Yeah, after a day of real estate shopping in the area (in 2004!) we realized that our under-$500k plan was not going to work out. There are a lot of dangerous financing schemes around, like interest-only and ARMs. We ended up with a second mortgage, which I grew up thinking was like an invitation to penury, but we are lucky and can afford the monthly hit.

As for health insurance, I just despair about what we can do. That seems to be the tactic -- wear people down, make them think that nothing can change so why bother trying.