A third of Americans say their finances are in worse shape now than they were 12 months ago, and few are comfortable with their level of debt, according to a new Bankrate.com survey.
I figured you all would be interested, since you need savings -- absent lots of downpayment assistance from other sources -- to buy a home.
Quick poll: Is your financial situation better than it was a year ago?
This week's guest poster argues that the echo boom generation, which includes everyone in their 20s, is (as a group) in no financial shape to buy a house -- and might be uninterested even when/if savings improve.
That's sparked an interesting conversation. Pigtown girl, for instance, says she and her siblings are all echo boomers and have very different perspectives on homeownership: "My one sister & I see real estate as an investment if done properly & my other two sisters see it as a ball & chain to the area."
One of the interesting side points that guest poster Timothy Smith makes is that many echo boomers would rather spend their money on post-baccalaureate higher education than housing, seeing higher education as an investment in themselves that will pay off. It just so happens that PayPal co-founder Peter Thiel is making a controversial argument that higher education is the new bubble, now that housing has gone bust.
All of which makes me wonder: What do you see as the highest and best use of your money -- and where does habitation play into it? Is small and cheap (owned or rented) your idea of a good housing situation? Spacious and gracious? Somewhere in between?
