Can’t Afford Rent
In a recent TikTok, user Ora gets emotional about how her landlord has increased her monthly rent by $500, which she can barely afford.
Source: Freepik
“This is the first month I won’t be able to afford rent,” Ora told her TikTok audience. “I’m not a rich person. I don’t have a lot of stuff. I have basic household necessities: a couch, a bed, a washer, and a dryer. That’s about it. A car. I don’t have a lot of lavish things. I don’t go on vacations, and I don’t spend a lot.”
Cutting Out Expenses
Ora touches on a subject that many people have been complaining about for the last year. Rent prices, grocery prices, and gas prices have been on a steady rise while people’s paychecks have largely stayed the same. This means that some aspects of life will have to be cut out.
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“The food prices are too high. I’ve cut back on eating because I literally cannot afford food. I cut back on my favorite snacks, cat food treats. I’m exhausted all the time from being overworked and underpaid,” Ora says.
Can’t Catch a Break
Ora emphasizes that she does not live a luxurious lifestyle. Instead, she states that she lives within her means, and still cannot afford the basic necessities of life. This rent increase just makes life that much harder.
Source: Freepik
“You don’t catch a break when you’re poor when you grow up. I don’t need much to be happy. I just want to be able to live comfortably,” she says.
The Rising Living Costs
While inflation is starting to cool (finally!), the cost of living isn’t going to come back down. Instead, it is the new standard of living that many people cannot afford.
Source: Freepik
Bankrate’s multiple surveys on the cost of living in 2024 show that 3 out of 5 workers said that their incomes hadn’t kept up with inflation throughout 2023. This means that many people are seeing less in their savings and leisure as they put more toward essentials.
The Rent Increase
The most significant spending category for many Americans is housing. In 2022, Americans spent 33.3% of their income on housing, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Source: John Guccione/Pexels
Generally, experts recommend spending no more than 30% of monthly pre-tax income on housing. But most renters, between 2017 and 2021, are spending 40% on rent. That percentage has only gone up since those studies.
People Are Spending 50% of Income on Rent
As shelter prices rise, more households are spending more than 40% of their income on rent. According to a Harvard study, 12.1 million households are spending more than 50% of their income on rent.
Source: Freepik
The surge in housing costs affects a wide net of renters, from low-income households to higher earners. Ora isn’t alone in feeling burdened by rent increases.
Just Get a Job
While Ora may not be alone with her rent struggles, many people in the comments felt that she was speaking out of turn.
Source: Freepik
One commenter suggested that Ora get a job. In a follow-up video, Ora states that she “just got home from an 8-hour shift,” suggesting that her job is not enough to help relieve the burden of rent and living expenses.
Comments Attack Ora’s Appearance
Other commenters pointed out Ora’s appearances, saying, “Oh, yeah. You look poor. [T]he room you are in looks bigger than my rental. Your hair, nails, and makeup look like you spent more than my car payment.”
Source: Freepik
While Ora’s apartment does look more expensive than other apartments, her TikTok audience is not aware of how much her rent is, the location, or the history behind how she was able to rent the unit.
Is Ora Better Off Than Most?
Other commenters continue to talk about Ora’s apartment, saying that the “water suppression on the ceiling screams apartment and only high-end apartments are putting crown molding in [these] units.”
Source: Solen Feyissa/Unsplash
Another commenter rebuttal, saying that crown molding is less labor than finishing the corner of the wall to ceiling, but it seems to have fallen on deaf ears.
The Desire to Live Comfortably
However, not everyone is against Ora’s comments on wanting to live comfortably. One user writes that she shares a familiar feeling of wanting to live comfortably “while sobbing.”
Source: Freepik
Another commenter builds on this statement, writing, “And then there are [people] who always understand it wrong and think we’re asking to be rich, but in reality their “bare minimum” is our comfort…”
The Reality of Our World
While some people feel angry that Ora is commenting on the raise of her rent, her comment is something that everyone–both low-income and high earners–is feeling across the board.
Source: Freepik
Inflation has caused the cost of living to increase while paychecks have stayed the same. It is a domino effect that can’t be reset, and people need some sort of solution so they don’t feel burdened by the things in life that are necessary.