One reader wants to know how you are getting ready for a cooler housing market. "How about a thread on how each of us, or someone we know, is specifically preparing for the housing crash, or in many of our opinions, a recession? As for preparations, my wife and I have been downshifting into a lower consumption lifestyle as fast as two small children will allow."

"A couple weeks ago, I sold my second car while keeping an older car as my daily driver. We used some of the proceeds from the car sale to retire a little debt that we had accumulated, leaving us with our mortgage as the only debt we have. We’ve also put some money into making our home much more energy efficient. We are hoping to stay put until the kids are gone, so we’re playing for the long term."

Another sees a disagreement on the home front. "How do you keep your spouse from dragging you to the marriage counselor because she’s threatening divorce because you don’t want to buy an overpriced house and she does (I am assuming that is the typical case; maybe in some unions the female is the bearish one)? Any relationship counselors out there who are also renters? I think you are very needed!"

Then came the replies, "No couselor here, just observation. I find a high correlation between people (both men and women) who have poor spending habits and those who are not paying the bills. If your spouse understands math, then make sure that they are involved in the family finances."

"My wife is excellent in math, but I ended up with the finances in the division of labor. I find that a monthly plot of net worth and a discussion of what it would take to retire early is quite effective. Now if your spouse doesn’t understand math, then you have quite a problem."

"The husband and I talk about RE a lot and both read this blog, and we are very much in agreement that we don’t want to buy an overpriced house. One thing I would really appreciate is a more gender-neutral approach to this discussion. I’m getting a little tired of seeing women get cracked on for making irrational housing decisions. Is there any hard data to indicate that this is, in fact, frequently the case?"

"Actually the only research I have seen about gender and investing suggests that men are more prone to make stupid investing mistakes (and my wife would probably concur!). You may be misled by real estate industry propaganda which stereotypes the smart wife who knows now is the right time to buy a home and the dumb husband she is trying to convince. My wife and I had no trouble agreeing that 1996 was the right time to buy a home in CA, and that now is not."

"I’m not buying that propaganda, but I see that attitude reflected a fair bit here and elsewhere. I’m sure it’s just a reflection of the old stereotype that women are irresponsible with money and like to shop. For some reason that persists even though women are often, now as in the past, the ones who end up managing family finances. Still, as cereal pointed out, both the mister and the missus have to sign the loan papers, and I have a hard time believing that there are that many henpecked hubbies out there."

"I’m not sure why that assumption is here. The only time the spouse HAS to sign is when 2 incomes are needed to make the mortgage payment. Otherwise it has more to do with ownership (divorce, inheritance) issues."