Let's try this again!

Hi There! I can't believe it's been a year since I posted and since I quit my horrible corporate job. I've been technically unemployed this entire time. Don't ask how I'm supporting myself. I'm not really but it's actually been a great year. I've been enjoying sleeping in and doing what I want and searching for alternative ways to make money. Some I can talk about here and some I probably shouldn't. I'm actually enjoying working retail. I enjoy the product and a majority of the people are more than tolerable. Some I try to avoid, but that's OK because since I only work three to four times a week and shifts are only four hours long, it's not too difficult.

So, I suppose I should talk about what's happened this year but really, not much has. Although, I have made one major decision that started in January. I've stopped paying my mortgage. Given that another condo in my development sold (in Foreclosure) for only $35,000 and I owe quite a bit more than that - actually three times that - it just doesn't make sense to keep paying it. I've already lost about $40,000 on the place given what I put down, the extra insurance costs, the association fees and special assessments. It's time for the mortgage company to start losing money on the deal. The end goal is, of course, to keep the place and get a principal reduction but really, how likely is that? Barring that, I guess I'll just live here for free as long as I can and then go rent an apartment that isn't surrounded by little old ladies. If the mortgage company doesn't want to make it make sense for me to stay here, then they can have this $95,000 box and see what they can do with it. I guess if I absolutely loved the place and it was my dream house I would fight more for it, but it's really not. Like I said, I'm surrounded by little old ladies and in the middle of lower class suburbia. I used to live two blocks from the coolest lake in the cities! I could walk to Jamba and Whole Foods and take a 5 minute drive to Trader Joes! Life was just so much more interesting.

I guess the moral issues of not honoring a debt should be discussed but I read a fabulous NYTimes article that made it much easier for me to make this decision. One of the main points is that many people think they have a moral obligation to pay the debt that they freely and willingly signed up for. The writer disagreed with this. He said, people have a contractual obligation to pay their debts. They have a moral obligation to themselves and their own financial future. One of the things I also signed up for is that my money would accrue equity. The mortgage company gets their interest payments and the home owner earns equity. Well, that's not happening and I shouldn't be the only one losing money in this effed up situation of an economy we've got right now. It's not often that I only look out for number one but in this case, it's necessary for my sanity, my happiness and my future.