A teacher who launched a GoFundMe to help him afford a place to live has put a spotlight on teacher salaries as the new school year begins.
Bill Atkinson, a fourth grade teacher in Austin, Texas, said he began living in his car this summer when his previous living situation fell through and he could not afford rent on his $54,000 annual salary.
“No matter how much I borrowed or scraped, there was no catching up, because I just did not make enough to cover rent – because I was so used to living paycheck to paycheck, I didn’t have anything in savings to try to cover rent for a couple months,” he told “Good Morning America.” “So I tried to get a place, [but I] was having a hard time finding a place I could afford on my own.”
I have bad credit because I’ve never borrowed money. I have lots of savings and (had) a great income, but I always had trouble renting apartments because of my credit score. Now I have a house that I bought for cash, but the very nature of renting via credit scores draws people inexorably into the debt cycle.
That’s cool. This guy has a car payment and other loans, so his credit score is influenced by other factors.
Whether a persons credit score should be used for housing is an argument for another day.