Gross Income Used For Mortgages??

Just read an interesting article about how GROSS income is not a good way to decide whether a person can afford a mortgage.  It brought to light the fact that bills people pay aren't even considered among those bills that get reported to credit agencies. 

For instance, the number one bill paid is car payment as that is how people get to work and it will get repossessed if not paid.  Then they have to have gas to run the car, and child care for their children while they are working.  See the point.  There are alot of non-credit agency type bills that will get paid before the house.  The house gets paid if everything else gets paid first.

I'd never thought of it that way as I'm old school, and I budget the house payment first.  I have a real "fear" of living on the street as the little old "bag lady".  So that's the first thing I get paid each month.  Maybe I'm weird, if this is not the way most people do it. 

Read another great article recently from an investment firm who said be sure you pay your car first as it's how you will get to work whenever the dollar goes crazy and is worth next to nothing.  You can also live in it.  Ouch!!  another person who puts a car before the house. 

So if you are interested in this concept, I'm copying the address for the first article.  Let me know what you think.  http://www.nationalmortgagenews.com/blogs/hearing/gross-is-for-kids-not-ability-to-repay-1034058-1.html

Budgets, Spending, No Pay for Congressmen

Just read where the Congress passed a bill allowing them to keep going further in debt until May, and borrowing, and borrowing.  How stupid is that.  We need to get our government on a budget and live within our means like "real families" have to.  And to top it off, they pulled a stunt!!  Here's what the article said about the stunt:

"It includes something of a stunt -- a provision to force the Senate to write a budget by suspending lawmakers' pay unless they pass a spending resolution. The "No Budget No Pay" provision is largely symbolic, since Senate Budget Chairwoman Patty Murray (D-Wash) already has pledged to write a budget -- something that the Senate has not done for nearly four years, largely for political reasons.
The passage of the debt ceiling legislation would stave off until May 19 or later another showdown over paying the country's bills and would ultimately raise the debt limit by whatever new bills the nation racks up over the next 90 days. It's not quite a blank check, but analysts believe it would allow the Treasury Department the leeway to build a new cushion before the new deadline."

Is anyone else as tired of these type of games with NO work getting done, as I am.  I wouldn't oppose dissolving this bunch of lunatics and re-electing new people, maybe elect accountants rather than lawyers.