Yesterday I saw one of my favorite clients. She is witty, fiesty and very interested in a variety of things. She is always doing something.

So far, so good, right?

She also lives on a pittance and is constantly hustling to earn some money. She has several part-time jobs and several self-employed endeavors.

She is in her 70s. She cannot afford to stop working. She is fortunate that so far, she still can.

I do not want to end up like that. I will never be wealthy and that is fine. But I do not want to constantly worry how I will eat and put gas in my car when I am in my 70s.

This morning on mint.com, I noted that according to Zillow, my home value has fallen another $4,500 to $127,500. I am now at 144% LTV.

Sometimes I wonder: am I being foolish? Am I missing the opportunity of a lifetime? Should I buy a different home for myself at today's prices and just let mine go? Yes, I put 53k down and immediately another 10k on repairs/maintenance, but that's gone and there is nothing to be done about that.

Boyfriend and I have kicked around the idea of buying a house together. Boyfriend needs to sell his current home for his own reasons, and expects to realize a decent amount of cash. We have talked about him moving in with me, and plan to do that once he has everything in order. The appeal for him to buy another house is that he doesn't want to sell low and then be out of the residential real estate market altogether. The appeal for me to buy another house is that I think we are about at the bottom and I stand to enjoy some nice appreciation from buying now.

(I live in one of the worst hit areas. Home values in my town have fallen two-thirds from the bubble peak.)

I would have to turn my current house into a rental which is not completely thrilling to me. I have been a landlord in the past so am familiar with the "joys" which can crop up.

If we bought a house together, we would go half-sies. Probably, he would put his half down and I would take a mortgage for the other half. The payments would be substantially smaller than the payments on my present home, and should be more than covered by the rent I would collect on my house. I've already talked to my current lender (Wells Fargo Home Mortgage) and discovered that I qualify if I decide to go ahead.

I am unwilling to move into a home which he buys solo and rent out my home. In that situation, I take on the risks associated with being a landlord but do not participate at all in the potential appreciation of the home he buys.

Thoughts?

This is a tricky topic I think. I have evolved to the point I view life as a journey. I'd like to think I have learned from my mistakes and grown because of them. If I could undo those mistakes, wouldn't I just make different, similar mistakes? Probably.

But if I could go back to some earlier date and change things, first and foremost, I would love myself more. I am certain I would make better choices as a direct result. I know I would have stood up for myself more.

I love my children. I wouldn't have them if I hadn't made the mistake of marrying their father, so I don't want to undo that.

I finished my BS last June, though I started working on it in the fall of 1985. If I could go back, that 20 year old me would stay in college full time, even if it meant living in my car.

I'm very happy with my life now. I feel that I walked a long, difficult road to get here. I love myself now, that wasn't always true. I have made peace with the disfunction in my original family. I am comfortable in my own skin.

I've been sprucing the place up. Did you notice? What do you think?