“Subprime” is the 2007 “Word of the Year,” according to a recent article on MSNBC.

It’s a dubious distinction because subprime, according to the The American Dialect Society, is “a risky or less than ideal loan, mortgage or investment.”

Here’s a snip from Professor Wayne Glowka:

“When you have investment companies losing billions of dollars over something like
bundled subprime loans, then you have to consider whether it’s important. You probably also want to think about paying off that third mortgage.” 

Bad subprime loans are a big reason behind the growing foreclosure problem throughout the United States. Homeowners received loans that were either unaffordable from the get-go or were structured with “ballooning” interest rates a few years down the line.

And once those interest rates kick-in, and monthly mortgage payments are all of a sudden much higher, more and more homeowners are feeling the financial pinch.

Here’s to hoping that 2008 is not more of the same.