Help Suzi buy her own home
Donation protected
I’m trying to buy a home of my own for the first time so that I can make my cost of living more affordable, avoid the precariousness of renting and have some financial security for the future. I’m doing this on a single income, I’m self employed and the cost of living is a stretch, so any help I can get will help me build a better deposit and therefore get a more affordable monthly repayment rate. With my rent having recently gone up again, I can’t afford to rent for much longer. (If you don’t know me, or if we just haven’t been in touch for a while and you want to know more about who I am or what I’ve been up to then you can scroll to the bottom to read more about me.)
This might be cheeky to ask but… would you like to contribute?
Why I’m asking for help
I am not going to get married or have children, so if you’d have contributed to my wedding or at the birth of a child then perhaps you might like to put that towards something else which will help me greatly instead? There are so many costs involved in buying so anything I raise here will help with paying legal and other fees so I can therefore put as much as I can towards my deposit amount and getting an affordable mortgage repayment rate. It has taken me years to build my business to the point where I can earn enough to live on and to where I am finally in the position to even consider getting a mortgage. As I’m 46 now, I hope to do this just before I get too old to do it! It is important for me to work towards more financial sustainability and I feel that whatever the outcome of this crowd funder I want put it out there what I’m working towards.
How you can help
Donate: Apparently the average person knows about 150 people. If everyone you knew gave you £33 then you’d be able to raise nearly £5,000. This is the target amount I’m trying to raise. There’s no expectation or obligation to give anything and I wouldn’t want you to feel awkward at all about not doing so. I do feel cheeky asking. But I’m working as hard as I can in various ways to earn more to get a deposit together and there’s a limit to how much I can do on my own. Any amount you might give is very welcome, whether £33 or less. If you would like to and feel able to contribute more, of course that would be welcome! Any amount, however small, is helpful. You can give anonymously. Ideally I’m trying to raise funds by April.
Give as an exchange: You might feel more comfortable giving in exchange for something, in which case scroll down a bit further for options.
Offer advice: If you have any useful information about raising money, any helpful tips about the process of first time buying/mortgages/solicitors etc it is always helpful to hear experiences and know more.
Share with your contacts: If you know any wealthy philanthropists then feel free to send them my way! But seriously, the power of community can be amazing, and if you feel moved to share this with any of your contacts/networks, that would be great.
Refer people to my work: It might be that you know people who would be interested in Focusing and my courses or other offerings, so feel free to pass my info on for that reason also. Here’s my website www.suzimackenzie.com/focusing-training If you haven’t heard of Focusing you can read more about it on my website or here https://www.focusing.org.uk/what-is-focusing
Moral support/hearing from you: Quite apart from any of the above it is really helpful just hearing people's encouragement. It would be lovely hearing back from you if you’d like to be in touch (and no pressure if not!) Going through my contacts brought back such lovely memories. I really feel I’ve met such a lot of great people throughout my life.
Your help will help me give back
It’s been important to me in my life to find ways of helping people. It’s been much harder for some years now to do that as I’ve really had to focus on my financial survival. This has meant I have had less or no time to do volunteer work, have had to put certain projects on hold and have sometimes, sadly, not even had the energy or time to be there for friends and family. I hope in future if I can be more financially secure this will free up more time and energy to devote to the people I care about in my life and to finding ways to help others in the world. I want to do my bit to create a mutually supportive community and have some projects in mind that I’d love to develop.
And what do I get?
You might like the warm fuzzy feeling of creating a world where people support each other and it’s ok to ask for help when you need it. If you would like me to give you a written acknowledgement I will happily do this. Or maybe you would feel more comfortable contributing in exchange for something:
A punky top/dress - You could commission me to make you one like I have already made for myself – see pics here https://suzi263.wordpress.com/2024/12/06/12/ - or one where you specify the words and images or one where I choose some for you.
A guided Focusing* session
A home made vegan/vegetarian meal – if we live nearish to each other!
Thank you in advance for any support you’re able to offer me.
And thank you so much to those in my life who have over the years already supported me financially or otherwise in being able to pursue my studies, build my business and now save towards a mortgage deposit. Your help has been invaluable. And thanks to Helen, who has helped me craft this message and feel it’s ok to put my wishes out there.
Warm wishes,
Suzi
About Suzi and life so far…
If this has been passed on to you and you don’t know me – or if we just haven’t been in touch for a while and you’d like to know what I’ve been up to here’s a bit about me:
I knew from the age of 17 doing my Psychology A-Level that I wanted to be a Person Centred Counsellor. Before going to University I volunteered at a homeless drop in centre and at a drop in centre for people with AIDs and HIV. Whilst at Uni, and for ten years, I volunteered as a Samaritan volunteer. I also did my initial counselling evening classes during that time whilst working in a University library (following in my mum’s footsteps!)
When I was 29 I had saved up enough money to fully retrain as a counsellor and I qualified in 2009 to do the work I had always wanted to do. During and after this time I had volunteered as a counsellor at a performing arts school, a community counselling service, a service supporting parents of sexually abused children and at a local branch of Mind.
I started my counselling private practice in 2013 whilst still working at the library and volunteering at Mind. Leaving the library and moving out of London to Burgess Hill in 2014, I had hoped to start a family. This, sadly, wasn’t possible for me, but instead I have worked hard over the last ten or so years to build my counselling private practice to the point where I can live as a solely self employed person. It was hard for a long time to earn enough to live on and I worked as a mental health support worker in a secure psychiatric hospital for three years to support my self employed income. During this time I also further trained as a Focusing* Practitioner and Teacher.
When Covid hit I was terrified that I was going to lose my business, as it wasn’t yet on a firm enough footing. I had to work extra hard to stay afloat and I had to be ingenious, designing new Focusing courses to build that aspect of my business and adapt to needs at the time for online offerings.
I have spent much time and money on further training over the years, as counsellors do, so that I now provide clinical supervision to other counsellors and also teach Focusing to novices and through to professional/Practitioner level.
I have a busy work life now: I love supporting people and feel proud to be doing work that I love and to have worked so hard to make this happen. Now at age 46, I would love to have a more financially sustainable existence. Managing to get my own place with the lower cost of mortgage compared to rent would allow me to do this.
It would be great not only to reduce my stress levels around money but to actually have a bit more time to enjoy other things in life alongside my work. I would love to have time to rest, spend more time with the people I love and have time for creative pursuits again. I would also love to have more time and energy so I could pursue working on an ethical project in future.
Organizer
Suzi Mackenzie
Organizer
England