Hi everyone,

My name is Sterling (as some of you know) and 2023 has been full of setbacks for me, starting with being laid off from a job I loved back in January, needing a tooth pulled due to breakage and decay over the summer, and then needing to move from the home I'd been in for nigh on a decade just this fall (something that some of you helped with, which I appreciate!)

These are, unfortunately, things that have depleted the small amount of savings I had.

My monthly bills (installment payments for the tooth extraction, installment payments on the loan I had to take out for the tooth extraction, monthly medical & dental premiums, phone service etc.) come out to just shy of $500 a month, with another $500 a month rent on top of that, and that's not even taking into account groceries which are about $90 a week (sometimes a little more, sometimes a little less.) Or any kind of travel expenses (Lyft rides or transit fare when needed.)

So while everything is paid through the end of December, all I have remaining to my name will pay either my bills or my rent for January, but not both, and obviously nothing beyond that.

While I am continuing to search for a job, it's difficult, even work from home positions (when they aren't 'product testing' or 'survey taker' scams) often require a driver's license or a college degree, neither of which I have nor have any way to obtain.

My initial $2500 goal will make sure I'm covered for all of January and all of February, and anything over that will of course go towards further bills/rent until I am able to actually land a job, I hope that it won't take longer than that, but given as how I'm rapidly coming up on the 1 year anniversary of being laid off, it's hard to say, but I'm not going to stop trying.

I appreciate the help everyone provided with my move, and I hope that I can once again rely on the kindness of strangers (to absolutely mangle a famous quote)