People all across the country dream of owning a home, and many people work very hard to make this a reality. But in recent years, this dream has become a terrifying nightmare for some homeowners in New Jersey. This is because the threat of foreclosure is a very real concern with which many folks struggle.

There are a number of reasons that a person’s house may go into foreclosure. Each person’s circumstances are different, but people are always looking for a way to link these experiences together and look for a common thread that predicts foreclosure. A recent study set out to do just that and the results have added up into some interesting predictions.

Researchers from Princeton University conducted a study to look at how math skills contribute to a person’s chances of dealing with foreclosure. They surveyed about 300 homeowners by having them answer just five relatively basic math questions. According to the results, the researchers found that a larger number people who got higher scores on the test had avoided foreclosure.

There were only about 7 percent of people in the higher-scoring category who wound up in foreclosure, compared with the 20 percent who had gotten lower scores on the same questions.

The research, while interesting, does not necessarily suggest that people who struggle with math are less capable of paying a mortgage. Rather, it may indicate that they have difficulty organizing finances and developing an effective budget.

The fact is that people from all educational and professional backgrounds end up facing the possibility of foreclosure. Math skills aside, people from all walks of life find themselves struggling with medical bills, an expensive divorce or a lost job, which are all commonly cited as obstacles to making mortgage payments.

The possibility of foreclosure is a very difficult and stressful situation in which many people find themselves. However, dealing with this situation relies less on a person’s ability to do math and more on his or her ability to seek out the help that he or she needs.

Source: Business Insider, “People With Bad Math Skills Are More Likely To Wind Up In Foreclosure,” Mandi Woodruff, June 27, 2013