While certainly afraid, the Ford Mustang is anything but counted out of the upcoming muscle car war. If anything (even though we love the HEMI as much as the next guy), Dodge is most likely the odd man out. The Camaro has its eyes on taking over the show, and they appear to be set on popping the balloons of the mighty Mustang.

How might they plan on doing this? Well, let’s take a look at some possibilities!

First of all, Ford has been said to be considering pulling their famed 5.0 (that’s five-point-O) to those too young to remember that horrible 90’s song by Vanilla Ice. The 5.0 liter would replace the current 4.6 liter and allow its engine to better stand up to the Camaro’s big 6.0 liter V8.

This would number one, enable the base GT to reach at least 350 horsepower, which is pivotal to keeping up with the Camaro’s rumored 403. Number two, this would then allow Mustang to dust off their 302 badge that has been sitting around the shop collecting dust and put a legitimate version out on the marketplace.

There is even talk of a 5.7 liter “BOSS” that would put the Mustang even closer to Camaro territory.

Sure plenty of folks have put the infamous 302 badging on their Mustang for nostalgia purposes and some dealers have even offered the “BOSS” package as an aesthetic upgrade, but with just the 285 under the hood, it has been as pitiful as a V6 mustang making itself a clone of the GT.

The Mustang is also due for an overall body upgrade, which just might be a new front end that will simulate the headlights more like the infamous early 70’s Boss Mustangs. There is also rumor that the 2010 Mustang will take on a few of the design components of the Giugiaro Concept… which obviously has taken some of the cues of the Camaro and rounded out the body and rid itself of all that straight sheet metal and aluminum.

As far as the high selling V6 base Mustang goes, the aging 4.0 liter is just going to have to go, and the 3.7 liter V6 is the most obvious candidate. The 3.7 would be capable of tuning to 300 horsepower, which would put it in the range of the base Camaro… along with a 6-speed drivetrain.

And for those who have been complaining about the Mustang’s hard plastic interior, you can probably bet that they will be updating to higher quality materials to rid itself once and for all of that big hairy monkey that has been on its back for three years now!

The latest report issued by the Medicare Board of Trustees stated that the program will become insolvent by 2019.  Last year’s report also set in to motion the 45% cost trigger warning which forces the President and Congress to address the issue sometime this year.

When Congress created a universal prescription drug benefit with the Medicare Modernization Act of 2003 (MMA)–adding an estimated $8 trillion to the program’s long-term unfunded liability–it enacted a “cost containment” mechanism designed to control excessive general revenue funding for Medicare.

That amount becomes “excessive” when it funds more than 45 percent of the total Medicare outlays. The “trigger” for presidential and congressional action is when two consecutive Medicare trustees’ reports project that the “excessive” threshold will be met within seven years. 

The Medicare program was initially to be funded through the use of payroll taxes but the explosive growth of healthcare costs has far outstripped it’s ability to fund the program.  Most of the attention lately has been given to Social Security but in contrast that program isn’t expected to become insolvent until 2041.

The program’s growing financial woes has been accumulating for years and the cost trigger warning does little in of itself to address the long term unfunded liabilities, as it only concerns the 45% general revenue funding level.  To deal with the program’s liabilities, the government can either raise taxes, cut benefits or lower healthcare costs.

Obviously controlling healthcare costs would be the best possible solution, but seeing as no one in the government has figured out how to do that yet, that only leaves the two unpalatable options.  What ever they do decide to do, they need to do it quickly because time is running out.

How do you know it’s time to actually replace something old with something new? Can you justify the purchase of something expensive like a car or a major appliance just because the old one is no longer aesthetically pleasing, or should you run everything you own into the ground before you actually consider paying for a replacement?

If you are in the midst of trying to pay off debt and build up a decent savings account, then the answer is easy. You should hold on to things as long as they are functioning. Your car may have long ago lost the new-car smell, but if it gets you from point A to point B without big hassles then you should hold on to it especially if it is paid off. Your fridge may not have an automatic ice maker, but if it still keeps everything cold then just buy ice trays.

In other words, why replace something that functions?

It’s another situation if you’re not really dealing with too much debt and you already have a respectable emergency fund built up. This is when you may feel as though replacing a functioning item for something that is a little more pleasing to the eye is not such a bad idea. Yes, you want to feel good about the car you drive. You want to be pleased by the appliances you have in your kitchen. When does replacing something that still works become okay?

Ask yourself a few questions:

1. Can you afford the new purchase?
2. Will the new item have features the older one didn’t have?
3. Will it make you happy?

While nobody makes the claim that happiness lies in a new car or a new washing machine, you can certainly be happy about a purchase…especially if the features far surpass the features on the previous item.

If you’re in the process of getting your finances in order then this is not the time to jump into a large purchase if you already have something that works fine. On the other hand, if you are comfortable with your finances and you want to replace something that still functions, do so only if you can afford it and it will perform better.

If you are going to buy something new, be sure to consider donating the old item to a charitable organization.