Is there a way out? (sell, best, old, money)

[joe moving]

we've got ourselves into a position where we "need" a 70k a year combined income to sustain our lifestyle.

Not that in my area (northern NJ), or ANYWHERE, this is a ton of money.

We could cut the expenses that don't add up TOO much, but make a huge impact on life (food is our 2nd biggest bill), but the house is the big kicker.

Our mortgage is 2200 a month.

if we sell right now, we take a hit we aren't willing to take.

other thoughts i have are to rent the house furnished and a bit more than we owe each month while building equity.

but then we need to find another place to live, of course...

[Beretta]

Joe - Could you take in a boarder and rent out one bedroom and bath? That combined with cutting your food bill might make things more manageable?

All the best...

[joe moving]

I should have really prefaced by saying that our current financial situation isn't really a PROBLEM. our only debt is our house - we actually are in a very decent position, but my job that is too stressful for me. I want to live comfortable on less, thus the ability to take a less stressful job.

I would be worried a renter would be a difficult strain on our privacy.

[wheelsup]

You answered your own question, your only debt is your house which you won't get rid of. So I would say the answer is no to your question at this point in time.

[texdav]

well your house is 26500 a year ;so you have to figure from there.That gives you 43500 in other expenses. Total your bills like utilites etc and then see if you can live off that. Otherwise your guessing. Right now alos may not be the best time to leave a job either.

[HappyTexan]

Part of living comfortably on less is downsizing. Sit down and crunch the numbers.
You say if you sell now you take a hit. That might be a short term hit though.
Say you sold at a loss, downsized to a rental for a while to get expenses under control and build up savings. Do some ballpark figures for 3,5,10 years out. Do a plan to get yourself to a smaller, cheaper house, a new job less stressful. How much do you need to do that and would selling now for a loss make up for it.

Some things are more valuable then cash ya know

[PriscillaHR]

Also, see where you can really cut costs. If food is your major expenditure, aside from the house you are unwilling to part with, then it might be time for some extreme couponing. If you aren't picky about what products you use, you pretty much can cut your food and toiletries bill by a substantial amount. Moderator cut: deleted

[hotzcatz]

If you can find a renter who will cover your mortgage and then rent a smaller less expensive place then you won't need to make as much money. Or you could still make the same amount of money but put a lot of it into savings or knock down the mortgage to make the payments less.

Have you made out a budget to see where the money goes and how to keep some of it from leaving?

[Kapalua]

Well, on the food, Do you have an ALDI STORE in the area, their Produce is much cheaper and the other foods are too, if you buy their canned goods. One poster said, renting out the master bedroom, they do that ALL THE TIME IN HAWAII, and it is crazy expensive. Most people DO NOT want to live in one room. That is worse than a STUDIO. You have to cook and eat, that means they would have to SHARE the whole house. So most people you do not know them so that means to find RELATIVES.

[joe moving]

if we rented out the house, we would move out - no sharing for me.

What i thought of is renting the house and BUYing a smaller house.

We could fairly easily rent our house for mortgage+a few hundred a month to figure for maintenance. I would assume NO profit, other than the equity built in the house. Of course ,we love our house and we love where we live.