For all of the people who feel that Americans should have been more careful, it is just not possible for the average American to buy a house for cash. Many people spent their money carefully enough, but basically any use of credit, when combined with this employment situation (especially for people with larger commitments, including children), has created a scenario where losing a job is the end of the world as you know it (for several years at least). We’re not here all that long in the larger scheme of things, and the older you are the more clearly you see this. Mistakes were made, usually by people trying to replace stagnant wages with credit card debt to maintain a standard of living corporate America had traded away (with the cooperation of politicians); this situation has been developing for decades. The complicity of banks in over-valuing homes, then seeking bailouts when the buyers went into foreclosure, shouldn’t be ignored. There is wrong on all sides here.
No one said he should have paid CASH for his house....they said he was 60 and SHOULD have had his Mortgage PAID OFF!!
You can't retire still owning house payments.