057 Listener Series - What Lindsay Learned About the Real Cost of Owning a House

My second episode in my special podcast listener series features Lindsay VanSomeren, who is originally from Colorado, but now lives in Alaska with her husband. Her story is also a debt story like my first listener series episode with Amanda from Ottawa, but instead of student debt or consumer debt, she's dealing with housing debt.

And no, not just carrying a mortgage, but the cost of fixing and maintaining a home. I guess some could call this a "Money Pit" situation (any fans of the 1986 Tom Hanks movie?), but what Lindsay is dealing with could honestly happen to anyone. Even if you get a housing inspection, you sometimes don't know what's wrong with the place you've bought until you've lived in it for a little while. It's sort of the dark side of home ownership that doesn't get too much attention.

Luckily, Lindsay was kind enough to share her story, her experience and the lessons she's learned from it so you can avoid getting into a similar situation. Or if you are dealing with a housing nightmare, take some of Lindsay's bits of advice on how to get out of it.

Lindsay also mentioned that one of the ways that helped her pay down her debt was to start freelance writing on the side. She even wrote about it on her very own personal finance blog Notorious Debt, and apparently she made $2,500 in her first four months of freelance writing!

Got a story that you think would be good to share on an episode on of Listener series? Please email me!

Shownotes: jessicamoorhouse.com/57