September 2nd, 2010
CNBC has officially made the call that the era of the “McMansion” is over – and good riddance. Neighborhoods filled with supersized cookie-cutter, bland tract homes crammed together have never been that appealing to me. If you’re not familiar with the term “McMansion”, CNBC defines it as follows:
What sets a McMansion apart from a regular mansion, according to Wikipedia, are a few characteristics: They’re tacky, they lack a definitive style and they have a “displeasingly jumbled appearance.”
Here in Southern California, I wouldn’t say that they lack a definitive style. They do have a style, the issue is that they have the same style as all the other cookie-cutter tract developments. They’re big tan boxes crammed together so close you could hand your neighbor the soap while you’re both taking showers. If you’re going to spend a million on a home, wouldn’t you rather live in an elegant, stately neighborhood where the homes are custom and unique, and have a little land around them for privacy? I know I would. Read the rest of this entry »
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August 31st, 2010
Sales of existing homes were downright dismal in July. From The Atlantic:
The housing bears were right: existing home sales fell off a cliff in July. As my colleague Megan McArdle just noted, they sold at an annualized pace of 3.83 million, down by 27% versus June and 26% below July 2009, according to the National Association of Realtors. This is the lowest rate since NAR began keeping track of monthly sales in 1999.
I think the graph, courtesy of The Atlantic, says it all (notice the uptick in sales in March and April as the homebuyer tax credit expired):
Sales of existing homes fell a cliff in July.
Read the rest of this entry »
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August 30th, 2010
You are probably well aware that the last few years have been tumultuous, to say the least, for the financial markets. Though the stock market tanked hard through the end of 2008 and into 2009, it has since recovered much of what it lost. Gold has performed nicely over the last few years, though not without some volatility of its own. If you invested in stocks from the end of the tech boom to the peak of 2007 (and hopefully got out then), you probably saw some nice gains in your accounts. In terms of dollars, you are better off, right? You’ve got more of them than you did before, right? But in terms of purchasing power, the true measure of wealth, how did you really do? Read the rest of this entry »
Posted in Commodities, Economy, Stock Market | No Comments »
August 29th, 2010
The gulf between the media’s portrayal of the economy and the reality on Main Street widened a bit more recently when Fidelity Investments reported that the number of Americans raiding their retirement savings to keep up with bills increased. According to the report, the number of hardship withdrawals in the last 12 months increased from 2.0% to 2.2% over the prior year – an increase of 10%. The people doing this are obviously desperate enough to stick themselves with the significant taxes and penalties that result from early withdrawals. At the same time, the number of people with loans outstanding on their 401K accounts increased to a record 22% in the second quarter. The top reasons cited for taking the loans were to “prevent foreclosure or eviction, pay for college, or purchase a home”, reported CNN.com. The sad thing is that many of the people borrowing from their retirement savings to prevent foreclosure will probably lose their homes anyway – and still be stuck with having to pay back their retirement accounts. Read the rest of this entry »
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August 27th, 2010
The Total Money Makeover can show you how to conquer debt and regain control of your financial future.
According to CreditCards.com, we are a heavily indebted society today. As of March 2010, total consumer debt, which includes auto, boat, and mobile home loans, as well as credit cards, totaled $2.451 trillion. Nearly a third of that amount is credit card debt, which averages out to a $15,788 balance for each of the 54 million households that have credit card debt. If you are burdened with debt and overleveraged on your house, selling your house may be great way to eliminate debt and regain your financial footing. We buy houses with no commissions or fees even if you owe more than it’s worth. For more information, contact us at (714) 583-9004.
If you are burdened with debt and are tired of living paycheck to paycheck, Dave Ramsey’s The Total Money Makeover is definitely a book worth picking up and reading. It is easy and fun to read and is filled with anecdotes from other readers who implemented Ramsey’s Total Money Makeover, paid off their debts (including mortgages in many cases), and completely changed their lives. Reading these anecdotes makes it abundantly clear that achieving debt freedom may be more attainable than you think. Read the rest of this entry »
Posted in Good Books, Personal Finance | No Comments »
