Not sure if i'm misunderstanding about the loan part....I kinda thought most people put down on houses with a loan and an agreement(10-20-30 yrs plan).If this was the case i'm willing to bet more than half of america would be living on the streets.

I've got the 10 year payment plan on my trailer and i'm close to half way done paying on it.

The only way i wouldn't be able to pay is if i lost my job. :-/

G, there is or was a way where you could borrow money for your home(home loan)  then if you didnt have enough of a down payment you could get a 2nd morgage or additional loan for the down payment.  Dont know the tech words for it.  They wanted to give me this for my house I greatfully declined.  So basically you would have 2 loans for one thing.  Crazy nuts to take someone up on that deal.

Then you also have variable rate intrest loans which fluctuate.  Yeah your rate might be 3% now but in 8months it could be 10%.  Variable rate is fine if intrest is going down or your paying the loan off real soon.  

Credit cards are nuts too.  I cant belive some of the outstanding debt on these things.  $100 with 18% intrest paying the min you'd probably be close to 500-700 bucks by time you paid it off.  Redicoulous.

My motto is I dont buy it unless I can pay for it.  the only exceptions is truck, house, maybe a new boat but I will have a majority of the dough before buying.

G, there is or was a way where you could borrow money for your home(home loan) then if you didnt have enough of a down payment you could get a 2nd morgage or additional loan for the down payment. Dont know the tech words for it. They wanted to give me this for my house I greatfully declined. So basically you would have 2 loans for one thing. Crazy nuts to take someone up on that deal.

Then you also have variable rate intrest loans which fluctuate. Yeah your rate might be 3% now but in 8months it could be 10%. Variable rate is fine if intrest is going down or your paying the loan off real soon.

Credit cards are nuts too. I cant belive some of the outstanding debt on these things. $100 with 18% intrest paying the min you'd probably be close to 500-700 bucks by time you paid it off. Redicoulous.

My motto is I dont buy it unless I can pay for it. the only exceptions is truck, house, maybe a new boat but I will have a majority of the dough before buying.

People did these loans in an 80%-10 or 20% split to avoid paying Payment Mortgage Insurance (PMI).  Usually they would take the 80% in a regular 30 year fixed loan, and would take a second split in a shorter (10-15yr) ARM.  

Those that are getting stung right now seem to fit into one of two categories: 1. the regular working joe that lives paycheck to paycheck just to get by.  I have a lot of compassion for this person.  and 2. The person who outspent their means without thinking of the long term effect.  They are the ones who bought a 250K house when in reality they could only afford a 150K house, etc.  I have very little compassion for this person.

Pretty good reply SE_FL_ Bassaddict!  There is a lot of truth in there!  

Today's 420 point uptick in Dow Jones Industrial Average is the biggest move since 2002. The Federal Reserve, in coordination with Central Banks around the world, have initiated measures to address the liquidity crisis facing the financial markets. Every effort is being made to avoid futher deterioration in the economy. Whether these measures result in avoiding a recession is still in question, but the actions taken will certainly mitigate the severity and length of a potential downturn.

I was just going to post the swing of the DOW today!  Good post RW.  

Muddy I agree that the economy is not in the best of shape.  Personally I think it is going to get a little worse before it gets better.  The question that I have is do you feel that traditional indicators are as accurate given that we are now in more of a global economy? I have only dablled a little in this area and you seem to have a pretty good knowledge.  

we're all saying recession, I'm suprised nobody has mensioned DEPRESSION.

Its not likely but its not impossible. We are starting to see a lot of the same precursers that happened before the Great Depression.

Bring on the recession.  Recessions fix bad habits.  Recessions are the fevers that fight disease.  They suck, but they tend to correct bad behavior.  Recession is a capitalist society's form of tough love.  

OOOPS! Down 300 points today!  :

Oh, and then when I get to work today, I'm told that the layoffs start on Monday...

Full time UPS driver on the layoff list. Yep, things are great.

Muddy I agree that the economy is not in the best of shape. Personally I think it is going to get a little worse before it gets better. The question that I have is do you feel that traditional indicators are as accurate given that we are now in more of a global economy? I have only dablled a little in this area and you seem to have a pretty good knowledge.

That is a great question, I am taking a Math clas in April then my last look at Ecnomics and History before graduation. I see that NAFTA and OPEC are to be discussed in the last course, I am sure I will learn a little more. This is so interesting to me. RW, I remeber reading how hard Roosevelt worked to get America's economy away from the boom and bust cycle to what we more or less have in place. How about some input here on what is it going to take in a global economy? THAT IS A VERY INTERESTING QUESTION?

I hate to say this but a recession is part of our natural business cycle. It may sound bad to some people but the up side is that it has always been followed by an expansion.

The other proplem is the falling value of the dollar. This is one of the reason we are seeing the prices of stuff like gold and oil going through the roof. Basically, it is taking more dollars to buy the same amount of oil or whatever, inflation. This is also a big part of what we are currently seeing. Its something important that no one touched on.

Taking a monetary theory class right now is pretty cool because we get to look at all of this stuff. Droping the interest rates could potentially help us out of a recession. Or we could actually raise them and that theoretically would help the dollar value.

bassdocktor

Isn't part of the problem increased use of products by countries such as India and China. I know that has to do with the rise of energy prices. Also the rise in building product such as cement is directly effected by the Chineese.  Muddy you studying business?