I can appreciate your skepticism but it happened. I could have done a better job adding more detail to explain my story better so it made more sense to others. But I also didn't want to turn it into a small book.

I really don't care about attention, just figured others might want to read about a really rough spot in my life and might be able to relate somehow. HN points really don't matter to me, I just wanted to get this off of my chest after 6+ years.

Thanks for reading.

The car was already behind on payments, that part I omitted from the story. As well the house was behind on payments so I let it go to foreclosure. Not the wisest idea, but it happened.

I applied at several places but due to my age and experience I was deemed "overqualified". So I resorted to other means to eat and survive during that time.

I think I answered this before, but I didn't qualify for government assistance as I had made too much money that year. I couldn't even obtain food stamps. The American welfare system is focused on the long-term poor/destitute versus those who fall on hard times.

I have had this "overqualified" experience a couple of times; it's incredibly bad and it drove me nuts at the time. (I was making very little and trying to get a better job; being rejected because "overqualified" was very painful.)

Out of curiosity, how old were you at the time?

32 at the time.

Trust me, I've learned all about financial responsibility. Over the past 6 years I've made great strides to save and live a very minimal life now. The lesson has indeed been learned.

There were some details omitted from my post regarding my finances as I did not want it to turn into a book. But long story short I had just started making that level of income the beginning of the year and I had a lot of expenses and debt I was paying off ergo why I had not had much saved. Selling the home was attempted but the house was tore up so bad from the renters that I didn't have the money to make it "sale ready". Selling the car was not an option as I was living in it at first.

This (and a couple of other comments you've made to this thread) would make a very good "lessons learned" coda to your blog post.

Living below your means, and having an emergyency fund / "fuck you money" in the bank is hugely valuable. Not always possible.

This is also a powerful argument for why social and emergency services should be accessible.

> I had a lot of expenses and debt I was paying off ergo why I had not had much saved

This is me right now, and it's such a scary situation to be in. Yes, I am lucky enough to have a job that pays me more than I ever thought I'd make, but it could go away any minute -- and siphoning all my cash into my debts might look a lot worse then.

Keep on working smart and doing your best to save. I have learned my lesson the hard way. Nothing is permanent and everything is subject to change. The anxiety that occurs when you are faced with financial issues and/or a job loss can be crippling. Even to this day after all of my lessons learned I still worry about what would happen if I lost my job again and had to go back to square one.

1. I didn't own a revolver as I always favored semi-autos 2. Yes, looking back it now almost 6 years later it wasn't as bad as when it was happening. Yes I was on the brink of dying but I came out a stronger person and have learned to look back at the situation as a life lesson. If I let it haunt me to this day I'd be right back where I started.

I think you made a lot of decisions in a young person's mindset - some of them got you into the debt hole - but this one saved your life.

Thinking about my acquaintances there are four kinds of people among them who carry automatic handguns. Cops. "Shooting enthusiasts" who spend a lot of time and money practicing and are highly skilled. Former military. And wankers.

I was just beginning to make 100k/year. I had the knowledge but was irresponsible with not putting enough away. It was a mistake which I will not incur again.

I wasn't clearing 100k I was grossing it. After taxes and overhead it was more like 50-60K. But I understand where you're coming from. I had just started making really good money and my expenses were pretty much equal to my intake. I've since learned to not live beyond my means and am much more frugal in my older age. (38)

And that is a great lesson to learn in your 30s rather than your 40s.Being mindful about what you spend your money on will change your life.

Not to be critical, but to use as an illustrative example from your own life, you started your challenging period owning a Nissan 350z which got 12 mpg. If you had made exactly one different decision, buying a Honda Civic instead of that 350z, and everything else was the same, you would have hit that point with a car that got 35mpg and an additional $15,000 in your bank account.

So from a learning perspective, at the time you made the purchase of the 350z, thinking about value versus cost versus future expense, knowing what you know now do you make the same choice? I am not a fan of dwelling on past decisions, they were made and they are done. But I am a huge fan of learning as much as I can from the lessons life teaches to insure I am getting full value out of that education.

Quite the contrary. The whole homeless experience has taught me to save every penny I can in an "oh shit" or "emergency" fund. These days I'm well protected and typically have 5-6 months worth of expenses in case the bottom drops out again.

If you had advanced warning that you would go through the same financial hardship, what would you do differently?

Have you considered driving an offroad vehicle out to BLM or USFS lands and subsisting there for free? You can live indefinitely without paying rent in some places.

Glad to hear it. I wish you all the best.

I've learned my lesson when it comes to debt loading. Now if I can't afford something, I simply don't buy it. I don't even have a car note or mortgage. Everything is paid for in cash or I simply go without.

I'm glad you enjoyed my post as much as I did writing it.

Yes, I'm doing ok now. Thanks for the kind words.

Yes, the house foreclosed after 2 missed payments. Bank of America moved quick in my instance. I could have stayed in the house but I also lost my car and my house was very far away from my haunting grounds. Logistically it wouldn't have worked. Plus there's the fact that I couldn't afford utilities (in Texas you need A/C). I have no deficiency judgement as that was all cleared up after I was forced to file Chapter 7.

No, I never believed in credit cards. I always tried to carry a low debt load, at least as much as I can.

Yes I applied for public assistance, but since that year I made a good bit of money on paper I didn't qualify for government assistance. Trust me, I couldn't even get approved for WIC or Texas Lone Star.

I'm glad I was able to share my story with everyone. In America it's very easy to lose everything (and gain it back again).

These days I save as much as possible and live a very frugal existence. That's been my mantra ever since I recovered.

Cheers!

Having gone through foreclosure myself, there is zero chance that you would lose your house after 2 missed payments.

You're not necessarily right just because you went through a foreclosure.

No but I'm necessarily right because I know how a foreclosure works. You don't lose your house after 2 months of non-payment, it takes months and there is a precise legal procedure that has to be complete. Mine was "fast" and it took 9 months.

I haven't experienced one myself, but much of the inquiries about certain facts (including kjackson's) makes me wonder if there were some artistic liberties taken when writing this heartfelt story.

Right-o. From below: "The car was already behind on payments, that part I omitted from the story. As well the house was behind on payments so I let it go to foreclosure. Not the wisest idea, but it happened."