We sold the house we bought back in 2009 a couple months ago. It has been a year of disaster and the reason why we'll likely never own a house ever again...at least not in the United States!
Most people congratulate us, but we must immediately correct them. We lost tens of thousands of dollars selling this house. We had to pay over $6k just to close the sale. The day of closing we had $183 in our accounts after selling our stocks (except the 401k) and scraping together everything we had. We sold the sailboat we so lovingly lived on in Mexico and that money (~$15k) is now gone, too. Now we're back in the US, licking our wounds...and $30k in debt.
If you think you are at the end of your rope with debt and no savings, then follow along. Do what we do. Because soon we'll be independent again, on our way to financial independence (again).
Today we are in Manhattan and have been here since we sold the boat in April. We're leaving in 10 days to go to Florida. The house debacle wiped out our financial cushion which was intended to support expensive city life while I worked on talking with investors regarding my startup. That has taken a back seat now.
With two kids to take care of, sometimes you have to do what has to be done and give up on some ambitions. I'm still able to work the startup angle in Florida, just not with access to the same people and resources we had in NYC.
So pay attention, school is in session. Follow along and see what it's like to go from crippling debt to fuck you money.