There is a saying that money makes the world go ‘round, but being Creationists, we know in fact that it is God who makes things spin. Yet, money still has a lot to do with a lot of things a lot of the time. (Houston, I need an editor.) The Bible talks about money more than it does heaven. This isn’t because money is more important than heaven, but because such an insignificant, temporal thing can keep us from an earth-shattering, eternal thing. C. S. Lewis once said, “Prosperity knits a man to the world. He feels that he is ‘finding his place in it,’ while it is really finding its place in him.”

That said, people always get funny when you talk about money. Since the Bible talks freely about it, I think we should too. The Bible also talks about certain things in the Song of Solomon, but really, I think the money part is different. I enjoy finance and real estate, particularly, but saying so is like saying I like anchovies on my pizza. It’s uncool, boring, and a bit on the weird side. People look at you different when they know you eat anchovies. (I don’t like anchovies for the record.)

Subprime Soapbox
From the perspective of being a real estate junkie, I am following this subprime mess with great interest. From the perspective of having my life savings tied up in the equity of four houses right now, I’m following this subprime mess with heart palpitations on steroids. Think Tin Man after he met the wizard. If you follow my sideblog, you already know I think a government bailout is immoral and wrong. It punishes savers, renters, homeowners with equity, and those who invested conservatively among others, while rewarding those who lied, cheated, and/or took a gamble. I don’t usually do rants on my blog.

We live in Florida and have a great credit score, even though that great part was optional two years ago. We qualified for all the liar loans as well as the legitimate ones. While prices doubled and tripled all around us, we kept saying, “No, because what if…” The problem with a government bailout besides its unconstitutionality and its effect on the dollar, is that the public will have no reason to behave morally in the future when immorality receives compensation. It isn’t just an economic issue but a moral one. Let the chips fall. I don’t usually do rants on my blog.

I recently read about banks cutting checks in the amount of a few thousand bucks to borrowers facing foreclosure. The borrowers are already in default, living on another person’s dime for several months, in some cases, years (!) due to the backlog. Yet, banks are paying borrowers a huge check in exchange for not stripping the house, selling off the fixtures, and trashing it before they leave. They’re paying them not to behave immorally, and apparently, a lot of people need that cash incentive to do the right thing. I don’t usually do rants on my blog.

The program is called “Cash for Keys.” The basic premise is that it is cheaper to pay someone who already owes you money even more money just to not cause you an even greater loss. Does that make sense? It is the same thing that happens when McDonald’s or Wal-Mart settles out of court for a ridiculous sum of money for an even more ridiculous, frivolous lawsuit just because that’s the way it works. I always thought they should stick it to these greedy guts who spill hot coffee on themselves, but that was before it happened to us.

We paid off the guy, who was holding our seven rental units hostage, just to make him go away. We essentially gave him a huge sum of money just to give us back keys that we already owned. Cash For Keys, baby. You have to know that burns me up, but I understand more than ever how the world spins. It’s complicated and not always pretty. I’m just thankful that it’s –probably, hopefully– over. We are back to being regular landlords, as opposed to leasing them to someone who is subleasing them.

Img0061Moving Plans
Our plans for moving have changed. When we first began trying to think outside of the box in order to leave the rat race (60+ hour work weeks with traveling on top of it), we came up with dozens of options to make a go at a different kind of life. We were going to rehab houses. We were going to buy a deli in the mall food court. We were going to do all sorts of crazy things. When Greg landed a work-from-anywhere job eighteen months ago, I thought we had that piece of the puzzle figured out. This was great until that job began requiring a great deal of travel. (This is in addition to the rocket job at the Cape.) We’re currently trying to figure out our best options.

At the moment, we think the most prudent course is to stay in the area for a little longer to build up a better financial cushion. Most of our losses are unrealized gains, as we weren’t planning on our primary house equity dropping 50% in two years. We used conservative estimates in our planning, but not that conservative. It’s not just the people who are upside down on their houses that are affected, but the influx of foreclosures and rundown properties runs down the values for regular folks too. (Incidentally, our taxes were raised when our values rose, but when they plummeted, our taxes stayed the same. Heh.) We could move to the farm next month when our house is finished and be fine, but it’d require Greg to keep the high-travel job. If we stay here, he could travel less and have more control over his schedule. The goal has always been keeping our family together, not a farm fantasy. Yee-ouch.

Our plans change by the minute and by the disaster, and we can’t say for sure what will happen. The whole thing is fluid.

A Final Aside
Since something is always happening, I have to mention I got my oldest son’s arm put in a cast this morning. He played six baseball games last week, all the while with a broken wrist. The kid loves baseball. He’s suiting up for tomorrow night’s game, but this time he’ll be shouting plays from the bench. Just call him, Bat Boy.

I think that’s it for now.