Needing help to live another month … sorry, but I need to ask for more than usual and that’s for several reasons. First, I’m including half of a needed home repair project in the total (full breakdown in a bit). Second, I’ve shifted much of my existing resources to other needs, like taxes (yes, I pay taxes; fortunately the IRS only gets me once a year ;). And third — this one kinda hurts — there’s been a new directive from the PTB that limits me (and only me, afaik) to one fundraiser a month. So I have to get it all in this go-round. Before I go into the details, here’s a disclaimer:
This is a request for help, a community fundraiser diary. If you are not interested or do not agree with the concept of community fundraisers — please move on. No harm, no foul … and fyi, fundraiser diaries are long-standing tradition on DKos. It is the project of several groups and many individuals to support these efforts — for which many of us are sincerely grateful.
The total I am asking for is $1750 $1240 (updated 4/4, 11:59 pm mountain time). It breaks down as follows; explanation just below:
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$1000$490 for house payment, ideally by 4/11 to avoid late fees - $450 for utility bills and living expenses
- $300 for first half of home repair (guesstimate).
Explanation: (1) As noted above, I shifted the resources I would normally put towards the house payment to my 2018 income tax. Based on my current calculations, I need to pay self-employment tax this year because I earned considerably more in ‘18 than previously. Not enough to live on, mind you, but enough to up the tax bill. I hope when I get every last business expense dug out of my files, that it will come down some, but it’s still going to be in the several hundreds, oy.
(2) the total for bills etc is typical, but as noted — income tax is taking up my resources for this month.
(3) the home repair coming up is that I need to replace or else seriously repair my home’s cooling unit. For those of you live in the SW, it’s a swamp cooler and you know what a pain those can be that it’s essential — living through an ABQ summer without one is not an option. Since the existing unit is 10+ years old and I’ve hated it from the minute it was installed, replacement seems like the most rational choice. I don’t have a firm estimate yet, but based on my prior experience I’m going with $600 for an initial figure. Asking for $300 now and hoping to get the rest by mid-May, when I’ll have a firm estimate and when it will really need to be in place.
That’s the expenses. Here’s how to help:
As many of you know, I run an arts & crafts business called Jan4insight Handmade Gallery on Zibbet — it provides most of my earned income. But … the sales often don’t stretch far enough to keep the roof over my head. However — in a bit of good news to start us off for today,
***** our first match was met, and we now have another kind offer of a second $100 $80 match challenge! **** I’m starting this at 10 pm Mountain Time because that’s when I got the notification (hope that’s okay)
( first match met — An anonymous donor has offered a matching challenge of $100 $40 $0 )
Here are the immediate ways to help:
I would love for as much help as possible to come through orders from my Zibbet shop — and please use PayPal at checkout, so the funds reach me immediately (the other method takes a week or more).
For those who are able to make a monthly pledge, the absolute best way to help me is by joining my Patreon page — Patreon is like “Act Blue” for artists, and is designed to get creative types like me to a sustainable income.
For direct donations, my PayPal is burchjan atgmail dotcom. Before you finalize the transaction, please check that it is set for “friends and family.” I’ve heard from several folks that the system defaults to “goods and services,” which takes the transaction fee from my receipts. So please check and change it back to friends & family before finalizing — Thanks!
For those who don’t use PayPal, buying a "coffee" through Ko-Fi will also help. It’s quick & easy, plus you can use a credit card and I’ll still get it instantly — but it does take a fee from my funds… just so you know :)
And for those who aren’t able to donate — you can really help with tips, recs, shares, comments, and encouragement. That’s more valuable than you can ever know, and very much appreciated!
A few more FYI’s: (below the fold — also a message from LuvLee the cat :)
