Are billytea and I the only two people on the planet who don't wish they'd eloped?

Nope. Our wedding was great. I kinda wish I'd had a bachlorette party (none of my friends felt like organizing one, and no, Pete didn't have a bachlor party either), but otherwise, it was wonderful.

I think that if we attack Iran and Iran succeeds in bottling up shipping in the gulf (which they've threatened to do if we attack) I think there will be huge world-wide oil shortages leading to a pretty bad recession.

But supposedly Bush had said he won't attack Iran this year....

I'd stick with stocks for the 401k. You are decades out from retirement and if the stock market dives in the short-term, you are buying in low.

One Perfect Day: The Selling of the American Wedding

I've added this to my Amazon Wish List. Surprised I hadn't thought to look for such books before - normally when I'm in crisis, the first thing I do is buy books about it. "Crisis" is a bit of a strong word here, but nonetheless, I always feel better about things if I can intellectualize them.

Recession? No clue, though I have been keeping an optimistic eye on the housing market. We pay an astonishing amount in rent each month (astonishing for here - cheap if you're a New Yorker).

I think we've all learned a valuable lesson here...

TIME TO GO THROW A BACHELORETTE PARTY FOR JILLI & PLEI

Investing is for the long run, so there really isn't any reason to not to stay with age-appropriate risk. If you're putting a set amount of money into something such as a 401K, a downturn in the market only means you get more stock for your money. I don't think a private sector job is necessarily more risky that a public sector job, particularly since a recession reduces tax income. The collapse of the subprime market is hurting the economy, but how badly? Who knows? Not the economists, historically.

Investing is for the long run, so there really isn't any reason to not to stay with age-appropriate risk. If you're putting a set amount of money into something such as a 401K, a downturn in the market only means you get more stock for your money.

Pointing and nodding

Susan, I'm so very not an expert, but "underpaying public sector job", "much higher salary in a fairly stable corner of the private sector", and "clearing some nasty debt" sounds to me like, go for the higher-paying job.

That's my instinct, too. The private sector job is by no means a guarantee--his first interview is later this week. I don't see the company in question falling apart any time soon, but he'd be in a sort of "director of new media" type position that could in theory be the first thing to get cut if they needed to retrench. OTOH, it's a case where they seem to think he's an interesting and talented person who might in theory be worth creating a position for, which IMHO could turn out to be a Good Thing.

And our debt is dragging us down--it started when DH was unemployed during the dotcom bust and got much worse when I was too slow to give up on the idea of freelancing after Annabel was born, with occasional add-ons every time a computer dies or a car needs work, because thanks to the debt we have no cushion saved up. We're still renting as we move into our late 30's because of the debt. We're driving old cars because of the debt. I'm wondering if I need to give up on my long-term dream of being at Waterloo for the bicentennial of the battle in 8 years because of the debt. It's probably the biggest source of long-term stress in our marriage and in our lives in general, and I feel like anything that would enable us to get on top of it is a good thing. (Except, possibly, moving back to OK or AL. We've discussed it, but the very idea breaks my heart.) But DH is afraid that being in a less stable situation, because right now if either of us lost our jobs, we'd be deeply financially screwed. So if the economy is that precarious, maybe we're better off with our snail-slow debt repayment in our stable jobs than risking a loss of stability for higher pay.

I don't know. I just wish I could go back in time and undo every stupid financial decision and frivolous purchase we've made in the past 8 years so we wouldn't be in this idiotic bind. We make too much money to be this poor.

TIME TO GO THROW A BACHELORETTE PARTY FOR JILLI & PLEI

Oh goodness. I am bemused and terrified at the notion of what sort of trouble you people would arrange for us.

Oh goodness. I am bemused and terrified at the notion of what sort of trouble you people would arrange for us.

smiles innocently.