Michelle B was late on her rent as usual. She continued this pattern of being very late with rent and was eventually evicted. By this time, she hadn’t paid rent for 3 months.
It started with her car engine and needing a repair of $800 to repair and replace which she couldn’t afford. Despite the fact, that it was only April and the family (she, her two sons and her mom) just came back from Disney World and among other frivolous spending had spent all $7,800 of her income tax refund. She makes around $45,000 a year which is quite decent in Texas.
Her car loan to value is upside down and therefore not even eligible for a title car loan. After the car broke down, she tried to ride the bus but after a week of having to walk 2 miles to her workplace didn’t help even though she lived on the bus line. She started paying a family friend to give her rides. The rides were not reliable on some days. Her supervisor at work gave her 3 warnings before she was fired. She was not eligible for unemployment. After she was evicted her family became homeless for quite a few months. Sometimes staying at a relative’s garage.
An example of having a good paying job and a big windfall of money does not help when one does not have a safety net fund.