we’re out of absolutely everything I can eat for right now, and it’s the beginning of the month. I’ve barely eaten and I’m very hungry. if I can get like. $25, I can get dinner for tonight. if you can’t send anything, please please consider rbing! I’d very much appreciate it
So I am having issues this month with paying rent. My rent and utilities recently went up the past couple months. Luckily I was able pay last months rent by dipping into my savings (not a lot but enough to help in case of an emergency). Unfortunately I didn’t really get to save much before it ran out.
While I have the majority of my rent saved from my wage I still need about $200 to cover the rest of my rent and my utilities.
If you can donate that would be really helpful. Of course if you cannot I understand.
Please share and spread this post around if possible.
So I am having issues this month with paying rent. My rent and utilities recently went up the past couple months. Luckily I was able pay last months rent by dipping into my savings (not a lot but enough to help in case of an emergency). Unfortunately I didn’t really get to save much before it ran out.
While I have the majority of my rent saved from my wage I still need about $200 to cover the rest of my rent and my utilities.
If you can donate that would be really helpful. Of course if you cannot I understand.
Please share and spread this post around if possible.
So I am having issues this month with paying rent. My rent and utilities recently went up the past couple months. Luckily I was able pay last months rent by dipping into my savings (not a lot but enough to help in case of an emergency). Unfortunately I didn’t really get to save much before it ran out.
While I have the majority of my rent saved from my wage I still need about $200 to cover the rest of my rent and my utilities.
If you can donate that would be really helpful. Of course if you cannot I understand.
Please share and spread this post around if possible.
So I am having issues this month with paying rent. My rent and utilities recently went up the past couple months. Luckily I was able pay last months rent by dipping into my savings (not a lot but enough to help in case of an emergency). Unfortunately I didn’t really get to save much before it ran out.
While I have the majority of my rent saved from my wage I still need about $200 to cover the rest of my rent and my utilities.
If you can donate that would be really helpful. Of course if you cannot I understand.
Please share and spread this post around if possible.
If I may humbly yet boldly ask for help tonight, I do not get food stamps for 2 more days but this is my kitchen:
I feel avaricious asking for help. I can absolutely survive on that for two days. But I can’t deny it’s difficult and I am losing weight. Plus, at the risk of whining, I’m also going to run out of my meds before Wednesday (June SSI) and I haven’t washed clothes in two weeks– I need physical funds to do both.
My brothers are provided for though!! I made sure they have plenty. I will be going up their house to clean next week; I couldn’t yet because I no longer have a reliable vehicle. But I do always still think of, pray for, and care for them as much as I can, even if only remotely. They are family forever and I love them.
This month, the first without grandma, has been so difficult for us all. No one is eating or sleeping well, and posthumous expenses are getting scary, now that we lost grandma’s massively supportive presence and income both. We might not be able to keep the house. I thank God that he answered my prayers for this apartment, and I have offered it as refuge for my brothers if they need it (they do have many social connections, unlike myself, so they have options but I would never want them to feel unwelcome here).
As for me, I have the Lord, and those who love Him. In these difficult days God has helped me profoundly, most notably through all of you, whose generosity on my birthday literally paid my bills this month. I am so grateful for that I could cry.
For this final week of May, my donation link (for food & laundry) is https://paypal.me/thurifer and I do have immediate access to those funds (not so with the bank) so they will be used to buy dinner.
In any case, please pray for me. I am learning to suffer better but I am weak yet. Nevertheless God has not abandoned me, miracle of miracles, somehow He still carries me, wretched thing that I am. I love and thank Him always, even in the very midst of darkness.
I am soon going to be kicked out of the family home and I am looking for a job. Meanwhile I would like to grab any cash I can take on the side. So I am taking comissions for around $5-$10 for a pic.
I will draw anything, even nsfw, fan art, original characters etc. The price would be set depending on the complexity of the drawing, but at this point I will take anything I can for a low price as I am in a need of money. DM me if you are interested.
Bootlegs are mostly Wicked, Mean Girls, Legally Blonde, Hairspray, Spongebob, Book of mormon, Come From Away, Frozen, Dear Evan Hansen, Matilda, Shrek The Musical and Many Many More!
I suppose this is the only way I think of as a theater kid to help my dad who recently lost his job. Any help and sales would really help us a lot! thanks!
Now you need to figure out how you’re going to pay for it without breaking the bank or saddling yourself with a massive pile of post-graduation debt.
These days, no matter your family’s financial situation, that means finding and applying for some combination of student loans, work-study programs, grants, and scholarships.
We partnered with the amazing Amanda Miller (and a few other financial aid experts) to create a brand new resource to help students and families navigate paying for college.
