Real estate agents and mortgage lenders will tell you not to buy a car in between the ratification of a purchase contract on a home and the day of settlement. Changing your credit situation during that period of time can have a huge impact on your home financing. So, when is the best time to go car shopping? Fellow consumer advocate, Mike Rabkin of From Car To Finish is the guest blogger here to answer that question.

Have you ever gone to a restaurant where everyone else seems to be a regular? The manager and wait staff greet each customer by name and appear to know all about them and each member of their party. Have you been to a place like that recently? I have.

You know that first really cold day of Autumn? The day that the sun is shining, but it’s cold and windy and it gives you a chill that you haven’t had in a long time. The day that as a child, your mom would have made you a grilled cheese sandwich and tomato soup…

I was in need of a good strong cup of coffee so I parked at the curb across the street from Tout de Sweet and put some money in the meter. When I returned a few minutes later with my coffee in hand, this is what I found.

I don’t think there is anyone who was living during those attacks who won’t remember that horrible day. We were all stunned by news that came to us one attack after another. Some people lost loved ones. Most Americans felt the events as an attack against our country. There was a feeling that we were vulnerable.