Final Exit from Colorado and Final BK13 Case Closing

[Barbisi]

Well, we finally made it out of Colorado as of 5/20/22 at past 8pm arriving in Laramie WY at around 11pm Friday night.
After two and a half days in a rented mini-van with three caged cats passing through Western WY ,Utah, Idaho and Oregon, we arrived, quite bleary eyed, at almost mid-night Monday on Sunday to Washington (5/22/22).
We were able to obtain the door key (but no mail key) on Monday, 5/23/22, and were able to unload the moving van truck on 5/24/22.
Our first full day in the rental house was 5/25/22.
Two final Colorado ironies : after two full weeks of mid-eighty to ninety degree temps and daily high fire risk , The Mountain God LOL, decided to sleet and lightly snow at around 35 degrees as the truck was loaded, making the process more complicated. And on the 24th , as my husband awaited the truck at the new rental, our attorney sent an email stating that the Bk13 was formally closed by the court. What timing , only as we prepared to unload our belongings ,did this end!
Oh, and our sale proceeds from the second house that we wisely sold to the investor, showed up in our bank account on 5/23/22. No more solar panel lease and slowly breaking down fixtures, appliances, etc. that we wouldn't have the ready funds to repair or replace - what a relief, Haha!!!!!!!
It's over at last!!!!!!

[justbroke]

Welcome to Washington! Don't look back... always forward.

[Zombie13]

I call it the Mountain a*s*ole but that's me.

[Zombie13]

Also:
once we received the home sale funds, we paid off the 401K loans. The payments have not yet cleared the bank account. But, this is an additional $700 or so per month we have recovered. So:
$700 recovered from 401k loan payments due to paying off 401k loans
$930 recovered from monthly BK payment
subtotal: $1630.00 recovered per month
There are additional, more highly significant recoveries as well due to a 40% pay increase, even with a higher rent payment.
The reason I am saying this is, yes, there is life after BK and if you envision the future you want, every day, and work hard to achieve it, you can.
It is possible.
/////
Also:
we need to replace the vehicles. So, that's another story and thought process. Funny... our credit scores are still 'Fair' (Disadvantage), but our income is significantly higher now (Advantage). Can we demonstrate the higher income, to offset the credit scores, if we choose to finance one or two vehicles? We would need to show this income for at least two or three paystubs I would think.

[Barbisi]

Thank you justbroke !
We just don't want to forget how we got in this mess to begin with.
If at all possible, we don't want to ever repeat the worst 5 years of our lives.
As the old adage says, "those to forget the past are doomed to repeat it."

[Carmella]

CONGRATS Zombie13 and Barbisi So glad you made it to Washington and everything else is falling into place.

I totally relate to not forgetting how we got into the BK Mess.

I am planning needed home repairs and my husband was worried we'd be back in debt. I said NO! We have the CASH to pay, plan and pay Cash. Our BK payment is very high, higher than most I see people mention.

I do get the sense of freedom because I will be doing something and think "Oh I could buy that if I wanted it!" Keeping in reigned in of course since I am not frivolously spending, but after our time in debt and struggling to pay bills and robbing Peter to pay Paul, etc and then the tight BK budget it's so freeing. And I realized it's ok to think "I could buy this or that" doesn't mean I am going to buy this or that, but if I really wanted it I could actually afford it in the post BK budget! No impulse spending, but planning for it and thinking it through.

Trying not to turn into a tightwad LOL! Fine to be frugal, but not miserly haha.

And yes of course saving up for a rainy day will be a top priority along with husband's car.

Speaking of homes I looked online and the prices are so outrageous even for an older small home like mine. I think our current decision to stay in the house and make necessary repairs like the garage roof and the bathroom that is still in the 1970's only having minor updates like new toilet and vanity--but really needs the tubshower replaced...we don't want to go overboard, but catch up on the necessary things that we couldn't handle while drowning in debt and then later while paying the BK. The home repairs probably won't start until next spring except maybe some wiring in the bathroom since our exhaust fan is not working right. That will give us time to get husband a car and save up some money.

[sophieanne]

Hi..how are you both liking WA state? Summer is coming a little late..but it’s a beautiful time of the year!!

