Rebuilding after Financial Crisis and Bankruptcy in a Recession

Surviving the Lien Years

This is a post that I have not known how to write or whether or not I should actually write for ages.  Blogging can often a bit of a self-absorbing pastime.  I have made an effort to keep my blog very much like I keep my life, positive and always looking for the bright side or the silver lining.  That is not always possible to do in real life but I do my best.  In my blog, if I pound out a very negative post about a bad day, I usually wind up deleting it and focusing on the positive.

My quick tweets and posts about moving recently have prompted a lot of questions about where I am and what is going on in my life.  For my friends from THD (The Home Depot) especially, I want them to know what has been happening in my life.

With all that being said, I have decided to allow another part of my life to seen on my blog.    What is going on is that my life is in many ways a stunning example of what is seen on the news almost every night right now with regards to the recession and difficult economy.  My husband and I have filed bankruptcy, lost our house, and car.  We are starting over financially.  We started our marriage without much money and lots of debt from college loans, paid off the debt, purchased houses and cars, and built a financially strong company.  We are now renting a (smaller) house and beginning to rebuild our financial life.  This time as we build our finances, we have 5 year old twins for whom we are responsible and whom we love very much.

The current recession in America has many people scared.  It also has many people saying the government must provide and take care of everyone who is struggling.  The actions the US Congress and US Presidents have taken in the past 6 months have many others saying their actions are wrong and the government has no place in bailouts.  If you are a regular reader of this blog, you know from recent posts I tend to agree with government has no place  in bailouts philosophy.

While ours is not a story of purchasing a house too big for our budget or adjustable rate mortgages, it is a story to which many can relate.  We have many principles we have said we believe in over the course of our life.  Principles such as:  faith in God, self-reliance, gratitude, helping those less fortunate, and not relying on the government to bail us out.  We have now put our money (or lack there of) where our mouth is with those principles.

In this blog series, you will read the story of our married life, how we built up our finances, and the events that led up to our financial demise.  Hopefully, our story will give comfort to people who are in similar situations.  Hopefully it will answer questions regarding our move and what has happened in our life for others.

Introduction

Narrative History & Events

The Early Years
Our Maturing Careers
Life Paused
Risking It All
Learning Hard Lessons
Our Growing Family and Lee’s Growing Company
Betrayal and Deliberate, Harmful Machinations
The Worst Month Ever
Living on Faith

Lessons Learned

Forgiveness
Material Goods
Daily Bread
Friends Some Are Silver and the Others Gold
Trust After Deep Betrayal
Dave Ramsey Is Right, Right, Right
Accepting Responsibility
Evaluations
Networking and Resumes
Frugality
Honesty, Communication, and Acceptance in Marriage
You Are Not Alone

I have added this as a Works for Me Wednesday post because living by my principles works for me. Be sure to check out other Works for Me Wednesday participants.

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