Renters Have Problems With Finances

A recent study revealed approximately 25 percent of families that rent homes have difficulty paying their monthly bills.

The report, released by Harvard University, discovered the number of those who pay more than 50 percent of their income on rent-related bills is 2.6 million higher than at the turn of the century.

"In the last decade, rental housing affordability problems went through the roof," said Eric Belsky, director of the Harvard Joint Center for Housing Studies. "And these affordability problems are marching up the income scale."

The study also found that more than half of families with low-and-middle income use anywhere between one-third and one-half of their income to pay for rental fees. Last decade, the number of consumers who were in this situation was as low as 38 percent.

Partially because of the economy, an increasing amount of lower income families have had difficulty paying bills, and need some sort of debt relief. Consumers should not only pay bills on time, but to also seek help if they predict payments will be late.