To begin with, it never was your house. A mortgage is a way to collect rent from you and make you responsible for maintainance. Face it, you’ve allowed yourself to be scammed by shallow values, real estators, mortgagers and property tax collectors– a life-draining combo.
Take responsibility for your situation, learn the lesson and look on the bright side. You are now unchained and free to move about the country.
Being “houseless” does not necessarily mean homeless. It is an opportunity for values clarification, creativity and new directions. Almost no house is worth what you were paying for it; on average 45% of your take home pay–for 30years. It was an assault on your future. As Thoreau pointed out, the true cost of a thing is how much “life” must be surrendered to possess it.
Consider the dwellings of the plains Indians. One could be built in a month and would serve a lifetime. It was as good as the neighbors and was movable.
Anyway, looking on the bright side, here’s a chance for your creativity to kick in. Renting a room is a good first option. In a worse case, living in your car is viable for awhile. It can be done with considerable comfort if you are imaginative. (remove 3 seats and platform in a bed) I once did this for months while traveling.
Another benefit of being houseless is that you will be forced to winnow your possessions, most of which you could well do without. Too much stuff is clogging the flow of our lives. Mobile folks become experts at appropriate collections of stuff.
A good intermediate solution is a small Toyota Dolphin type camper. Good ones can be had for $5000 or less. Then if you continue working, savings will quickly pile up now that you have the mortgage monkey off your back. You will learn the ropes of stealthy living very fast. (Where you can and cannot spend the night; where water and dumps are available etc)
Soon, with lots of spare money you will begin to hone your art; perfect a new lifestyle. Solar panels are a logical next step. $700 will buy you functional solar power for a lifetime. I spent $1700 on my system and I now have virtually free power for a lifetime.
Very soon you may begin to connect with the Million of us who are also “houseless.” We are among Americas’ most self reliant people–a joy to have as friends.
Assorted organizations have formed to link us up and accentuate our adventures. I’ve chosen the WINS (Wandering Individuals Network–www Rvsingles.org) as my associates, enjoying 10 years of mobile companionship. These are very smart folks who willingly share their smarts and fill my social needs.
So cheer up, you forclosed people! There are other paths to walk; paths that lead away from mundane stresses of conventionality toward a new life of lightweight adventurism.
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