tl;dr

I'm in a tough spot right now between snowballing bills and fees and a sudden, pretty serious infection that's come with its own bills while keeping me from work for 3 weeks and counting. I'm seeking help to cover bills and expenses that have piled up. Any contribution, no matter how small, will make a huge difference.

With the initial goal $5,000, I would cover all time-sensitive expenses so that when I get back to work, I can start making my minimum payments.

Erasing the whole $13,000 (see below), I would still have payments for things like credit cards (I'm not asking for help clearing ALL my debt after all), but I would stop getting calls from creditors, and I could implement my financial planning much easier.

Same as above, but wordier

For the past year, I've been working two demanding jobs: at a preschool in the mornings and cooking at a bar typically closing the kitchen, and often without a single day off. This grueling schedule has taken a toll on my mental, physical, and financial health. I found myself unable to keep up with basic tasks like paying bills, leading to lapses in health insurance and other essential expenses, some landing in collections.

To make matters worse, while parked by a busy road, my car was involved in an accident, and I had to cover the repair costs not covered by insurance. While waiting on several delays in the repair process, I had to rely on expensive short-term transportation, which drained my finances even further. This took nearly 3 months.

In June, I realized I couldn't continue this schedule and decided to leave my part-time job at the preschool. Shortly after my last day, I contracted a serious bacterial infection, which has kept me from working for over three weeks. My FMLA application won't be reviewed until July 15 at the earliest, leaving me without income during this time and no certainty how much, if anything, will be approved to compensate.

I haven't been totally idle. I have spent the last few weeks getting organized and assessing my neglected finances. The situation is grim, but I've done some financial planning. Even so, I have several outstanding obligations, including collections, personal loans, taxes, bills, medical bills, rent, and other time-sensitive expenses. The total amount I would need to be completely on top of my bills and obligations is nearly $13,000, with $6000 of that being more directly impacted by an unexpected three-week lapse in income.

I don't expect all of this to come from the bank accounts of kind humans.

I expect to be approved for *some*thing from FMLA.

I expect to be back to work within the next week.

I'm building up my resources for other sources of income.

I'm doing everything I can to manage, but I need some help to get through this tough period. Any support you can offer will be deeply appreciated and will help me get back on my feet.

Breakdown of Amounts Owed

Collections: $962.94

Personal loans: $1650

Taxes and fees: $4044.46

Catch-up bills: $2,537.61

Medical bills: $1336.19

Time-sensitive expenses: $2405

Total: $12,936.20

Thank you for taking the time to read my story and for any support you can provide.