Luxuries Tags

Hello, I would like to know if there is someone out there who could help me out. I make about $1400., net, each month. That income gets used up quite quickly on food, fuel, utilities, rent, and bills. Not much leftover to buy clothes or other small luxuries, such as make-up, or work shoes, etc.

It took me a very long time to do this, but I thought if I were in a position to help someone out, I would want to donate to someone like me. I'm a hard worker that doesn't make enough money to support me and my daughter, and my husband who can't find work.

We've been broke for several years and I can't allow my daughter to go without these much needed braces. The payment take a large bite out of my monthly income that I can't buy miscellaneous items we need.

I don't live in a home, either. I live in a R.V. But, I'm only asking for help paying for the braces.

I thank you for reading this post. I pray for continued blessings to you, and for me and my family.

Hello, I would like to know if there is someone out there who could help me out. I make about $1400., net, each month. That income gets used up quite quickly on food, fuel, utilities, rent, and bills. Not much leftover to buy clothes or other small luxuries, such as make-up, or work shoes, etc.

It took me a very long time to do this, but I thought if I were in a position to help someone out, I would want to donate to someone like me. I'm a hard worker that doesn't make enough money to support me and my daughter, and my husband who can't find work.

We've been broke for several years and I can't allow my daughter to go without these much needed braces. The payment take a large bite out of my monthly income that I can't buy miscellaneous items we need.

I don't live in a home, either. I live in a R.V. But, I'm only asking for help paying for the braces.

I thank you for reading this post. I pray for continued blessings to you, and for me and my family.

I'm looking for some help to get me and my family through till December. I need $5,000 to pay for my last semester of school. I'm working two jobs and so is husband. We are paying our bills on time and making the mortgage but there is nothing left over. Have two small kids. We don't have luxuries. I use it up, wear it out and use it again.

That's about it. I promise to pay it forward when I graduate and start making decent money. Thanks.

With the lowering of Federal pale grants from $7500 to $5500 i have begun to struggle immensely. Tuition costs are around $10,000 /yr for tuition alone. This does not include where/how you park, live, eat or pay bills. I need money for everyday luxuries, such as: food, electricity, rent and tuition. These payments come due in large lump sums and it is pretty outrageous for someone who is trying to better their education. Please someone find it in them to help. Thank you so much.

With the lowering of Federal pale grants from $7500 to $5500 i have begun to struggle immensely. Tuition costs are around $10,000 /yr for tuition alone. This does not include where/how you park, live, eat or pay bills. I need money for everyday luxuries, such as: food, electricity, rent and tuition. These payments come due in large lump sums and it is pretty outrageous for someone who is trying to better their education. Please someone find it in them to help. Thank you so much.

With the lowering of Federal pale grants from $7500 to $5500 i have begun to struggle immensely. Tuition costs are around $10,000 /yr for tuition alone. This does not include where/how you park, live, eat or pay bills. I need money for everyday luxuries, such as: food, electricity, rent and tuition. These payments come due in large lump sums and it is pretty outrageous for someone who is trying to better their education. Please someone find it in them to help. Thank you so much.

With the lowering of Federal pale grants from $7500 to $5500 i have begun to struggle immensely. Tuition costs are around $10,000 /yr for tuition alone. This does not include where/how you park, live, eat or pay bills. I need money for everyday luxuries, such as: food, electricity, rent and tuition. These payments come due in large lump sums and it is pretty outrageous for someone who is trying to better their education. Please someone find it in them to help. Thank you so much.

Dear Reader,

Thank you for taking time to read this. I have a young mare that I am desperate to have brought to me by tranport. I moved away from California in pursuit of a better paying job and to get out of escort work. I will do just about anything to avoid having to go back to that, including asking strangers for sincerely needed help. I am running out of time as the place she is kept at requires that she leave by the middle of April. I live with no luxuries, including no car to keep her because she means so much to me. Lucy makes my economic struggles worthwhile and provides motivation and gives me something to be happy about.

