When the insurance company totaled my car, I almost wept. While I was upset that my Audi was gone, I couldn’t deny that I was also glad to have the burden of the payments, insurance, maintenance, and everything else that came with car ownership lifted from my shoulders. The insurance payoff was enough to take care of the remaining balance of my car loan and provide me with a little money to put in the bank. Without the threat of monthly car and insurance payments hanging over my head, I had enough savings to use for my own place. No, I couldn’t afford a really nice place in a hip and trendy part of the city, but I could afford a clean, comfortable place in an unhip and not trendy part.
I moved back to my old neighborhood in Rogers Park. I was able to find a small one-bedroom apartment in
