Are There Positives to This Recession?

I don't know about you, but this recession period has made me change the way I look at things every day. I have good habits on managing money, and I was raised in a family that believes it can be the one thing that can make you or break you. Life is all about choices, and bad choices reap negative results, good choices reap positive results. So, is the recession positive?

The best answer to that is both; yes and no. Let me explain though, lest I get hate mail! The recession has had a negative impact in that many have lost their jobs, their homes, and not to mention their dignity in the process. Losing a job and a home has never been good in anyone's eyes, and can really make you feel less than a man when you are the sole provider and in many cases less than a women when you are the sole provider. When you know that you are losing your home, you have to hurry up and find a place to live, and often that may be your family. The conditions of you moving in might require that you "spill the beans", so that your family finds out what happened. So none of this has been positive for you, if you were in this position before, or if you are today.

So, after all of that being said, what is the positive? The positive is this: in many cases, people were trying to live beyond their means, so it taught many families to put money back and not be so quick to buy. Often, even those folks who lost their jobs had no savings, and were totally unprepared even for a $500 emergency. Believe me, there were still many who had the rug completely pulled out from under them due to illness, a sick child, and unfortunately to those who were in this position, I am sure someone still ridiculed you in a judgmental fashion. Shame on them, but I want you to understand where I am going with this for now.

The NFCC, the National Foundation for Credit Counseling, did an online poll that stated 51 percent of respondents took viable steps to reduce their debt. That is a large number. I would have loved to have seen a larger number, but just over half is a pretty good number. Getting consumers to refocus their attention means everything to me, because I don't want to just do a mortgage loan for them and walk away, not leaving them with anything to chew on. If I can't get you approved I tell you why, and I will also tell you how long it's going to take before you can get approved if you have done everything I have asked you to do.

If you are looking to purchase a home or refinance the one you're in, and you need to know what the FHA requirements are, you can go to www.fhaloansnow.net, and find plenty of information here to answer your questions, and you can even fill out a form to get a pre-approval. Finding a mortgage professional that cares about the whole picture is so critical.