[Barbisi]

Hi sophieanne !
Thanks for checking in on us!
So far, the mild weather despite nearly daily drizzle and some heavier rain (Saturday), is very pleasing and I have noticed most of my body pain is less of a problem, particularly since I no longer have stairs to constantly contend with on a daily basis. My left ankle is much less swollen after the initial inflammation when we first arrived and it appears the first chiro /acupuncture treatment helped it to feel better as well. My skin although almost always normal in desiccated Colorado (I hardly ever applied body lotion there), feels even softer here and I don't have to drink so much water to not feel as tired and on the verge of a light headache. (I was always somehow parched even after 100 oz. + of water!) Sea level is so much healthier for me and the air is crisper and cleaner.
The traffic is definitely more compressed and thus more congested but we are learning our way around.
People are so much friendlier and welcoming here than in isolated and insolated, empty and open Colorado where people turned their backs on you mid-sentence and actually walked away while you were trying to talk to them because they only had time for mountains, weed, dog parks , local craft beer and their high-tech office jobs! (People actually say ,"Welcome to Washington" with a smile here!)
There is so much more diversity (Asian, Pacific Islander, African -American, European, Hispanic , and Native American) and therefore you meet more interesting people with more expansive and innovative ideas, instead of, in my humble opinion , boring and ignorant locals with stale, narrow- minded Rocky Mountain Marijuana High ideas (what's so great about extremely dry, high elevation with dead, brown vegetation , blistering heat , shuddering cold , ever -present cancer-causing toxic sun and year round wildfire warnings with resulting bad air quality, LOL?)
We already found two Yoga studios (one here in Puyallup) which offer a variety of classes, such as meditative Yin and Restorative (which totally disappeared in 2020 in Colorado, replaced by momentum -based Core Power and super-hot Yoga, designed for the outdoorsy type there). We joined these two and have already attended a few in person classes. It's such a blessing to able to take gentle and relaxing Yoga again!!!!!
In fact, this weekend , we went to an Open House celebration at the one in in Federal Way and were greeted by warm, appreciative instructors and we won three prizes in the drawings : I won a HotSacks eye pack with a lovely violet Asian design(made right here in Washington!) and an Ativafit yoga wheel (which I will get clearance to safely use from my new ART/acupuncturist chiropractors before I try it) and Jason won a special wooden talisman made from a nearby symbolic tree. They had lots of nice, tasty snacks too!
Foods tastes fresher and better here and it's so much more fun to explore new eateries after twelve years stuck in one locale with out the possibility of travel for 5+ years.
Restaurants are more expensive here (probably because of the 2% higher sales tax) but because my husband is earning so much more (a 40K+ raise), we aren't as worried as we might be in Colorado with a smaller take-home paycheck. (We are still not unpacked enough to comfortably cook in our really nice modern kitchen but that is coming soon.)
All in all, little to complain about (besides the job commute (ongoing until we move in 1-2 years) , the lack of a mail key , a fallen master walk in closet clothing rack and defective shower head and tub spout (all successfully resolved this weekend by the rental management company).
Prost to new beginnings!

[sophieanne]

Barbisi - Hello back to you! Your note just totally made my day!!!!! I am sooooo happy to hear that you are liking WA state. It is a great state and like you said lots of diversity and culture. I'm hoping it gets better and better as you get situated and truly make it your home!!!!!

[eap82]

Great News! I know you were waiting for this for a LONG time so I'm glad it's working out like you hoped. Onward and upward!

[Barbisi]

eap82 Thank you!
Yes, a five year BK13 in Colorado was pure hell and I'm so grateful it ended and we were allowed to leave there forever!
To show you how much I hate it there, if and when we fly some where on vacation, I don't even want to have to do a stop over at DIA (Denver International Airport). I'd rather pay more and fly farther instead , LOL!

[Barbisi]

Carmella thank you ! We are very glad to here at last!!!!
Yes, none of us should forget what precipitated our fall from financial sobriety , whether it was overspending, tax issues, lawsuits, medical bills, just years of accumulated debt, or (in our case) buying a dreadfully wrong investor house that we couldn't afford to fix up without incurring high debt.

Best of luck with the house repairs and getting hubby that elusive car .(LOL!)
I can tell you are a frugal and smart consumer, but let me warn you again, don't buy another Sentra (or any other Nissan ,for that matter).They are among the worst quality cars out there!