There was an article in the Des Moines Sunday Register yesterday, by Dan Piller, about the downsizing of Liberty Bank, which stated, “The bank is in the process of selling more than half of its assets…”

I can relate to that bank. When I stepped down from my job, on December 31, 2007, due to a health issue, I went to a zero income. I worked for a 501(c)3 organization and they are not required to pay unemployment.

Now, we are not a bank; and we had no properties except our home, so I looked at each expense long and hard. I did not start selling items, and taking a huge loss, but when the items broke or were no longer available to us, I did not replace them.

My situation is unique, because the health issue restricts me to my home; therefore, when the company my husband works for had to sell the company truck he was using; I gave him the keys to my van.

We also have a truck my husband uses in his part-time mowing business. Our youngest son used it to commute to school and practices.

When it came time to go to college, we had him keep driving our truck. We discouraged him from getting student loans, and he is paying his way with grants and scholarships. (He does have a savings account set up to eventually buy his own vehicle.)

But for now, it is better for us to have the truck being driven, not sitting around; and it is better for him to not be shackled to student loans or an auto loan.

I no longer have my own vehicle, but I choose to look at it this way, “I am a diva, and when I do go out, I always have a good-looking driver!”