I'm a single mother of 3 growing boys. I'm a teacher, and in order to make ends meet, I've had to use my credit card for bills. I've had to use it sometimes for food, and whenever there is a large expense, like when my car breaks down. My credit card is now at it's limit of $10,500, and none of that was spent on luxuries. I need help to pay it off. Will you, please consider paying some of this for me? Thank you so much!

I am 32 years old, married with two children and like many others I am sure we are struggling in the recession. My husband and I both work full time, we have no holidays, drive old cars and have little luxuries and due to the negative equity we have in our property we are stuck in the small house that we live in. We have been saving hard to start building our own extension as we cannot afford a builder to take the job on, so my husband has agreed to try and do the work himself. We know that it will take so much longer but we do not have any choice. We are already on an interest only mortgage on an extremely high interest rate due to our negative equity so we cannot reduce our biggest outgoing at all. The reason we need to extend our house is that my daughter's room is so small that we cannot even buy a single bed to fit in the room so we need to get her out of her baby bed and into a normal size bed. If we could afford to move we would but we would owe the bank money if we sold up and that is just not an option. We need help to allow us to stay here as we are really running out of ideas. I feel very nervous and a bit weird doing this but we are doing everything we can from buying most of our food in the reduced aisle and I am selling the kids old clothes just to make some money so that we can start building our extension as we will be staying in the house for a lot longer than we planned. I understand that there are many people out there with very worthy causes and that we are a normal family with big money problems and that you may feel that this is way down the list of priorities, so I would like to thank you for taking the time to read this and for any help that you may be able to give.

I don't want to post a huge sob story here, as you can read those time and time again I'm sure. The short of my situation is my partner of 6 years has up and left leaving me with two children, a pile of debt and bills to pay. I have managed to keep our lives afloat for the past 6 months by downgrading to a small apartment, changing a lot of bills to pay as you go, cutting way back on luxuries and Christmas was definately a small affair this year...but still I don't see the end in sight. The scumbag has left me with £17000 of debt, I suppose it was my own fault as I allowed him to control our finances no questions asked. The only thing he left behind was a car bought with a loan in my name, which I have now sold unfortunately the price I got for the car wasn't what he paid for it, but that's how the world works I suppose. Any help would be greatly appreciated as I struggle monthly to pay my bills and just generally feed my children well. I am in the process of taking legal action against the monster that has left me like this, but finding him is apparently proving difficult. Even advice on how to handle this situation wouldn't go amiss with me. Thank you all for looking.

The medical bills keep coming.

We got in over our heads when we had to use our credit cards to meet deductibles plus the 20% we owed as part of medical expenses.

All this due to cancer.

Which I still have.

I was diagnosed in 1997.

I am desperate and sorry to be doing this.

If I could work outside the home, I would. My health does not allow me too. I applied for government assistance and was denied.

I quit working to become a stay-at-home-mother and because of that my social security disability credits expired.

We have been making late payments on everything: including mortgage, utilities, and of course, the credit card.

We live frugally. We do not have any luxuries. No iPads, iPhones, or fancy toys.

Our two cars are quite old and paid for, but keep giving us EXPENSIVE trouble.

There doesn't seem to be any end to pit that we were "forced" to dig because of my cancer and the endless bills.

I even had to go without medical insurance last year for six months. I was terrified, but we simply did not have the money to make the insurance premiums. I went without medications and medical care.

My heart is heavy with sorrow.

My husband works hard, but unfortunately, just does not make a lot of money. He tries. Bless his heart.

I would be so grateful for any amount you feel you could give.

Thank-you for reading this and considering a good and generous deed.

