NN...
You are right... reality sucks but in real terms it means going without all the things we do not need....
I have just realised that I am still caught up in the "material" desires trap which I will admit is against what my supposed "new life" and "less stress" path was supposed to follow....
Even now I see an opportunity for causing more stress... in my post above I mention the opportunity to move to a bigger house... but even with the benefits I mention it still means a bigger mortgage, bigger bills etc etc.... so... just changed my mind.
Life should be about family and the things we need....
I had noticed in the UK a few years ago how things had changed. I was sitting in a traffic jam and it suddenly occured to me that there were no "old" cars anywhere to be seen.... 5 years before I would have seen a mix of new, old and very old cars....and this change seemed to have happened very quickly.
The slower and change the more stable things tend to be... this bubble grew very fast and so we should have been ready for it to burst just as quickly.
So... going to start that "material object" free lifestyle I crave... just need to buy that Hummer and 60 inch plasma then all will be well