By the end of this guide, you’ll know how to …
Find and apply for scholarships efficiently and successfully
Determine which colleges are most likely to be affordable for you
Apply for grants with minimal stress (#FAFSA)
Make sense of your financial aid award letters so you can make an informed decision about college costs
If you are in high school and plan to attend college, make sure to register for a FREE college and financial aid workshop for parents and students that will be held on Saturday, April 23, 2022, from 11:00am-12:00pm. It is a virtual workshop that will discuss high school prep, admissions, FAFSA do’s and don'ts, and financial aid. There will be a live presentation of a $500 scholarship award where you can enter by emailing your 250-word essay and college acceptance letter by 4/20/2022 at 11:59pm to [email protected].
If you are a high school senior or a parent of one, you may be interested in attending a webinar on Thursday, September 30th from 2:00pm-3:00pm about what is new with the 2022-23 Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) form. For more information and to register, please click on the link.
Budgeting as a College Student: Comparing My Undergrad vs Graduate Spending Habits + Tips
My budgeting as an undergraduate and as a graduate student is very different.
As an undergraduate, I didn’t really know much about budgeting, finance, credit cards, or anything. Quite honestly, I was just… broke. My parents did not give me a monthly allowance (they couldn’t afford to!) and I had a part-time work-study job that gave me some income, but I always limited myself on buying things. Truthfully, I didn’t really need to buy things: I had a meal plan for half my undergraduate time, and living in the college dorms meant that the university would fix my light bulbs and have vacuums for us, etc. During my junior and senior years (when I lived off-campus), that’s when I started to spend a bit more money: on groceries, eating out, and random things like batteries. Overall though, I look back and I’m grateful for how strict I was with my spending. I think I’d only spend $100-$300 a month maximum on my credit card.
As a graduate student, this is much different. Although, COVID is a big factor here as well: my first year of graduate school was 100% virtual so I stayed with my parents and did not need to pay rent. And at the height of the pandemic (AKA all of 2020), everyone, including myself, stayed inside and as a result, I hardly spent any $. I saved a SHIT TON of money during my first year of graduate school. My second year of graduate school is in-person but because of my scholarships/funding, I’m very humbled to admit that budgeting isn’t a super necessary thing for me.
But still, I compare my spending habits from undergrad to graduate, and I’m shocked at the differences. I know I’m older now, and there’s COVID, and etc. But I spend a LOT more as a graduate student. I think it may be because I used to work full-time for a couple years so I got used to a standard of living.
This post doesn’t really have much substance except to conclude with:
Make sure you keep track of your spending habits! At the bare minimum, I’d recommend using the Mint Mobile app for finances. I’ve used it since undergrad and it’s nice to have all of my accounts linked and for me to easily see where I stand.
Consider investing. I have another post here that talks more about financial tips. There are three rules to investing: start early, make regular contributions (literally could be $20 a month… better than nothing!), and don’t touch the money.
Spend wisely. Who cares about clothes, material possessions, etc when you can spend it on EXPERIENCES? That’s my recommendation. And if you DO buy clothes/etc, buy QUALITY items and shop during sales. Shop smartly.
If you’re in your 20s, here are some quick, basic financial tips!
I’m no expert at all so of course do your own due diligence. But here’s what I wish I would’ve known earlier:
Subscribe tor/personalfinance on reddit. This sub is FULL of extremely helpful information, including a literal step by step guide of how to handle $, as well as information of what to do when you’re at certain ages. This was my first resource when I became serious about my finances!
Make sure you have at least one credit card, so you can start building credit. The earlier, the better. Be responsible with how you use this card, obviously. There are great “starter” credit cards so look to see which one is the most appealing for you! A good age to get a credit card is the summer before college starts.
Create a high-yields savings account. A high-yields savings account has an extremely higher interest rate than a standard savings account. For example, Ally Bank is at 0.50% and Bank of America is at a measly 0.01%. Take time to review how you want your money organized and stored, but I’d highly recommend having a “standard” savings account and a high-yields savings account.
Open a traditional IRA or ROTH IRA account and contribute what you can. Do your research independently to see which account is best for you. And then start contributing whatever you can. Time is on your side, friends! Even if you can only contribute $50 a month (or a one-time payment), it’s better than nothing! The #1 tip for investing is to start early because of the compounding interest.
Open a brokerage account and contribute what you can. Similar advice as the point above. Personally, I would contribute the maximum limit for the IRA account (if I could), before contributing to my brokerage account.
Try to minimize your debts as much as possible! Apply to as many scholarships as you can. To help pay for college, consider working part-time while balancing your coursework: it’s pretty common but obviously know your limits! If you’re too stressed out, it’s likely not worth the juggle. Live frugally until you pay off your debts (and honestly, even after).
