As told by Amanda, 31, mother of two | Puyallup, Washington
Published March 2026
“We Can’t Afford to Eat Out Anymore. But We Can Still Afford Our Home.” – said Amanda
Two years ago, my husband and I were renters. A two-bedroom apartment in Tacoma. $1,800 a month. Plus parking. Plus pet rent. Plus utilities.
We thought we were doing okay.
Then the layoffs started. My husband worked in tech. He survived three rounds of cuts. But his salary froze. Then his hours got reduced.
We were drowning.
“We have to do something,” I told him. “We can’t keep paying $1,800 for an apartment that doesn’t even have a yard.”
A friend told us about mobile home parks. I’ll be honest—I had the same reaction everyone has. But we were desperate. So we looked.
We found a three-bedroom double-wide in a family park near Puyallup. Remodeled. New floors. New kitchen. A yard for our kids and our dog.
The price: $135,000. With our down payment, our mortgage is $890 a month. Space rent is $750. Total housing cost: $1,640.
Less than our apartment. For three times the space. With a yard. With neighbors who actually talk to us.
March 2026
This month has been brutal.
Gas is $5.90 a gallon. I drive a minivan. It costs me $120 to fill the tank. Last year, that was $65.
Groceries for a family of four used to be $600 a month. Now it’s $900. We’ve stopped buying name brands. We’ve stopped buying meat. We’ve stopped buying anything that isn’t on sale.
My husband’s hours got cut again. He’s down to 32 hours a week.
We sat down at the kitchen table last week and did the math.
“Our rent would be $2,200 by now if we’d stayed in that apartment,” my husband said. “We couldn’t afford that.”
“We can’t afford a lot of things,” I said. “But we can afford our home.”
That’s the difference.
Our friends who bought houses in 2022? Their mortgages are $3,000–$4,000 a month. Some of them are already behind. Some of them are already talking about selling.
We’re not behind. We’re not selling.
We’re eating beans and rice. We’re driving less. We’re not going out to eat. We’re not buying new clothes.
But we have our home. And our home is safe.
What We Still Have
The park doesn’t cost extra. The pool is included. The playground is included. The community garden is included.
My kids don’t care that we can’t afford McDonald’s. They care about riding bikes with their friends. They care about the neighbor who gives them popsicles. They care about the park’s Halloween parade.
We’re struggling. I won’t pretend we’re not.
But we’re struggling in a home we can afford. In a community that helps.
Last week, my neighbor brought over a casserole. “I made too much,” she said. I know she didn’t make too much. She just knew we were having a hard month.
That’s what people do here.
The Bottom Line
I don’t know when gas prices will go down. I don’t know when groceries will get cheaper. I don’t know if my husband’s hours will come back.
But I know we can afford our home.
And that knowledge is the only thing keeping me sane.
Thank you for reading.
Welcome home. Your neighbors are waiting.
Have a story to share? We’d love to hear it. Let’s become a member in our MbU’s journey! Because every voice matters. And yours deserves to be heard.
📧 Email us at hello@mobileup-llc.com . We’ll tell your story to the world.
Mobile Up – Because life’s too short for a long to-do list. 🛠️🏠✨
Maybe this story warms you up?
- The First Time I Walked Into a Mobile Home Park, I Cried – And Not Because I Was Sad
- The Night My Husband Had a Heart Attack – And 12 Neighbors Showed Up
- Why My Grandkids Beg to Visit Me at “The Park”
- My 80-Year-Old Neighbor Taught Me How to Fix a Leaky Faucet, And So Much More
- The Tomato Plant That Changed Everything. Love that doesn’t run out
