And if I do, which way should I do it?
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First of all, why would I ask for money?
Well, let me tell you about our bills.
We live in a big house, with five bedrooms. Four of them are occupied. Tonia and I in one, Uncle Randall in another, cousin Russ in another, and Tonia’s brother, Isaac, in another bedroom.
The house is old, and in a low value neighborhood, the traditionally black neighborhood of Wichita, Kansas. So, when it was originally purchased by our family, before I married into the family, it must have sold for only about $30,000. We now owe only about $25,000 on the principal. But the monthly interest, at 7.25%, is about $150. The monthly escrow payment, to cover taxes and insurance, is about $150. The mortgage company is only asking for about $33 on the principal each month, so our payments are about $333 each month. Rent in Wichita, for a one bedroom apartment, is usually at least $400 per month, so we are on easy street! Right? So, why would we ask for money?
Because we had an electricity bill of $448, due early in February, and we paid that, and not the house payment. And we have been running late for about a year, so the house payment we did not pay in February, was the January payment. So, now we need to pay the January and February house payments, soon. And we have another bill for electricity, due March 9th, of $330.
The water bill is only $60, and that comes out of my checking account automatically, on the 8th of March. The high speed internet we are using, I am using right now to communicate with you at Daily Kos, and my wife uses nearly all day and all night, sometimes letting How It’s Made videos run when she falls asleep, that high speed internet bill came in, and we failed to pay it last month, and two months, plus late fee is $166. And our life insurance premiums, for Tonia and I, is $48.
And we have a Portable On Demand Storage (PODS) container parked out front. The rent is $140 per month.
If we just pay one house payment, and pay the electricity next pay day, and put $40 in the fuel tank of the minivan, that adds up to $788.
They cut my hours at Walmart, so my take home pay should be about $400.
My gross pay is more like $800, but my medical and dental insurance are $130, and I have them take out $100 each paycheck for the Health Savings account, which is important, since we are behind at least $20,000 on medical bills, from Tonia’s cancer surgery in 2014, and her heart attack in 2015, plus follow up visits, and my few doctor visits for my aches and pains. Other items withheld are 401k, Walmart stock, and Social Security tax.
So, you may wonder, with all those family members in those rooms, do they pitch in?
Yes.
Terrell, who bought a house and moved out, and who has a new baby, he got an income tax refund, and paid us $200 in back rent he was behind on when he moved out. Randall gave us $150. And Russ has been working only part time, but has a better job now, and has promised $200 on the 10th of March. Isaac is partly disabled, and has only some spot job income. He gave us about $40 a week or two ago. I still have some money left from last payday.
So, what do we have:
$150 in the credit union,
$350 cash, to deposit in the credit union 24 hours from now,
$400 in direct deposit on the 9th of March,
and $200 from Russ on the 10th.
$1,100.
Only need $788.
So, why should we ask for money?
To pay the February and March house payments, and the February and March PODS payments.
$666 house, $280 PODS, $946 total.
And next payday, the 23rd, we will need that $300 cushion, plus my $500 paycheck, for the $330 electricity, fuel for the vehicle, plus the car insurance, plus life insurance, on time this time, etc.
And did you notice, there is no food in that budget. Just spent $60 yesterday on groceries, but that will only last a few days before Tonia will want me to buy chicken or something else.
And we cannot spend the $200 from Russ until we actually get it.
So, $1,000 will get us caught up.
If we get nothing, or only a little, we will just be two months behind on the house payment for a while. The electricity bills should be getting much smaller, with the warmer weather, since the big draw is our several space heaters running in the coldest months.
And Isaac has applied for food stamps, so if he gets them, that will help a lot. And Tonia has applied for Social Security Disability benefits, and that will be great, when she starts getting that. And I plan to start getting my Social Security old age benefits, when I turn 62 in August. But I plan to work at Walmart on Saturdays and Sundays only, so I will only have the SS check, and small Walmart checks. And I will need to pay for some kind of health care plan, which may take a lot of the Walmart check. We will need to work out the details.
Other projects that need money: leaky roof, bad sewer lines, bad water lines in the kitchen, old wiring in the walls, needs more insulation, needs rotten wood replaced, needs all the windows replaced, because the window frames are all rotten.
We do not yet have a Paypal or Patreon account set up. And we plan to start making YouTube videos, and get loyal viewers, and ask them for money.
Sorry if this was too long and complex, or too depressing.
I can use this diary, or write a better one, and post links to this diary from the Village, and maybe from here at Itzl, and maybe on Facebook, and other places. Maybe I’ll start tweeting.
If I annoy people, and don’t get any money, that would be total failure. Trying to figure out how to avoid such a failure. Feel free to give me advice.
Thanks for reading.