What's in Your Wallet?

I recently emailed the White House regarding a letter we got from Capital One. I was so ticked off, I had to write to somebody. I just can't believe that the government is allowing these companies (that the American people have been bailing out with our future taxes) to arbitrarily raise our rates on us without cause. It's ridiculous how the American people are getting the shaft while the rich banks and car manufacturers are living high off the hog with their private jets and lavish parties.

This is the quick comment I wrote to the White House www.whitehouse.gov:

"My husband and I have been long term customers of Capital One. We have never been late on a payment and have earned the low interest rate of 6%. Just the other day we got a notice that our interest rates are going up to 15% because of "extraordinary changes in the economic environment". I don't see how the economy has anything to do with our standing as a customer.

Maybe they can cut back on their "what's in your wallet" ads, because after they are done with the American people, there won't be too much left."

This is a sign of our times right now. I sure hope President Obama will do his best to remember that the "little" guys need as much or more help than the big guys in the fancy cars and million dollar homes.

How did our parents do it???

Embarking on mommyhood is very exciting to me. I am thrilled to be carrying my son right now and can't wait to meet him. I just worry about the stress I have also been carrying lately. Living in Florida after the housing bubble burst has been really been hard on our family. We bought our house two years ago with the intention of selling within two or three years. It was going to be our starter home. Housing prices were pretty much guaranteed to go up a few percent each year. We were going to take whatever equity we gained in a couple of years, sell the house, and use it as downpayment for a better house.

Well, the bubble popped and our house is worth thousands less than we paid for it. We have a loan that was not intended to be a longterm loan. Interest only for ten years was going to be okay if we were just going to stay in our house a couple of years. Now that there is no end in sight to our housing dilemna, we will have nothing paid toward our principal. It's basically like we are paying really high rent right now. This was not our plan.

We have an empty rental property on our left that has been empty for months now. I'm not complaining, as the management company does not seem to put desirable neighbors in there. The house on our right was built just a couple of years ago. It was originally purchased for $205K the same year we bought our house. Now the house is empty and is selling for $129K or less, depending on what offers come in. So that will kill any chance of our house ever increasing in value again.

We are in a rock and a hard place. Big time. Hubs has been struggling with his job due to the poor economy. People are not in the position to buy right now. No one is moving into new houses and if they are, they don't have extra income to purchase what he's selling. It really feels like a recession nowadays. I don't know how we'll get through this.

I know people have gone through worse times and managed okay. We will be okay, in the end. I know we will. I just wonder how we will get there. And until we get there, I just sit back, bewildered at how our parents ever did it. My mom and dad had three kids by the time they were my age. I'm almost thirty and we're having our first baby.

How the heck are we gonna do this? How the heck did our parents do it? Keeping my chin up as best I can. Hopefully we will find out, and it won't be as bad as I worry.