I'm really loving all the practical tips in this thread. I have discovered many of them already on my own (eliminating cable for one) and look forward to trying some that I didn't know about. I really can't add much in the way of tips that haven't already been added.
So I will add a more thought process/mindset post. By the time I divorced my AH, I was the main breadwinner in our family, so the split didn't do much damage to me financially. In fact, supporting two children was actually easier than supporting two children AND an alcoholic, lol. But, one of the gifts of recovery was the ability to see that I had become a prisoner of my lifestyle. So, last year, after a few years of getting my ducks in a row and paying off all my debts outside of the mortgage, I made the decision to leave a miserable but well-paying job and collect an early pension. Because I took retirement early, the amount of the pension is extremely low and, although I supplement my income with sales of my photography, I am now living on roughly 1/5 of what I was making before.
Downsizing can be very freeing if you have the right attitude. When I made the decision to leave my job, I knew that it would be unlikely I would be able to keep my house. It's a large house and I bought it in 2006--the height of the real estate bubble. For the last year I have been negotiating with the bank, applying for any and all mortgage modification/reduction programs I could find without success. But, I have been living here for a year and they still haven't foreclosed. I know they will eventually, and I am prepared for that. I have a 29 ft. RV which I plan to make my "home" while I travel around the country taking photographs. If I have to rent a small place in the meantime while my son finishes high school, then that is okay. If I have to take a low-paying job to make ends meet for a while that's okay, too. I believe with all my being that no matter what happens, I will be okay. In fact, I will be better than okay because I am no longer selling my soul in order to finance a lifestyle of "things." I am following my passion and every day I wake up looking forward to the experience of life. There have been some difficult times and there will be more I'm sure, but the simple life brings me more joy than all the money ever did. Life is about living and I intend to do as much of that as I possibly can in the years I have left! I feel much richer than I ever have.
L