Many people have been struggling with the current recession, losing their homes, losing their jobs and so on. While some of the blame definitely should go to the investment companies I think it’s useful to examine our own actions in this mess. We can’t control what happens outside of our own actions. Many of the affected people:

• had little or no rainy day fund. It should be 6-8 months or longer of easy accessible funds
• bought houses they couldn’t afford and didn’t understand the terms of the contract

All we can do is try to learn for next time (and there WILL be a next time). I’ve been off since December (at the end of my last contract) and haven’t worried too much about it because I’ve been using my rainy day fund. I paid off my mortgage a while ago, but the key was using a variable rate mortgage (vs fixed) and increasing the monthly payment every year or so. So pay down debt when times are good. It’s hard to react when everything caves in and you’re not prepared for it.

I just wanted to explain that there is an ‘alternative reality’ to the ‘live in the moment’ attitude that way too many people have these days. I started teaching guitar at a guitar store and learning songs during this off period. It’s been a lot of fun and a new experience while I wait for things to recover.