#after all the bills are paid and gas for the car we only have a small amount of money

[tacitusauxilium]

So. Uh…the next couple months are gonna probably be bad with me stressing out with work and such. My whole shift is probably going to be changing—hours and days—and we are suppose to know this week what we all got. So, I’m a nervous wreck since I go on vacation this month and in two months.

My husband, on the other hand, is not holding it in well. They are forcing people in his department to go from 8a-4p to 3a-11a. And we can’t do that since my mom watches our son four days a week, which will now be 5 days with my new schedule. He is only working 8a-11a three to four days a week and his fifth day is always 8 hours. So, we lost over $500 on this paycheck.

He’s panicking, I’m taking my anxiety medicine to just not FEEL anything cause if I do, I’m going to scream or cry or hit something, so we are a wreck. We can’t even do anything for our son’s birthday this Sunday which we planned out weeks ago and have to cancel.

And my mom’s hours and days are being cut—two or three days of work instead of four—so I’m the bread winner and I’m losing my mind. Not knowing what’s gonna happen is causing me to get my period earlier than normal and I don’t wanna leave this place. We just got insurance taken care of thanks to the union, so I’ll save money, and there is no customer interactions, but dammit—I have to take melatonin to knock me out or I’ll be up all night worrying.

So, I’m a nervous wreck and just spotty with talking to people or wanting to do anything. I try to stay at places for more than four years but every TIME I do, something shitty happens. This is the third time my shift and hours have changed in four years since I’ve been here. Just…needed to vent and rant cause I hear it all day at work and I want my days off with my husband and I wanna see my kid and want to come home for dinner—!

I hate playing everything day by day. I just want a life outside of work even if I don’t have friends or anything to do. Just…want to unwind and can’t. I’ll keep you all updated on what the heck happens this month.

[sneakyboymerlin]

Heeeeeyyyyy it’s ur boy uh. Skinny penice.

If any of you lovelies wanna help me get my mom’s account out of the negatives, I would be eternally grateful.

Her account is around -$300 after the bills got taken out, we’re just trying not to rack up any late fees at this point ✨ any money will go to getting her account out of the negatives or else paying off the fees as they add up. She’s already been in the negatives for 2 or 3 days because she tried to “fix it herself” without telling me (I only found out because I happened to see her bank app).

Her car’s engine also stopped and we can’t afford a rental so I have to drive her to and from work myself (a 40 minute drive each way, I will be making the 80 minute drive twice today so I can go to my own job). I don’t get paid until Thursday and the only thing I can afford rn is gas.

I just had to pay $500 to get my own car out of the shop after almost 2 months since someone tried to steal it in September (all the parts they needed were on back order) and the dude who tried to take it for a joy ride gets to pay it back in small increments (when a white boy does it for fun, they give him every excuse) which means I’m out $500.

I wanted to attend my community college this upcoming semester but I’m just going to have to skip again if this keeps up, which I really don’t want to do because of pressure from my sister to get a degree or apprenticeship. She won’t help my mom in order to “punish her” but it really just punishes me. My mom has been hiding her finances from me ever since my dad died, resulting in things like my car (the car is under her name & insurance but my dad gave it to me) getting repossessed during the summer (we were able to get it back luckily) and the internet getting shut off. She lied about where the money I paid her was going, paid for her own car + insurance instead and let my car get repossessed. My finances and well-being are entirely dependent on her bank account, and she is consistently dishonest about where our money goes, and then funnels any money I make into her account. She also tries to buy frivolous things we don’t need when she runs out of money + tries to force me to buy those things for her and is only frugal when spending her own paycheck. Everyone I have explained the situation to tells me that I am being financially abused, and I cannot find a way out of it besides moving out, but I can’t afford to do that and I can’t leave my pets behind.

I was also trying to pay off my phone and late bills to T-Mobile so we could switch over to a cheaper company but I can’t make any progress on this because we can’t afford to pay anything off before the next month rolls over and we get charged yet again (when T-Mobile bought Sprint they started charging us out the ass). The electric bill is also going to be unsustainable this winter, our heater doesn’t work half the time so we have space heaters but that’s it for us + our 4 cats + 1 dog.

I’m also supposed to be going to the doctor’s to get a diagnosis (probably EDS), physical and mental therapy, etc. but I have to go through multiple doctors and institutions(?) to do this, which is pretty much impossible when you’re sharing 1 car between 2 people and are the only one with any gas money (which is gonna go FAST). I also do not want my mom to know under any circumstances if I attend mental therapy.

And there’s always more but I don’t have time to continue on

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[that-punk-adam]

I wish there was a better way of just…. [vague hand gestures]

Housing. Is such a pain. To get and maintain.

Rent. You never own it. $1.4k a MONTH for a poorly designed and maintained closet with NO amenities included in that rent. A single person cannot afford to live alone anymore because I guess we decided to not start burning shit down once $7.20 is a federal minimum that isn’t sustaining whatsoever. It can pay a phone bill and feed you some days. Car insurance, gasoline, maintenance on a car, food, water, gas (utility), electric. You’re super lucky if you’re going to get 3k a month after taxes.

I had to hunt online for housing. I had to apply to places, average $25-50, to get denied at most because husband doesn’t have a job because he wasn’t living in the city full time. You need a car to go ANYWHERE in this fucking country. Car = insurance, payment, gasoline, maintenance. $500? $600? $800? On top of rent + bills. On a single income just a tad over 2.3k after taxes. We didn’t have a vehicle for a while and when we asked (begged) my in-laws (his sister + her wife) for help with a car, they had to drive to Kentucky for the cheapest thing they could find bc there was no way in hell for me to save anything. Nothing at all. After the online nonsense we had to wake up as early as possible for him to drive to these locations, all 20+ minutes away from each other, on a crunched schedule, on what would be considered a ‘last moments notice’. If I was on a 9-5 schedule there would have been zero hope of ever getting out of my parents house short of running away because the modern world only runs between 9a to 6p.

Finally, a paid off car. In-laws back into it and bust the radiator to hell. Totaled. No car. We didn’t even get the insurance and title switched over. They were going not even 5 miles and killed it. Now on our own we won’t ever have a car unless he can work (????) and we manage to have no accidents or try to enjoy life too much.

I was 2 minutes late today after waiting on a ride that took almost 15 minutes to get to the unit we finally managed to get. The second driver got to my workplace as fast as he could but it was still 2 minutes too late. The apartment hunting made me late repeatedly. We almost had a roommate and I had to be late for that too. I was so sick I couldn’t even be awake 2 times in the span of 2 months and I’m convinced it was a nasty variant of covid. Testing isn’t accurate anymore and those tests cost $20/each, not (100%) covered by insurance, and you ‘should’ use at least 4 tests over the span of 3 days.

Y’all. I have only been in the work force for 4 ish years and I am ready to retire. If I loose this position I’m not even going to attempt to look for anything else. I’m going to leave society and if I die then oh well. The concept of being born for the purpose of working until you die is the most cruel and unethical thing I could ever do to another human being. I love my hypothetical children so much that they will never exist. I love my hypothetical children that I will do everything in my power to make sure they are never conceived. There is nothing worst then to be born into this form of slavery and to never to be able to opt out of it except for death.

