Financial Meltdown

I admit, I have had a partial hand in this financial meltdown. Admitting it gives me power. In the end, the rise and fall of Wall Street is due to our (the American people) ability to pay our bills. We have paid our bills, but we've also made some dumb choices.

About a year and a half ago, when things were really good, a builder friend of ours asked us if he could borrow our "good credit" to take out a loan, he would build a couple of houses and sell them, and then we'd get a cool $5,000 for the use of our credit. He's a good friend. He promised us that he could build the houses in four months to six months, and he said he couldn't build houses fast enough to keep up with the demand. So we did it. The construction loan came due. Nothing had been built on the lots our credit had purchased. The builder friend pulled some heavy leverage, and we were able to get out from under the loans, but it was a close shave. That gamble seems incredibly dumb in hindsight.

For now we have been lucky. We still have jobs. We have health insurance and life insurance. But like most people, we need to build up a better safety net. We're getting there. What's going on with you all?