Last week, it was to be the end of the World, according to the Mayan calendar.  Did anyone stop long enough to think that there might be another page stashed somewhere?

If we just have our 2012 calendar hanging on the wall, and weren’t fortunate enough to get a 2013 calendar for Christmas, does this mean the world ends on December 31?

Now the news media and Congress jump on the band wagon and relate the looming fiscal cliff to the end of our financial world.  Taxes will go up overnight and spending cuts, however those are defined these days, will go into effect.  The end of the world?  Hardly.

The fiscal cliff scenario may actually be a well-orchestrated plan.  Democrats have been drooling for higher taxes for years while Republicans continuously demand spending cuts.  Does anyone in their right mind think the budget compromise that created the “fiscal cliff” measures was thought to never become a reality?

Both political parties get what they want, and they get to blame the other party for whatever happens.  That my friends is “win-win, Washington style.”

In the meantime, what can we do?

If you are waiting for the window of opportunity for home ownership to open wider, you need not wait any longer.  At some point in the future, the Fed will stop buying mortgage bonds and begin selling.  When the free market enters, interest rates will go up.  They cannot  conceivably go any lower.

Plus, mortgage interest and real estate taxes remain tax deductible.   If you are worried about your future employment, your home is much safer owning than renting.  Landlords have a tendency to evict quicker than banks will foreclose!

Make your plans now to watch the fiscal cliff debacle unfold from your own new home, if you are able.

The fiscal cliff needs to happen.  Current well-meaning government programs provide incentives for people to continue their dependence on them.  They actually should deter.  Enacting the fiscal cliff measures would be the first financially responsible thing Congress has done to take our financial future seriously.

Let’s watch them mess this up too!