Help Cover Bills and Pay Down Debts

Hi! I'm Lynn, and for the last five years or so life has been becoming increasingly difficult for me. Several rounds of vet bills added up to around $20,000 total, and - even with help from both friends and strangers - I had to completely max out my credit to help cover those costs. The problem with maxing out your credit is that it's almost impossible to pay it down if you can't afford to make more than the minimum payments. That's especially true when you have to turn around and put things like groceries on that card because you don't have enough left over to cover them otherwise. Once you add in interest, the numbers don't really go down. I've put a lot of money towards those bills the last few years, but I still owe almost as much as I did when I started out.

The last year or two have been increasingly difficult as my monthly expenses have been steadily going up. I've tried to pay down debts whenever I had any extra money, but every time something has come up - medical bills, vet bills, computer repairs, etc. - and I've had to turn around and put those expenses right back on the credit account I'd been paying down because that was the only way I could cover them. And, even then, I've often still had to turn to strangers for help to stay out of the red.

I'm at the point now where I'm running out of options unless I can get my debts paid down at least some.

I'm setting up this GoFundMe in an attempt to do just that. I'm hoping to raise enough that I can pay down a large enough chunk of my debts within a short enough amount of time that I'll then be able to afford covering more than just the minimum payments. The hope is that I'll then be able to cover my monthly rent and other bills without having to constantly ask for help.

The goal of $15,000 is fairly arbitrary. My actual debt is quite a bit higher than that, but I'm hoping that will be enough to make a difference so that I can stand a chance at actually paying things down. $5000 will cover my rent for the rest of the year, which will at least give me a little extra wiggle room, but I've found from past experience that all it takes is a single round of higher-than-expected bills to put me right back almost in the red. I'm hoping to raise enough that I'll stand a chance at continuing to slowly head into the green.

Any and all help is greatly appreciated, even if it's just sharing the link to this fundraiser. I've been in a constant state of panic over finances for quite some time, and you have no idea how much I appreciate any help at all.