Trump Economy Has Forced Housing Markets To Use 'Rent Now, Pay Later' Scheme
Credit: screengrab
February 5, 2026

Fox Business Channel's Varney & Co. were not fans of the new "rent now pay later" program being offered by several companies to supposedly make it easier for cash-strapped renters to keep up.

Rents have not dropped; they increased under the Trump administration, and his claims of solving rising costs as soon as he was elected were a fool's errand.

VARNEY: You've heard of buy now, pay later.

Well, Lauren, what's this about rent now, pay later?

SIMONETTI: It's a new option for renters who are struggling to make the monthly payment.

You can spread your payments out.

Companies like Flex and Affirm are letting users break up their rent sums into multiple payments throughout the month.

So let's say your rent is $2,000, you pay $1,400 on the first of the month, the remaining $600 on the 15th of the month.

Typically, it depends on the service that you use.

You pay them a fee or a monthly subscription.

But if you miss the payments, that's when the interest rates go way up.

So look, I get it.

Rent is expensive and people are struggling to get by.

But if you can't make your rent when you're supposed to, you might need to find somewhere else to live.

VARNEY: Adam, is this a bad idea?

ADAM: This can be dangerous.

The problem with just moving somewhere else is that her words offer no respite for renters, since they'd probably have to pay more if they moved to a new apartment.

Trump's economic policies, which revolve around yo-yo tariffs, have caused more pain for the middle and lower classes instead of alleviating their anxiety.

Trump claims we are in an age of prosperity, when in reality, people are barely holding on.

Can you help us out?

For over 20 years we have been exposing Washington lies and untangling media deceit, but social media is limiting our ability to attract new readers. Please give a one-time or recurring donation, or buy a year's subscription for an ad-free experience. Thank you.

Discussion

We welcome relevant, respectful comments. Any comments that are sexist or in any other way deemed hateful by our staff will be deleted and constitute grounds for a ban from posting on the site. Please refer to our Terms of Service for information on our posting policy.
Mastodon