How much house?

We are in one of the toughest housing crunches of all time. Many people can't afford the houses they live in, and they are having trouble selling the house that is breaking them. I believe that we brought this problem on ourselves by not understanding the basics of credit, but that is neither here nor there. Today I have two pieces of advice that should get your housing woes in check.

1. Don't be afraid to rent- Many of our housing woes stem from people that bought a home when they should have rented. Don't get me wrong, I think that it is important to build equity in your home, but don't ignore the other factors of home ownership. Many people believe that rent money is wasted, but I believe that it is simply is used to buy you time. You need to be fully prepared to own a home. Don't rush it.

1. The 30% rule- Do you know how you can pretty much guarantee that you will stay out of trouble? Make sure that your mortgage payment is no bigger than 30% of your monthly household income. Being above 30% can lead to real trouble. Many of the people who got burned by the housing crunch were way above 30%.

Stick to these easy tips and you should be just fine.

Blind Item

What kicker from an undefeated professional team that lives down the street from PTP had a full house on Halloween? Pete the Planner's spies (okay, Pete the Planner) noticed that there was a line about 75 deep at the door of this future hall of fame kicker. I guess kids just wanted to see what type of candy this superstar gave out. I will kick you a hint. His name rhymes with Vladam Menitieri.