I remember the gas crunch of the 70s very well. That should have been our red flag, right then and there. But, we didn't 'listen'. I lived outside a large city then and commuted to work. Gas was to be had, but there was a ten gallon limit and lines. I remember pulling my little Karman Ghia convertible into one station, and it was full service back then, leaning my head out the window and saying 'fill 'er up'. The wrath of the hose jockey was upon me, LOL. He screamed 'Ten Gallon Limit' in my face and I told him if he could squeeze ten gallons in my little tank, then he was a better man than I.

Hi Chelone, What's with the listing of your magazines? Was that meant for this thread? Or are you saying that all of those are your cause for belief that "deregulation in banking has encouraged the shocking lending practices that have lead to the present circumstance."? I'm sorry I screwed your name up. I'm usually pretty good about that, and historicially I've been "on the money" with your's, I think. No worries, no offense taken (the mix-up, as I stated, is so extremely common outside of written communications that I'm virtually never offended by it... no even when an offender points out in hindsight that she *MEANT* it to be offensive at the time ;~) I'm either thick-skinned, or thick-skulled (depending who you ask) that way. My own philosophy about investing (WHEN and how) is very different than your's, Dave (sorry again!). I believe in retiring debts efficiently before the term. What do you believe in when the term is too short to efficiently eliminate the leverage, in respect to a person's actual life (not the arbitrarily set term of the loan)? My own portfolio has seen a downturn, but not a terribly precipitous one, frankly. Mostly, I think, because I have paid my major debts in full and now have the option of directing current contributions (that would have be directed to debt/interest payments) to longer term investments. If you look at a comparison of a pre-funded sum growing on a compounding basis (even minus the interest charges considered if the funds were from leverage,) versus a "drip-funded" scheme of the same monthly payment... you'll apparently be quite surprised at how dangerous the "eliminate the leverage, then drip the investment" strategy actually is. I am reasonably certain you will find fault with it all. I'm OK with that. I know that the properties I own are owned "free and clear". I know also that my portfolio is reasonably (within my "risk toleranace") conservative relative to the times frames I have in mind. I'm glad to know you are blissful. ;~) "Broadbrush" is workin' just fine for me. I'll keep that in mind when I see future claims or statements, and pull in the reigns of my accuracy expectations. Here's to your blissful seasons; that you are confronted by no surprises you weren't anticipating, and that you remain safe without having to be aware! Dave Donhoff Leverage Planner

I have seen a couple of sides of the story. One heroine addiction is not always caused by being prescribed pain medications but due to the Mental Health system not treating patients correctly or in time. My son, yes my very own flesh and blood was a heroine addict (whew) hard to admit. We were an upper middle class family and knew from an early age he had issues. We took him to therapy, doctors you name it. He'd tell them what they wanted to hear and they'd call us over protective. He started drinking and drinking to the point I had to pick him up from PC at jail with a blood alcohol lvl 3xs the legal limit. I drove him straight to a treatment facility who told me eh kids will be kids just because he drank too much this time did not mean he had a problem. I tried explaining to them he was depressed, he stayed to his self I knew what I was seeing I lived with it with my mother she was bipolar. They sent him home. Fast forward a couple of years. He comes to me Thank God and tells me he has a problem with alcohol and heroine. When I asked why he took those things he told they made him feel better because there was something inside of him that was dark that he couldn't explain. When he drank or did heroine the darkness went away. We called a treatment facility. Ready for this? They would not take him unless he was high. I am dead serious. I called my doctor begged him to see my child even though he wasn't his patient. We took him in and my doctor tried to get him a bed at a treatment facility they told him the same thing he had to be high. My doctor was shocked!!! My doctor tried admitting him for another health issue to a regular hospital to try and move him from there to a treatment facility. No health issue no admitance. He even suggested my husband and I take my son and get him high. He couldn't believe he was having to suggest this. None of us were willing to do this so finally the doctor made some high up calls to be he knew and after almost 24 hours we finally got him into a treatment facility. 2 months in a facility. What did they do? Traded one addiction for another. They gave him suboxone, prozac and ready for this Adderall (an amphetimine). Once he got out of treatment he was now on more drugs and drugs that are extremely hard to get off of. He went to out patient programs, Narcotic anon. He was told he needed a phychiatrist. The wait for that 6 months!! Guess what happened in the 6 months we waited. He aged off our insurance and now could not get any of his meds because they would not fill the meds without insurance even though we offered to pay in cash. Now he was spiraling again. He could not get insurance, this happened before Obama care and he had no job and could not afford insurance. We had to sit with him day in and day out while he cold turkey withdrew off the medications the doctors had prescribed him because he could now not get them at all. He finally got over that but still fights his darkness. He got a job with insurance and we are now again in a 6 month holding pattern waiting to get him into a mental health doctor. I have seen the increase in him drinking, I know he is struggling. I watch it like a hawk and try to get him to talk to me but he says he can't explain what it is inside of him. I have called to see if we can speed things up, he has called to see if he can speed things up. We are both told unless he is suicidal there is nothing they can do. There are so many patients and so few mental health facilities and because he has a job and functions he is not a high priority to them. I fear every day that he will find a way to find drugs to help him cope. I also fear when he does get into see a doctor they will put him back on a similar cocktail that to me is just as bad. So don't always blame the drug epidemic on doctors over prescribing pain meds, some of the issue is also the mental health system and them not treating patients in a timely manner to the point they seek out relief in other ways. A regular PCP will not help as they claim they do not have enough training to help with a mental health patient, therapist can't prescibe medications and even if the therapist suggests to the PCP what might help just as with the pain meds a lot of doctors now wont even prescribe mental health drugs as they are scared to prescribe anything.

Hi Lisa! There are a few things you can do instead of spending the time and money to re-do the entire space. First, declutter. Anything that does not need to be in that space... (like Spiderman masks, cans of food, and a seat from a car) should be moved to a different area in the home. Only keep items you are using for that particular season in the entryway space. Second, paint goes a long way for making a space look lighter and brighter quickly and affordably. Paint the brown furniture, cubbies and shelving units white to help brighten the space when you walk in. Last, if you know someone handy, you could ask them to add doors to the shelving units. This allows you to hide your mess without having to actually change how you store it. And closing those closets off will help your eyes see a nice white piece of furniture instead of a mess every time you walk into the space. Making it more relaxing. Hope this helps!