Sandieb

Please help! 37 year old mother of a 5 yr old and a 12 yr old is getting a divorce from my habitual liar husband. I thought I married the man I would spend the rest of my life with, I had planned on only doing it once. I do not work right now. I was doing hair when we met and he wanted me to quit and stay home with our son until he started school. I saw that our relationship was heading downhill and not getting any better and decided I need to go back to school to finish my Bachelor degree in Business Management. I am hoping to finish up by July or October of next year, 2012. I want to open my own business so I can support my wonderful children and give them the things they need and some of the things they want. My 2 children and I, along with our 2 small dogs, had to move in with my mother, uncle, grandmother, and brother. We have been here for a year on Dec 10th and have been separated from my husband that long. He has given me very little money for support in the past year, spent all the tax return, took out a loan on my previously paid off vehicle and spent that money, and ended up getting me in trouble with a bad check to our previous landlord. We had a 2007 Dodge Ram Quad cab, I was primary on the loan, he was secondary, and he said he was trading it in for a Chevy Equinox, better gas mileage and cheaper payments. this was 3 months ago. I am now realizing, how can you trade in a vehicle when the other person on the loan never signed the papers? So now I have people calling me saying they are coming after me for the Dodge truck. I have no clue what I'm going to have to or be able to do on that.

He put a bunch of our stuff in storage when we separated, we moved to Missouri with my mom and he moved in with a friend in Iowa and then LOST it, so I don't have a lot of stuff I've worked for and had before we even met. The list of stuff he lost...5 seat sectional with chaise lounger, 37" flat screen tv, PS2 and about 12 games, Wii and 2 games, new surround sound, 5 disc stereo system, new bluray player, box of my season dvds like Smallville, Friends, One Tree Hill and ER, a huge box of my Disney VHS that I had been collecting since high school, nice new short entertainment center, 2 end tables, 2 lamps, washer and dryer, refrigerator, tall dining table with chairs, vacuum, electric can opener, butcher block knife set, corelware dishes, stainless steel pots and pan set, toaster, king bed, bookcase, desk, riding lawnmower, 2 weed eaters, etc. I probably could keep going.

I'm living on the good will and love my family offers and my small student loan refunds. I get NO child support. I am looking to pay off $15,000 in student loans, the $6200 loan on my Tahoe, the $1100 bad check and a couple hundred in lawyer fees, and the $1,400 Target Visa he ran up and let go bad. I need 4 new tires, an alignment, and a new windshield on the Tahoe. I would like to build my children and I a house in the next 3-4 years.

My goals...
~ Finish my BSBA in Management, end of 2012.
~ Thinking about getting my MBA.
~ Open my business, if you are interested I can tell you about it. Looking for potential investors. Working toward fall of 2012, may have to be fall of 2013.
~ Build my kids and I a house, which my mother will eventually come live with us. Right now she is taking care of my grandmother. If my business takes off like I foresee, I would like to build as I have the money so I don't have a mortgage, or put 50% down and get a loan for the rest.
~Be happy in life!

I am an honest Christian woman and I believe that the bills should be paid first BEFORE you go out and blow any money on luxuries such as eating out. He eats out a lot!

If you find it in your heart to help me out, please send me a note with how you would like for me to use the money, 3 choices as there will hopefully be others who can help me, and I can send you proof that that bill was paid. This is new to me and my first attempt at "cyberbegging", which has taken all I have. I am proud and have done many things on my own, so it is very humiliating for me to have to take this route.

I would assume your donation is tax deductible, but you will have to check on that.

If this works for me, I will give back and help out others who need it.

God Bless you and your family. Happy Holidays!

Please help! 37 year old mother of a 5 yr old and a 12 yr old is getting a divorce from my habitual liar husband. I thought I married the man I would spend the rest of my life with, I had planned on only doing it once. I do not work right now. I was doing hair when we met and he wanted me to quit and stay home with our son until he started school. I saw that our relationship was heading downhill and not getting any better and decided I need to go back to school to finish my Bachelor degree in Business Management. I am hoping to finish up by July or October of next year, 2012. I want to open my own business so I can support my wonderful children and give them the things they need and some of the things they want. My 2 children and I, along with our 2 small dogs, had to move in with my mother, uncle, grandmother, and brother. We have been here for a year on Dec 10th and have been separated from my husband that long. He has given me very little money for support in the past year, spent all the tax return, took out a loan on my previously paid off vehicle and spent that money, and ended up getting me in trouble with a bad check to our previous landlord. We had a 2007 Dodge Ram Quad cab, I was primary on the loan, he was secondary, and he said he was trading it in for a Chevy Equinox, better gas mileage and cheaper payments. this was 3 months ago. I am now realizing, how can you trade in a vehicle when the other person on the loan never signed the papers? So now I have people calling me saying they are coming after me for the Dodge truck. I have no clue what I'm going to have to or be able to do on that.

