Part of our real estate practice is devoted to short sales...and as any realtor who chooses to do these knows...this part of your practice is usually your heart....and a good part of your head that really has to get "into" the whole process to make it work for everyone concerned.
We were referred to a couple who had a rental property...I always stop short of calling them "income properties"...these days income may be harder to extract from properties. They were panicked because a tenant was leaving...they had repairs that were over due....and beyond that...they had really never looked at their own finances closely to see if they were making the best possible financial decisions.
We explained the whole short sale process and then they explained some of the revelations they had in taking a closer look at their finances. 
- They increased the deductible on their home and car insurance and lowered the premium as well as shopped for better rates with competing companies
- Lunches at work came from home...not the vending machine or cafeteria
- Credit card balances were switched to companies that offered lower or no interest so that more money could be devoted to debt reduction rather than making minimum payments
- Fewer restaurant meals and more good old fashioned home cooking
- A scheduled financial review every 2 weeks...where was the money going...how could they improve...looking at the bills that they had, the debt to reduce, the goals for the future
This e-mail has been edited in part to enable our "not client" to remain anonymous.
Sally K. & David L. Hanson, ABR, CDPE, CSS, e-Pro,ILHM, REDS
Some of the best feelings come from helping others that are in need............ it's not always about the money.
Nice post, Sally and David, thanks you.
When it's only about the money...you can be missing the best part of your career....
Amen................I wish more people were aware of that fact.