And, if you do get "out" what would "out" look like, you might want to remain in a leveraged position.

Budget is a first step: Determine how much money is coming in and how much is going out. Look

Being a young buck I would opt for option 2 and BEAT the 25.8% optimistic outlook.

Moving forward, I would try to sell the house just to break even, or rent it out until the outlook has changed.

I have a pretty dire outlook for the US right now also, thanks to the politics and the shift to majority that require subsidized living.

Everyone has different methods for identifying these, but typically you want to look for low cost of living relative to the US as a whole, strong long term job growth outlook, and a pro business attitude, among other factors.

I agree that having a good cardio workout along with weightlifting improves your mental outlook. 4x a week I run 3 miles and weightlift.

I think for most people it would already be "game over" when they were down to $3k and they'd be out looking for a new job.

Jon, is that pretty much the outlook for me for the next year or so until i have a good income history?

Just write it out, looks alot more personal, and a return address of the party it's sent to!