41 y/o nonbinary trans woman, living in King County WA. Autistic, ADHD, depression, C-PTSD.
I'm currently enrolled in school, getting a massage therapy license. I've got about a month left, and I've run into a wall. I had a job at a local cafe working in the kitchen when I started, but I got fired from that in the end of October because "we aren't making ends meet." I picked up a job working in the school library for a while, but got let go from that a couple months ago because they hired too many students and I "wasn't being proactive enough in approaching others and asking for tasks", which they never mentioned before the day they let me go. To make matters worse, that last kitchen job decided to fight my unemployment claim a couple months after I had been receiving it, so now I'm expected to pay that back. It's also messed with my ability to get EBT or other state services, as that job and a couple others I got via temp agencies have me listed as still working for them, and they refuse to fill out or return stop work forms, despite multiple attempts to get them to do so.
I don't drive, so the distance I can travel for work is somewhat limited, and even making sure not to mention that to potential jobs, I haven't been able to find anything else. I've only been able to travel because I was lucky enough to get an "essential services" subsidized bus pass back when I was working in a kitchen during Covid, but that expires the end of this month. I've been volunteering at local food banks, shelters, and kitchens when I can fit it into my schedule.
I've been able to scrape by just barely through donations and food bank visits, but things have been adding up. I'm just finding out it could take as long as 2-3 months after graduation to get my license to be able to practice massage. I need 2-3 different kinds of insurance depending on where & how I work. Working massage out of the home has some ridiculous requirements Not to mention there are a lot of sketchy employers in this industry. Which I guess is true of most industries, but this one has some real gems in the "sleaze" and "you do most of the work for minimal pay" categories. Worst case scenario, I fall back on the culinary training and take another kitchen job while working on building a client list, although I've been looking for those jobs as well, and most won't even contact me back because I can't handle a full-time job and school. Either way, I'm trying to hold onto what hope I have left that something will work out in the next few months and I'll be able to at least scrape by without making these kinds of posts.
Current situation looks like this:
-$45 in the bank (no overdraft charges until -$50 or more, but they started charging $12/month again since I'm not getting direct deposit paychecks)
$80 for phone bill (12th)
~$110 month for electric (behind 2 months)
~$90 month internet (behind 2 months) (fuck Comcast)
~$120 for monthly bus pass (applied for reduced fare, may be cheaper)
~$50 monthly for meds (Medicaid covers most of the HRT essentials, but not progesterone or anti-androgens outside of spiro)
owe ~$1,200 to unemployment (They want ~$110 a month, but I don't mind skipping this for now, as long as they don't put out a warrant for me, I've got no wages to garnish, and would pay the installments once I'm working.)
School costs are taken care of, outside of the transportation. There's a bunch of debt there too, but it doesn't start getting interest for a few years.
Housing costs are thankfully covered by an ally who had a condo they weren't living in any more. We try to pay him at least a couple hundred a month to cover costs, and agreed on $600 a month when we were working, but he's got a decent income and has been understanding thus far.(I don't know what I'd do if I was truly homeless again.)
I don't have many friends, most in similar situations of barely getting by, and my family has dropped most contact with me since I started transition, except to try to convince me to stop. Not that they would offer any more support then, it's just what they want.
This is getting pretty lengthy even for me, someone with a strong urge to explain everything in exacting detail and rant about the frustrations involved with just trying to get by. But I'd be happy to share more if asked. I always think my stories are boring or mundane, but my life has been anything but typical, whatever that is, so maybe there's more interesting things there than I realize. I'd also be willing to provide massages for anyone who might be local to me, free of charge since I can't be paid for massage without a license.
My PayPal/Venmo/Cashapp is the same as my screen name here. If you have other methods you prefer to use, let me know. Even small donations help offset debt and costs of food and travel.
Thanks in advance to anyone who actually reads this. Even advice and good vibes are appreciated. Much love to all my comrades, keep fighting where you can in whatever way you can.
Bump A bit late, but as promised, here's the cat pic/tax Say hi to Dottie! Her coat is like a tux, almost all black fur, except white toes & a white patch on her neck that breaks up as it goes to her belly.
Tried several times but she wouldn't open her eyes in the flash, and getting her to move to a more well-lit area is a no go, as she absolutely detests being picked up.
We got her from a classmate of mine, she was the grandparents cat, but they were moving into a managed care facility and couldn't take her with them, so we volunteered to give her a home.
She's pretty chill, being an older cat, and the heat has her laying around doing absolutely nothing even more than usual. She loves being brushed, and I'm still working on getting her winter coat fully combed off so she isn't suffering more than she has to.
$45 of $85 raised, thanks again to all y'all!