Talking about keeping bust, in 1996 I split with my 1st wife and we had 2 young kids. I lived in a 3 metre long caravan in a caravan park. I was completely lost for 8 weeks as I had lost- my full time fatherhood, neighbours, dog, home, town etc. Then one day I walked past a real estate agent and there was a block of land for sale in a small town. I didnt have money but I did have a credit card for $3,000 limit. I withdrew the $3,000 and put it in my savings, made a bank appointment to obtain a loan and they granted it for a maximum of $10,000, so I had a total of $13,000. I went to the auction and won for $12,500. It was nearly one acre, small town about 1 hour from the city. I was working as a security guard on a nearby Army base.
So my settlement from the house my wife and I owned was the shed I had built, she got the house, an old Victorian house not in good condition but our kids would remain in it. The large shed was pulled down and reassembled on the land and I added two attached carports from material being thrown away at the Army base and I then had a valuer attend to value the property. He measured the roof area of the garage and carports and I wondered why. He told me that any building on the property adds to the value and they go by square metres. So a few days later the value was recorded as $29,000. I was over the moon because it meant I instantly had equity in the property. I then got the bank to cancel the land loan and get a home loan for a kit home. For 8 months I worked 12 hours shift work and every spare moment built the kit home. I had little idea on how but google and asking people at work how to hang plaster etc I got by.
Some of the above is good luck but we make our own luck. I have a friend that's in her mid 20's. She had no way of paying rent and saving for a house. So she took my advice and bought an old Kombi van and camped every night in one of 3 locations within commuter range of the city where she worked. Those places were free camps with toilets nearby. She is about to apply for a 1st home owners grant and buy her home in a regional city where she can get a transfer in her nursing job. A bonus was that her Kombi has tripled in value as run down as it is.
Finally, I've lived in many towns and communities. I was also in the Airforce as a young guy. Some towns arent good for socialising, others are great. This is where living in a caravan as you live in towns is beneficial as you can find out how the towns people are. A town of over 3,000 people but less than 7,000 is the ideal size with supermarket, medical and jobs. But you might not want to move. One hitchhiker I picked up in the 1970's was completely lost mentally, he was leaving the city after finding his wife in bed with his mate. He ended up at a sheep station as a cook and fell in love with one of the workers there. His decisions were radical but with radical moves you can end up better off if your state of mind is really low. If you feel really low and think there is no escaping your depression, consider a radical move... thanks for reading. I hope I'm helping with alternatives
https://forums.beyondblue.org.au/t5/staying-well/when-all-is-lost-what-can-you-do-be-radical/td-p/47...
TonyWK
