I received lots of interesting and thoughtful letters from readers in reaction to last Tuesday's column on the need to live wisely again, with less debt and fewer "things" purchased for the sake of spending and accumulating. (The number of Americans declaring bankruptcy -- more than 880,000 bankruptcies filed through October -- would support me on this.) A Perry Hall reader named Susan shared notes from a recent financial odyssey -- a stressful one, but with a happy ending. (Please note -- this woman is in a teachers' union, and her retirement benefits, reached through collective bargaining, play no small part in the outcome. Having a good credit rating over time is key as well.) Thanks to Susan for sharing the story.

I am so grateful that my parents taught me the value of a dollar and how to save, and how to spend.  My dad was a teacher at Poly and never made a lot of money. I followed him into teaching, becoming a first-grade teacher in the county. I just retired after 29 years.
 
Last year was a very difficult one in my life. My ex-husband died suddenly. He was living in the big Perry Hall home we had once shared when married. I let him stay there, because he wanted to be in familiar surroundings. He was a DAV and we had fitted the home to meet his needs.
 
I was still on the deed, so when he passed away in October 2007, the house became mine. I took on the mortgage, the home equity loan he had taken out, along with MY OWN mortgage I had in my town home with my new husband, and OUR home equity loan. 
 
My ex-husband had serious debt; so there was no money at all to alleviate the mortgage/loan. We attempted to sell the big house in Perry Hall, but the market was so soft that it was impossible.
 
For seven months, I was paying two mortgages, two home equity loans, two BGE bills. (I was a teacher and my husband works as an accounting temp. Neither of us makes a whole lot of money.)  It was a very tight time, financially, but we made it. We decided to sell our townhouse instead, thinking the smaller home might be more attractive to buyers. It was a fortuitous decision because we sold it in four days.
 
We also had priced it lower than we had wanted but it worked.
When the sale was final, I paid off the two home equity loans, leaving us with only the one mortgage. WHEW!  
 
I had to re-finance the house to put it in my name and my husband’s. Because I have sterling credit it was no problem, even in this difficult time. Took two weeks, and I got a great rate (5.8%).

In June, I retired, in the OLD pension system, thanks to Dad’s advice years ago not to move to the NEW system even though they were offering a financial incentive to get teachers to switch. (Dad said if they’re paying you to move there must be plenty of benefit…to them. He was right).
 
Finally, my daughter graduated in June from the University of Delaware (in three years!) and without a single debt. Her dad and I had set up a college fund when she was born, and we made it! (My mom helped the last semester with the fund she had set up for her grandkids).  I had one child and provided for her, so that she could spend time abroad during her college years….twice.
 
So, Dan, with the example and advice of my parents, I am debt-free, except for a small mortgage, and I was able to weather a financial storm.  I carry no credit card debt at all, no car loans, and my good credit secured me a good, quick refinance when I needed it.
 
My daughter, 20, now working in Charlottesville, told me she has put $10,000 into a CD.
 
Looks like the tradition of good financial sense lives on!