Help Tyler Buy Some Time to Find a Job!

Hello, my friends. This year has been, as the youths would say, hella awful. The pandemic has claimed millions of lives and upended millions more. Personally, this has been the worst year of my life. And honestly, I feel pretty lucky because I know it could have been far worse. I have my health. My family is healthy. My friends are healthy. And at the end of the day, that’s all that truly matters.

However, those same friends and family members worry about me, because... well, my financial situation is dire and all that I’ve worked to build here in Seattle is at risk of falling apart. (long story to follow, skip to the end for the TLDR if you’d like)

Several years ago, I was tired of having my my student loan debt and one decently high credit card balance hanging over my head. So I took out a 5-year personal loan that would force me to pay it off. A year later I was able to refinance it- slashing interest by 10% and shaving an entire year off the loan! I now was paying $756 a month but I was becoming a full time bartender at one of the busiest event venues in Seattle! It was going so well, that in January 2020 I took out another personal loan to mop up the rest of my debt. For only $450 a month! It would be tough, but the end of my debt was in sight. Luckily, my rent was cheap (for my location in Seattle anyway) at $800 a month. Even better, the room was large enough to create a self-tape space for auditions and a recording space for VO auditions. Having bookended 2019 with two devastating breakups, I was determined to focus on and advance my acting career, using the momentum of my first major video game role as Ring in “Ring Fit Adventure” for the Nintendo Switch.

Then, I was laid off from my primary jobs at Tom Douglas Restaurants back in March due to COVID-19. Luckily I hadn’t fully dispersed that second loan and was receiving unemployment, so I could weather the few months the shut down was sure to be…

At the end of April, my roommate moved out. I could maybe afford to move but I wouldn’t be able to find a space as conducive to acting. So I decided to find a new roommate. After several months of coming up short, I was desperate. That’s when I fell for a roommate scam which cost me $2900. I felt stupid and violated. My wonderful aunt, father, and several friends were able to send me a bit of money to help, but a substantial portion of my bank account was wiped out. Shortly after, the United States Senate let the federal addition to unemployment expire. Slowly but surely, my loans and rent overtook what I was being allotted by the state.

Recently, I called my loan company and they have allowed me to pay just the interest on my loans for the next two months, which buys me time. And that’s really what I need.

Being hired around the holidays is always difficult and the pandemic will not make it easier. I still have hope that I can find something, but realistically, it may not happen until January. Unfortunately, my extended unemployment benefits run out in mid December. So I’m trying to raise just enough money to pay my loans, rent, and health insurance premium for the month of January.

I am supremely confident that I can find something if given more time. In fact, I make this promise: once I am financially safe again, I will donate the amount raised here to charity.

Words cannot begin to express how grateful I am for your help. So I will be posting content to my social media channels (@tscowcro throughout) to at least provide you with some entertainment as thanks for your generosity. You are wonderful and I thank you from the bottom of my heart.

Love,

Tyler Scowcroft

TLDR- I tried to be financially responsible, but then COVID-19 happened. Lost job. Got scammed. Government help ran out. Can’t find a job. Confident I can but need more time. Looking to pay one month of my biggest bills. After I get a job and am rolling in it, will donate the amount raised to charity. Will make funny content in the meantime. Thank you so very much ❤️.