Exclusive: most renters surveyed by Harris Poll say the areas they live in have become so unaffordable they are ‘barely livable’
The poll, conducted by the Harris Poll Thought Leadership and Future Practice, asked survey takers to identify themselves as renters or homeowners, along with other demographic information. Those polled were asked their opinion on home ownership in the United States. For many, especially renters, the outlook is bleak.
Though the vast majority of renters polled said they want to own a home in the future, 61% said they are worried they will never be able to. A similar percentage believe no matter how hard they work, they’ll never be able to afford a home.
“When you think about Maslow’s hierarchy of needs, and housing is right at that foundational level of security, the implications on consumer psyche when things feel so unaffordable is something that will impact everyone,” said Libby Rodney, chief strategy officer at Harris Poll. The American dream of owning a home “is looking more like a daydream for renters”.
When I was in my late teens/early twenties I truly thought that in ten years I’d own a home for sure, with some hard work and dedication.
Ten years later, I don’t even get to buy groceries every week or eat every day. I’ve lost 30 pounds in the last year just from skipping so many meals.
I can’t wait to see what the next ten years holds.
And if one more person tells me I should make sure to invest for retirement… I can’t even feed myself, what you want me to invest? My retirement plan is work until I’m too old/sick/injured and then off myself.
Have you tried having rich parents? That helps…
/s
I wasn’t smart enough to make that choice this time around, but next life being born into a rich family is my number one criteria :)
Yeah, maybe if someone told me I should have specced my character for wealth or charisma, instead of creativity or wisdom, I might be enjoying this game more…
It’s really quite easy. Just cut out the avocado toast, stop buying those expensive coffees, and invest that cool $69,000,000 your parents left you from their work on the board of an orphan crushing factory.
The funny thing is that I’ve never had avocado toast and I tried coffee once, hated it, and never tried it again. I can’t drink energy drinks either. Take that, financial columnists!
My father says this all the time. Every time I tell him I don’t have money he just assumes I’m spending frivolously without acknowledging that cost of living has increased astronomically in recent years, qualifications for employment have gone up, quantity of jobs has gone down, and median income has completely stagnated.
One of my friends solved this by sitting down with her parents and having them ‘help her budget things out’.
Suddenly they shut up about it. And gave her some money. So all it takes with some people is rubbing their faces in it so they can’t pretend prices are the same as they were in the 50s.
You should at least put in as much as your organization matches because that’s income you’re missing out on otherwise.
I posted in another thread that I have nothing to save for retirement but people chastise me for getting the occasional chai latte or buy Taco Bell for my kid once in a while and I got the response, “what are you going to do about your child’s future?”
Hope we can afford to feed her until (if ever) she can make it on her own?
As if I could put the $20 or so a month on “luxuries” like those into a savings account and become a millionaire by the time I’m 65.