Anyone have success or experience with negotiating for increased scholarship funding and financial aid especially for a master’s program? Any tips or advice are very appreciated!
This Pride Month, Help A Queer Spoonie Single Mom With Bills!
So I’m redoing the post because most of the stuff in the top part was obsolete by the 1st of June.
For anyone following my old post, rent was paid, but I was short by more than $100 so I had to take out another loan to cover the owed amount. I had some money left over so I paid the Internet bill and bought a new shredder for the household (we get a lot of credit card and loan offers). So now I have a $288 loan due July 2nd.
What I need money for now is the following:
$100 for the streaming bills/Amazon Prime (will be put on a credit card)
$89 for electricity
$310 for car insurance
$270 for my mom’s loan from Moneylion
$218 for my loan from Moneylion
$289 for my loan from CashNetUSA (due June 10th, so it’s coming up)
Money for cleaning supplies, or someone buying them off our Amazon Wishlist, as we have a major inspection next month which determines if we can renew our lease in October
Money for groceries (mostly milk, bread, tortillas, cheese, ravioli cans for the kidlet)
If anyone wants to help on a monthly basis, I have Patreon tiers where you can get stuff if you want it each month. If you want to do one time help, I have P*ypal, V*nmo, C*sh App and Kofi. I also have an Amazon wishlist full of stuff we need (and a few things we want), which is where my cleaning supplies and stuff are.
Any help at all is greatly appreciated! I’m hoping I can get this all taken care of this month without too much trouble. Thank you, and may you be blessed!
$103/$1321+
I am probably going to be $145 overdrawn tomorrow but there was stuff I needed that couldn’t wait. I added it to the amount needed above.
$103/$1366
I ended up being $189 overdrawn. Please help me cover that and the rest of my bills?
I desperately need $30 for gas to make all my doctor appointments for me and my son this week.
I have about $26 for gas because it was sent via KoFi. But thank you so much!
@demberly needs mutual aid again, only for one specific bill. Her garbage pick-up is done on a three-month cycle, and she’s having to pay for three months even though only two months the garbage people actively collected trash (her family is allotted six bags at a time, and she had thirty, so they’re being asses about it).
She needs to raise $164.53 by June 8th. As her overdraft and insurance were covered by a gracious donor earlier in the month, she’s on her way to making sure she’s on track with her bills, but this one came as a surprise. Any help, even getting enough to help partially pay it, would be greatly appreciated.
This Pride Month, Help A Queer Spoonie Single Mom With Bills!
So I’m redoing the post because most of the stuff in the top part was obsolete by the 1st of June.
For anyone following my old post, rent was paid, but I was short by more than $100 so I had to take out another loan to cover the owed amount. I had some money left over so I paid the Internet bill and bought a new shredder for the household (we get a lot of credit card and loan offers). So now I have a $288 loan due July 2nd.
What I need money for now is the following:
$100 for the streaming bills/Amazon Prime (will be put on a credit card)
$89 for electricity
$310 for car insurance
$270 for my mom’s loan from Moneylion
$218 for my loan from Moneylion
$289 for my loan from CashNetUSA (due June 10th, so it’s coming up)
Money for cleaning supplies, or someone buying them off our Amazon Wishlist, as we have a major inspection next month which determines if we can renew our lease in October
Money for groceries (mostly milk, bread, tortillas, cheese, ravioli cans for the kidlet)
If anyone wants to help on a monthly basis, I have Patreon tiers where you can get stuff if you want it each month. If you want to do one time help, I have P*ypal, V*nmo, C*sh App and Kofi. I also have an Amazon wishlist full of stuff we need (and a few things we want), which is where my cleaning supplies and stuff are.
Any help at all is greatly appreciated! I’m hoping I can get this all taken care of this month without too much trouble. Thank you, and may you be blessed!
$103/$1321+
I am probably going to be $145 overdrawn tomorrow but there was stuff I needed that couldn’t wait. I added it to the amount needed above.
$103/$1366
I ended up being $189 overdrawn. Please help me cover that and the rest of my bills?
I desperately need $30 for gas to make all my doctor appointments for me and my son this week.
@demberly needs mutual aid again, only for one specific bill. Her garbage pick-up is done on a three-month cycle, and she’s having to pay for three months even though only two months the garbage people actively collected trash (her family is allotted six bags at a time, and she had thirty, so they’re being asses about it).
She needs to raise $164.53 by June 8th. As her overdraft and insurance were covered by a gracious donor earlier in the month, she’s on her way to making sure she’s on track with her bills, but this one came as a surprise. Any help, even getting enough to help partially pay it, would be greatly appreciated.
