Support Aaron's Journey Back to Family & Friends

(white dog in pic was a random friend Pixel found at the dog park, not mine)

Hey all! This is the last thing I wanted to do but here it goes.

I moved to WA for a fresh start and when I moved here almost 6 years ago, i was fine! No debt. Great job. Good living area. I was super excited and living well. Hell, some of you even called me “Rich Uncle Aaron” or something similar because I was able to travel back to CT yearly, donate to causes and help family/friends out with whatever, etc. I had a savings account! Life wasn't perfect, but it was ok.

The situations started when a good company I was working for got bought by another. At the time, I wasn't an employee with them, I was a contractor. As such, I had to save for paying income tax. I did. When the company got bought out I had about $17k saved to pay for that year. However, with them being bought out, I lost a job. Ok, sure, job market was ok at the time, and I have a TON of experience. So Id be ok right?

Fast forward 8 months. Still no job. According to the state unemployment office I couldn't collect because of a rule where contractors aren't employees, so my last job screwed me over with that after being a contractor and non-employee for over 2 years. No unemployment for all those months. I had to pay rent and bills still, so I needed to drain my savings. That was STILL not enough, so I needed to open a loan from my bank and credit card. I even had some good friends back east loan me some

money to survive, which I paid back (thank you for that!). It was thankfully enough to survive. Also, during this time, my dog (Dahlia) was diagnosed with an incurable disease and slowly dying, needing treatments. That wasn't too expensive, but still an extra $100 a month I didn't have. Through ALL this (for those of you that don’t know me personally), i have type 1 diabetes, and require a pump, sensors, and insulin to maintain my health. While needing all that should be free (since, ya know, I need insulin to live), it’s not. It’s several hundred dollars every couple months to this day.

But uh oh! It wasn't even April yet! I had yet to be able to pay previous yearly taxes because of current bills. Thankfully that February I got a great job and began making good money again, but it was during this time the IRS realized I owed a lot from the previous year, and began to collect. No savings this time, same income, same bills (more for rent now though). IRS started reasonable, at like $200 a month. Now? $600/mo.

My depression and anxiety skyrocketed, but thankfully I had a job and could pay all my bills. I had never missed a payment since moving here, but I was drained financially and mentally. I was still able to visit family and friends thankfully in CT, but at a cost of CC debt. Because of my time out of work and having to use all my savings and resources to pay everything, I went from being “no debt” to now “several tens of thousands” in debt, where I am now. It all quickly overwhelmed me to the point of needing therapy, job issues, not being able to go out in public, and more.

This puts me to where I am now. I go to weekly therapy sessions for help with severe depression and anxiety. The overall consensus is “I no longer have a support system to help me enjoy and live life” and she’s right. I have no family here in WA. I have 3 friends, who I see every so often, but not enough.

On top all of the above, now my job is at risk. As of March my boss told me my current client I work for has a contract that ends in July, and as of then there were no open spots at my company to move into. Essentially meaning Id be laid off. It's June now, and while everyone hoped another position would open somewhere in the meantime, nothing has. As of 6/13/25 (Happy Friday the 13th right?) - i got told this morning by my current job that its extremely unlikely to renew past July 8th. SO, unless something changes in the next two to four weeks, Im once again out of a job.

At that point, I can collect unemployment (thankfully this time around I was an actual employee!) but that isn’t enough to live here, even In a studio apartment. This time around, I have no savings, and credit cards are about maxed (I have NOT used them in a very long time, but I don't wanna make things worse so Ive just been paying them off the best I could with income).

As of today, my last work day is July 8th. Ill most likely have a month of “severance” and get my remaining PTO paid out, but that isn't going to be enough to move.

And thats the goal!

I need my support system back. While moving to WA might have been a noble idea. For a fresh start, it didn’t work out and now Im paying for it. I need to be with my family and friends again back east. I need to move back to CT.

Ive sold a LOT of things recently, donated a lot to goodwill and to my local church that accepts donations. Ive cleaned out my food stores and donated what I didn't use or need to a local food pantry. The rest of my stuff Im in the process of throwing out. Everything else is already boxed and packed up (I figured one way or another, Im moving, so I needed to be prepared).

In the end, to move back, it will cost me around $6500-7500(update: i found a better moving company! So its gonna be more like $4000 thankfully. Ive updated the goal). This includes the truck and time to move (gas, etc). Once I lose my job, I also intend to take out my current 401k to pay for ongoing bills (phone, debts, etc) but that isn't a while lot to begin with. I also realize I’ll be taking a tax hit on that, but I don't have a lot of options.

I put on a happy face sometimes, but under that face is severe depression, fear of enjoying new things, fear of making friends, going outside, etc. I live day to day in my room, leaving just to walk my current dog, Pixel. But I usually stay in my bedroom 90% of the time, working from my bed on a laptop, watching the same tv shows over and over again. It’s… not a good life. I need a support system again.

Whoever is reading this, Im sorry I have to make something like this. There is NO obligation to donate. In the end once I finalize the moving process, I’ll be using my 401k to pay for it if not enough is gained here. So one way or another I’ll be coming back home. Im still looking for work - applying to things daily to get a head-start. My sister offered to let me stay with her for a while, so once I move back, I’ll be able to start saving again thankfully.

Ill post pics and updates here once I get them - exact moving costs, if/when I lose my job officially, and more. If any of you donate, and I keep a job or get a better one BEFORE moving, I’ll be sure to give you that money back. I don't intend to take any donations until moving. Gofundme takes 5% from every donation and 3% from me when processed, so if/when I need to withdraw, thats something we all need to keep in mind.

I know the world is in rough shape, and I appreciate you all reading, even if you can’t donate. Either way, thank you for your time and I love you all. I hope I can see a lot of you soon!

❤️ Aaron and Pixel