Change Wallow to WE

I took action to get enough information to feel better about a change in direction. Fortunately my real estate advisor is a good friend with a vital professional and financial angle. Complete honesty is easy without feeling embarrassed. She could hear in my voice I don’t sound like myself and I admitted I have been in a hole for several months. I’ve come up a few times to peek over the edge, but not completely out. I want to find a way to enjoy life again and not feel like I’m sinking with this ship. These are my lifelong patterns with money, but it’s time to do whatever it takes to be responsible and flexible.

With honest facts and figures she said I could do this if I change some things. “Plans are good, but don’t get attached to the plan.” Again I heard that my plans had succeeded, but things changed. In Emporia short-term rentals don’t sustain a property. This is not a destination city except for a few summer events. I feel like one of the new local Airbnb listings stole my thunder of hosting ESU international students, because money follows money. She said my own words contain the answers; even getting a part time job will get money flowing if I am open to receiving.

She said my house expenses are not any more than living somewhere else, renting or owning. I definitely must stop paying monthly bills on my credit cards and get them paid off. Selling the house now is premature and unnecessary. That is the last resort. Moving out and renting the entire house is an option, if I’m willing. That feels like second-to-the-last resort, because I don’t want to move at all and think property with an onsite landlady gets more respect from renters.

I am flexing the plan. She said to use my creative mind because all the puzzle pieces are right in front of me; I just need to fit them together differently. The first change is to lower my homeowner’s insurance payment. She doesn’t believe in insurance, and I agree, but it’s necessary for the mortgage requirements. Only buy a policy that covers the actual mortgage and not replacement value of the house. The chances of a catastrophic loss are very low, so worst case scenario, the mortgage is paid and I have to find a place to rent. I’ve always felt this house is protected by guardian angels and I have significant proof. Electricians discovered a fire hazard that existed in the garage wiring for 20 years without causing a fire. The box was even hot to touch before repaired.

I called the recommended local insurance agent and will go in today for a visit. She named a local realtor who can possibly help me find long-term renters for a finder’s fee. He returned my call as I was sitting down to write, so I called him when I was done. First things first and my daily journal is a lifeline.

Don’t give up on my dream because it’s hard. It’s time to hit the New Year running, get the house and bookkeeping in order, find cheaper insurance, find long-term apartment renters, find a part time job…be responsible and use my creative mind to solve the problems I resist. Much of what she shared I already knew, but when we forget, we need friends to help us remember. Use the W from Wallow; replace the M in Me to Allow WE.

—© Copyright B. Grace Jones 2017 All Rights Reserved.