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Fiscal belt-tightening and deep austerity cuts are not just limited to debt-stricken European countries — small town America is also reeling from budget shortfalls and depleted resources. According to Dan Lagani, president of Reader's Digest North America, there's a budget crisis at both the state and local level.

The Association recently conducted its second online poll of American mayors and found that 65% of the mayors surveyed will be increasing municipal fees while decreasing or cutting services to offset tax revenue loss and lower federal assistance. Of the 52 mayors polled, 71% have already cut community services such as 4^th of July firework shows, library hours, park maintenance and more.

"It's pretty clear that towns across America are still struggling," said Lagani in the attached clip. "We haven't seen a sustained turnaround at a local level."

Some municipalities are targeting key services to reduce costs because "those one

Five years after the market peaked, the housing market remains depressed. October new home sales, released this morning, totaled 307,000, slightly below estimates. Meanwhile, prices rose slightly.

But, as your real estate broker will happily mention - 'Now is a great time to buy!' Unlike 2007, when that obviously was not the case for most, now it might actually be true. Ironically, the reluctance for many to buy a home is what makes it a good (relatively) time to purchase.

As Aaron and Henry discuss in the accompanying clip, owning a home is now more affordable than any time in the last 15 years, based on a new Wall Street Journal survey. In fact -- with the average price of a home $242,300 -- it is now cheaper to own than rent in 12 metro areas including Atlanta, Chicago, Detroit, Las Vegas, Miami, Orlando and Phoenix.

As the WSJ article points out, the discrepancy between buying and renting can be extreme in some areas:

"In Atlanta, which had the most favorable values for owning