Over half of Americans (52%) have had to make at least one major sacrifice in order to cover their rent or mortgage over the last three years, according to the “How Housing Matters Survey,” which was commissioned by the nonprofit John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation and carried out by Hart Research Associates. These sacrifices include getting a second job, deferring saving for retirement, cutting back on health care, running up credit card debt, or even moving to a less safe neighborhood or one with worse schools.
This is a function of 2 things: first, the recession we’ve been in since 2009. More and more people are leaving the workforce or taking low-paying jobs. Regardless of what government statistics say, make no mistake: we are in a recession.
Second, these people didn’t save enough during the boom years to get themselves through the lean years. I get that there will be isolated incidents of extended hardship, but why in the world would half the country have to make a major sacrifice to cover their housing costs? The only answer is a failure to save.