Just when I thought I helped my last client refinance their mortgage…we get a little silver lining in this subprime mortgage mess.

The Fed has reduced rates and that means long term fixed rate mortgages are back under 6%. This is providing anyone who has a variable mortgage, who missed the last refinance opportunity, or who is purchasing a new home with the opportunity to take advantage of the lower rates.

If you or anyone you know could benefit from a discussion of the best way to manage their mortgage, please give me a call.

It has been a while since we have seen such bad performance in the stock market. 2000-2002 to be exact, when the NASDAQ tech stocks dropped 80% and the S&P 500 dropped about 40%.

Currently, the S&P 500 is down about 18% from its 2007 peak, and the NASDAQ is down about 24%.

So one of the only useful things we can do at a time like this is to reevaluate our “true” risk tolerance level. When the market is going up, all of us are fine with maximum risk. It is only when the market declines that we get an opportunity to really see if we are comfortable with the risk we are taking.

How are you feeling right now? Are you still a believer in the fact that if you want the higher long term rates of return of the stock market, you will have to live through the inevitable market declines?