[helly-watermelonsmellinfellon]

Getting a bit tired of having to hear Dave demanding to know if 'anyone gave us money' every damn day. Even if I did get paid, we sure as hell ain't giving him the PayPal card.

To put it into perspective, My Ko-Fi has brought in an ass load. Through commissions and memberships alone, I could have bought 32 PS5s by now. Through straight up donations, I could have gotten 14 PS5s. Together, that is 46 PS5s at $500 each. And then some.

I have to be mature. I can't use that for anything personal. I'm doing surveys on the side to pay for my own PS+ monthly cuz I can't even use the money I make for myself!

We always run out of food by the last week. Mom's check only lasts us 3 weeks. And guess what? We have ANOTHER mouth to feed!

Dave has, for the fifth time and without mom's approval, given a friend of his our couch for free. So, for the fifth time, there is a stranger sleeping in our house against most everyone's wishes. And, as always, they aren't expected to help out at all. Not with money, groceries, bills, etc. But Dave has all the time in the world to bitch to Bethy over me being useless and then got mad cuz she told him that I'm the one who kept all of us in motels while we were homeless and that despite him changing the story over and over, he sat on his ass for over a year doing nothing(August 2021 to Feb 2023).

We ran out of food this week and mom's check doesn't come in until after the 20th. Dave doesn't pitch in with bills, groceries, car insurance, gas, or the like. AND he's paying off a blackmailer and trying to hide it! The most useful thing he did this week was go to a food bank, after arguing with mom for 10 minutes over how he didn't want to make the drive over, and get a single box of canned goods.

There's just more important stuff and until we can be sure that we are safe and stable, I'm never going to be able to save up my own money for anything.

[earthmoonlotus]

Bear with me, this post has been in draft states for a little under a month. (I've needed to make it for longer, but now is better than never.)

Hey so...uhhh...I'm really trapped in capitalism right now. There are so many things I could do if I just had money, but I don't (and I've been essentially without it since August, after being laid off from a seasonal job in July), and I've been applying for a bunch of jobs that say they're hiring but not hearing anything back. I was fortunately able to secure one job where I get 4-6 hours on Wednesday evenings - for which I got my first paycheck last Friday, it was $163 -, but that's not gonna be nearly enough hours; I'm trying to get a second or possibly even third job, and I've applied to several places over the last few weeks, but so far no luck.

It doesn't help that I don't have a car and am now living in a rural and super car-dependent place, where it's more than an hour walk to the nearest bus stop, and a trip that takes less than half an hour by car would take over an hour by bus, not even counting the extra hour it would take for me to walk from my house to the bus stop. My mom and I have arranged that she can drop me off in the nearest town that really has stuff going on (and where I've been dropping of my resume in places that are or might be hiring) on Wednesdays, Thursdays, and Fridays, but if possible I would like to be able to work more days than that, but I haven't found anyone who can regularly get me to the nearby town in the late morning or early afternoon on any other day. Only being able to work 3 days a week means that even a cheap used car is gonna take me close to half a year to save up for (and that's if I get another job where I can actually *work* all 3 of those days, on top of the Wednesday evening job I already have, and if I don't spend *any* of the money I earn during that time, and it's not even counting gas and insurance and stuff), and if not for car dependency I would wanna be saving for better music equipment instead, since I'd like to be a video-game composer. But without a car I'm basically trapped at home for most of the week, and there's not really much I can do about it - not even work to get myself the money for a better situation.

On top of all this, my fiancee Serenity has been in *serious* financial need for a while now. Fae has been in need of a lawyer for some time because the government has basically put faer in a catch-22 with getting permanent residence (requiring certain documents from the provincial government by a deadline that's sooner than the amount of time it would take the provincial government to get the documents for faer, among other things), but there hasn't even been the remote chance of faer being able to afford a lawyer, considering that fae is living on disability and can barely even afford groceries after the bills are paid. On top of this, fae was unceremoniously dropped from receiving the service from a nonprofit that had supposedly been helping faer with legal stuff; they said it was because fae was aging out of the demographic they serve, but fae had already been over that age when the serious legal help had begun (and the nonprofit people knew this), and the switch from offering help to saying "actually you're too old and we can't help you at all" was very sudden and came without warning. It was only recently that fae was able to even get faer legal documents back from the hands of the nonprofit, even though they dropped faer months ago. We've found a lawyer who specializes in immigration and will likely actually get stuff done (unlike the fickleness of nonprofit help), but she charges over $200CAD for a consultation, which neither of us are even close to having and being able to spend. (And that won't even cover further services.)

Not only that, but since fae hit faer head and got a concussion in June, which lead to fainting and further concussions soon after (which fae is still recovering from), fae has been unable to adequately take care of faerself and needing to rely more heavily on things like food delivery and uber, and it's put faer into a lot of debt. Fae is still having a lot of trouble cooking for faerself, and though fae's been eating a lot of cereal and drinking a lot of protien shakes, it's still resulted in increased food-related expenses compared to what would be ideal or normal. Serenity could also really use a new shower curtain (and this has been the case for like a year at this point), but hasn't been able to afford one. In addition, faer dryer hasn't been usable for some time, but finances have been a barrier to getting maintenance done on it, so we're stuck with mildew-y clothes and towels hung on racks (which we don't have enough of, or enough space for) whenever I visit. Last time I showered at faer place I honestly didn't really feel comfortable using any of the towels, since the "cleanest" one was all crusty from not having gotten dried properly. It's been hard for me to tolerate while visiting, so I can only imagine how hard it is for faer to deal with 24/7.

Fae gets only about $1100 Canadian per month (that's only like $860 in US dollars), and is only able to keep less than $200CAD per month after rent and bills. And that's not even counting the recent credit card debt, or cat-care-related expenses which have also been a lot; we were at the vetrenarian back in August to pick up meds and food for faer cat Buyunga, and it all added up to like $180 CAD which unfortunately had to go to the credit card. (And Buyunga's needs are ongoing; her meds should be picked up every couple weeks, but Serenity hasn't been able to adequately provide them to her because of all these financial issues, and fae's been forced to stretch the doses. The last time fae picked up Buyunga's medicine was over a week ago so she'll be due for it again really soon, even at the current rate of stretched doses.)

