So by now, if you are a Facebook follower, you know I have spent the Christmas holidays moving out of my house. Not the most restful, peaceful or ultimately joyful way to spend Christmas if you want to the honest truth, but it was a productive time. So here is the skinny on what is going on.
Last year I realized I was in financial trouble. So much so that I was looking at the possibility of bankruptcy. Basically surgery and medical issues added to no pay raises for three years at work (but cost of living raises everywhere) led me to using my credit cards way too much and now everything was coming due back plus a lot of interest. Only some weird paperwork mistakes basically kept me from filing. If I filed for bankruptcy, I would lose my house. I wasn't willing to go there. I didn't know what I was going to do but I decided to just find a way to make it work.
Last summer my Mom's cancer came back after several years of remission. In fact her doctor actually used the term "cured" about her (we jokingly blame him and say it is b/c of that!). That made us all realize we needed to get serious about taking care of some of their excess business...namely the fact that they "own" (in other words are still paying on) two homes. We need to sell their house in Old Hickory. Just makes sense not to have that hanging over my parents head anymore.
Lightbulb....if you read my blog you know my word for the year is simplicity. The answer that came to us seemed pretty simple. This year MY house is being rented out. That money is going to a) keep me from being sued for my debts and b) make some updates to the OH house to get it back on the market and sold.
So simple solution but it gets a bit complicated. The family renting my house for the year (or maybe a bit longer....depends on situation in a year) WAS living in my parents home so we basically are switching houses. Not easily done b/c that means neither house is ever totally empty! However, I did give about 1/3 of my stuff away and then put another 1/3 of my stuff in storage at my parents house in Manchester, so when it came down to it - on New Years Eve I moved the last of my stuff into the parents old house in OH (which they -meaning the other family - were still in) and emptied my house on New Years Day. They, in turn, have spent the last 2 days emptying that house and now tonight we will officially swap.
So for awhile I will be living in Old Hickory in my parents old house. I have minimal furniture and will try to keep it staged and clean so that potential buyers and come by at any time to look at it. I will also be doing anything I can to improve the look of the house while I am there. I think this will actually be very good for me in terms of my seeking simplicity as I will have less stuff and less distractions than I am used to.
If/When the house sells I will be moving to Manchester to live with my parents in their current home. This will put me about an hour away from my job. YES I will be keeping my job. It will be a long commute and I am not looking forward to that, but again as I seek to simplify my life I think that giving up an hour of TV time each day won't kill me. I actually find driving to be a relaxing thing and I think I can handle it for a year (less really since we don't know how long I will be in OH). If it is to much for me I have friends and family in Nashville I can talk to about staying with during the week. I am not concerned with that unless it becomes an issue later. Why borrow trouble? Simplicity....it really is my new motto.
So...as of tonight I will be in Old Hickory Village. I will also be without Internet for awhile so if you need me, texting is your best bet! See you around!
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