Should You Keep the House? A Clarity Worksheet

The house question carries numbers and feelings at the same time, and they blur together. This worksheet walks them separately, so the choice gets clearer.

First pass: only the numbers

Write down the monthly cost of keeping the house on one income. Mortgage, taxes, insurance, utilities, and the repairs that are coming whether you plan for them or not. Then write what those same dollars would rent or buy nearby.

Second pass: only the feelings

Separately, write what the house means. The kids' bedrooms, the school district, the neighbors who know you. Also write what it costs you to stay, because some houses hold more grief than comfort after everything changes.

Put the two lists side by side

You are not scoring them. You are looking for the sentence that becomes obvious when both are visible at once. For many people it is some version of, I want to stay two more years, or, this house is heavier than it looks.

Whatever surfaces, bring it to your attorney and your budget before you decide.