Keep the Sheldons Afloat
Thank you for clicking through! I'm sad to be updating this, but I want to share what I can right away.
John and I have hit another major setback: John's become unemployed. This puts us down to my blog income and my freelance income, which is meager.
Right now our expenses are high: I'm recovering from a brain injury, doing therapy, and John has a minor dental surgery next week. I also have many regular medications that we'll need to figure out how to afford, and we'll also need insurance once John's runs out at the end of the month to cover my therapy (physical and psych) and regular doctor appointments (like the ones that monitor my thyroid, lithium levels, and insulin). This isn't a cheap experience.
We have no potential wins on the horizon. We will work as hard as we can, but we don't know how long this will last or how hard it will get. I am reopening this because the impact financially is going to be rough to start and could be unrecoverable. We love you all and appreciate any and all support, including shares and kind words.
(Picture is Siggy and Bragi awkwardly cuddling.)
Best,
Brie & John ---
P.S. The previous funds earned were used to pay for the surgery for Bragi, repair for our CR-V, the expenses after my car accident, the pest control, and the plumbing repairs. We could not afford the $6k to fully repair the plumbing but we were able to get a working solution.
John and I have been, over the past few years, experiencing a lot of financial setbacks because of my mental and physical health as well as general struggles & bad luck. This week, however, we've been hit especially hard. Our budget has already been tight from my car accident and some illness keeping me out of work, but then last night our Honda CR-V, Majel, broke a serpentine belt and broke down, along with some other issues. Repairs will be around $1500, not accounting for the cost of lost work hours.
On top of this, we're still fighting mysterious invaders (critters) into our walls that we've had handled by exterminators twice, and the biggest issue of all: our basement has been getting flooded with sewage from backflow. We aren't sure the extent of the damage in the actual plumbing, and right now we've just locked up the basement until we can afford a plumber. It could cost a couple thousand to get a backflow valve put in, if that is the only issue - and it could be more than that since we have a house that's over 100 years old.
We're also still recovering from the expense of the surgery for our kitten Bragi, who had a blocked tear duct and cost over $1500 for surgery to repair. I know having pets is a luxury, but we love them and caring for them is important to us.  (above, Bragi before surgery, below, Bragi after surgery)  We're both in hard places at work with no likelihood of increased pay, and I can't take on more freelance work than I already have with grad school.
Our budget is in rough shape and our savings are reserved for "if we can't afford the mortgage" and not for long. I am very reluctant to ask for help, but I don't know what else we can do. If you can support us, we would truly appreciate it, and if you can't, please share considerately to see if anyone else can. I know that we will do our best to survive, but we can only do so much. Love, Brie & John Sheldon
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John and I have hit another major setback: John's become unemployed. This puts us down to my blog income and my freelance income, which is meager.
Right now our expenses are high: I'm recovering from a brain injury, doing therapy, and John has a minor dental surgery next week. I also have many regular medications that we'll need to figure out how to afford, and we'll also need insurance once John's runs out at the end of the month to cover my therapy (physical and psych) and regular doctor appointments (like the ones that monitor my thyroid, lithium levels, and insulin). This isn't a cheap experience.
We have no potential wins on the horizon. We will work as hard as we can, but we don't know how long this will last or how hard it will get. I am reopening this because the impact financially is going to be rough to start and could be unrecoverable. We love you all and appreciate any and all support, including shares and kind words.
(Picture is Siggy and Bragi awkwardly cuddling.)
Best,
Brie & John ---
P.S. The previous funds earned were used to pay for the surgery for Bragi, repair for our CR-V, the expenses after my car accident, the pest control, and the plumbing repairs. We could not afford the $6k to fully repair the plumbing but we were able to get a working solution.
John and I have been, over the past few years, experiencing a lot of financial setbacks because of my mental and physical health as well as general struggles & bad luck. This week, however, we've been hit especially hard. Our budget has already been tight from my car accident and some illness keeping me out of work, but then last night our Honda CR-V, Majel, broke a serpentine belt and broke down, along with some other issues. Repairs will be around $1500, not accounting for the cost of lost work hours.
