Charles Dickens famously wrote in his classic A Tale of Two Cities, “It was the best of times, it was the worst of times…” In the book it all boils down to circumstance, perspective, and action. The same can be said for your personal finances.
Recently we surveyed the Geezeo community and discovered that 59% of us were bummed out by the economy. (See this and other results here.) This view is plainly seen in this article from San Diego. The article mentions some of the struggles middle- to low-income Americans face with soaring fuel prices, the issue Geezeo members voted as the “Biggest Economic Issue Facing the U.S. Today?”
So I’d like to pose two questions to our community. Please answer in the comments section below.
Are these bad times?
What are you doing to cut back, stretch a dollar, or make ends meet?
-AND/OR-
Are these good times?
Is it a good time to think optimistically and “go for the gold” while the market is down?
One Geezeo user wrote to ask my thoughts on a foreclosure purchase in this market. He agreed to let me quote him here because I said thought the larger community would have something to say on this topic. Here’s what he wrote:
My wife got really excited recently when she saw a foreclosure sign on a two family home, across the street from the house she grew up in. We have been homeowner for about four years now and have some equity in the house we live in. We also have 65,000 in proceeds from the sale of the two family home I owned before we got married. In light of the housing market and our financial position, is this a good time to jump into the investment real estate market? Thanks for your input.
So is it a time to drastically cut back on our lifestyles, or double-down on opportunity? A Tale of Two Cities…
July 16th, 2008 at 1:16 pm
Double up! You can always do more to trim the budget and live within your means. But if you can afford to invest, now is the time to do it!