Where did all the money go? Fannie Mae lost $2.3 billion in the last three months, and its cousin Freddie Mac lost nearly $1 billion, bringing its one-year total loss to nearly $5 billion.

Buried in the new Housing Bill (The Housing and Economic Recovery Act) is some very good news for seniors whose main asset is the family home. The new law makes it easier and less expensive for seniors to access the cash value of their homes on a tax-free basis through a Reverse Mortgage. And it expands the amount that can be borrowed.

Don't buy U.S. Savings Bonds. For years, I used to promote the benefits of U.S. Savings Bonds, reminding readers that even people with small amounts of money could easily and automatically start a regular savings program – and get current market rates of return. In other words, Savings Bonds were a good deal.

In the next few weeks, the millions of Americans who have been investing their retirement funds in the stock market through their 401(k) plans or Individual Retirement Accounts (IRA) are going to open their second-quarter statements and be shocked by the losses in their retirement nest eggs.

With the passing of the July 4th holiday that inspires our most patriotic thoughts, it's hard to imagine that any American would voluntarily give up his or her citizenship. But perhaps politicians are starting to understand that the taxpaying public is growing wary of being fleeced, either through increased taxes or the stealth tax of inflation, as a way to repay all the debt that Washington has incurred.

Why worry about a little inflation? Because even a little bit adds up over the years and can make a real dent in your wealth – if you haven't prepared with investments that will not only match, but outpace, the ravages of inflation.

As the housing crisis and mortgage mess move off the front pages, some nagging questions remain. Many of those questions revolve around how so many smart people – not the homebuyers, but Wall Streeters – could have been so dumb or blinded by greed to the eventual results of what they were doing. I wonder how they can complain now that they're losing money.

Imagine being a 24-year-old girl, graduating from college, with more than $65,000 in debt. Now you're looking for an entry-level job that – if you can find it – might pay $40,000 a year. And you're stuck with monthly payments of nearly $600 on your consolidated loans. Those payments will consume more than a quarter of her after-tax paycheck, every paycheck, for 20 years.

Don't say you weren't warned. The long-term care crisis is upon us. The rumblings have already started in small towns around the country. The government is already having trouble paying the cost of long-term care for the indigent elderly.

There's no end in sight to the woes of consumers and very little help on the way. The statistics are shocking, and they grow worse by the month...