One of our Sponsorship Assistants reflects on the winter and her role in securing vital lifelines for children in need.
It is mid-winter and the cold is the only thing on my mind. Before I make a start on my work for the day I notice an unusual flush creeping over my complexion. The hint of heat on my cheeks thaws my cold hands so I cradle my face for a few minutes. I stop typing, I stop working and I start thinking.
***
I work in Interpal’s sponsorship department, processing requests and donations and delivering feedback from our projects in the field. In a nutshell, my role entails helping thousands of Palestinian children and their families to secure much needed aid. From my perspective, I see the donations process in its entirety, mediating between donors, staff in the field offices and our beneficiaries.
In amongst the administrative duties and everyday office tasks I have the unique privilege of hearing the stories of extraordinary children and their families. Even though I do not physically meet them, I am privy to intimate details about their lives. I know what they look like, (now and how they have changed and matured over the years), what they study at school, their aspirations and dreams for the future. But I also know of their difficulties. I see them grow up and vicariously experience their every joy and hardship from the distance of our office in London as they live through one of the most shameful periods in contemporary history; the Palestinian refugee crisis. Extraordinary children in extraordinary circumstances. The protracted displacement of the Palestinians is the longest running refugee crisis of our era and has now spilled over into the complications of other conflicts in the region, further muddying the waters until the international community finds it increasingly difficult to separate one set of causes from the effects of another.
Winter in London is a familiar visitor but one I cannot quite get used to. Of course, it has its moments of beauty, moments I enjoy best in my house, under the bed covers, tucked up in flannel pyjamas and drinking a steaming cup of hot chocolate. The long winter months seem to stretch out forever and it strikes me that despite any discomfort I may face, every year thousands of lives at home and abroad are lost because of vulnerability and our failure to act swiftly and humanely.
The winter is also a time of reflection, celebration and thankfulness. Year in year out, I am reminded of my many privileges. The list is endless, including in it the many inalienable social, political and economic freedoms we enjoy, but on a cold winter day like today, and even more on colder nights, I find myself ironically adding to my mental list the freedom from having to make the hard choices between feeding myself and my family and freezing to death.
Most people don’t realise just how cold it can get in the Middle East. The idea that people can freeze to death in a place that is so often characterised by desert heat and the image of a burning sun seems unimaginable. However, winters in Palestine are as harsh as ours if not more so, as our planet’s changing climate brings with it unexpected new weather patterns, catching people unprepared and thus engineering a catastrophe.
Other than the superficial comparisons my imagination can muster, I cannot comprehend the realities enough to authentically feel their emotions. I get first hand reports from our field offices, trawl through figures and statistics, listen to anecdotes, scroll through pictures and sometimes even videos. But what are facts to a distant and disconnected mind? Our minds can crunch numbers and register emotions, but even the power of empathy cannot fully feel what it is like to be a Palestinian refugee.
Many of the families I deal with directly do not have means of heating themselves or their property. Still more cannot afford winter clothing and do not even possess enough clothes to be able to layer up - one of the main winter safety tips offered by the NHS. Others are without shelter due to lasting damage or destruction from successive shelling and war. Food is also scarce and in the winter an empty stomach can increase the likelihood of death. Moreover, the healthcare facilities in the region are under-equipped due to the tight restrictions on what is allowed in and out of the territory. Social security is almost non-existent and many people are trapped in legal and political quagmires. This is an over-simplification of their struggle, of course, just know that the odds are not stacked in their favour.
This is why I cannot help but pay attention to the cold creeping over me. The shivering, the shuddering, and the stiff discomfort all strike me as stark reminders of my privilege. What about those living in the crowded refugee camps of Gaza, Lebanon and Jordan, and in the occupied territories of the West Bank? What about their parents, grandparents, their friends, their communities, all of whom are fighting to survive the cold amidst all of their other daily struggles?
My thoughts are interrupted once more by the incessant creeping of the cold. I, unlike Palestinian children and family, am well equipped to fight the winter and its blues. Almost without thinking, I flick the switch on the electric heater stationed neatly under my desk and take a long sip of my hot cup of tea, a British tradition I proudly claim during the winter months.
As I write this, I reflect on the ways in which we should not feel guilty for the privilege of warmth and wealth, but instead put these comforts to good use. Let us warm the hands and hearts of those who are struggling to survive the winter, and revive another great British tradition in this festive season, that of generously giving and caring about those in need.
One month homeless! Give it up for one month homeless!
I’m gonna start early! Happy pride month, wahoo, and if you’d like to keep a Black lesbian and her family from living in their car, please consider giving me some schmomey!
