(Image credit: Getty Images)

Dear Wealth Wise : My husband just retired from his job due to early-onset dementia. I have heart failure and collect disability benefits. We owe $255,000 on our home and pay $8,500 a year in property taxes and homeowners insurance. Our mortgage rate is 5.34%. Utilities are around $399 per month. My husband wants to use his $300k 401(k) to pay down the mortgage. I want to move to a more affordable location. But we're in a very walkable neighborhood close to a beautiful lake, and I hate to give it up. We argue about this every day. Help!

— Love My Lake Home

Dear "Love My Lake Home" : When you retire in a home and neighborhood you know and love, it can make your post-working years that much more rewarding. But what if it's a struggle to keep up with your housing costs?

The Urban Institute says that over the past 20 years, the share of senior households considered severely cost-burdened — meaning spending more than half of their income on housing — has nearly doubled.…