Help a teacher get a reliable car!
Donation protected
I am a 2nd grade teacher in Durham, NC. I am in need of a "new" (actually, used, but new to me at least) car that is reliable. I cannot afford a new car. I love my job, but I wish that my pay reflected the amount of work that I put in.
The sad truth: On a 12 month pay schedule, my take-home pay each month is about $1800. My student loans for my 2 year teaching licensure program alone is $345 a month. (After negotiating, I was able to reduce my monthly payment to $152 a month for now, which will result in me paying over double the $30,000 I originally owed. $64,344.99 to be exact, according my account info). My rent is just under $500 a month. That leaves about $1000 for EVERYTHING ELSE: phone bill, water, internet, power, undergraduate student loans, groceries, gas, and spending money. Let's just say I am broke about a week into my paycheck and then I live off the generosity of loved ones.
The car: I drive a 1992 Chevy Camaro that I was able to get for CHEAP (under $1000) from my amazing sister who helped me in a bind when my previous car died on the side of the highway.
The problems: none of my gauges work (no gas gauge, mileage, SPEEDOMETER), a/c does not work (love NC humidity--NOT), nor does the fan which I need for defrosting the car in the winter. This means I have to start my car about half an hour before leaving so that it will defrost enough for me to see out of the cracked windshield.
My hood cannot be opened without two people doing a sort of vehicular Heimlich maneuver, which sometimes results in the hood latch breaking and then not closing. The trunk has to be held up (also involves two people--one to hold, and one to get whatever out of the trunk).
Oh, did I mention my car is also LITERALLY falling apart? One of my tailpipes fell off in downtown Durham this summer. My car has a real mean growl now. The other tailpipe fell down and dragged all of the way home until I could get my boyfriend to secure it back on (with some multicolored yarn. Pretty, but probably not the most durable solution). It is a very low-riding car, and the tailpipe easily gets knocked down from speed bumps, hills, coughing too hard...
My headlights just stopped working and only the brights work. The left blinker just stopped working. The rear view mirror has fallen off for the sixth? seventh? time.
Help: I am not doing this to complain or tell a woe-is-me tale. I know I am smart, hard-working, and capable and could get another job that would pay a lot more money. The fact is that I love my job and I believe in what I do. I am passionate about educating children and helping them to develop into the future leaders of our community. I want to be able to do my job AND afford to live at the same time.
So, I need some help. With my Durham supplement money that I will get in November, some money from a study in which I am participating, and by selling my car for whatever I can get (fixer-upper..anyone?? Spare parts? Scrap metal?), I think I'll have about $2,000-$2,500. From what I have looked at, that amount of money will get me another hunk of junk with a new set of problems.
If I can raise about $4,000 more, I think I will be able to get something reliable. I cannot afford monthly payments and will need to buy a used car flat out.
If you have any compassion for my car situation, want to support a hard-working educator, and have some disposable income you can share, consider throwing a dime my way. Knowing that I can get to school and back home without car parts falling into the road will take one big stress off this teacher's plate.
Thanks for caring!
Sincerely,
Lisa
The sad truth: On a 12 month pay schedule, my take-home pay each month is about $1800. My student loans for my 2 year teaching licensure program alone is $345 a month. (After negotiating, I was able to reduce my monthly payment to $152 a month for now, which will result in me paying over double the $30,000 I originally owed. $64,344.99 to be exact, according my account info). My rent is just under $500 a month. That leaves about $1000 for EVERYTHING ELSE: phone bill, water, internet, power, undergraduate student loans, groceries, gas, and spending money. Let's just say I am broke about a week into my paycheck and then I live off the generosity of loved ones.
The car: I drive a 1992 Chevy Camaro that I was able to get for CHEAP (under $1000) from my amazing sister who helped me in a bind when my previous car died on the side of the highway.
The problems: none of my gauges work (no gas gauge, mileage, SPEEDOMETER), a/c does not work (love NC humidity--NOT), nor does the fan which I need for defrosting the car in the winter. This means I have to start my car about half an hour before leaving so that it will defrost enough for me to see out of the cracked windshield.
My hood cannot be opened without two people doing a sort of vehicular Heimlich maneuver, which sometimes results in the hood latch breaking and then not closing. The trunk has to be held up (also involves two people--one to hold, and one to get whatever out of the trunk).
Oh, did I mention my car is also LITERALLY falling apart? One of my tailpipes fell off in downtown Durham this summer. My car has a real mean growl now. The other tailpipe fell down and dragged all of the way home until I could get my boyfriend to secure it back on (with some multicolored yarn. Pretty, but probably not the most durable solution). It is a very low-riding car, and the tailpipe easily gets knocked down from speed bumps, hills, coughing too hard...
My headlights just stopped working and only the brights work. The left blinker just stopped working. The rear view mirror has fallen off for the sixth? seventh? time.
Help: I am not doing this to complain or tell a woe-is-me tale. I know I am smart, hard-working, and capable and could get another job that would pay a lot more money. The fact is that I love my job and I believe in what I do. I am passionate about educating children and helping them to develop into the future leaders of our community. I want to be able to do my job AND afford to live at the same time.
So, I need some help. With my Durham supplement money that I will get in November, some money from a study in which I am participating, and by selling my car for whatever I can get (fixer-upper..anyone?? Spare parts? Scrap metal?), I think I'll have about $2,000-$2,500. From what I have looked at, that amount of money will get me another hunk of junk with a new set of problems.
If I can raise about $4,000 more, I think I will be able to get something reliable. I cannot afford monthly payments and will need to buy a used car flat out.
If you have any compassion for my car situation, want to support a hard-working educator, and have some disposable income you can share, consider throwing a dime my way. Knowing that I can get to school and back home without car parts falling into the road will take one big stress off this teacher's plate.
Thanks for caring!
Sincerely,
Lisa
Organizer
Lisa Gerardi
Organizer
Durham, NC