Any form of chipping in would be appreciated - both to help me get on my feet (and ideally be able to get a car, which will allow me to work more than just 3 days a week), and to help Serenity out of the hole that fae has been forced into. You can send Serenity money directly under paypal.me/LunaFleur. You can send stuff to me on paypal (paypal.me/forAurora), cashapp (#earthmoonlotus), or venmo (feel free to ask for my venmo). Thanks so much. <3

[ancaporado]

Ok, this has been getting shared again, as obviously the fiat inflationary environment is driving up the cost of living faster than wages, leading the left to call for higher wages. The real economic solution to all this is to abandon the centrally planned government monopoly on currency that drives the boom and bust cycle and drives up the asset prices of the ultrawealthy. What's annoying to me is that we can't criticize the hypothetical or real women who is being described in this situation. 0:00 "you know how to spend a $31 million a year in salary" Sure, he gets paid probably too much, cause he can secure bailouts for his corporate bank via the government. Just one year later after grilling Dimon about his salary Rep. Porter (D - CA) would vote yes to give $900 billion in corporate bailouts including JP Morgan. So let's look at the budget for this bank clerk in Irvine, CA: $35,070 Patricia has a 6y/o after tax is $29,100 which in monthly salary is $2425 1 bed apartment $1600 $100 utilities Car payment $250 Monthly gas $150 low cost food budget: $400 cheap cell phone $40 child care: $450 Budget shortfall: $567

Now the questions we're not allowed to ask, because single moms are the most deified group in our society, is where is the father? Is there no child support coming in? If not, why did she have a child with a dead beat? Why is he gone in the first place? Was is divorce? 70% of divorces are initiated by women. Was it domestic abuse? Did you seek assistance from charity for that? Is she a widow? If she was a widow why didn't you get a life insurance payment? Why are you living in this expensive city? Do you have family there? Can they assist you financially? Can they assist with child care? Can you move in with you parents? Your aunt or uncles? Any siblings? Rep. Porter wants us to ask why can't the bank pay a living wage for a 'families' to make ends meet, but this is not a family, this is a single women living alone raising the child she chose to have with a deadbeat who left her, or a husband she scared off, or a husband who was too stupid to acquire life insurance. She has no immediate or extended family, but she MUST live in one of the most expensive places in america. There is no option to move to a cheaper place, acquire roommates, or live with family. $1600 a month is way too high for this woman's budget for a place to live and simply has to accept either living with family, acquiring a roommate, or moving to a cheaper location. By the way, if she didn't pay income taxes, she would make up most of that budget shortfall, she pays $497.50 in income tax a month. Also gas taxes in California are usually the highest in the nation: taxes and fees make up $1.18/gallon. If gas was $4.36/gallon in Irvine, CA then by removing the gas tax she'd save 27% a month on her gas bill bringing that down to $111/month. No gas taxes would save her $39 a month.

Why is she driving an average of 23miles a day (assuming her minivan gets 20mpg). Why does she live so far from work? Or her kids school? Why pay that much to live somewhere and still need to drive an average of 23 miles a day, every single day? Irvine is only 10 miles across in the first place. She's driving the whole of the town and back again every single day? It's got an okay bus system just $69/month for an unlimited bus pass, getting rid of the car would save $331/month. Okay, now the $250 car payment... on a 2008 minivan... for your single child? She could easily have a smaller vehicle that would cost less to purchase, less to operate, less to insure etc... But the current KBB for a used 2008 Chrysler town and country is... $4000! Even with no money down, she should be spending closer to $120/month on the car payment (3 year loan at 6%), not $250. Factor in some insurance at $60/month, we're still talking a savings of $70/month. Again, this woman needs to eliminate her child care by either asking family, maybe her retired parents, aunts/uncles, or a sibling or in-law. Why can't she negotiate working 6 hour days M-F so she can be with the child after school, and work Saturdays while the child is with a friend or relative? $450 a month saved right there. But most of all, why the hell are you living in Irvine on such a low wage? Not everyone gets to live everywhere. It would be nice to be just minutes from the beach, Catalina island, 3 state parks... but guess what? Lots of other people want to live there too! The rent is going to reflect that. By the way, I just looked up and now the average single bedroom rent in Irvine, CA is as of February 2023 $2,726! Okay, so the elephant in the room, is that this single mom is still going to receive welfare from the state and federal government. Her real income is going to be about $51,000 if you include her housing, medical, and childcare credits, etc...

This is a woman who made a bunch of shitty life choices and we take up the slack for her and her kid so she doesn't actually have too engage with her community, family, or child's father. But i'm glad she gets to live minutes from the beach!

[canisbaileyilupus]

I've had a lot going on, time to recap. Can't seem to do a read more on mobile for some reason.

My mom's friend is mentally ill and has been floating around with meds for a couple years and hasn't been consistent in taking them properly. She's also a recovering alcoholic and relapses often.

My mom has been friends with her for 30 years and I am forced to live with my mom bc I can't live alone (rent is awful). Now, mom decides on her own to let her live with us. I disagree but she never asked me. So, in August (I think?) She moves in. She's been told it's not permanent and she'd have to get back on her feet since she was escaping an abusive relationship. Not my problem, I didn't have a choice. So, she's been told the rules, no smoking inside, clean up after yourself, no drugs or alcohol, take her meds on time, etc. This also included buying her own food and paying rent. Mom then goes back on that, saying she can buy her own food but also share ours. That wasn't in the agreement, but I can't fight her on it. Now, food and bills go up. It's costing me more to feed this 55 year old spoiled brat than to put gas in the car.

Since being diagnosed with autism, she's ignored my "I can't handle loud voices and sounds" and the rules of "be quiet or people will report us." She uses her vape pen inside (yes that's included in the smoking rule) and she's relapsed twice since being here (alcohol). She waits until the last minute to make phone calls to therapists, doctors, and housing office to find a place to live. When she doesn't get the therapy she wants she throws a fit.

Now, it's months later, and we got our very first lease violation. The apartment complex office is aware we have someone living here that's not on the lease. And she's been warned on her voice (blames BPD) so much it's annoying and that's also a lease violation.

I am in fear of being evicted. This is our only warning. The next time they send our a lease violation email, they will file eviction papers and we will end up with 30 days to leave.

This is what I've been dealing with for months. I'm so fucking tired.

And there's a lot of small things that bother me too, really gross stuff. She shits and pees herself and refuses to wear diapers. She has done so much laundry it's scary. If we paid for water, we would be unable to live here. She uses a full roll of toilet paper a day to wipe her ass and absolutely explodes the toilet. She leaves her hair everywhere. She never put her shit away either, everything is everywhere. Every room she goes in it's like a tornado. She also doesn't clean her dishes, leaves coffee grounds everywhere and doesn't understand that the water bottles are for my mom and I bc we can't drink the tap water. She's also said I'm rude bc I don't want to have a conversation. I'm not someone who talks a lot, everyone knows this about me. If I wanna talk, I'll talk. If not, I don't participate in conversation.

Let's put this last bit out here for you guys. She is spoiled. She has gotten everything she's ever wanted to a point where if she wanted money, all she has to do is cry to the right people, annoy her mother long enough, abuse her power over a partner to a point they give her money. Even now, she's 55 and her mom is dealing with her father who has dementia. She still calls her crying and to shut her up her mom throws money at her. She's had a maid pretty much her whole life and has never had to struggle financially. Now that she is poor, she doesn't want to give up her spending habits and everytime she has a little money she'll buy shit she doesn't need, including furniture she can't put anywhere for an apartment she doesn't have.

I'll be adding photos when I get a moment as well. Some photos will include a toilet bowl but only if people wanna see it.

[lgg5989]

Donut Miss Me - Carole&Goose

A/N: This is a Carole x Goose fic because they deserve more attention! Planning on having multiple chapters to this fic, and like all the rest of my fics, please comment if there is something you want to see a chapter written about! 

