In all honesty, I've never really considered doing one of these for myself. I mean who am I, just another one of the millions struggling. I don't deny that others are in even worse spots. Times are tough.

I was laid off in October, and with one week left to squeeze out of unemployment, found a part time job. I could breathe, finally. But I had so much debt now. Maxing out my credit card, pulling money from my Roth (big no no), owing on taxes (because yes, our government taxes your checks to pay for unemployment and then when you get it, they tax that too).

11 weeks later at no fault of my own, I was laid off AGAIN.

I had been struggling to get my own business up and running, struggling against burnout and exhaustion, struggling with the state of the economy and political landscape.

After taking even more money out of my Roth, using up all my unemployment, having to go on food stamps, I'm in the grip of anxiety and crippling depression. Doordash is emotionally exhausting. I'm attending therapy to try and mitigate ptsd that gets in the way of me living my life.

My credit card is still maxed. I have no savings. I'm barely scraping by through donating plasma and pet sitting (stressful in it's own way).

But I've found a few things for work that I want to do. One as an independent contractor working for a dog adventure company, another to start really building my own business and get clients.

But the up front cost on all of this is huge. And with all my money going only to housing and food, no savings and no credit card and no IRA, it's hard to get going from nothing.

This fund would help me pay off my credit card and close it off, pay for the initial gear needed for the Independent Contractor role, and put some in my emergency savings.

It's a lot, I know. But this is what happens to people. When someone says they're struggling, this is what it looks like.

I'm not just looking for causal handouts, I work hard and intend to use this to work even harder but breathe a little easier.

Your contribution means SO MUCH to me and I do not take it lightly.