On top of this, we're still fighting mysterious invaders (critters) into our walls that we've had handled by exterminators twice, and the biggest issue of all: our basement has been getting flooded with sewage from backflow. We aren't sure the extent of the damage in the actual plumbing, and right now we've just locked up the basement until we can afford a plumber. It could cost a couple thousand to get a backflow valve put in, if that is the only issue - and it could be more than that since we have a house that's over 100 years old.
We're also still recovering from the expense of the surgery for our kitten Bragi, who had a blocked tear duct and cost over $1500 for surgery to repair. I know having pets is a luxury, but we love them and caring for them is important to us.  (above, Bragi before surgery, below, Bragi after surgery)  We're both in hard places at work with no likelihood of increased pay, and I can't take on more freelance work than I already have with grad school.
Our budget is in rough shape and our savings are reserved for "if we can't afford the mortgage" and not for long. I am very reluctant to ask for help, but I don't know what else we can do. If you can support us, we would truly appreciate it, and if you can't, please share considerately to see if anyone else can. I know that we will do our best to survive, but we can only do so much. Love, Brie & John Sheldon
Hi friends,
Thank you for your support!
It's still rough waters here for us! John's still looking for work, and while he filed and was accepted for unemployment, they haven't sent any funds at all. We're still trying to figure out what's happening, but that lack of funds has left us with dwindling accounts. We will be able to cover our bills - this month. From there, until unemployment gets straightened out, we're down to few dollars.
I'm trying to ensure that the car insurance continues funding my concussion-related treatment including upcoming neuropsych testing (starting tomorrow with a 90 minute appointment, then next week with a six hour one) and continued physical therapy. That doesn't cover any of my medication or regular doctor visits. We have to sign up for healthcare on the marketplace, but we legitimately lack the funds at this point. I have enough medicine to last me two months, I think, hopefully three, but after that I'm out.
John may be getting a severance from his work (after signing off a lot of things), but we're still waiting for the final decision there. It will be useful, but until one of us is back to making a regular income, we're in a bad spot.
I know we will figure this all out, but we're not seeing a lot of hope right now. There have been few job callbacks, and my health is just frustratingly slow to improve. I've been struggling to work enough with how useless my brain makes me, and I haven't had much luck finding work I can do either. We're doing our own projects to try to see if something will come of it while seeking outside work, but it's not promising.
Every bit of support is appreciated and we really are grateful. Thank you all! Please share if you can.
Best,
Brie
Thank you for your support!
It's still rough waters here for us! John's still looking for work, and while he filed and was accepted for unemployment, they haven't sent any funds at all. We're still trying to figure out what's happening, but that lack of funds has left us with dwindling accounts. We will be able to cover our bills - this month. From there, until unemployment gets straightened out, we're down to few dollars.
I'm trying to ensure that the car insurance continues funding my concussion-related treatment including upcoming neuropsych testing (starting tomorrow with a 90 minute appointment, then next week with a six hour one) and continued physical therapy. That doesn't cover any of my medication or regular doctor visits. We have to sign up for healthcare on the marketplace, but we legitimately lack the funds at this point. I have enough medicine to last me two months, I think, hopefully three, but after that I'm out.
John may be getting a severance from his work (after signing off a lot of things), but we're still waiting for the final decision there. It will be useful, but until one of us is back to making a regular income, we're in a bad spot.
I know we will figure this all out, but we're not seeing a lot of hope right now. There have been few job callbacks, and my health is just frustratingly slow to improve. I've been struggling to work enough with how useless my brain makes me, and I haven't had much luck finding work I can do either. We're doing our own projects to try to see if something will come of it while seeking outside work, but it's not promising.
Every bit of support is appreciated and we really are grateful. Thank you all! Please share if you can.
Best,
Brie
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