He put a bunch of our stuff in storage when we separated, we moved to Missouri with my mom and he moved in with a friend in Iowa and then LOST it, so I don't have a lot of stuff I've worked for and had before we even met. The list of stuff he lost...5 seat sectional with chaise lounger, 37" flat screen tv, PS2 and about 12 games, Wii and 2 games, new surround sound, 5 disc stereo system, new bluray player, box of my season dvds like Smallville, Friends, One Tree Hill and ER, a huge box of my Disney VHS that I had been collecting since high school, nice new short entertainment center, 2 end tables, 2 lamps, washer and dryer, refrigerator, tall dining table with chairs, vacuum, electric can opener, butcher block knife set, corelware dishes, stainless steel pots and pan set, toaster, king bed, bookcase, desk, riding lawnmower, 2 weed eaters, etc. I probably could keep going.

I'm living on the good will and love my family offers and my small student loan refunds. I get NO child support. I am looking to pay off $15,000 in student loans, the $6200 loan on my Tahoe, the $1100 bad check and a couple hundred in lawyer fees, and the $1,400 Target Visa he ran up and let go bad. I need 4 new tires, an alignment, and a new windshield on the Tahoe. I would like to build my children and I a house in the next 3-4 years.

My goals...
~ Finish my BSBA in Management, end of 2012.
~ Thinking about getting my MBA.
~ Open my business, if you are interested I can tell you about it. Looking for potential investors. Working toward fall of 2012, may have to be fall of 2013.
~ Build my kids and I a house, which my mother will eventually come live with us. Right now she is taking care of my grandmother. If my business takes off like I foresee, I would like to build as I have the money so I don't have a mortgage, or put 50% down and get a loan for the rest.
~Be happy in life!

I am an honest Christian woman and I believe that the bills should be paid first BEFORE you go out and blow any money on luxuries such as eating out. He eats out a lot!

If you find it in your heart to help me out, please send me a note with how you would like for me to use the money, 3 choices as there will hopefully be others who can help me, and I can send you proof that that bill was paid. This is new to me and my first attempt at "cyberbegging", which has taken all I have. I am proud and have done many things on my own, so it is very humiliating for me to have to take this route.

I would assume your donation is tax deductible, but you will have to check on that.

If this works for me, I will give back and help out others who need it.

God Bless you and your family. Happy Holidays!

I am unemployed with 3 kids, 2 in which are in school. My 21 year old son has moved in with us so he could help out. This is just to much for him even though he doesn't complain one bit. He makes minimum wage and I feel so guilty that he feels this burden is his to bear. He deserves to be out and enjoying being young and not trying to take care of my responsibilities. I am asking for some financial help to get my bills caught up, so my son can breathe and maybe keep a roof over our heads. I am grateful for his help but minimum wage is $7.75 and its just not enough. We are drowning in debt. I am not asking for help with any luxuries like phone or cable, just help with food,rent,water and lights. I am looking for a job daily and I know God won't allow anymore on our shoulders than we can handle. Please if you can help please email me at aprildiamonds73@hotmail.com. God Bless

I am a 32 year old working mom of three beautiful children and I have the most wonderful husband anyone could ask for. We have the perfect mid-west life. We both work full time (and enjoy what we do), have a nice home, we're able to afford some luxuries in life although in moderation, that is enough for me. I enjoy cooking, and entertaining in my time off from work, and spending family time with my kids, parents, and neighbors. My children are Jordon (age 13), Logan (age 10), and Brianna (age 9). The kids are active in sports, and in our small community we are well known, and frequently can be seen volunteering at community events, church, and our local high school, of which we are both alumni. I live less than two miles from the home I grew up in. Sounds perfect if you ask me.

