<prompt> Human: I know this is a long shot, but Im looking for creativity... or perspective. Im in my late 30s and in process of an ugly divorce. A year ago, spouse and I bought a home in a very desirable neighborhood located in a major California metropolis for 912k. It was one of the smallest and cheapest homes in the area. Cue divorce. I would love to stay in the home- not only is the location ideal, but our 2 kids can walk to great schools from it. Plus, I dont want to disrupt their lives further by having them move again; for me there is a lot of non-monetary value in keeping the kids there. We owe 805k on it now, and it is worth between 980k- 1.02m, realistically. I make 90k and was just awarded 2.4kmonthly in support in court. My earnings will increase to 99k in June, and will gradually increase every year for the next several years, although support could decrease accordingly. I have steep grad school loans but pay minimum 500mo and will be eligible for forgiveness on them in 9 years. I have a 26k private undergrad loan Im chipping away at, and 12k car loan, but no credit card debt. I have about 55k liquid in savings and investments. Rent is about 3500mo in the same area, so it feels bad to rent that high if I could conceivable stretch to pay the mortgage and keep the kids in it, have my own home, be set with the likely strong equity growth. Im also afraid that I wont be able to buy back in later if I become a renter now.The mortgage payment is 4100 on a 30 year fixed, 4.3 interest. Prop taxes are the killer here, plus insurance puts the total monthly payment at 5000. Even its possible for me to keep the house with a co-signer and divorce settlement, is it possible for me to afford it? Creative financing for lower payments? 40 year mortgage? Uber driving for a few years until my earning goes up? Or is this a lost cause?  <response>: 5k12 months 60k in mortgage payment. Plus 500month grad school loans 60k6k 66kyear. Plus your private loans and car loans, which are 38k, but you could pay those off with the 55k liquid and have enough left over to keep in a checking account for bills and whatever else.So youre looking at 66kyear in expenses, and 118.8k in income. Subtract out about 22.5kyear for tax, so really 96.3kyear. Take your net income now of 96.3k, subtract 66k in house payments, and that leaves you with 30.3k for everything else.So yes, if you do what uarichone said to try to get your financing a little better and lower your interest costs, and if you can keep your other annual expenses down to 30k or less per year, and contribute very little if anything to a retirement account for the next few years, then you can make it work.But youre living in a million dollar house on a non-millionaire salary. Theres gotta be a better option. Renting somewhere similar might be a better choice for you. Buying back in later may or may not be feasible, but trying to afford your current house is going to make every other financial decision a major struggle, whereas moving somewhere slightly cheaper will open up your options for everything else financially for now, and you may end up being able to buy a similar or better house later with much less financial stress. 