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Showing posts with label mortgage crisis. Show all posts
Showing posts with label mortgage crisis. Show all posts

Tuesday, January 18, 2011

The re-birth of LITTOF

This doesn't have to be awkward.
I know it's been a while, but I'm still me and you're still you.
Let's talk as though no time has passed. It can be that way, right?
That's the testament of a true friendship. Time goes by but it feels like only yesterday.

So, yes. I'm back.

I know what you're thinking.

Why? Why now? You said you were done with this blog.

True. I did say that. But...

A girl can change her mind, right?

Here's the thing. All this time has given me something. Perspective. And two things happened last week that brought my new perspective into focus.

1. The numbers came out. 2010 was the biggest year for foreclosures. 1 million American homes were repossessed in 2010.

2. A friend who is finding it hard to hold onto their home reached out to me for advice and inspiration.

As I was writing my friend a long message providing what I hoped would be inspiration, it hit me. Just because our foreclosure story is now almost two years behind us doesn't mean that I can't still make a difference for others who are in foreclosure or teetering on the precipice today.

I said that I began this blog to make a difference by sharing our story. And I was passionately committed to that. The truth is, that commitment never ended. I'm still passionate about making a difference for people in financial distress.

Having come through to the other side has me even more passionate about that.

I know I said I didn't want our lives to be defined by foreclosure and that's part of the reason I "retired" LITTOF. But I see now that who we are today is so clearly defined by who we chose to be in the face of foreclosure. I think what I needed was just a long break. To just live. To have a baby and start a new blog and enjoy our new life on an island and gain some distance from the F-word.

I just really want to make a difference!
While responding to my friend in distress, I thought about the millions and millions of Americans in the same situation. I thought about the LITTOF readers that still sometimes e-mail me and ask for advice. And I just kept thinking about how I want to help. Somehow.

I know how easy it is to give into the despair. And I also know how important it is to rise above it. I don't have answers, but I do have a survivor's tale filled with inspiration. And by sharing that, by continuing to share that, I hope to spread some much needed hope.

Blogging with purpose

After retiring LITTOF, I started my new blog, Two Years on an Island. On that blog I wrote about life on a rural and very special island. Being pregnant. Giving birth. Mowing the lawn while seven months pregnant. That was a fun blog to write but ran its course when we moved from the island at the end of August.

Since then I've fiddled with the idea of starting another blog. Just to have a blog. But I don't want to blog just to blog. As a new mom who is still trying to be a playwright and non-fiction writer, I do not have that kind of time. If I'm going to blog, it must be with purpose.

So last week after getting the reality of the increasing scope of the foreclosure crisis and hearing how it's impacting someone I know, I finally got it.

If foreclosure insists on persisting, then I insist on loving. Or something like that.

Bottom line is, I'm not done yet.

All you need is love

This, in American history, is still the time of foreclosure and love is exactly what we need.

The title of this blog came from our personal story. How we managed to be more in love than ever before in the face of foreclosure. How our marriage benefited by how we approached our financial crisis.

But now I see the title as something beyond that. Actually, Bob helped me see it that way. When I told him that I was going to start blogging again at LITTOF and why, he totally got it. And he said:

"Now you can give love to others in foreclosure."

So that's what this is about. Putting love out there in the world via a little blog. Blog post by blog post, that is my intention.

As I said, I don't have answers.

I have only our experience.

And our commitment: to rise above our financial distress. And love above all else. Love as an action. As a commitment. As a way of being.

One last note. The tag line of this blog still applies.

"TWO PEOPLE DEEP IN DEBT, WORKING OUR WAY OUT AND HAPPIER THAN WE EVER HAVE BEEN."

Yes, we are still deep in debt.

Yes, we declared bankruptcy. But the "Big B" doesn't wipe out IRS debts or student loans.

So I will be sharing about that. About what we're doing to get out of debt. I'll share about parenthood through this lens. I will write about our experience in our third home in less than two years. And pretty much whatever else is on my mind. If you've been a follower of this blog, then you know what to expect.

What do I expect from you? Nothing. No expectations.