On February 18th, 2011 our son Logan (age 10) was diagnosed with a large brain tumor. He was not having many symptoms only occasional headaches. I was concerned that he may have been developing migraines and so I took him to see our family physician. His physical exam was normal including a rather thorough neurological exam. Dr. Arntz agreed with my initial thought and prescribed him some migraine medication. What a relief! He asked us to get a CT scan of Logan's head only as a precaution and he even stated that he didn't think there was any real concern, just a precaution. 5 days later, we were heading to the University of Michigan; Mott's childrens hospital because his precautionary CT scan had confirmed the worst for us. A 6 cm brain tumor in the posterior fossa of Logan's brain. Causing the cerebral spinal fluid to back up and create pressure in his head (hence the headaches).

Before leaving the house for the hospital we gave Logan a brief description of the problem, and explained to him that we didn't know what was going to happen next but we were going to the hospital to find out. You could see the worry on him but he was tough, shrugged his shoulders and said, "Well, I guess I better call it something, I think I'll name it Steve." So off we went, notifying family on the way to the hospital, and completely sick to my stomach.

Three days later we would embark on the scariest days of my life. Logan was promptly scheduled for surgery the following Monday and we were told there was a high probability that the tumor was cancerous. Dr. Cormac Maher performed 14 hours of brain surgery on Logan on Monday February 21st, and confirmed our fears that Logan indeed had a cancerous brain tumor called medulloblastoma. Then more bad news the post operative MRI showed that they had been able to remove all of the tumor and Logan would need more surgery. The next day he underwent another 6 hours of brain surgery. We caught it early but based on where the tumor sat he may not be able to talk or walk normally for 3-6 months. Lucky for us he talks and walks very well all things considered. But there has been radiation therapy and chemo therapy will continue until February or March of next year. There is a 75-80% chance of survivability, I feel blessed with those odds.

Logan is doing very well but this situation has put an incredible financial burden on us. I am falling behind on bills and need help. Andy is working constantly and I even started a second job on the weekends to try to help supplement the lost income from prescriptions, gas to and from the hospital, and just having to take time off work for appointments and Logan's sick days... I don't know what else to do. The banks have tried thankfully to work with us but our circumstance is not going to change for quite awhile longer. Our family's do not have a lot of money, and have already tried to help so much that I think it may be putting a strain on them as well. The church sends gas cards occasionally but there is just not enough to keep us going for the next year.

Here' s the kicker, Logan started his own Relay for Life team. I had taken him to a local expo about 3 weeks after he had been discharged from the hospital because I thought it would be good exercise for him to walk around and there would be lot's to look at, and there was a booth for the American Cancer Society. He walked up to the lady at the booth and he said " How old do you have to be to have a team?" She signed him up on the spot. Logan Bailey's Super Survivors have raised $8300.00 for the American Cancer Society! He's only a little more than $1600.00 away from his goal of raising $10000.00 for the Relay for Life. We've held auctions, bake sales, and concerts. It's been a wonderful distraction for him and he is super excited about reaching that fund-raising goal. We have asked our friends to contribute to his goals in lieu of giving us personal financial assistance. It's more important to me that his endeavors to do more for others, are successful.

We cannot change Logan's circumstance. He will always be a brain cancer survivor, and I will forever be a medullo-mom. But, if we can make this even minutely easier for others having to face it after us then we will do it. Logan donated "Steve the brain tumor" to medical research and he volunteered to participate in a medical research trial for his treatments. We hope that the money raised for the American Cancer Society will make a difference in research and support for anyone suffering with a cancer diagnosis. We hope that the research will make the work of wonderful, selfless, people like Dr. Maher and his team easier and more successful. If I had been diagnosed with this same type of cancer at the age of ten it would have been a terminal diagnosis... the research is working!!

I need help, I need financial help for my family so that we can stop the worrying over finances and concentrate on bringing our entire family through this successfully looking at it in a positive light and remembering that we did it with hearts full of love and with others in mind. Logan is a truly remarkable child and I am so proud of him. I anxiously await your response Thank you for your consideration.

