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Save a Teacher/Librarian & Family [1]

['This Content Is Not Subject To Review Daily Kos Staff Prior To Publication.']

Date: 2025-07-29

Life in the USA these days is hard. When I was a child (born 1961) I never faced the economic stress I feel today. My dad, an electrical engineer, had a good job always (changed a few times but was never unemployed for any stretch ever), my mom was a stay-at-home mom, ran the house; my brother and I grew up stable & happy – middle class one-income family. All of our bills (food, housing, transportation) were covered by 50% of my dad’s income & the other 50% was entirely discretionary… it made for a secure feeling and a happy life.

Today, I’m 63 years old, a college librarian (still employed) 4 kids (2 living away from home; all HS graduates, youngest child recently), a disabled wife (can’t work, bedridden) and my life is about to collapse. House is in foreclosure (auction scheduled for next month), behind in all my bills, services (gas, electric, water) all facing shut-off dates, my “take-home pay” has been decreasing with regularity due to rising health care costs and no raises, and today I am completely out of money – about $10 bucks left in my bank accounts and can’t buy any more food until payday (last day of month). Oh, I also no longer have a car as I can’t afford it – broken front axle from about 2 years ago that I couldn’t afford to repair & I can’t fit auto insurance into my budget anyway – luckily, I can commute to work via bus and my employer pays for my monthly bus pass. I have no retirement savings as I needed to use all of my 401K funds (10K) about a year ago to catch up with bills and briefly keep afloat with my mortgage…

I can’t live like this anymore. Before snapping and just wanting to destroy everyone and everything around me, I’m going for a last ditch “Hamilton effort” (write my way out of hell…) and setting up a Go-Fund-Me to see what happens. I’ve leaned on my friends and family this past year but can’t do that anymore either, thus I’m posting my tale to KOS (w/GFM Link) but also sending it to my congress-critters so some random rich donors may see it and take mercy on my soul…

My desperation is also triggered by a sadness – every year since my 50th birthday, I’ve been reuniting with 3 other friends from my hometown that I’ve known since elementary school. I can’t join them this year for our “annual gathering” on the Finger Lakes in New York (it begins today too for 2025). I no longer want material things at all – I want opportunities for the memories with my friends and family and experiences as I live out the rest of my life.

As I haven’t won the lottery (Powerball Odds being about 300 million to 1 for a Jackpot win) and the possibility for better employment almost nil (who hires a Librarian/Educator dude in his 60’s with no car?) – here’s my Go Fund Me link: “Save Leif”

What I want is all my debts swept away – I’m aiming for $1 million dollars and here’s the breakout of why I need that much:

Mortgage Payoff: $350,000

Student Loans (wife & children): $250,000

Replacement Car & cash for all expenses for 1 year: $100,000

Living / health expenses for family: $300,000

I want to own my house and have no mortgage; I countersigned loans for my children & my wife earned her MFA but became disabled after completion, even an inexpensive car can still be $30/$40K & insurance for multiple drivers + operating will run all costs up & the remainder just to have a comfortable life for a few more years, maybe invest a bit for retirement income rounds out the request & oh yeah, my wife & eldest daughter also need some surgeries due to Ehlers Danlos syndrome issues…

Of note, if you’ve read this far, I really absolutely need $5,000 to get out of the woods – pay utilities, HOA past due & have food money… if you can contribute – bless you.

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[1] Url: https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2025/7/29/2335780/-Save-a-Teacher-Librarian-Family?pm_campaign=front_page&pm_source=more_community&pm_medium=web

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