Credit Card Cancer

[Zoom-boing]

actually banks are lending to a point it's the secondary markets that are slowly thawing. the days of buying a house without putting money down are hopefully over and hopefully so are the days of living off of credit.

Never understood either of these. Why would anyone want to buy a house without putting any money down? The more you put down the less you owe, the less you owe the more money stays in your pocket. Maybe before purchasing a house people should have to take a basic 'personal finance/money management' course to fully understand what they are doing. It truly boggles my mind that people don't grasp the concept of living within their means and using credit wisely.

I actually didn't put a dime down on my house, and am still living well within my means. I simply made sure I locked in on a good interest rate that can't be raised, did all of my homeword, crossed all my t's, and dotted all my i's prior to my cllosing date. I also don't take out things second mortgages and/or refinance to buy a friggen boat, oor big screen TV.

Another smart individual! If one has always lived within their means they will be able to better handle the financial challenges going on right now. For those who've been living high on the hog for many years, it's a whole new ballgame.