According to the LA Times, a lot of would-be home buyers are wondering if they should buy or rent in the Los Angeles area. They're weighing the new higher prices against interest rates still near record lows, deciding between the flexibility of renting and the potential long-term payoff of homeownership. And many are looking at a job market that still feels a little wobbly and wondering whether now is the right time to take the plunge. In a follow up to Lack of Affordable Housing in Ventura County, Trulia has a piece about renting vs. buying and it shows that if you rent at $1,500 per month, in ten years that rent will have cost you $232,932. That’s enough money to buy a house. [...]

What is debt consolidation? Debt consolidation consists of taking some number of debts, each with their own minimum payment, like credit cards, and paying them off with a home equity loan, for example, making it a secured loan. The payment on the home equity loan has a lower interest rate and payment than the combined credit cards. Abracadabra! The debtor can breathe again. Many caution against turning unsecured debt into secured debt. Nolo says, “here is a huge downside to consolidating unsecured loans into one secured loan: When you pledge assets as collateral, you are putting the pledged property at risk. If you can’t pay the loan back, you could lose your house, car, life insurance, retirement fund, or whatever else you might have used to secure the loan. Certain assets, such as life insurance or retirement funds may not be available to you if the loan is not paid back before you need to use them.” [...]