Credit Unions are added banking outlet. Have many of same regulations and protections that banks have, but check there record first, not all have same requirements. Sometimes you can get better rates. Rosemary

Furious

What I can tell you is that if you have a long term time horizon this presents an opportunity. Of all the 10 year blocks of time from 1928 to 2007 the market has been positive 99% of the time over that 10 year period. Am I biased, of course. But if you don't want to listen to me, follow Warren Buffet who made a 5 Billion dollar investment last week in Goldman Sachs. - Glenn Wiggle

Hi John: Income producing real estate can be good long-term investment, but make sure it is good value, good location, not over mortgaged AND you must know something about real estate. It's also good to be handy in repairs. Rosemary

For or against the Bailout

I am for some sort of bailout. I'm not sure this is the right approach but they need to clean the balance sheets of our financial institutions to free up capital. In my opinion, the root cause of the problem is the original Community Reinvestment Act passed by Jimmy Carter in 1977, then supercharged by Bill Clinton in 1993. This is the result of the govt. being too involved in private industry by pushing Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac into the subprime mortgage business. In July of 1999 the Dept. of Housing and Urban Development told Fannie and Freddie that they wanted 50% of their mortgage to be subprime by 2001. These are Govt. Sponsored Enterprises that the govt has a tremendous amount of control over. But not passing some sort of bailout would have severe consequences to our economy. - Glenn Wiggle

Hi Dana, It's always good to max out your contribution in 401K first . . . then look into other investment vehicles like: good quality annuity - it's tax deferred and dividend paying stocks - try to reinvest dividends for added growth. Rosemary

Paul - Paying down mortgage early

I don't think it does make sense. Especially if you have a low interest rate. Credit will likely be more difficult to obtain in the future and if you lock your equity in your house you may not be able to access as easily as you have in the past. We usually advise our clients to keep the write off of the mortgage interest and invest the difference either by increasing contributions to your 401k or funding an IRA account. - Glenn Wiggle

Hi Lily - Given the ensuing holiday season - inventories might me overstocked. So good time to "make a deal" - also look into used items. But remember, if you don't need it, don't buy it! Keep debt low to none. Rosemary