I'm exactly the same as far as the parts I quoted go.
It's great to not have to worry about mortgages and to feel a bit ahead of others in the rat race in a way. But where I may have the advantage of still being somewhat young with a beautiful paid off house there are plenty of things to stress out about. I feel particularly stuck at the moment in fact due to me not having a car, being unable to rely on public transportation, and I lost my job a couple of months ago. I have NO money, zilch, nothing. It's to the point now where when something needs to be paid for, I need to pick something out of my beloved belongings to sell on craigslist or bring to the pawn shop. I just really really don't understand how someone gets out of a hole like this? It's not making me depressed, it just shows me a very bleak future. I can't ever afford food anymore. Most times I go 3-5 days without food, only water, and whatever kind of vitamins I have laying around for some half assed piece of mind. When the pain gets unbearable I mix flour with water I put it in the oven and enjoy myself a delicious lightly salted rubbery bread-like substance. What good does owning a house do me other than that I have a comfortable place to die in as long as I don't end up selling my bed too.
I really wish I knew the answer. No employer is going to pick me up from my house. I moved away to a place where I know nobody. I didn't have much family in New Jersey, but at least I had friends. Here I have literally nothing anymore. There is nothing in walking distance or bike riding distance that I could go try to work at. I think about forming a plan all day everyday but nothing pops into my head. And I used to pride myself on being clever, lol.
Wow dude, that's intense. No car makes things really hard unless you live in a big city. You're SO lucky you own your house outright, I'm jealous, my mortgage is $1250 a month (I bought it with the agreement from my ex that she would get a job and help, because we loved the house, but she never did, blah blah blah). I can afford it myself now, but I could have SO much more money if I owned it outright.
I kind of veered towards me there, sorry. :D Can you get a loan? Then you could get a car (and some damn food!), I mean you could get a rather small loan, after you have looked into car leases. Or what about a credit card? How is your credit by the way? If it's low, you would probably get a shitty low-limit credit card. But you could probably get a decent-sized signature loan regardless, with a pretty shitty APR if your credit is low. But if it was able to buy you the pay-up-front for a car (which tends to be I don't know, 1-2 thousand I think? I have never leased a car, I am just recalling commercials, but I cancelled TV a couple of years ago), then you could lease a car and have transportation, and get a job and be able to pay down your loan and also have money. I think that's what I'd try to do. Do some research, talk to a bank or look up loans (I had a Discover personal loan in the past). And before that, talk to a car dealership and see what they can give you for a lease.
And what about your girl? Or, same boat probably, I don't think you would have said you didn't have a car if she did.
EDIT: I just read your next post about the insurance... that's tough man, if you live where hurricanes hit. You could probably get a loan and car pretty quick and then once you have a job insurance is more affordable. But, if you're confident in yourself, you could sell some stuff and start homeowner's insurance, pay the first month, if the next month comes and you don't have a job yet, you can sell a bit more stuff or maybe you will have money from a loan (hopefully, you should move quick, immediately after thinking about it enough to have a solid plan). And you'll assume that in 1-2 months at most you'll have a job and you can pay for these things.
ALSO, about the car, you could use any source that would finance it for you, but generally dealerships all do this but private sellers don't. Plus you want a car that won't break down. So probably a dealership, a good slightly old used car would be the best bet. Some like Carmax even come with a warranty so you can be sure they aren't jacked cars. Get like a Japanese car or some others, I am just biased because I have only ever owned Acuras (currently an 04 TL which I love). Hondas are the same thing really, both brands last a long fucking time and are really well-made, and Hondas aren't that expensive either. Plus even if you buy it at 100K miles, it has a lot of life left. My first Acura ran til 196,000 miles, and was a bit tired feeling by then but I just traded it in when I bought a newer one.