Don’t pay your mortgage, that is. On purpose. That’s right. Just walk away from it. Roger Lowenstein in yesterday’s NYT:

…voluntary defaults are a new phenomenon. Time was, Americans would do anything to pay their mortgage — forgo a new car or a vacation, even put a younger family member to work. But the housing collapse left 10.7 million families owing more than their homes are worth. So some of them are making a calculated decision to hang onto their money and let their homes go. Is this irresponsible? [link]