My husband and I moved to a rental house in April cutting our housing expense by nearly half.  On May 24th, we closed on our short sale.  That eliminated more than $280K in debt but did leave us with $13K in unsecured debt from our second mortgage to be repaid over the next 10 years at 0% interest. We also have credit card debt but no student loan or auto loan debt.

On May 11, I was fortunate enough to end a 28 month period of unemployment and am now working full-time.  I also have my own jewelry company that I have been treating more like a hobby than a business.  I need to make a decision which it will be.

It is humbling to be starting over in my early forties after over 14 years of home ownership and progressively advancing job opportunites. It’s even a little painful at times but my values have changed a great deal in the last two years.  I value experiences far more than material things now.  However, that doesn’t mean I don’t still spend money on things I don’t need.