There was a time when it seemed that everyone owned a vacation home -- or at least dreamed of owning one, anyway. Vacation homes were seen as cash cows that would reap easy money in quick appreciation, plus the added bonus that rental money would bring in. Oh, how times have changed. These days, you could probably pick up a vacation home for a relative bargain, but not so many people are buying them these days -- at least compared to the heyday of the housing boom. “Second homes have become an ugly stepchild in an environment [where] people aren’t even buying first homes,” the Wall Street Journal quotes Cicily Maton, a financial planner for Aequus Wealth Management Resources LLC in Chicago. Vacation homes have become financial burdens to some homeowners, the Journal says, adding that according to data from the National Association of Realtors, the median price of a vacation home dropped 23 percent from 2007 to 2008, with sales falling about 31 percent from 2007. If you are struggling... - Reggie Nicolay