A financial crisis struck Thursday morning.
I’m inviting gifts, small or large, hoping to raise $100 before month’s end.
There are two ways to give. One can use my GoFundMe — Click on “Please donate,” above. GoFundMe charges fees totaling 11%, so a $10 gift would net me $9.90. Or, one can do an EFT directly into my account. If you’d like to do that, please use the “Contact” form on My Resume, and we’ll make arrangements.
This post may not meet my normal standards for coherence. I’m under great stress, and these things aren’t easy to say.
I had already bought my first coffee at DD Thursday, before I found an e-mail from the bank saying that my card had gone into overdraft overnight. Now, a college classmate routinely sends me $25 on the 15th of each month via GoFundMe; evidently that hit my account after the e-mail was sent, or I would not have been able to buy that first coffee.
My last Social Security payment, $940, came on or about the 28th of last month. So I have somehow gone through $940 in two weeks. This is not good.
That’s supposed to last me all month — and more. At $940/month, I’ve meant to find a room or a studio apartment that I could rent for $300. Rent at the overnight shelter is $91.00/month; so my lifestyle needs to be such that I SAVE $200 each month.
Not run out in two weeks.
I face tasks and changes, possibly life-style changes, small and large, immediate and long-range.
I obtained a printout of all account activity from that last SS payment to date. I must examine it for any unusual charges, and also to find out where my money’s gone.
I’m spending money on four things: shelter rent; hotel rooms; coffee; and smokes.
In the time frame in question, I got hotel rooms three nights at ~$100 each night. This isn’t unusual; about what I’d do in a month. Now, they normally hold out a $100 security deposit, refunded a day or two after one’s stay; it may be the last refund got delayed. Alternatively, one might suppose the third night tipped my card balance red; but if so, what had become of the rest of my money, in two weeks?
I may need to cut back on, or quit smoking. I don’t know how much I’ve been spending on smokes; there’s been no marked recent change. I’ve been spending freely. Some days I buy one pack, other days two, depending on how many I have on hand at the moment. I need to pin this down.
I do drink exceptional amounts of coffee; I’ve never yet put any brakes on this, either. When I went to the bank Friday afternoon, the banker remarked that I’d already spent $15 on coffee that day; and, in fact, I wasn’t done yet. I need to examine the printout to pin down how much. Whether or not I do cut back, I may need to start going to Starbucks instead of DD, as Starbucks is actually cheaper.
Logistical reasons make it infeasible for me to apply for food stamps as long as I’m at the overnight shelter. Once I’m in transitional housing or have my own place, I can get food stamps, make all my coffee at home, pay for it with food stamps, and quit buying from DD or Starbucks. But I have to get the room first.
Same goes for finding a part-time job that might offset my costs. On my last go-round, every person I interviewed with insisted I must be available 24/7, able to work any hours whatsoever. That’s not feasible while I’m at the overnight shelter.
I have a $50 gift card, obtained months ago, never yet used.
I face some dentistry in September that will cost me ~$60 out-of-pocket.
I may wind up continuing at the overnight shelter much longer than I’d planned.
My records suggest the last time I invited donations was 02/27/17.
I am grateful for all support, including moral support. Sometimes that’s all one can give!
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