Wanna do your share to create jobs, help retailers and small businesses, and get the economy booming again? If your answer is yes, then you might want to start by defaulting on your mortgage.
Mortgages
People of the Great Recession: What It’s Really Like to Be a 99er, or a Strategic Defaulter
They’re the two most-talked-about recession-era creatures: the unemployed American who has maxed out on 99 weeks of unemployment benefits, and the homeowner who can afford his mortgage but walks away from it anyway because the home no longer seems like a good investment. So what’s it really like to be one of these prototypical Great …
Why You Must Own a Hickory Handle Hammer, and 123 Other Money-Saving Insights
Favorite dirt-cheap meals! Why you must quit being an idiot! Tastiest low-budget beers! Lessons learned from spiking your hair into a mohawk! And more.
Recession-Era Words and Phrases: Are You a ‘Nevertiree’? Or Are You Among the ‘Accidentally Retired’?
The economic crisis has brought about a “new normal,” in which Americans are adjusting their expectations concerning work, investing, spending, and one’s “lifestyle.” The recession has also brought with it new words and phrases, like “new normal.”
Report: Nearly 1/3 of Americans ‘Highly Unlikely’ to Qualify for a Mortgage
Roughly 30% of American consumers have credit scores that are so bad they wouldn’t be able to get a mortgage today, even if they managed to scrounge together a down payment of 20%.
Cheapskate Wisdom About … Investing in a Home Vs. Investing in the Stock Market
“Consider it this way: when Enron went belly up, shareholders ended up with nothing, but when the housing market drops, homeowners still have a house. And this benefit is tax-free.”
Desperate Economic Times Call for … Desperately Crazy Measures?
Facing foreclosure, one man bulldozed his entire home, while another thought the best means of catching up with the mortgage payments was to set his car on fire. Here’s a roundup of people who have been pushed to the brink by awful financial situations—and who also may have had a few screws loose long before the economy tanked.
In Praise of Small Homes
The median home size is now a bit over 2,000 square feet, which is down from 2,309 square feet in 2007. But even 2,000 square feet is more space than most families need, and homeowners should understand that size matters: You obviously pay more upfront for a bigger home, and huge, sprawling houses are also more expensive to heat, cool, …
Top 10 Signs of a Troubled Economy and/or the Apocalypse
This is a gray area: When money is a problem, it can feel like the end of the world is near.
10 Consumer Questions Including: Is Your Contractor Lying to You? And: Do You Care About Product Recalls?
Also: Is it better to invest or pay off your mortgage early? Is Hulu Plus worth the $10 a month they’re asking for it? Are you paying too much in property taxes?
America, Home of the Financial Ignoramus
This just in: A startlingly large number of Americans—perhaps you’re one of them—are basically financially illiterate, without a clue when it comes to concepts like inflation and interest rates. At the same time, financial options have grown, and grown more complicated, with gotcha mortgages and credit card agreements overloaded with …
Will the New Consumer Financial Protection Agency Actually Protect Consumers?
Elizabeth Warren, the visionary behind the idea of a consumer financial protection agency, says that it “could make a real contribution, a real difference in the lives of millions of families” by overseeing mortgages, credit card agreements, big bank overdraft policies, and other fine-print-heavy arrangements known to confound consumers. …