What would I like? Well, for you to share. Write to me. Ask me your questions, share your stories. Share this blog with someone who is facing foreclosure or worried about ending up there one day. I need your help to spread the love.

You can write me here: loveinthetimeofforeclosure@gmail.com

What do I intend? To make a difference. To provide a little inspiration. A little light in the darkness. Maybe even some humor. But most of all I want to get you to believe that it is possible to be happy, in fact happier than ever, even in the face of foreclosure.

Love,

Steph

Friday, August 7, 2009

Links in the Time of Foreclosure


*THE SWEET TASTE OF 'MORTGAGE APPLE CAKE'
A woman saves her home from foreclosure by baking and selling cakes she called ‘Mortgage Apple Cake.’ Have you heard this story? I thought we tried everything to save our house, but apparently we didn’t. We never tried baking. This woman did. It’s very inspiring. I love a good ‘triumph in the face of foreclosure’ story.

-She Baked Her Way Out of Foreclosure- Today [MSNBC.COM]

-Angela Logan's Mortgage Apple Cakes - Bake Me A Wish

*A VERY HAPPY ACCIDENT

Greg Pincus – creator of The Happy Accident- wrote about LITTOF and our story on his blog recently. He characterizes our story as a ‘happy accident’ courtesy of social media. The fact that we ended up landing this amazing caretaking opportunity via us documenting our story on this blog. He says:
Once again, the lesson re-learned for me is this: you truly can’t anticipate everything that could come your way when you’re active online… but if you’re focused and prepared, you’ll be ready when it does.
Greg’s point has been sticking with me since I read it. Why? Well, because I think when the word ‘accident’ often gets equated with ‘luck.’ But I don’t think that’s at all Greg’s point. It’s not an accident in the way you accidentally spilled a glass of red wine on the carpet. No, it’s an unexpected outcome as a result of being ‘active, focused and prepared.’ What does that mean? And what is the point? The point is that you can set yourself up for a happy accident. The way that we did… and in the way that Greg suggests.

-A Happy Accident: Blog and Home Variety – The Happy Accident


*TALES FROM THE TRENCHES
This blog is in my Google reader. I follow it every day for it’s incredibly useful and insightful information about the mortgage crisis. For anyone facing foreclosure, they have a wonderful resource of short videos answering questions such as:
-What is a reverse mortgage?
-I received a foreclosure notice in the mail. What do I do now?
-What should I write in a hardship letter?
-Answering your questions – Facing the Mortgage Crisis


*EXFOLIATE YOUR LIFE!
What the heck does that mean? Well, Jessica, the creator of the wonderful website Makeunder My Life does an End of the Week Exfoliation every Friday. Here’s what she says on her site:
Each Friday, readers and myself toss out, pass on, or repurpose one item we no longer need/use/love.
Why? Well, as she says: “There is something really freeing about passing on things that no longer have a place in my life to someone who needs them.”

Bob and I definitely experienced this freeing sensation when we had our “freeing-up sale” and the subsequent purge of things. We also have since realized that we still have more we could shed. Or, ‘exfoliate.’

So, I’m joining Jessica’s ‘End of Week Exfoliation’ starting today. With this black bag. I bought this bag at a boutique in Silver Lake that is no longer in existence. It was called Edna Hart and it was a victim of this economy, unfortunately. I loved this bag so much when I first bought it that I bought my mom one in red for Christmas. The thing is, I don't use it much anymore. Because I don't love it like I used to. But, my mom still does. And she is the happy recipient of my first Friday Exfoliation. Enjoy the bag, Mom. Now you have one in red and black. (Feels good.)

-End of Week Exfoliation – Makeundermylife.com

(Thanks to The Lovely List – a new and lovely site- for leading me to Makeunder My Life)

...Speaking of The Lovely List, they have teamed up with bikebuyers.com to give away this lovely Cruiser Bike once a month:

How do you win? Share the lovely list. Details are here.


So those are the Friday links. I hope you enjoy and find value from them as I have. Let me know what you think. If you have any other blogs or links to suggest, send them my way please. Thank you!

Enjoy the socks off your weekend!
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