Survey Shows Many in Missouri Skipping Meals to Pay for Housing

Sometimes I see a statistic that makes no sense to me at all. This one does. It's a stunning survey that shows an alarming number of Missouri residents who are skipping meals just to pay for housing.

I saw this story shared by Newsweek and I know it's accurate because we've nearly lived this ourselves while we were trying to get coins collected to buy a house in Missouri. The story is based on a survey done by Redfin showing the drastic means many are taking to afford a house. Here are some highlights although they're more like lowlights:

• 1 in 3 are not taking any vacations
• More than 1 in 5 are skipping meals
• 1 in 5 are selling belongings
• 1 in 5 are working overtime

Smaller but significant percentages are borrowing from friends, family and/or retirement accounts to get money together to either buy or even keep up with rent for a home.

Bottom line is the sacrifice to afford to either buy or rent a home right now is real and pathetic. 

There is a silver lining (sort of) for those that can manage to become Missouri homeowners. The survey did find that home buyers are having an easier time affording their mortgage payments than renters are trying to keep up with what the landlord or property management company is charging.