Or in my case what messed me up is working at a company that pushed us to the max of our equipment on piece work. We made great money for years, which led me to build a new house an buy nice things. We lived within our means an had savings I put decent money in 401. Then years later they cut our prices by 1/3. After a few years of not being able to earn the same money, I now live house poor. I have thought about downsizing the house an using equity from it to better the situation. I am always looking for a better job, but after 21 years in a specialized feild work is hard to find making any better money. Having a large family with medical needs adds to the problems.