Also on Ao3!

---

Nick was sitting on his bunk, he was leaned up against his pillow, pen tapping lightly against his mustache, a notebook propped up against his bent knees. He was contemplating what he should write home, a small bout of writer’s block kept his pen from touching the paper. He was glad that he didn’t get to call home often because Carole would be able to tell that something was up just by the tone of his voice. 

He thought that he had a good start so far, Carole, was written across the top of the page in his chicken scratch. Letting out a deep sigh, he pulled the picture he carried of her in his wallet out. She was so beautiful, her blonde hair held back by a headband, a powdered sugar donut held in her mouth, and chunky sunglasses covering her eyes. He smiled at the memory of that day, he had taken her to a car show not far from their hometown of Graysville, Tennessee. Mornings didn’t agree with Carole and stopping at the gas station had been her idea. 

“Nick, you are buying me breakfast, even if its just gas station donuts,” she said sassily. 

He rolled his eyes at her antics, “Honey, its not that early,” he said glancing at the clock on the dash of his car, chuckling, “Its seven thirty, once I go into the Navy, I’ll have been up for hours by this time.” 

Carole laughed at him, “Well you aren’t in the Navy yet, and neither am I, so that means breakfast!” she said as she looked at him with a radiant smile on her face. 

Regardless of what he thought, he rolled the car into the gas station parking lot, he needed to top off the tank anyway. He pulled up to the pump and walked inside with Carole next to him, she started browsing the aisles while he paid for their gas. He found her standing in front of the snack cakes, a bag of donuts and a hot coffee in her hand. She was sporting her usual Carole look in a black tank, cut off shorts, and converse sneakers. Nick couldn’t get over how lucky he was to be with her. 

“Here honey,” he said, handing her a ten dollar bill, “I want change this time though,” he added, raising his eyebrows at her as she gave the cutest pouty face he had ever seen. 

He made his way back out to his car, he wasn’t driving anything fancy, just his family’s Chevy Impala. As he turned around from putting the pump up, he saw her step out of the gas station, picking a powdered sugar donut from the bag and placing it between her lips before reaching up to place her sunglasses down on her face. Nick reached into the front seat of the Impala and grabbed his camera, quickly snapping a polaroid of her. 

“What did you take a picture of already?” she said, sounding amused, “We haven’t even gotten to the show yet.”

“A certain beautiful woman eating a powdered donut,” he said back, his voice overexaggerating the word beautiful. 

He handed her the picture to shake, and when it finished developing he placed it in his wallet where he knew it’d always be. 

He turned the polaroid over, taking in Carole’s script on the back, Donut miss me too much, she had written before he left for the Naval Academy years ago. He was always surprised at how nice the writing still looked after all the years in his wallet. He admired her beautiful face for a few more minutes, and the only thought that crossed his mind was that he missed her. His life in the Navy was fun, but life with Carole was like living in a dream. She was fiery and full of life, and being separated from her had been hell, and as much fun as he was having couldn’t make up for how dim things seemed without her fire. 

I miss you. None of these guys understand my humor like you do. We’ve started to fly more than we sit in the classroom which is nice, but the boys make even more fun of my accent over the coms. They gave me my callsign, I’m just not sure how I like it. Goose. They heard me laugh for the first time and someone said that I sounded like a goose’s honk. I guess it could be worse. 

You know I am prepared for the physical requirements, but the learning is starting to wear on me. If I don’t know what I am doing, our lives are at risk, just like how his flying can put our lives at risk. I want us to be friends, to know that the other will always make the right decision for the both of us. I’m tired and rest doesn’t always come easily. I wish you were here, I would give anything to have you wrapped up in my arms tonight. 

Nick smirked at his innuendo, he was sure it would make Carole blush. After a moment he sighed deeply, hopefully Carole wouldn’t worry about him too much, while these topics were heavier, she was the only one that he wanted to discuss his feelings with. The truth that he wasn’t ready to admit to himself was that he was feeling insecure about his choice to join the Navy. He had always thought of himself as a tough guy, but with the mental and physical challenges that flight school was throwing at him, he wasn’t so sure anymore. 

I met a pilot that I think has my back, Pete Mitchell, callsign Maverick, but I call him Mav. He’s the best pilot I have ever met, even if he is a little cocky. He reminds me of you, a little over the top, but the best friend you could ever have. We have been paired for the past week of training and I think I want to request to be his RIO permanently. He has had a rough life, hasn’t said much about it but I get the feeling that he doesn’t have anyone in the world. 

I know that mom and dad are still upset with me, even though it has been a few years, but give them my love if you see them in town. Don’t let them be too hard on you. You are the one who encouraged me to follow my dreams and you shouldn’t be punished for that, especially since they couldn’t support me. 

Nick was the youngest of two boys in the Bradshaw’s family. His parents had been upset with him joining the Navy because his older brother, Danny, had already joined a few years ago. Their mom was worried that she would lose both of her sons in combat, and had taken that worry out on Nick when he told everyone he had been accepted to the US Naval Academy, they hadn’t spoken since. 

Do you think you will be able to make it to Florida for our flight school tap out ceremony? I would give anything to see you. That picture I have of you, in the red dress you got in Nashville, has been keeping me going, but its nothing compared to the real thing.

All my love, 

Nick

He signed the letter with his name and folded it up neatly before slipping it into an envelope and writing their shared address on it. Carole was still living in Tennessee working as a teacher at the elementary school in their hometown. They shared an apartment just off the town square. When Nick was away, he would send most of his money to Carole to help pay the rent and to save for a house, only keeping what he needed to live on. 

As excited as he was about potentially seeing Carole for graduation, he was also nervous. A few weekends ago he had gone to the jewelry store and picked out an engagement ring for her. He didn’t pick out anything too big or showy, Carole liked things to be simple and classic. It was a one carat princess cut diamond settled on a thin gold band and he knew she would love it. Once he had the ring, he felt his whole personality shift from the fun, carefree guy, to a nervous wreck. He only hoped that she wouldn’t be able to tell before he could pop the question. 

—

Carole had been expecting Nick’s letter any day now. Usually it would be a week or so between their correspondence due to Nick’s busy schedule and her fast paced job. As she made her way to the mailbox after work, she jumped with excitement when she saw the familiar brown envelope sitting in the mailbox. Grabbing it quickly, she made her way back inside, a lightness in her steps. 

She sat her things down on the counter before making her way to the couch, plopping down on it as she tore into the envelope. Inside she found a notebook piece of paper that was covered in Nick’s handwriting, or what could barely pass as handwriting. A smile covered her face as she read the letter, life at home was not easy while he was away and she found herself desperately missing his humor, it always made her tiring days better. 

When she had finished Nick’s letter, Carole moved from the couch to get a pad of paper and a pen from the kitchen. She made herself a cup of tea before sitting down at the counter to write her reply. 

Nick (or should I say Goose?),

Honey, I love you, but those boys picked your callsign perfectly. I have been thinking that your laugh sounded like a goose for years, I just didn’t have the heart to tell you. 

