Retirementology: Rethinking the American Dream in a New Economy

4. House Money

EQUIMORTIS: [ek-wi-mawr-tis]

Dangerous condition that can occur from counting on one’s home appreciation for retirement money. Only after the tenth foreclosure hit Colleen and Larry’s neighborhood did they realize that they were in a later stage of equimortis.

Remember Auntie Em’s house from The Wizard of Oz? You can picture it swirling in the sky and that music is playing in your head right now, right? Sure, it could fly through the air, rid the world of a wicked witch, and cause a young girl and her dog to incur the wrath of the witch’s evil sister. But other than that, it was a pretty Spartan structure...one storey and cozy cellar, and it likely did not possess granite countertops, stainless steel appliances, or a steam shower. ...