Logan Bailey's Biggest Fan!!

First I want to thank anyone who is considering donating money to raise myself and my child out of debt. I have never begged for anything, but I have no other choice but to ask for help at this time in my life. I am a 41 year old single mother of a 14 month old child. My son's father left me at 4 months pregnant for a 19 year old girl who knew me and knew I was pregnant. They had no remorse for what they did either. My son's father has had practically no involvement in my sons life other than paying child support. The child support that I receive is very minimal because his father is on commission where he works and I never know what I'm going to receive. I lost my job in 2007 where I was making over $50,000 a year and now I'm making about half that with an additional mouth to feed. I never thought I would get to this place in my life. I've tried looking for a higher paying job, but with no completed college education no one will hire me for the amount of money I was making before. I have sought out help with Medicaid, food stamps, WIC, etc. but I make just a "little" too much money for what they allow. I have a house and have tried to remodify my loan and refinance it but I have been rejected left and right. I have considered selling my house, but I do not want my son raised in an apartment with all the pedophiles and criminals that are out there.(I am barely able to make my house payments and may lose my home anyway) I think my home and my neighborhood are much safer. I have exhausted all the resources I can. I am currently doing online surveys just to get a few dollars here and there to just pay for gas to and from work. I'm praying this will be a temporary situation as I continue to look for a higher paying position and hope to one day to get a degree. I don't believe in just living off the system and not doing something in return to better oneself. Any assistance would be greatly appreciated and when my son grows up I will let him know how generous people can be in a time of need. Please find it in your heart to help someone in need who isn't trying to just scam someone to make themselves rich. I just want to get by and make my son happy. I don't need any luxuries, but he does. Praying for help!

I am in desperate need of help. I am now a single mom of 3 lovely girls – 12, 8 and 9 months. I am finally at the end of a very nasty divorce. I have a full-time job and go to school for nursing in the evening and on weekends. I’m trying to do this so I can spend more time with my girls and we can live comfortably again. The lawyer fees have pretty much ate up all my savings. I am now covered to my neck in outstanding bills and don’t know what to do. To save money, I have cut off a lot of luxuries like cable, cell phones and internet.

I know it’s a lot to ask but I need about $5,000 to $6,000 to get out of this mess I’m in and to be able to stay in school. I’m in the process of fighting an eviction. I have to have $1,000 to the apt. complex by Aug.5th or they are going to put us out!! My car was taken back Friday and I don’t even have the money to get my girls the supplies or clothes they need for school. Let alone, keep pampers on my baby and milk the fridge.

If you could help, I would really appreciate it. Thank you so much for taking the time to read.

Hello, I am asking for help with rent for my daughter, her husband and their two small children, ages 3 and 1. She is not working, and her husband was laid off but not able to collect any unemployment benefits yet and is behind on their rent. Her rent is $500 month. I am so afraid that they are going to be homeless if we can't find her some assistance. She has gone to several agencies in her area looking for assistance but so far no one has been able to assist her with help. I am on disability so I unfortunately do not have the funds to help my daughter and her family. My daughter has just had surgery so is unable to work for a couple of months. I'm scared with winter coming soon. I don't know how they will keep heat in their home also. They are just a young small, struggling family who lives with in their means. They don't have any luxuries, and just needs a little help to help them through this hurdle. If anyone out there can help my daughter and her family, I would be ever so grateful to you.

Like many wide eyed young students, I was under the impression that getting a 4 year degree would help me snag a pretty sweet job. Likewise, like many graduates, I have come to the realization that this promise is a tall tale spun by universities and lenders trying to leach off my future living funds. If I take the suggested route to pay back these student loans I will, in fact, be paying a total of $182,00 after interest attacks.

To help combat this large sum of debt (and this extra $82,000 I didn't even spend on anything) I have decided to take every possible route I can to ensure that my parents can live life knowing their daughter can afford to eat.

