Deceleration

[boztopia]

I've been quiet these past few days because I simply have not had time to do all the things I normally do. Hunting for a job is practically a full-time occupation in and of itself, and when you're doing that on top of a day job AND consulting work on the side, some things just slide. So if I haven't been available as much, that's why. No offense

Comments

[sunfell]

That class war post was a good one. Sam has been tugging my sleeve for another article- I need to smoke up something. I've been so busy at work that I haven't had any time to do reading for more articles. I posted one about religion on my own blog, but don't think it's really S&R material.

[netcrimes]

Good to know you're still alive and finally relaxing a bit!

A day late, a dollar short..?

[purpletempest]

I'm always short, in all the definitions of the word. Still hoping this comment doesn't come to you too late.

But to address the part of your article about housing...you remember how I was laying onto your our debt woes, right? Well, we had an unexpected solution offered us...my husband's father let us co-sign on a home equity loan to pay off Jed's credit card debt.

If Pudge (as we affectionately call him), didn't have equity in a home, then there would have been nothing to draw on.

So what I'm asking is, if investing in a home is not a good idea, then what investments could we make? I have a kid who will need college tuition in 18 years. Aside from that, (in reference to some of the comments) I want to provide a good home for him and the cost of renting a house is about the same as a mortgage payment...so should we really give up on owning a home? Should we do that and have alternate investments? What kinds?

That really depends

[boztopia]

In some places, it's cheaper to own than rent. In others, it's the reverse. The market conditions are different everywhere, so there's no one "right" answer

Re: A day late, a dollar short..?

[tuesdays__grace]

As far as investing for your kid, look into 529 plans. The only catch is the money *must* be used for educational expenses - but the plans cover trade and vocational schools, not just traditional colleges. You can get tax benefits from these plans depending on what state or commonwealth you're in.

I would look for a plan that invests in a wide variety of funds, so basically if one company takes a dive, the others will (hopefully) be doing well enough that your savings will still grow.

Unfortunately a lot of the better plans have stock in some industries I don't like for ethical reasons (ie oil) - it's hard to be idealistic when one is scraping to keep financially afloat, though it can be done. Good luck!