I was recently in an mls meeting and one of the bankers said that a lot of people are paying bills other than their mortgage.  Wow, that blew me away! Cell phone, credit card, somewhere to live... it seems pretty obvious what the choice should be.  Another thing that surprised me was what impact paying a mortgage 30 days late had on a credit score - a drop of 30 points for each payment 30 days late.  It isn't hard math to figure out that you can't do that many times before you totally wreak your credit profile. 

I know a lot of people are upside down on their mortgages and it is discouraging to pay for something that isn't worth what you bought it for and you may not ever get your money back out of it.  But, how is that different from a vehicle, the day you drive it off the lot is isn't worth what you paid for it, it is very unusual that you get what you owe on one in a trade.  There is a lot of help out there for good honest people who are struggling with an adjustable mortgage.  Don't lose hope, talk to your bank they can help.

One thing I am praying that comes out of this mortgage disaster is a better awareness of how money works, how mortgages work and many, many more questions about financing from my clients.