Questions about the best course of action to prepare for a possible economic depression I'm no economist, but I'm trying to learn about the possible economic depression everyone's been talking about since the recent financial upheaval. I have a number of questions. 1. I have always read that there are huge bargains to be had when the stock market tanks. If this is so, what stops investors from jumping INTO the market when there is a huge crash? For example, why not invest in an index fund as soon as the market drops off 500 points? Why *wouldn't* this be a good idea for the individual investor (assuming it isn't).

I am a frugal person entering his senior year in college [age 21]. I have been following advice like the stuff in thread 84915 and thread 99852 and living below my means. I sought advice in Financial books for college kids my age [for example, generation debt], but left feeling wanting more because they focus primarily on how to cut expenses [skipping the latte, etc]. So, I have some student loans already, but will need more for my senior year. I also have some money set aside, but I should I use this money to lower the loan amount that I'll take out or use this money for an investment (Roth IRA, index fund), and take out more for my student loans ? Here's my scenario:

I have: fair credit ( reported between 650 - 720 ). a student loan and an auto finance loan of no more than $30,000 in combination. ~$9000 in credit card debt spread between 2 cards. What is a good way to pay off my high interest credit cards? I am looking at options like small loans, debt consolidation, possibly even balance transfer to a new card (although I hear that hurts your credit score?). Any good sites that can help me budget or somehow help me get out of paying like $150+ in finance charges every month?

A noobie question on credit scores! I know raising your score is partly done by reliable monthly payments on credit cards and loans - and people who are just starting out to build their scores, are often advised to get a card and begin to responsibly pay it off, to catch the notice of the reporting agencies. Would that mean that if you can pay off a large credit loan (e.g., in the realm of $2k) immediately instead of sticking to a monthly payment system, you're missing out on chances to further raise your score? Or does being able to pay off such an amount in full give you an equivalent gold star sticker? I wish this was something that didn't need asking, but my 'financial tutors' have been virtually nonexistent while growing up.

My friend was served by a collection agency. She owes the money but doesn't have it. What's she do now? I recently met a nice gal who's made some of the stupidest financial moves ever. The most pressing problem is $4000 of debt with a collection agency. She's been unable to pay for months, yet instead of calling the collection agency she's simply ignored the statements. Today they sued her for the debt + attorney's fees. She has no money and no assets. Even if they go to court and a judgement is made against her in this amount, she'll have to get on a monthly payment plan like she is now. This isn't really worth much to the credit agency, so I'm thinking they'd be willing to drop the case as long as she acknowledges the debt is real and she starts paying again.

If you're enrolled in a debt management plan through Consumer Credit Services but can no longer make your agreed upon payment, how can you get it lowered? My parents enrolled in such a program a year and a half ago because they were deeply in debt and have managed to make their very high monthly payments until now in order to be out of debt in five years. The problem is they agreed to the plan when my mother was unemployed under the assumption that she would soon get a job but she has not been able to find one despite repeated efforts. They have now run through all their savings and retirement money trying to keep up with this overambitious payment plan they made and are within a month or two of defaulting which would wipe away all the hard work they have done. They are in their sixties and in quite desperate straits. Apparently, they have gotten nowhere trying to plead their case to the people at CCS. They are paying at least $1000 more than they can afford a month and have already cut their budget to the bone so there's no hidden money there.

I am having some serious financial issues. Who, in Eastern Canada, can I talk to about this kind of thing? I had no income for two months and, as a result of that and some spending over the last few years, incurred about 8k in unsecured debt. In addition to this, I have around 14k in Student Loans. I have applied for Student Loan relief but was denied and was not given a clear reason as to why. Debt consolidation would make sense *if* I wasn't planning on going back to full-time school in the fall. I could avoid my student loans for a while and make payments to my unsecured debt by itself if I did that.

FinanceFilter: Is the money supply contracting, or expanding, after netting all the Fed action, bank closures, mortgage defaults, etc? The dollar falling seems to signal a net increase of money supply, but this is inconsistent with the thesis of a credit or liquidity crunch. If the money supply is growing at a slower rate due to tighter lending practices, shouldn't the dollar be rising, even in the face of Fed-rate cutting? Do we know the net expansion or contraction of the money supply due to the combination of rate cuts and mortgage defaults? I understand that Fed rate cuts have the effect of increasing the money supply. I understand that lower rates lower the value of the dollar, because it puts more dollars into existence tomorrow than existed today, i.e. given a constant demand, the increase of supply lowers the price.

Should I sign up for a credit card right now? If so, from where? I'm an unemployed college student. I'm due to graduate in May, and currently have no job since I'm a full-time student. (I'm looking for "real" jobs for when I graduate.) I'll delve into (much) more detail in a minute, but the basic gist is that people keep telling me I need to get a "real" credit card to build history, but I think now may be a bad time. I should also disclaim that I'm extremely contemptuous and distrusting of the credit industry. I believe that they, as an industry, have gone out of their way to exploit people with financial problems; I find it repulsive that they're exempt from usury laws; I'm yet to find a credit card company that doesn't engage in one sleazy practice or another. More than anything, though, I have major issues with credit reporting: I never asked to be put in a database with some random third-party group, and I think my financial data is the last thing in the world they have a right to know anything about. I realize that it's very helpful to banks, but that doesn't appease me. Not only is it a (creepy) invasion of my privacy, but I have major issues with them being the definitive word on whether I'm creditworthy or not. (It'd be like if I spontaneously declared that I was the "Job Rating Bureau" and kept files on every person in America, every time they've been disciplined at work, every place they ever worked, for how long, and also reported when people applied for jobs. And then, when someone went to apply for a job, the company would contact me to ask what I thought of them. Oh, and employees could only see my ranking of them once a year. And that's only because Congress forced my hand.)</rant>

How do I pay for grad school? So, I just got accepted to Columbia University for an MFA in fiction. Which is awesome. But I don't have a lot of money. Which is, well, just the way it is. Do you know any resources for outside fellowships/scholarships that I could apply for? Ways to get private and government loans? I already filled out my Fafsa. That is the first step, correct? What next?