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The papers are signed. The realtor is hired. (There are several exclusions for all the showings I’ve had in the last couple of weeks, 4 last week alone.) And the professional photographer comes Thursday.

I can finally breathe again and am operating at a relatively normal energy level. (I do have a follow up doctor appointment in a couple of weeks too. That’s 4 doctor’s visits since the new year. Absolutely crazy!)

Counseling is going well. Very eye opening. And don’t worry, I’ve brought up all of your concerns – executive decision making, impulse control, ADHD, etc.

I’m also back on Lexapro which is already helping tremendously. It takes weeks, almost a month to get full effects, but I’m 3 weeks in and I can tell a difference. (I first started on Lexapro about 6 years ago when Gymnast went to live with his dad. It about killed me.)

I saw this meme and immediately thought of the BAD community’s feedback over the last 6 months especially.

The Perfect Storm

Counseling this week was really eye opening. Like really.

She really helped me pinpoint when and most likely why I began a pretty rapid spiral to the depressive and overwhelmed state I’ve been in for most of the last 6-8 months. So I’ve got some work to do. For sure.

But she also really validated a lot of my decisions as well. I realize BAD often thinks I’m impulsive. However, what I’m doing now – this house sale, move, and goal to travel, and eventually live tiny are not new. Not at all.

So I am getting help – physically and mentally. I appreciate the encouragement and tough love of this community to get me to this place.

The Plan Remains

The plan remains the same. A realtor will now handle the house sale. I will stay here in Georgia in the house until Princess’ college graduation in May. Then I will move out of the house completely. And the dogs (Cali and Addie) and I will move to my parents’ house in Texas for at least the summer. That’s as far as I will plan for now outside of being back in Georgia in October for Beauty’s wedding.

Hope

Hope is a resourceful, solutions-driven online business manager with over two decades of experience helping clients streamline operations, manage projects, and grow their businesses through digital marketing and technology.

But life has a way of rewriting your plans.

A year ago, Hope made the decision to move in with her aging parents full time – a season she wouldn’t trade, even as it came with its own financial and emotional weight. Earlier this year, she lost her mother, and is now walking the tender, disorienting path of grief while learning what “forward” looks like from here.

Hope came to the Blogging Away Debt community in 2015 as a single mom raising five foster and adoptive children. She’s written through job changes, financial setbacks, and the bittersweet transition to an empty nest. Her kids are finding their footing in the world now – and so is she.

Rooted in faith and fueled by the same perseverance she’s brought to every hard season, Hope is ready to face her finances with fresh eyes and an honest pen. She believes that clarity, courage, and community can change the trajectory of anyone’s story including her own.

She lives in Austin, TX with her dad, loves adventures with her dog Addie, and is figuring out, one step at a time, what this next chapter is meant to be.

Confession Time: Why My Mortgage Really Jumped

by Hope

This post is long overdue. Over a year overdue, to be honest.

For more than twelve months now, some of you—kindly, curiously, and occasionally a bit relentlessly—have asked why my mortgage increased from $650 to $1,015 a month. I’ve read every message, every comment, every quiet nudge that said, “Hey… what’s the deal?”

And I get it. I’ve shared the highs, the lows, the “what was I thinking?” moments. And lots of my personal life. But this one… this one’s been harder to talk about.

So here it is: Yes, the increase was the result of a financial decision I made. It wasn’t because of insurance premiums, or property taxes, or a banking glitch. It was a choice. A deliberate, strategic one that let me clean up a part of my financial life that had been tangled up for far too long.

Without diving into the personal weeds—because those weeds are mine to handle—the decision was tied to the final chapter of a past relationship. One that, emotionally and financially, needed to be put to rest. This was the simplest, cleanest, and most peaceful way to do it.

And that’s all I’ll be saying about that.

Subject Closed

Sometimes, moving forward means closing a door and locking it without letting everyone peek inside. This blog has always been a place for honesty, but also boundaries. I hope you’ll understand that this decision, while it came with a higher monthly payment, came with a priceless sense of relief.

So yes, the mortgage went up. A cash out refinance where I did not receive any of the cash other than to close out an old chapter of life. But peace of mind? That went up too.

Thanks for being here—especially when the full story isn’t always up for discussion.

And thank you for the very graceful comment by Emilie which gave me the courage to address this ongoing question once and for all.