Carole laughed at herself. She loved Nick to death, but the man’s laugh was obnoxious, and one of the things she loved most about him. Looking over his letter again, she continued writing her own. 

Nick! You are so bad! Yes, we both know that you are in shape. I’m sorry that the classroom work has been wearing you down. You worry because you care and that will mean something to the right pilot. He needs you just as much as you need him and I think that becoming good friends with him is your best bet at staying safe when you’re in the air. I know that it would make me feel better knowing that someone had your back like you have theirs. 

I wish I could be there with you. There have been quite a few nights here where storms have kept me up wishing that you were here to hold me close with every thunder crack. I will never admit to how many nights I have slept with the light on since you’ve been gone. I don’t think the separation will ever get easier for us, but just know that I love you and I am thinking of you always.

Carole, the grown woman that she was, had a fear of thunderstorms and a bit of an overactive imagination. When Nick was home it was never a problem, his presence always helped to calm her nerves when there was a storm raging outside, and at night she felt safer when he was laying next to her in bed. She was an independent woman, but who didn’t want to feel protected every now and then? 

While she worried about Nick’s safety, she knew that he would always come home to her. Nick Bradshaw had been head over heels in love with her since the day they met and he wouldn’t leave her or this world without a fight. She smiled to herself as she held her tea cup to her lips, staring out the door to the patio, Nick was the best man she knew.

Carole had her eye on Nick Bradshaw since the day they started high school together. He was kind, funny, and handsome, at least she thought he was. They had been attending the same school for only a few years and her friends had been relentlessly making fun of her crush since they found out. She still remembered the day he asked her out like it was yesterday. 

One particular lunch period, she found herself listening to their commentary on his mustache, but all she could think about was his kind eyes. He had looked up a few times from his own table and caught her staring at him, and she could feel the blush slowly covering her face from being caught. 

She was pulled from her admiration by Michelle’s loud voice, “I don’t know what you see in him, Carole, that mustache is horrendous. His jokes aren’t even that funny either.” 

The cafeteria’s noise was in a lull when Michelle had practically announced her crush and Carole felt her face flame more red than before. She turned to her ‘friend’ and said, “Well I happen to like his mustache, and I think he is hilarious,” before getting up and leaving the cafeteria, hurrying to the bathroom. 

Before she could get very far from the cafeteria doors, a warm hand grabbed her own as the owner said, “Hey, Carole.” Her heart sank, she knew that voice better than she ever thought she would, Nick Bradshaw had followed her out of the cafeteria, probably to reject her. 

Turning slowly, her eyes on his feet she gave him a meek, “Hey, Nick,” in return. 

His palm felt a little sweaty where it sat on her wrist as they stood there for a short moment before he continued, “I, uh, I overheard your friends,” he said quietly, the silence engulfing them feeling both tense and awkward. 

Carole sighed, tears pricking in her eyes, “If you’re here to gloat about how I like you and your stupid mustache then I don’t want to hear it Bradshaw,” she choked out. She wanted to escape to the bathroom to let out the tears she was holding back. 

She felt his hand release her wrist, and just as she was considering turning to leave him there, his fingers found her chin, lifting her face to look at him. “Hey,” he said quietly, trying to comfort her, “I like you too, I just wasn’t sure how you felt about me.” 

Carole felt her mouth drop, the tears she was worried about moments before disappeared from her eyes. She knew that she was pretty, maybe not to society’s standards, but Nick could have his pick of all the girls in this school and she was the one he liked? A breathless, “Really?” left her mouth. 

“Yeah,” he said, a small smile coming over his face, “Can I take you out this Friday? They’re doing a double feature at the drive-in.” 

“Yes!” flew out of Carole’s mouth, a smile splitting her face. She tried to regain her composure, but it was impossible, “I guess I’ll give you a chance Bradshaw. You can pick me up at 7:30,” she said, the smile still plastered over her face. The guy that she had liked for years had asked her out, this was the best day ever.  

“I’ll see you then,” he said, an equally giddy look on his own. The bell rang, signaling their need to go to class. He let go of her wrist, but not before planting a kiss on her knuckles. As they made their way in separate directions down the hall, she called out over her shoulder, “Don’t be late Bradshaw.” 

“Wouldn’t dream of it, Evans,” he said back. Carole glanced over her shoulder and caught a glimpse of him standing in the middle of the hall watching her walk to class.  

She took a sip of her tea, burning her tongue on the hot liquid, effectively pulling herself out of her memories. She placed the cup down on the counter, a look of betrayal crossing her face, before she picked the pen back up focusing on her letter once more. 

Maverick is an interesting callsign… Are you sure he is the one you want to be a RIO for? Maybe you should try to get closer to him before you decide to commit to that? Get to know him and what he is dealing with, be friends. I trust your judgment but I will have to meet him at the tap out ceremony before I fully trust him. He might remind you of me but I want to see for myself.

If I see them I will try to give them your love. Its been a while since your mom accused me of forcing you to leave home but I will stay vigilant, I know that their frustration is misguided. I will support you in anything honey, I hope that you know that. 

Of course I will be in Florida for your ceremony, I wouldn’t miss it for the world. The drive isn’t too far so I’ll be there a few days early. I can’t wait to see you again. There was a pretty black number hanging in the window of the thrift shop last week that I had to have, I know you will love it. 

Love, 

Carole 

xoxo

Before she sent the letter, Carole snapped a picture of the dress. It had been a little big on her, but she loved the style and knew that Nick would love it on her. It was a strapless little black thing that made her feel like a million dollars, and she couldn’t resist buying it. She had done the few alterations herself to make sure it would fit alright and it had been hanging on the back of their bedroom door ever since, waiting to be packed to go to Florida. 

Carefully folding the letter with the photo tucked inside, she slipped it into the waiting envelope. Addressing it to Nick ‘Goose’ Bradshaw before sticking a stamp on it. The next day, on her way to work, she made sure to place it safely in the mailbox. This was going to be the longest two weeks of her life. 

[fireyturtle]

It's late enough at night that I think I can post videos and pics to show everyone what happened to us through the hurricane.

This was storm surge about to enter my house after Hurricane Ian hit. Each of us quickly packed our necessities, our memories, anything important to us into a bag and pushed through rising water into our cars to evacuate to higher ground. Keep in mind the wind is still going over 100mph when we went outside. We thought our house was going to flood. We were either going to die in the house or die in our cars outside. We managed to evacuate safely to a friend's house and slept there for the night. On Thursday morning we drove back to our house to make sure it was okay.

It flooded our garage but did not go inside our house by some miracle. The water must've stopped rising soon after we left. When we left it was already touching the front door so I thought for sure it would've flooded inside. You can see from the box, that it was about a foot or more of water creeping up to our house. Our house survived another hurricane. We just had to clean up the yard and survive however long it would take for utilities to turn back on.

The trauma and fear from this is unreal. I've lived in this house literally my entire life. We've never moved once. And I thought I was about to have lost everything I've ever known. I thought we were going to be homeless. I actually thought we were all going to die. I called my fiancé and literally gave him my final words. I told him how much I love him and that this may be the last time we talk ever again. I made a goodbye video so he could see me one last time. If anything happened to us or our cars while we were outside, I believed we would die. It is only by sheer luck did we survive and make it through this the way we did.

