I know that Michigan has other circumstances, which is why I didn't originally cite the state as "part of the problem" as I did with inland California and South Florida.

Were there a lot of new subdivisions in Michigan that sprouted up as a result of crazy lending? I always got the feeling that was a problem that was pretty exclusive to the Sun Belt.

One of my stupid co-workers asked me if he could get a "mansion on the water in Flor-eee-duh" for super cheap because of the foreclosures. I told him 1) people weren't foreclosing on real mansions, just the mini-crap ones and 2) he probably wouldn't be able to get an insurance policy in the state of Florida. You'd think people would have learned their lessons, but the cycle of greed continues.

It's interesting to live in parts of the country that haven't been affected quite so negatively. I know in my area of CT home prices have fallen, but not to any great degree. That's a good thing of course (especially for people like my wife and I who didn't buy at the best time), but at the same time I still hear people talking like your co-worker, like they're blissfully unaware of other people's mistakes.

I guess apartment prices in NYC have fallen a little bit, but most are still out of reach for the average person. I guess with co-ops and condos, you have to put down at least 20%, and the co-op board goes over your finances with a fine tooth comb, so it's next to impossible to be approved for a co-op but to lose the place. There are foreclosures here, but virtually all of them are single family homes or condos with less stringent borrowing guidelines.

Even where my parents live in North Florida, the foreclosure mess hasn't been what it's been down south. Of the two communities that were affected the most by foreclosures, one is a gated community where people bought more than they could afford, the other is a bedroom community about an hour's drive from town where subdivisions sprouted up quickly.

My co-worker is a total idiot. I need to start a blog where I post the crap he says. He can't believe that I'm a single female who makes perfectly good money and can go on trips and live on my own--my parents HAVE to be subsidizing my lifestyle. He asked me once if my parents were "affluential." I'll be 28 in six weeks. Does it even matter?

I think I love the word affluential though. Too bad it's associated with idiot guy. How old is he? It seems like his being really old or really young might going along with his particular brand of idiocy.

On the other hand, don't slight your accomplishment. Not everyone is making it happen like you are at your age.

Yes, there was a lot of building going on, especially in my area. My community was one of the fastest growing areas during the "boom". Some builders have tons of spec houses just sitting there and yes, a lot of the foreclosed homes are appearing in those new subdivisions. Those houses are selling for less than half what they originally went for. Houses that people were paying $300K for 3 years ago are being sold by the builders for $150K.

I'm ok with tossing out numbers. I bought my house in 2001 for $137K. A modest 3 bedroom ranch with no garage. I mortgaged $128K. At the peak in 2005 or 2006, it was appraised at $185K. I have an ARM, but it's a reasonable one and I'm actually paying less interest now than when I purchased it. It can't go up (or down) more than 2% a year and it has gone up a little and down a little, but last year it went down the full 2%. I owe about $117K on it now with 22 years to go on the mortgage. With foreclosed houses auctioning for $30-40K, it's hard to say what I could sell it for now. It's in better shape than most foreclosures, but if someone can buy the house next door for $30K, even if they have to put $50K into it to make it livable, they are way ahead of where I am. The land itself should be worth more than $30K!

My very strong recommendation to young people who are buying a house, if you are both working, is to try to get one that you can afford on only one of your incomes. Give yourself breathing space in your budget. When/if kids come along, you may decide that one of you wants to stay home or you'll find out that day care is equivalent to another mortgage payment! If one of you becomes disabled, you will still be able to make your house payments. If your spouse leaves you or you want to get divorced, one or the other of you will be able to afford to keep the house. The expense of kids is really unbelievable. I love my kids, but often think about how much more money I would have without them!

Also, when they figure out how much mortgage you can afford, they look at your GROSS pay, not your net pay. You need to look at your net pay, especially if you have money withheld for retirement, pay a lot for your benefits, etc. My net pay is much lower than my gross pay! That's how people end up paying half of their income for a mortgage, because it's half of their net income. Like most people, my mortgage payment comes out of one pay, with enough left for groceries, gas, spending money that pay period. The other paycheck pays all the other bills, with enough left for groceries, gas, spending money and savings.

that is very sage advice

That's exactly what we did.

He's 53! Younger than both of my parents! So, not that old to be stuck in these weird ways.

A lot of it is chauvinism, plain and simple. He has this idea that a woman must go straight from her father's house to her husband's house, so the fact that I'm living over a thousand miles away from my parents, with no marriage plans in sight, means that my parents have to be paying my way. So, he thinks that my parents are extremely wealthy...they live in Florida so they have to be, right?

Also, to hear him talk to his wife is heartbreaking. In the past week, he's called her "worthless $#!^," and said that he "gave up on [her] a long time ago." For someone to sing the virtues of marriage, he seems to be unhappy in his.

That's what we did as well. We didn't want to get into a situation where we could lose the house if one of us got sick or something along those lines.

Yep. Our daycare payment is twice as much as our mortgage payment.

Sounds like a jerk for sure. The patterns for marriages that I've been close to-- my parents, my own, and my in-laws-- just straight up don't admit the possibility of saying that kind of crap to or about your spouse. I can't even imagine how sucky his poor wife's situation is.

I'm always kind of amazed that ordinary people can actually live in NYC, but my amazement wouldn't be affected by the gender of the person in question.

(I also think I forget that the average salary in any field is probably higher because of the market. But when I look at what's published as average for teachers, I can't figure out how you'd deal with the cost of living difference from Atlanta to NYC on the five thousand or so listed here: http://www.payscale.com/research/US/...Salary/by_City)

So basically, while this guy is a jerk, being completely independent financially and doing well professionally at your age is an accomplishment that other people might not be pulling off as well as you are. Nice work.

I plan to lose my credit card bills. Oh, wait, it doesn't work like that, does it?

Fortunately my husband and I are both still employed, but there were some layoffs at his employer that have got me thinking.

We're fine on mortgage and cars on one income if it comes to that, but we do have stupid debt for other stuff that would mean it was hard to just continue as we have been. We'd probably be okay if one of us found other, even part time employment and the other were employed full time, but I suspect we'll be more cautious about charging stuff up in the future.

http://ac360.blogs.cnn.com/2009/03/3...comment-653627

A lot of people want the next level of bailouts to include student loans. I don't agree--even though I took them out myself. This girl seems a little whiny to me. I Googled her, and hadn't even heard of her "prestigious private college in New York City." :rolleyes:

Someone should have told her that, if you're going into any of the media professions (journalist, producer, etc.), you're looking at low pay for at least the first few years of your career. Even as you get increasing responsibility for your own stories and features, it's still a while before you can good money. That goes double for someone like her who incurred such massive student loan debts.

I'm also wondering how the heck she had over $100,000 in student loans after her undergrad. My alma mater wasn't exactly cheap, and I know lots of people who went to expensive schools, and I can't think of a one who has that much in student loan debt.

ETA: I see no way that the government grants loan forgiveness. The closest thing I could see is the expansion of programs that are currently in place for those who go into public service positions.

It's so prestigious that they don't want you to know about it. :p

And yeah, I'm having a hard time working up sympathy for her.