Hey folks. I'm not particularly experienced or good at asking for help; among many things, it's something I'm working on. This is my best attempt at trying to be transparent with some financial issues I've been wrangling with, and an invitation for assistance from any who are meaningfully and safely capable. Despite the large goal - which I'll explain in a second - any amount is more breathing room than I currently have, and more of a toehold toward a boulder that seems to want to do its darnedest to roll back down the mountain. Debt breakdown $2.1k of back taxes from April, $3.9k of fire/emergency-room/suspension/covid credit debt, $1.9k of blizzard credit, $2.0 in surprise contested medical collections $9.9k total the boulder, described Like for most of us, the '20's really haven't been my decade so far. 2024 had me breaking my foot; then two not-at-fault car accidents that yielded two separate doses of whiplash that combined to impact my mobility, a severe traumatic brain injury that impacts speech and memory, and the beginning of unabated chronic pain. 2024 involved a change in housing that involved a 13-day notice, my ongoing physical and neurological therapy, and the starting of a new job in the semiconductor industry with rigorous work conditions (often eleven hours of monitoring expensive scientific equipment), which necessitated buying a car for a commute out of state, which put me into debt for the first time. Things had been meagre before, pretty constantly as a theme growing up, but it was my first foray into negative money, seen as an investment in attempting to swap careers into something more lucrative that could orient myself and my loved ones toward some greater financial security. 2024 kicked off with a total housefire in February, and the medical impacts of prolonged smoke inhalation from burning aldehyde-based insulation and cyanide-treated timbers; there were some rather severe impacts on my already-impacted cognitive function and memory issues, as well as temporary impacts to internal organ function for the next handful of months. The fault of the fire was determined to be inconclusive, so my renter's insurance was oriented toward paying off half the damages, and though medically insured through work - and my partner and I being provided some very kind community financial and material assistance which covered a bit of our medical bills and got us clothed and operational - hazmat removal, industrial dumpster rentals, emergency room bills, further doctor's bills, replacing inescapably necessary possessions, and the U-Hauls of having to move four times snowballed into indebtedness of about $6.5k that I hoped I could take care of via my income from work, and began steadily trying to chip away at, bringing it down to $3.8k. In April, immune systems impacted by the smoke, we caught covid, which caused me to accrue negative pto and has ongoing medical impacts that I'm still determining. In June, the statute of limitations regarding my 2024 car accidents came up, with the financial obligation leaving the car insurance pending a final settlement, requiring me to cut off my medical treatment. The ambiguity of the transition out of assistance led some of the final bills to be sent to me rather than to GEICO, to the tune of $1.9k; notice of these bills and portions of my emergency room billing that hadn't yet been disclosed would not end up being sent to me until 2024, by way of them entering collections. In August, my suspension blew, and required lump sum payment of $2.3k. In November of 2024, I was dismissed from my job for my output falling in comparison to the three microscopists I was training; the extensive training documention that I wrote to assist them remains the intellectual property of the lab. Because of working in Washington, state income taxes were not being taken from my paychecks, and since I'd not known that my relationship with my work had deteriorated before the meeting 45m before I had to leave the building, I'd intended to financially focus on paying those $2.1k in taxes after I had paid off the remaining 6.1k of debt (that I was aware of), which at the rate of pay I was making at the lab, I could've achieved by March at the latest. As mentioned above, that ended up not being the case. In December, I started a new job at a much lower pay rate, spun out on the Sauvie Island bridge (yielding more automotive damage), and came to an awareness that the work trade housing situation that my partner and I were in was a bad faith agreement in which we weren't informed of our lodgings being condemned by the county, nor that the enterprise we were assisting was in violation of the county. 2024 began with more moving expenses, a severe jump in housing costs, and the blizzard that shut down my work for an extended period of time and gave cover for someone to smash the window of my stranded vehicle and take a couple thousand dollars of tools. Despite not having work for several weeks, expenses continued, and I accrued about $2k more in debts related to medical care, groceries, and automotive maintenance (to keep it driveable; the smashed window being elective, it's still tarped). I was approved for snap food financial assistance, but because it's primarily weighted toward pay rate rather than hours variability, I was approved for less than $25 a month. the current situation That bring us to the past month. I'd largely been able to stay on top of things, paying the monthly minimums on the $2.1k of back taxes from April, the $3.9k of fire/emergency-room/suspension credit debt, the $1.9k of blizzard credit debt, as well as steadily paying off my car (only $800 left!), and keeping up monthly insurance, rent, utilities, cell phone, and storage. It's a lot, and it's intimidating, but it's been doable if somewhat enduring. There's been a hope that a portion of my settlement from the accident arbitration that began a year ago would someday alleviate a portion of the pressure, at least of the medical debts, and would help alleviate concerns about future employment through allowing me to resume physical and neurological care. However in the past two weeks, the unpaid creditor that GEICO left ambiguous filed a lawsuit against me for the surprise $2.0k that I only found out about a couple weeks prior, and they cancelled the Independent Medical Examiner appointment without telling either me or my legal counsel; I've no confidence that this will be resolved by the end of the year, now. I also only got scheduled for a couple shifts in the past two weeks, and managed to get another shift wedged in there through direct request, despite full time open availability; this is a standard component of the seasonality of my new industry, and had the past couple years been anything than what they were, it's something I could probably weather without some fairly extreme financial duress. I... Don't know what to do. I'm doing my best, and it doesn't seem to be enough; somewhat of a running theme the past couple months. I'm trying this, as a start. I've been applying to other jobs with higher pay and more consistent hours. I've been looking into debt relief programs. I'm just really overwhelmed, and I feel kinda backed into a corner. Anyway. Thank you for reading all this, if you've gotten this far. If you end up giving, please let me know if there's anything I can do to help be in reciprocity with the gift. Regardless of whatever gaffes I may make in navigating my embarrassment for needing it, I'm truly grateful for my community, and hope to find some rest and relief in whatever leverage might be able to be provided. Thank you. Nic
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