So, I have long had goals in life that many would consider small by American standards: I want a tiny house of some kind, some kind of transportation (a ebike would be great if I stay in a city, but if I don't, I might need a car, which I've never had before, and I turn 40 in less than a month), solar panels for my power needs, and my basic needs not constantly in question (food for me and the cats, electric which would hopefully be covered by solar panels). I dream of my little tiny home, parked in the woods somewhere, happily click clacking on my typewriter and snuggling cats. I don't want a ginormous house that I can't maintain and is way more than I need; I don't want some luxury expensive lifestyle. I want a simple life, with plenty of trees and cats to hug. Maybe even a dog!
A what??
But the problem is, once you're in the cycle of poverty, it's really hard to climb out. I've complained about this viscous circle before so I won't get into it really, but suffice to say I am not one of those privileged people who is able to give up some good paying job I never had to life a simpler life and sell a big house I never owned to build a tiny like you might see in the media. That's all well and good, but for me having a low-cost-to-upkeep tiny house would be a step up, not a vow of poverty, so to speak.
People say to ask for help, but I feel like I'm always asking for help as it is, just for basic survival so I don't end up on the street and the cats have food and maybe I do, too. I've seen the upfundmes but I haven't done one myself because, I don't know, I guess I figure people are sick of me always needing a hand, and if I need to do one, it will probably be for cat food.
allergy-safe cat food so Yuan isn't constantly barfing his guts out costs around $3 per can, I shit you not. Unfortunately, he's still getting the poops
Anyway. So looking through the #upfundme tag today, and after seeing so many great fundraisers, I thought, maybe it's ok to ask for help in ways that might help me become more sustainable, so one day I need less help, and also so that I have a smaller environmental footprint.
Don't worry, I'm not asking you to fund a tiny house here, but I thought I could take a small step toward that overarching goal and do a smaller fundraiser for three things that would be a little strep in the right direction.
You might remember a while back I attempted to make an investment in this vein by purchasing a small solar panel + battery, with the idea I could charge my Kindle (which is my computer, and getting more glitchy by the day) and phone on it, putting a little dent in my electric bill. Unfortunately, the battery pack part works fine, but the solar panel is near useless. So item #1 is a better solar panel which can plug into the battery pack and make the system functional. It costs about the same as the battery pack did, at $32.98 plus tax.
Item #2 is a solar lantern. I mostly work by one lamp at night anyway, and (hopefully) this one charges itself so it wouldn't be a load on the solar panel, either (LED lights generally are easy to charge with their solar panels, so it shouldn't be a problem). These two things would take care of a fair % of my electric needs, besides appliances. This lamp is currently $18.99 + tax on Amazon.
Since shipping on Amazon is free if you spend $25, I added a book I've had on my wish list for years, because it will help me learn how to do more things for myself. The description, taken from Amazon: "Growing vegetables and raising livestock is only the beginning of a successful homestead — that fresh food goes to waste unless you can properly prepare, cook, and preserve it. Andrea Chesman shows you how to bridge the gap between field and table, covering everything from curing meats and making sausage to canning fruits and vegetables, milling flour, working with sourdough, baking no-knead breads, making braises and stews that can be adapted to different cuts of meat, rendering lard and tallow, pickling, making butter and cheese, making yogurt, blanching vegetables for the freezer, making jams and jellies, drying produce, and much more. You’ll learn all the techniques you need to get the most from homegrown foods, along with dozens of simple and delicious recipes, most of which can be adapted to use whatever you have available."
That sounds like a wealth of useful knowledge to me, most of which I do not know. It would for sure help me be more sustainable, but in a different way. The book is currently $8.53 plus tax.
I estimated 7% tax on everything, for a grand total of $64.74. So my fundraising goal will be $65, which at today's prices would be 52 SBD or 45.14 Steem.
I'm sure a lot of people would think this is a silly fundraiser, but just like whenever I got a tool from the list of tools to build a tiny house, I felt like I was a little closer to my dream, this would feel like that too. It would be big to me. 💚
Thank you to anyone who sees fit to upvote this fundraiser. I appreciate you! 💙
That Red Fish your momma always warned you about
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Awwwww.... Situation is like rich get richer and poor get more poor. Thank god that I'm self sufficient and have wonderful companions and you are one of them.I wish to ask God to plant a tree that shed dollars in your garden area....you are such a nice human being.
Yeah! I have read about that solar panels in some of your posts. That's an interesting idea. I want to give out something from my side for your campaign. Since my upvote value is not that worth....I'm sending it in you account.
Thank you so much!
Thank you so much!
muy bonito tu cat excellent photo
Gracias 😸
Considering you are a published writer, a GoFundMe campaign could be set up with that as a theme; providing it would not put too much pressure on you, causing Writer's Block. 😎
The funding could be asked for so as to allow you to give full attention to your writing.
Btw, do you really use a typewriter? There is an IBM Electric in a rental unit of mine which is in the process of getting cleaned out. Would that be of interest to you? It was the height of typewriter technology in the day. 😎
Yup, I really write on a 1940s typewriter, and I love him. His name is Amergin. He helps me focus, the writing being more tactile. The published novel was written on him in its first draft. 😊
I don't know if I could do that (a GoFundMe); it's not like I have lots of fans. 😂 I've thought about Patreon too but I don't produce material fast enough.
Edit to add: I just saw my wallet! Thank you sooo much! 💛
A sweet ride! Tap, tap, tap. 😎
I'm sorry Yuan is still having issues even with the special food. Yes anything out of the ordinary is more. I've started Jax on grain free and low carbohydrates it's more expensive but he likes it called avoderm . I hope you soon find something that works for him. <3
Good luck to Jax, too! 💜
Sorry to hear Yuan is still struggling a bit...
Anyway, a totally worthy fundraiser... 100% upvote coming your way. And I really like that you're steering in the direction of energy independence... part of the way to get out of the "cycle" is to start by getting OFF the cycle that keeps us trapped.
=^..^=
Thank you! And exactly, that was my thought, regarding energy independence. My bills are not much, but every little bit I don't have to throw at a never ending cycle helps!
I think the secret to leaving the poverty cycle may just be to keep removing "tiny bits" and then finding ways to add "tiny bits" to your independence. Steemit is rather wonderful in that sense... I'm treating my SP balance as a sort of "trickle savings account" that's pretty hard to get at, but still very real.
Because people work in different ways, and are comfortable with different things... I noticed you have a bunch of affiliate links at the end of your posts. Have you considered adding your Amazon wish list? Maybe see if someone sell Yuan's hypoallergenic food and other of your energy saving hopes...
=^..^=
I do keep a wish list of basic needs stuff, cat food and groceries type things. I hadn't thought of listing it here! Do you think I should?
I too think of SP as like, a retirement account. Technically I could cash it out if I really need, but it could give me freedom from the poverty cycle later if I can leave it to grow!
Not a silly fundraiser at all! Supported, and re-steemed.
Thank you so much!
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Amen on those solar panels!!! You are making my mouth water HA HA.
#EcoNerdProblems
I'll check it out. I remember 3 years ago I had two 100 Watt solar panels and they kept everything charged up just fine.
This eBay seller had bigger ones, which are of course more expensive, but I needed the 5V output for my battery/kindle/phone. If I had a laptop, it might need a bigger one.
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This is an awesome solar panels! Amazing detail, well done! :)