Arksansas - Where it's a crime to not pay rent.

[sanantone]

No, I won't be able to show you that most people in poverty own 90k homes.  What I did do is use 2nd-grade mathematics to show you that it is very possible for people who make $16k a year to own a 90k home.  Whether they choose to do so or not is their freedom to choose.

1. You didn't include all living costs.

2. You suggested government assistance. 

3. A lot of people can save for a house just about anywhere if they lived with other people for years and received government assistance.

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I'm assuming this person is also supposed to save for retirement and have an emergency fund? I guess they can get free clothes from a church or charity. After buying a house, this person wouldn't have extra money for decades. That sounds like a low quality of life to me. I'd rather rent.

Still don't get it eh?  It's ok...  I didn't suggest gov assistance, I said it was an option for health insurance, most people just don't sign up for it at an early age or get it through work.  

Yes cut back on instant gratification, and make major cutbacks.   Drive a beater for a few years, don't buy high-end clothes, have roommates for a few years and enjoy a house anyone can afford at 16k a year.  As your income goes up, so will you consumption of higher quality goods and less dependency on roommates.  My example of 16k was extreme, as the median income in Little Rock is north of 45k, it is an example of more opportunity with making less.    

Remember, renting that same house would run you $1050 a month instead of the $500 a month through ownership.

Even buying a beater requires saving money. 

Two states with similar income to cost-of-living ratios can have different rates of poverty. Arkansas just happens to have a relatively high rate of poverty. I think most would agree that someone making $12,490 is impoverished. 

At least in Texas, the rent on a house that's only worth $90k would be a lot lower than $1050, but that wasn't the point. I'd rather rent in an area where I can make more money than to be house poor in a poor state. In other words, I'd rather have more discretionary income.

Edit: The median rent in Arkansas is a little over $700, and the median home cost is over $120k. I doubt people are paying $1050 for a home that's only worth $90k unless they're stupid.