Most of the commentary I’ve seen on this economic crisis we may or may not be having is a lot like the advice given when we’re not in a crisis–build an emergency fund, avoid too much debt, and allocate your investments and hold on.   Wise personal finance is wise personal finance, regardless.   Still, it has an influence on discussions of debt, credit and housing.

  • JLP has some of the most regular, extensive commentary about the subprime collapse, including this post about Alan Greenspan’s comments on its roots. (Read it at All Financial Matters)
  • JD explains how he used his home equity to pay off his credit card debt, and analyzes some of the cons of this plan.   (Read it at Get Rich Slowly)
  • Flexo has a list of current checking and savings account interest rates after the most recent Fed rate cut.   This mortgage-free ING Direct customer is starting to get frustrated… although I am aware that bigger things are at stake than .2% APY on my meager savings. (Read it at Consumerism Commentary)
  • Heidi (a relatively new blogger) breaks down the fine print on her consolidation loan, an object lesson of an important point: always ask yourself what’s in it for them. (Read it at Banker Girl)
  • Best post title ever? “We made an offer on a house, they laughed at us.” (Read it at Free Money Finance)
  • Nickel experienced serious subcontractor love, an upside to remodeling even when your home equity isn’t necessarily shooting through the roof. (Read it at Five Cent Nickel)
  • The College Cost Reduction and Access Act of 2007 is only tangentially related, but I am still hyped about the Stafford rate cuts. (Read it at Wise Bread)
  • To file under Completely Unrelated And Also Gross,   junior-sized panties that say “Who needs credit cards?” I’m linking to the original post–Wal-Mart pulled the item shortly after. (Read it at Feministing)
  • On a lighter note, Northern State suggests some alternative income streams. There’s a million ways that you can make a buck, yall. (Watch it at YouTube)

Queercents Rehash: The Skinny on Subprime Loans: Just in case you need a primer–I’m not going to lie, I had to Wikipedia all this business a few months ago.