New Jersey Baby Boomer

How are my readers doing with all the news we’re hearing on the economy lately? As I type this we have just finished hearing that there was quite a lot of controversy during the meetings in Washington DC today, and no agreement on what to do about the situation has been reached…in fact right now my husband is listening to the talking heads yell at each other about the situation on the news.

I was just talking to my neighbor who is a real estate agent here in NJ today, and she was telling me that the prices on houses are great for first time buyers, and interest rates low, but they are having trouble getting mortgages now.

For us, we don’t have a lot saved, so there won’t be a “run on the bank”, and we have a pretty good credit rating, but there are many people that are sincerely struggling and don’t know where to turn. I feel for these people. We have had two homes on our street go into foreclosure, one just sold for a fraction of it’s worth in an auction sale. Multiplying that my many MANY homes across the country, one can get a feel for how critical the real estate situation has become.

I don’t know a lot about the economy, or how all the pieces of the puzzle fit together, so if you are interested in more information about the issues we are facing, want to view lists of auctions, and much more, be sure to visit the U.S. Department of Treasury.

There is also a site called CareOne that can help you if you are considering debt consolidation loans, and need counseling help to get out of debt. They will connect you with agencies that have high standards of customer care, and provide you with 24 hour access to your account information, 7 days a week. So far, we’re doing okay, but if you’re not, maybe careonecredit.com can help.

New Jersey can be somewhat expensive compared to living in other states around the country. Our taxes are relatively high, and perhaps higher because we chose to live in a rural part of the State where there are no big businesses to help with local taxes. And with “retirement” years ahead, if there will be such a thing for us, one is naturally concerned.

I just did an online quiz at Bills IQ to help me decide whether or not we are handling our finances well, and whether we need help with Debt consolidation, as we have a few bills and debts due to various life circumstances that seem to be common these days for many, including a period of time that my husband was unemployed…and another spell of that that will start in November if he doesn’t find a new job soon. Our grade after doing the quiz was a “B”, which isn’t terrible, but I know we could use some improvement, and BillsIQ seemed to provide some helpful solutions, including Debt help and resources for Debt relief. Maybe you’ll want to take the simple quiz they provide, it’s easy to do, and you’re provided with some options to decide what help might be best for you. You can chose one of these opportunities, or skip on to see your score. If you need the help, then check out the services they offer.

For now, I think we’re okay, but our wonderful Lord knows what the future holds, and we know He’ll show the way through the valleys.

Here’s an attempt at a little Haiku, which is a form of Japanese “poetry”, 3 lines - 1 with 5 syllables, the next with 7, then the third, 5 again. It often speaks of nature, seasons, etc.

Fall of life is here,
Know not what the future holds,
Bills IQ is near.