situation.

Jill is bringing home the bacon

Back in August, a fan asked Derick directly how he and his wife could afford law school tuition, plus daily expenses and still enjoy date nights. Dillard replied to the fan, alleging that the family makes it work by living on a budget, according to In Touch. But, is it really that simple?

The odds are that the only useful financial decision Derick has made is connecting with Jill Duggar. The reality star comes from a family with plenty of money, and as a former reality star she can still garner sponsorships and makes plenty of money off of her website.

Most recently, Jill has taken to blogging and utilizing Instagram to share her life. Not only does the former TLC queen get paid by advertisers, but she’s also connected with several brands as an influencer.  It would seem Jill is holding the purse strings, a deviation from the traditional Duggar family dynamic.

If all else fails, Pa Duggar is unlikely to let his Jilly Bean go hungry. The famed family has been known to offer jobs to their kids and sons-in-law. Ben Seewald, for example, is currently attending college and tutoring the Duggar’s younger kids as a part-time job. Ben and his wife Jessa are expecting their third child in the spring.