My first steps: I am moving to a state where I can make more money (alone and scared, but ready to pay these suckers off). I am also giving up any luxuries I once afforded myself (Ramen noodles are quickly becoming my best friend) and (as you can see) begging for money. Just $1 from 100,0000 people could knock this debt out. I am relying on my own determination as well as on the kindness of strangers.

I am also toying with the ideas of 1. faking my own death and building a raft to float to another country, 2. joining the Peace Corps, because I heard they might pay off some of your debt, or 3. becoming a stripper, because the jobs I have found so far afford less money than my last resort (which is number 3, so you know).

So, in summation, I would like to ask all you strangers out there to donate even a penny to my sad circumstance. In return for a larger sum I could draw or paint someone a pretty picture and update them as my situation progresses. I also make a wonderful pen pal. All you have to do is check out my PayPal. For a dollar a month you could help me meet the basic necessities of life (such as food and not faking my own death).

Thank you for your time.

I am just a normal person like anyone else, making an honest living and taking care of my daughter.

I made a mistake and maxed out my credit card last year paying for small things that my daughter and I needed, but could not afford at the time with my job. The small things added up and before I knew it, I maxed out my card.

I have done everything I can think of in order to pay it off asap, but am running out of ideas. I have done Ebay, garage sales, got rid of luxuries such as dish tv, couponing, no eating out ever, etc....and do not want to go get a loan and end up in the same spot only owing money to a different person.

Any contribution will help..I just want to take this weight off and finally be debt free.I now only owe about $2,000 on my credit card. I know that this is not a life or death situation, but I decided to be completely honest,with no white lies to make it into a sob-story, and hope for the best. Thank you and God Bless you!

My name is Matt. A few years ago I started a non-profit organization to encourage students to pursue careers in science, math and technology. There's a tremendous shortage of engineers and scientists in the country. I thought this was a need I could help with. For awhile, I worked on it while also having a regular "day" job as a software programmer and website developer. Earlier this year, I realized the workload had become too much to have two full-time jobs, so I left my "day" job to focus on the non-profit. Of course, this isn't a good time for non-profit organizations or charities. In fact, donations and grants are almost zero at this point.

The organization is the Aerospace Research & Engineering Systems Institute, Inc., http://www.aresinstitute.org. If you visit the website and click on the "About" link, you can read more about it and there's also a link to the official IRS registration of our 501 c(3) tax-exempt status.

So, here's the situation...

Since the spring, I've put as much as I can into the company from my personal assets to keep it alive. I've sacrificed my car, luxuries like cable TV (ALL luxuries, in fact) and have even reduced my food budget to next-to-nothing. I'm actually relying on friends donations of food and household items otherwise I'd be down and out for sure.

I do NOT have any credit card debt; do NOT have student loans; have NOT lived beyond my means; and I have never bought luxury items or things not necessary to live. In short, I live within my means and sacrifice as much as I need to. I haven't been foolish by running up credit cards, buying a house or car that I can't afford or going to movies and vacations when I can't afford it. In other words, I know I'm doing the right thing and playing by the "rules" such as they are.

I'll also point out that I have been employed, full-time, since the 1990's. I still work every day, 12+ hours, and don't intend to change that.

So, no debt, full-time job, what's the problem? The problem is that I put so much into the non-profit that I am not exactly financially self-sufficient right now. Worse than that, more importantly, the non-profit (like many these days) is struggling to remain viable. There's just no money out there it seems.

Because of that, I'm turning to any resource I can find on the internet and off in order to ask the good people who are around for assistance. I'm not asking for any specific amount - $1 or $100, it's all helpful. It will help me personally as well as my company as it tries to make it through the recession as well.

If anyone out there can help, please use the PayPal Donate button on here. I can't offer anything in return except eternal gratitude, although I wish I could do more.

Thanks so much.

