[MadScientist]

Rather than drop such a huge amount of cash on a high tech, low durability item, maybe you could incrementally get similar gains from cheaper more durable alternate energy sources. I'll assume you are familiar with what kind of items are electric-essential and which are "convenience". IMO a 25 year return on investment is not really a smart way to go for something that can be broken or stolen relatively easily. For example calculate how much coal you could buy by the pickup load before you reached $5,000 and bury it under your yard.

re: credit cards. assuming you have a low interest rate on those cards ( i used to rotate 0% cards) you can make purchases and just pay the interest or a small amount for as long as possible. Keep the cash for if you ever "need" to pay it off. But you still have the actual asset if things go really bad and you lose contact with your credit card company (awwwww )

[Iaato]

The politicians currently in charge in the US have gotten to where they have because they gave J6P permission to stop saving, spend money profligately, and then to spend their children's money. The last 8 years have been a period of tacit permission to dump all ethics and behave irresponsibly, with no regard to the future. Don't follow the sheeple over the cliff, Baha. The debtors will be fighting the next resource war for us.

[cube]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('MrBill', 'T')he sooner the common man defaults on his debts the sooner we will return to a cash society where only those with money will be able to borrow money, and where you will need money to make money. Cash will be king and we will return to The Golden Rule. So go ahead and stick it to the man. It was a mistake in the first place to assume the common man could handle credit responsibly.

[MrBill]

I just finished reading Somerset Maughan's Of Human Bondage circa 1915. There are some interesting depictions of life for those that run out of money and have nothing left to pawn. No credit cards. And no easy credit for those that did not have hard assets. I really hope that some of the light-weight thinkers around this place know of the reality for which they desperately wish upon themselves.