Monday, February 4, 2013

Why We're Still Living with my Mom & Dad

When we first decided to crash with my parents, it was a very firm agreement between myself & my husband that we would only be here a few months. While he has only been up here since December, the kids & I have been living here full time since the end of October. It's been a long time. I miss having my own home to run. It seems like every time I lift my head up to look around, we are in a worse financial situation than I last realized.

Most recently, it was brought to our attention that we apparently rented our house out TWO MONTHS EARLY. We now owe $$$ to the IRS. How did this happen? It was a tax credit when we bought the house. Live in the house as our primary residence for 36 months, pay nothing back. Move out early and pay it back in full. Only, somewhere along the line my husband misread or misinterpreted something that led him to believe the amount would be prorated. He was wrong. We were wrong. And now we suddenly find ourselves with an additional $$$ added to our debt. To be paid this year.


How did I cope? I hung pictures in G's room. I think it was my way of accepting that we're going to be here a lot longer than we thought.

Fortunately, my parents actually want us here. They suggested we stay for at LEAST a year to save up before getting our own place again. It's nice for them because as long as we're here, someone (me) cooks dinner most every night, they don't have to be bothered with cleaning the upstairs because we take care of it, and they can actually go out together. My aunt & my grandma both live here, and they each have disabilities which completely stresses my mom out to leave them alone for long periods. It's been years since they've had this kind of freedom. They've even taken up a square dancing class. And, of course, they are loving having the grandkids (their only grandkids) here.

With all the advantages we gain from living here, it's nicer to have your own home. Autonomy. Privacy. I'm sure my parents would love to have their house back, despite all their generous overtures.

My husband already has side work, for a second income. Soon he'll be looking for full-time employment. The business will become something else. Then we'll really start to dig ourselves out of this mess. Fortunately, the renters cover our mortgage. All that's left are our student loans, a car payment, and some credit card debt that was created after the layoff when our savings couldn't cover all the bills.

I really think we've been to rock bottom with all this. Things can only get better, right? I'm choosing to be positive.

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4 comments:

  1. Good for you for making the best of a situation that is not ideal for your family! Stopping by from SITS Sharefest on Twitter. :)

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    1. Thank you so much! I always appreciate support when I can get it. :-)

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  2. I can't imagine having to live with family. That has to be tough! Prayers for you!

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    1. It definitely has its pros and cons. I've felt my parenting criticized and undermined more than once. We are fortunate to be able to stay here, though. Your prayers ate very much appreciated!

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