I just returned from doing a seminar in Indianapolis and vegged on the couch watching a repeat of 2 and ½ Men. A very funny show, Charlie and his brother go out with two young girls, come home in the early morning and Charlie things he is having a heart attack. His brother rushes him to the hospital and Charlie, on his death bed, tells his brother he has left the house to him and his son Jake. His brother is all too excited about getting the house, until Charlie continues to lay out his finances.

There are two mortgages and the real estate taxes are 50,000 dollars a year! In a panic, his brother asks if he will be inheriting any money to help make these payments.Charlie’s reply is “There is no money; it is all a house of cards.”  Is this you? No money, tapped out, no equity left in your home..living from day to day? If you have a home and struggle every month to cover the housing nut along with everything else, you need to re-look at the big picture. Should you make adjustments now? Sell the house? Consolidate bills? Run for the hills? These problems are becoming more common as the foreclosure rates go up. Do not struggle and go down with the ship. Sell the house, get some equity out and move on. Where am I going to go that I can afford? Look around, you will find something.

– Dale Siegel