I have always wanted to give money away. Whenever I have dreamed of winning on the football pools or lottery, one of the things I've always wanted to do with my winnings is to be able to hand out cash to total strangers who looked like they genuinely need it. Not huge amounts, but lots of small amounts, to individuals that I spot day by day. Not to apparent wastrels. Just enough to make someone's day. And to do so without waiting around to be thanked. I would
hand the money over in a sealed envelope with an anonymous note inside, explaining that there's no catch, that it's money I've obtained honestly and which is surplus to my needs, and that it's now theirs to spend on whatever. It wouldn't be accompanied by any promotional material or pious text. I would like to be able to do that almost every day. Anonymously and unobtrusively.

I know what it feels like to be poor. I was 6, with 3 younger sisters, when our Dad died in a car crash. My mother worked her socks off to keep hold of our modest home, and to feed and clothe us. We never had luxuries such as holidays or smart toys or a car. Occasionally individuals would help us - by gifting firewood or a bucket of coal, or vegetables from their garden. I've never forgotten their generosity. They were mostly people
who didn't have much themselves.

I am now into my sixties. I get by. But I don't have money to spare beyond paying the basic household bills. Give me some money, if you can spare it - and I will share it. Some of it I will keep for myself, but most of it I will take great pleasure in handing out. The more I get, the more I
will give - and the greater the pleasure I will get from doing so (I know that because I have done it before, at times when I was slightly better off than now).

I have always wanted to give money away. Whenever I have dreamed of winning on the football pools or lottery, one of the things I've always wanted to do with my winnings is to be able to hand out cash to total strangers who looked like they genuinely need it. Not huge amounts, but lots of small amounts, to individuals that I spot day by day. Not to apparent wastrels. Just enough to make someone's day. And to do so without waiting around to be thanked. I would
hand the money over in a sealed envelope with an anonymous note inside, explaining that there's no catch, that it's money I've obtained honestly and which is surplus to my needs, and that it's now theirs to spend on whatever. It wouldn't be accompanied by any promotional material or pious text. I would like to be able to do that almost every day. Anonymously and unobtrusively.

I know what it feels like to be poor. I was 6, with 3 younger sisters, when our Dad died in a car crash. My mother worked her socks off to keep hold of our modest home, and to feed and clothe us. We never had luxuries such as holidays or smart toys or a car. Occasionally individuals would help us - by gifting firewood or a bucket of coal, or vegetables from their garden. I've never forgotten their generosity. They were mostly people
who didn't have much themselves.

I am now into my sixties. I get by. But I don't have money to spare beyond paying the basic household bills. Give me some money, if you can spare it - and I will share it. Some of it I will keep for myself, but most of it I will take great pleasure in handing out. The more I get, the more I
will give - and the greater the pleasure I will get from doing so (I know that because I have done it before, at times when I was slightly better off than now).

I have always wanted to give money away. Whenever I have dreamed of winning on the football pools or lottery, one of the things I've always wanted to do with my winnings is to be able to hand out cash to total strangers who looked like they need it. Not huge amounts, but lots of small amounts, to individuals that I spot day by day. Not to apparent wastrels. Just enough to make someone's day. And to do so without waiting around to be thanked. I would
hand the money over in a sealed envelope with an anonymous note inside, explaining that there's no catch, that it's money I've obtained honestly and which is surplus to my needs, and that it's now theirs to spend on whatever. It wouldn't be accompanied by any promotional material or pious text. I would like to be able to do that almost every day. Anonymously and unobtrusively.

I know what it feels like to be poor. I was 6, with 3 younger sisters, when my father died in a car crash. My mother worked her socks off to keep hold of our modest home, and to feed and clothe us. We never had luxuries such as holidays or smart toys or a car. Occasionally individuals would help us - by gifting firewood or a bucket of coal, or vegetables from their garden. I've never forgotten their generosity. They were mostly people
who didn't have much themselves.

I am now into my sixties. I get by. But I don't have money to spare beyond paying the basic household bills. Give me some money, if you can spare it - and I will share it. Some of it I will keep for myself, but most of it I will take great pleasure in handing out. The more I get, the more I
will give - and the greater the pleasure I will get from doing so (I know that because I have done it before, at times when I was slightly better off than now).