What I worry about now is that it's been a week since the hurricane hit but we still don't have power. One of my jobs doesn't have power. We struggled to get gas until recently. None of us can work and have income to pay our bills. And those bills are coming up at the end of the month. I work 2 jobs to help pay for things and only one of them has power. The one that is the furthest away, costing me more gas and more money.

At the end of this month I plan to visit my fiance. This was a pre-planned trip months in advance and already paid for. I'm not giving up this opportunity to see him and us hold each other and cry from almost losing each other forever. But while I'm gone, I worry about my family being able to take care of themselves. They still may not be back to work by the time I leave just because of how long it's taken to repair everything. I'm going to be leaving funds for them here while I'm away but I worry it's not enough. So I created a paypal link in case anyone wants to donate to help my family out.

If you want to know more about my family, my dad was diagnosed with stage 4 lung cancer in January 2021. This January makes 2 years since his diagnosis and it's scary for us all. We still have to continue paying for his treatment and lab work. He's been so stressed through this I'm worried it's going to affect his health. Because of his lung cancer, he's not able to work anymore and has retired. If he pushes himself too hard, he'll get really weak and wheeze. He struggles to catch his breath and almost collapses. He's already done this to himself a couple of times this week due to the stress and heat.

My mom and brother both work from home, but that requires an internet connection. We can get power back but still not have internet, so they still won't be able to work.

I have a 14 year old chihuahua named Taz who I love with all my heart. He's been stressed out since we evacuated suddenly on Thursday. He sleeps in front of a fan for half of the day cause the heat is too much for him in his age. We do our best to make him comfortable. Here he is sleeping in front of the fan:

My brother's wife also lives with us so that makes 5 people in one house plus a small dog. Our food bill was like $250-$300 a week just on dinner meals and some snacks. We've tried our best to trim it down as much as possible but $200-$300 seems to be the range. We've stored some food in preparation for the hurricane, so we do have some stock for now, but we will have to buy more food at some point and that will cost money we don't really have right now. At the end of this month our bills are due. Literally 2-3 weeks from now. And no one other than me would have been working during that time. And I do not make even close to enough to pay for all of our bills. And since I will be gone, there's next month to worry about as well.

I don't know how long it will take the city to recover from this. I don't know how long it will take for my family to recover. But we are all heavily traumatized and stressed out. That's why any and all help is greatly appreciated. I have friends around me who can give me a place to shower or wash my clothes, but I wouldn't dare ask them for money during this. They are hurting too.

I created this paypal.me link a few days ago. If all you can send is $1, that's fine. I appreciate it nonetheless. I know things are tough on everyone.

If you have the ability to donate and wish to, my link is:

Paypal.me/fireyturtle

If this doesn't work for you, let me know and I will figure something out. Thank you if you've read this far. Please be safe and well.

[coochiequeens]

Maybe Congress should listen to these women and make changes accordingly. Especially those members of Congress that want women to have more kids.

The economy is failing American women. That’s the message multiple speakers conveyed — sometimes through tears — to the House Ways and Means Committee during a hearing Wednesday, decrying what they described as the country’s lack of paid leave, its broken care economy and rising costs. In his opening statement, Chairman Richard Neal, a Democrat from Massachusetts, said that, although the COVID-19 pandemic did not create the circumstances that force many women to juggle their careers, care for loved ones and financial instability, it certainly made all of those things worse.

“We are so burned out, exhausted, overworked, and overtired,” Tori Snyder, a single mother to a 4-year-old boy and small-business owner in Pittsburgh, as well as a member of the advocacy group MomsRising, told the legislators. “We’re struggling even more now because it’s so expensive to feed our children. I hope you will invest in the care and the care infrastructure working families need with paid leave for all, affordable childcare, home and community-based services and coverages that address all of our healthcare needs.”

While women’s participation in the labor force is increasing after dropping off earlier in the pandemic, there were still 656,000 fewer women working in May 2022 compared to February 2020, just before COVID-19 hit the U.S., according to the National Women’s Law Center. What’s more, many women who overcame mass school closures, layoffs, and child-care shortages to return to work are left without the same pandemic-era benefits that had once helped them scrape by, since the enhanced child tax credit, a federally mandated paid-leave program, and expanded unemployment benefits have all since expired, despite an increased cost of living.

Nija Phelps of Milford, Conn., said that while her family desired comprehensive paid leave back in 2014, when she and her husband had to quit their jobs to care for her mother-in-law, the need has only increased since then. She was furloughed due to the pandemic in 2020, when she was pregnant with her first child. Her husband was only able to take six weeks of paid leave to care for their newborn, and going back to to work meant potentially exposing himself, the baby and Phelps’s mother-in-law to COVID-19. But their family didn’t really have a choice.

“We had to do what we had to do to keep his job,” Phelps said. “Now my husband has lost his job, and I’m only back to work one day every other week, down from three to four days a week. We’re in a state of constantly being on guard and trying to prepare for whatever comes next, and still stay on top of our finances and caring for our family. My daughter is almost 2, and I’d like to put her in daycare. But the dangers of COVID still persist, and everything is so expensive.”

The expanded unemployment benefits and child-tax credit were a “lifeline,” Phelps said. Now that they’re gone, Phelps’ family is dipping into their retirement savings. 

Donna Price of Cleveland had a similar story of making tough choices during the pandemic. She cares for her 18-year-old autistic son and her disabled mother, on top of being a nurse. Her son’s mental health has suffered during the pandemic, and Price said that she had to take eight weeks off without pay to supervise him early last year, when his school and care program went fully remote due to a surge in the virus. “I struggled to pay rent, put gas in my car, buy groceries, and pay for my mom’s medications,” Price, who is also a member of MomsRising, said. “I was facing $2,000 in unpaid gas bills and $800 in unpaid electric bills. We only made it through with help from my older son and my daughter, who’s a social worker and a police officer. Otherwise, I don’t know what I would’ve done.” 

Eventually, Price had to leave her job at a hospital and take a contract nurse position so she could have more flexibility and better care for her son and mother — even though that meant lower pay and fewer benefits. 

“I know so many working women can relate to my story,” Price said. “As moms, essential workers, and caregivers for elderly parents, we go out every day and do what we need to do to make sure everyone else is cared for. But sometimes it feels like no one is making sure we’re okay. There are days when I just want to know that my health and my financial and emotional well-being matter. That my elected leaders have my back.”

Legislators were divided on how to solve the problem, though. Democrats continued to push the universal paid family and medical leave proposal promoted in President Joe Biden’s Build Back Better agenda, while Republicans railed against “Bidenflation” and said Democrats weren’t open to negotiating with them. They instead voiced their support for a bill that would give incentives to employers who offered such benefits to their workers. “Under President Biden, working women haven’t had it this bad in decades,” Republican Rep. Kevin Brady, the ranking member on the House Ways and Means Committee, said. “And with a looming recession, real wages shrinking, and even higher gas prices ahead, it looks to be getting worse.”

