A Harvard study looked at what American renters said about how the cost of living affects them.
Many Americans were able to talk about how rent and housing costs are hurting their daily lives as part of the Harvard study. A woman from Oklahoma, Marianne Smith, 65, spoke out and said that a medical emergency had put her in a tough financial spot. She said, “I eat or I pay my bills.” I would have been living on the streets if my family and friends hadn’t been able to put money in my bank account.
Smith depends on her $1,844 monthly social security check because she is on disability and can’t work because of several health problems. She talked about how much her rent is now—$660 a month—but she said that rent goes up every year.
According to Sarah Saadian, Senior Vice President of Public Policy and Field Organizing at the National Low Income Housing Coalition, rising rent costs are making it hard for families to pay their bills.
Saadian said, “When you spend so much of your very limited income on housing, any kind of financial problem—your car breaks down, your kid gets sick, and you miss a day of work—can easily get out of hand.”
A study from Harvard found that rent hit an all-time high and that more families are becoming “cost-burdened households,” which means that their rent and energy costs take up more than 30% of their income. Of the 22.4 million people who are cost-burdened, the study found that more than half spend at least half of their income on rent and expenses.
