When the wolves are at the door, it can mean big problems for a cash-strapped homeowner. When there’s too much month left at the end of the money, what does a person do? The following are some tips to ease your pain.

Don’t procrastinate. If you are unable to pay the mortgage even just one month, Weigh all your options, with input from experts. Face up to your circumstances with an honest and realistic, yet solution-oriented, perspective. Be willing to fight for your investment, but also be willing to consider quick outs like a pre-foreclosure sale.

The Federal Reserve lowered the federal funds rate, a key short term interest rate banks charge each other, by a quarter percent to 4.5% this afternoon.  While this was not the 50 basis point cut Wall Street was hoping for, investors still greeted the news warmly, as stock finished the day with modest gains.  The Federal Reserve also cut the discount rate to 5%, the rate that it charges to other banks as the lender of last resort. 

Releasing this all time high after news of the rate cut was announced.  The beleaguered dollar also reached an all time low against the Euro and most analysts expect this trend to continue.

What does this all mean?  Well, they pretty much told the market this is all your going to get so you had better make the most of it.  Inflationary pressures from the commodity and energy markets will take time to affect the prices of the broader economy but eventually you can expect companies to pass on their higher costs to the consumer.  If inflation starts to rear it’s ugly head, you can expect rate hikes from the Fed in the future even if the housing market continues to slump.

Will this rate cut be enough?  It is difficult to say really.  The housing sector will take time to improve, but the real problem is in the financial markets.  Still weary over losses from the sub prime mortgage market, many institutions have to rethink the way they do business.  Unless a concerted effort is made by them to help forestall rising foreclosure rates, I don’t see the housing crisis ending anytime soon, so the economy could be in for a rough time ahead.

For most of us, the holidays mean travel. Don’t be a grumbling grinch about it. Use your credit card travel rewards to make the most out of that 300-mile trip to see Great-Aunt Bertha. Jason Giacchino has several tips on how to spend wisely during the holidays, one of which is to “develop a buying strategy.”

It’s a great idea. Gas purchases and hotel stays can rack up rewards to help you enjoy a little post-holiday stress release. Check out Mr. Credit Card’s post on Kiplinger’s recommended list of credit cards for various categories.

The Capital One Platinum Plus MasterCard came out on top in the travel card category, according to Kiplinger’s. Mr. Credit Card agreed with this choice, as well as the magazine’s choice on best gas card, the BP Rewards Visa. That card offers 5% rebates on BP purchases and 2% on other travel and dining expenses. But Mr. Credit Card makes a good point - not everyone uses BP to fill up. I certainly don’t; I think their gas tends to cost more than competitors.

For non-BP users, Mr. Credit Card recommends the American Express Simply Cash Card. It is a business credit card that pays 5% rebates on gasoline and certain types of business expenses. The site mentions that a person can obtain a business credit card without actually owning a business; they will simply be treated as a sole proprietor. It’s worth a try!

For those who will need to fly instead of drive, Kiplinger’s has a recommendation on that too. Here’s what Mr. Credit Card had to say about the magazine’s choice, the Citi Premierpass Card Elite Level.

While this is a very good card, I think there are just too many types of travel reward cards to simply pick one. What they failed to mention is that this card will only suit those who travel a lot because you can earn points from the dollars you spend and also from the miles you fly. For those of us who are not really frequent flyers, then this card may not be suitable. Plus, Citi’s ThankYou Network airline reward system could get complicated as they have “fixed options” and “flexible options” for redeeming points for airline tickets. Check out our review of Citi’s Rewards for more details.

Something else to keep in mind is that the Platinum Plus MC (best travel card) is for consumers with “excellent credit,” according to MasterCard’s web site. If you can get it, go for it - and happy traveling!