The big move

About 2 weeks ago we moved from our old house to another house. Most people looked at us like we were crazy for doing it, first because I’m in the middle of cancer therapy and second because we were moving from a large house in the suburbs to a much smaller house in the city. Honestly, it was kinda crazy. We are now living amidst boxes in our “new” house, while trying to repairs to get our “old” house ready for renters. Incidentally, we have found renters, so we are thrilled about that! However, for us, it represents our acceptance of our current financial situation, and our willingness to live within those boundaries. We stepped out of high-stress but well-paid roles with Fortune 500 companies to work for a nonprofit company for many reasons, the most important of which was getting to spend the amount of time with our family that we wanted. But we still tried to live the lifestyle we lived while we were at those Fortune 500 companies, and we dug ourselves a pretty big hole. Once we committed to getting out of it, we realized that the house we were in was a big part of the financial puzzle. Ah, but with the market as it is, how to get out of it? We bought at the height of the bubble, and the house isn’t worth anywhere near what we owe on it (thanks Franklin County, for making that crystal clear!). We spent about 2 years trying to find ways to make that house work for us, but it kept getting clearer and clearer that it wasn’t going to. At any rate, this is one of the best decisions we’ve made as a family in a long time. Now to manage repairs at the old place and actually moving in at the new place while I go through chemoradiation–which is chemotherapy + radiation therapy–on a daily basis. Ugh!