July 06, 2009

A FTER taxes this year, I found myself in the curious position of having a decent-sized refund and absolutely no idea what do with it.See, I’m one of the hundreds of millions of Americans without a degree in finance. I also live in a state where foreclosures are high and 14 community banks have closed since the economic crisis began. If you look, you can see the seams tearing — empty houses and vacant stores beginning to rot because their owners have lost their shirts.

the cost of using public transportation going up, and Atlanta’s property taxes being raised just to keep from having to close more fire stations.I hear people saying it’s time to get out, especially after that tax increase was announced, but where are they going to go? California? Who is going to buy their houses? They’re stuck.I know I’m one of the lucky ones: I have a spouse, a child, a dog, a car, a mortgage and, thankfully, I still have a job. And all I want is to grow — or at least, not shrink — my nest egg.