I do find them depressing at times, but mostly when they seem to indicate it will be another small piece of forever before I can get out of the rental I’m currently in that I hate, and into something that is comfortable again.

Other times I am thankful that they seem to confirm that no, I am the sane one, it is all these other pundits and news stories and NARs and things that are claiming I “should” be able to live the good life on thin air… when I know damn well I can’t afford what they are selling on the income I make.

CE, you sound like you are $$ better off than I am, and I envy you. However, I have a good friend who can’t work because she can’t leave her 81-year-old mother alone for more than 3 hours at a time or she will have an accident, injury, etc. She can’t afford a caregiver for her either, or to put her in a home; it’s a vicious Catch-22. They are down to the last fumes of their bank account now. It is really sad.