One witness testified in support of the Republican plan: Alicia Huey, the first vice chairman of the board for the National Association of Home Builders and a custom home builder, remodeler, and developer in Birmingham, Ala. She told the legislators that the trade group “strongly believes Congress must pursue flexible, targeted, and incentive-based strategies” for child care and paid leave. She noted, too, that the costly building materials, inflation, and labor constraints are making housing more expensive, which is similarly burdening families and needs equal attention.

“My business and other businesses are struggling with the effects of inflation, and I am concerned about the prospects for a recession next year,” Huey said. “Solving these issues in a bipartisan manner should be a matter of urgency. Critical issues like paid leave and affordable childcare, alongside affordable housing, need solutions with an immediate impact to help working families and small businesses.”

But Democrats were emphatic on universal paid family and medical leave being the best answer, and some grew frustrated with Republicans repeatedly blaming Democrats for rising gas prices and inflation during the hearing. “It must feel a little odd for you to being here, giving testimony about your personal experiences, and be told, essentially, that the problem is really Biden, gasoline, and inflation,” Rep. John Larson, a Connecticut Democrat, said, addressing the witnesses. “Apparently, what you had to say didn’t break through, or there’s a principle going on here that says government mandates are horrific, we should avoid these at all costs.”

[bringmefoxgloves]

uhhhhh $ things and stuff i did today.

removed all my stuff from a storage unit today. which was such a long process..... had to get the new hallway code and then realized i forgot my lock key and had to drive back home to grab it and then we loaded it all into two cars and i just got finished jamming it all into the garage and organizing the garage so we can still walk thru it with the added stuff. now i’m all sweaty and tired and just wanna sleeppppppp but that’s $57 a month off my budget.... literally the biggest bill i paid monthly. 

without the storage bill.... i just have five or six more months of a bill for the tires on a car (which i no longer drive frequently, it’s mostly my younger brother’s car) which i’m paying $10 a month. i only want to push that out for the credit history otherwise i would pay that off immediately. 

after that? i’m not paying for anything except the gas share of me commuting in with my mom. i don’t think i’ll be doing any subscription services and i plan on making my lunches again to take to work, so i’ll be just be paying for food and other incidental costs (medical stuff or whatever comes up) but i plan on saving so much. my savings account is gonna be huge lmao

and tonight i’m applying to costco which if i get it it’ll be $17 an hour, and (i think??? as long as the article i read was accurate) if i get that it’ll also include free membership to costco which i can also gift to my parents so that’ll be an added burden off their backs with my employment.

basically this is all a long winded way of saying we’re tightening our belts to afford the lawyer for probate on that house a talked about like three days ago. cause our family is seriously planning out how to make this move to hawaii. but it’ll take a year or more likely and it’s not happening anytime soon. but this will be a generational house cause it was my great grandfathers and my mom wants it to be passed on to my generation’s kids too. 

also my older brother and i (the two brownest people i have known for most of my life as we’re half filipino) will just.... be so much more comfortable there. like every day i worry about my brother out in wisconsin (he literally lives like 30 minutes from that town in wisconsin that had that senior pic with all the kids flashing n*zi salutes) and like here in oregon? there’s towns and neighborhoods and stores i know to avoid. and like every time a big jacked up truck gets pissed off at me and tailgates i tense up and wonder if this is where i get shot cause i can see their ‘don’t tread on me’ and tr*mp and american flags flying high off their bed. idk i just think i will be able to breathe again and not feel like i’m the only non white person for miles. 

[lunarsilkscreen]

Why P&T BS is BS: Taxes

On P&T BS about taxes, their main argument was that taxes ultimately result in people having 0 money left.

Suggesting "Tax upon Tax upon Tax" results in somebody having 0$ total of their earned wealth.

This is an incredibly simple and rudimentary understanding of currency. And misses much about the actual compounding issue.

For P&T though, and they should have made this distinction; nearly everything is a tax. Rent? A tax, Food? Tax. Electric bill? Believe it or not; tax. Water bill? Pure tax. And don't get me started on income tax, payroll tax, and Sales Tax.

For Employers; Paying people *is* a tax, and they wonder why they have to pay taxes to pay employees. Simultaneously, the employee *getting paid* is also taxed on their earned income. AND ON TOP OF THAT; States need to implement their own Taxes in order to function. And this is usually posted as a Sales Tax.

And after that; that *doesn't* even include Gas (another tax,) car payment (definitely a tax if the car isn't a luxury brand,) Social Security (which is the *only* tax that directly benefits the payer,) and health insurance.

Which nobody can afford, so we make the employers pay it. (Another Tax)

So, we are expected, while paying all these taxes, to be able to save *money* for when problems arise. This is what is expected of everyone that *isn't* rich. And Rich people are assumed to already have a large static amount of money to fall back on. Especially if they don't enjoy their job.

And then they're (the rich) are expected to invest their own money, and then pay money on the income they make *from* investing.

The poor's are too, because how can you expect to retire without a nest egg?

Which .. may or may not be taxed. Depending on if you've payed the tax before or after you put the money in your investment account.

There is good and bad to both, but we already know; if we invest more money; we have a better chance of getting more money back. If we invest evenly across the market, we should be able to get some % back, provided it doesn't tank.

Which becomes a tax to the companies when they wish to purchase their shares back to preserve control over their own company.

Now, if the money is a Sump(or lake), then taxes allow governments to put the water back into the lake to use in their budget. The alternative; is that the Government sells products to the public to get the money back.

Which is where we come face to face with the real definition of Socialism.

This is the actual definition of Socialism, not the backwards one we use as an argument. The arms of Socialism means that the government doesn't own the arms to produce products to sell to people. Either as imports or exports.

Capitalism is the arm that says that "Corporations" composed of Civilians should be in charge of Exports. So that they make money.

And so the government produces no goods for the common person; only services. And those services are what we're supposed to get back for all those taxes.

If you're rich, and therefore not reliant on the government. Then you don't need the Services. And therefore; you believe that since you don't use these services, you shouldn't have to pay.

Except you do *use* the service. You use Capitalism and Socialism both to perform your job. The government allows you to function as you do.

So the argument that you don't rely on any government services is garbage. In fact; you rely on services that your average person cannot use. Simply because of the amount of money and the scales of economy.

And because that doesn't allow individuals to strike out on their own, that is; afford all those taxes I stated above without being the barest level of success, traps people in having to work for somebody else.

Several Jobs to save up enough money, AND a side job if you want to start your own business. Or keep it as a hobby.

People don't need to sleep, people don't need vacations, people don't need cruises or luxuries. If you can afford them and you take them; you're the lazy one.

