I am worried about the state of the world today. I mean, the more you look around, the more things seem to be falling apart. Maybe those people who are saying these are the End Times are actually the ones who have it right!

Let’s start with our homes. We all know that house values have been decimated, just decimated in the past year or two. How can this happen? And now it seems we are in for even worse news. The Fed drops interest rates, but mortgage rates just keep going up. I hear that mortgage rates predictions are just for more increases, too.

Recent events have highlighted the impact of the current housing crisis on mortgage rates predictions. It began as a sub-prime mortgage crisis, but has now spread to the wider financial market, as house valuations plummet. Even responsible mortgages with a 20% down payment are suddenly turning upside down, as house prices in some parts ofthe country drop 30% or more, almost overnight.

In July 2008, foreclosure filings were 50% higher than in the same month in 2007. More than 272,000 homes received at least one foreclosure-related notice in July - that is one in every 464 US households, or more than half a percent of all homes. More than 77,000 repossessions were actually carried out in July 2008.

The presence in the market of a large number of homes in foreclosure and pre-foreclosure makes it increasingly difficult to sell homes for their full appraised value. Buyers know there are bargains to be had, and many simply don’t make offers on homes at full price.

There we have our cars. Lord knows, we have had a love affair with SUVs for years - but could it be that rising oil prices will make this a doomed romance?

SUV resale values have fallen since last year, due to the rising price of gasoline. Demand for SUVs is falling rapidly, as people move to reduce their gas consumption. As a result, the value of a three-year-old GMC Yukon has fallen 8.5% since July last year, to just 34.2% of the value of a new vehicle. Oil prices are not likely to fall in the near future, so SUV resale values are likely to remain low for the long term.

The worst affected values are the Ford Expedition resale values - the value of a three-year-old Ford Expedition has fallen 12.2% since July last year, to just 32.48% of the value of a new vehicle.

And if we go looking for a way to make a bit of extra cash to cover the rising costs of home and transport, what do we find? Sharks and wolves at every turn, scams and swindles - like all those scams about working from home they warn us about over at the Second Income blog. Good blog, by the way - if you’re looking for some extra cash, check it out!

So we have the anti-Trinity - stress about our homes, stress about our cars, stress about our incomes. Sigh. Time for a hot chocolate and a trashy movie, I think!

Tags: Women's World