[waddellstevenson38]

How Do Truck Drivers Get Paid? Munley Legislation Private Damage Attorneys

However, yow will discover ways to optimize your gas by avoiding idling the truck and becoming a member of gasoline reward packages. As you study extra about the particular kinds of loads you’ll carry and turn out to be more skilled at operating your small business, you’ll be ready to estimate your gasoline costs utilizing historical information. Before setting prices and negotiating charges with carriers, owner-operators want to understand their expenses in-depth and the way those will impact their final salary. That way, they tackle loads with the best profitability based mostly on their specialty and use their time wisely. trucker tax For instance, many owner-operators are thought-about self-contractors, which implies taxes, medical insurance, and other factors fall on them. Management duties can embody finding freight alternatives, dealing with billing, hiring others, and really delivering loads. Not only are their duties that have to be carried out, but all expenses must be lined as properly. If you are trying to take out a business loan to help fund your trucking startup, I always advocate the SBA Microloan program. If you are in a position to lease a truck and also you want $50,000 or much less for working capital to cover your preliminary expenses, the SBA Microloan program is a great fit. I spent 10 years because the Executive Director of an SBA Microlender and we funded extra trucking startups than another type of business, so I know it's possible! The more expenses you possibly can deduct, the much less your taxable income might be. This is where are nice tax professional could be particularly useful. They can determine deductible expenses that you'd by no means have observed, and they can also ensure that each deduction is authorized and won’t result in an audit. More importantly, most reputable tax professionals will assure their work by taking any responsibility for an audit- together with paying any fines or again taxes which would possibly be charged as a end result of the audit. Most truck drivers attempt to be the latter, because it offers them autonomy over their work hours and productiveness. The freedom to decide on how and once they work, agents or folks they work with, and financial control are some of the motivating elements behind this desire. Most importantly, have your accountant agree with you on how you will monitor your expenses. Regardless of revenue for the load you carry, you make a set quantity per mile that you just transport the load. This supplies far higher consistency in income than the opposite technique of charging prospects and ensures you cover your expenses for each load. However, you could also miss out on massive payouts for short distances utilizing this method as a outcome of a percentage of the load may be fairly lucrative. This is very problematic because it could enhance costs over the long term and result in security violations. As newer model vehicles proceed to extend in price, many log truck house owners choose to function older car models to haul wood. This might result in some issues with dependability and upkeep costs, and may make it harder to recruit and retain the best drivers. At the time of publication, gas prices are relatively high compared to historical prices, and insurance coverage premiums are continuing to extend for log truck house owners. Filing a Form 1099-MISC (Miscellaneous Income) is the responsibility of self-employed truck drivers. You have to report that income, together with any expenses, on the IRS Schedule C (Profit and Loss from Business). You will also need to report your self-employment taxes and report them in your form 1040 if your web earnings are at least $400. The average owner operator trucking business can generate $103,000 in annual revenue after expenses. We estimated some variable costs per mile, but these can range relying on where you're driving, what sort of truck, what kind of route, in addition to inflation. Based on our default estimates, we count on a trucking company with one truck to have up to $1.50 per mile in variable expenses earlier than paying a driver. But selecting the right truck could make any journey somewhat simpler. Owner-operators make their very own calls, to permit them to choose which clients they do and don’t work with. It permits them to manage the stress they take on in exchange for the money they make. When exploring the pros and cons of being an owner-operator there are lots to cover. They don’t understand taxes very nicely, not to mention the nuances concerned in tax preparation for truck drivers. Our trucking accountants suggest that owner-operators get settled into their operation before making a C-Corp or S-Corp election because most of these entities add extra administrative costs. You really need to have six to 12 months of operational historical past so that our CPAs can properly evaluate if it’s cost beneficial. Sometimes you can’t wait due to completely different necessities for motor carriers or other causes, but advise that you delay these decisions every time possible. After expenses, an owner-operator often makes, on average, 70% of the gross income as take house income. This leaves the remaining 30% for expenses similar to insurance, federal registrations, truck and trailer funds, fuel and on the highway dwelling expenses.

[lapismoontide]

Full of Rage

I'm trying not to go off and say things to someone that I don't mean, so I've came here to unleash the beast within.

I am so angry right now.

It seems like nothing goes right for me.

It's the same constant loop of events that happen over and over and over again in my life, and I am so utterly sick and tired of it.

The man I'm with is 2 years older than me. We have been together for 17 years, and it's been nothing but a gigantic struggle the whole entire fucking time.

When will it change?

That's something I constantly ask myself.

Have I tried to do things to make change happen? Oh yeah, that's all I seem to do. Cater to someone in the idea that if I do this different things will change. If I walk lightly, he won't be angry. If I don't say what I think, he won't be mad at me. I'm so fucking sick of this shit. It's so much, I can't even put it all into words. It all always comes out jumbled making no sense to anyone who would read it I'm sure.

So what we have been trying to work on for more than a fucking decade is working. Hahahaha!! Literally, just keeping a fucking job. That's it.

I've worked before, and I am unemployed at the moment. Yeah, I could work. However, every time I do work, my man thinks that he can just quit his job. He thinks that if I am working, there's no reason for him to work. I'll take care of him, his basic needs will be met. He will have a roof over his head, water to wash his ass with, food to eat, internet to play his games on, power to use all utilities, a phone to make calls and talk to women behind my back on, a car to use, gas to put in the car; I could go on and on and on and on.

He thinks that I should work, clean the house, take care of the animals, pay all of the bills (and worry about all of the bills), buy all of the food, cook all of the food; basically do every mother fucking thing there is to do. Take care of him like a mother would take care of a fucking child, and I'm tired of doing it.

So I told him that he can fucking work, and I'll do the rest of it. Which is a fair deal if you really really think about it. If I had to just work, just go to work and that's it? Oh my god, that would be a fucking dream to me. I would absolutely love to just work and not have to worry about a damn thing. Wouldn't you?

How much better of a deal can you fucking get?

He got a job working for a tree company about 9 months ago now. Maybe more. He stayed at this job which was actually astonishing to me, b/c before now he's literally quit every single job for the past decade. Even the tree job, he worked (out of town) the first week having to room with another person (male of course) in a hotel. The hotel was paid for, they gave them $120 a week for food, and they only worked four days out of the week. He comes home after the first week, and says he's not going back. Meanwhile at home, we are drowning. Barely hanging on. Having broken payment promises to every bill company (multiple payment agreements), and he has the audacity to say he is going to quit his job. Knowing that he is the only thing that is keeping us going. So we get into this huge argument, and I basically tell him that I will sign one of my cars over to him if he quits and he can take his first and only check, and leave. B/c I can barely take care of myself, I can't take care of me and him when I have no job, and I'm the only one trying to figure out ways to keep food on the table. Fuck the bills, just food is hard to buy.

However, he ends up going back to the job. Stomping and bitching like a teenager would when you make them go to school, but he goes. So when he leaves this time, he finds out that he is going to be put on a new crew. A crew with a woman as the new foreman b/c they had a crew wreck due to lack of sleep. The old foreman who was driving drove into a sign on the interstate, and it cut his head off. So they appointed this girl that had worked for them for a few months as the foreman b/c idk if you guys know this, but most tree crews like to hire drug addicts with no license. So the only person who had a license that had worked the 90 day probation period was this woman. So she needed at least one person on her crew, and they sent my man b/c he was the newest employee. I thought that this would actually work out b/c my man doesn't get along with any other men, never has. So I knew that him working with a woman, he'd fit right in. He did just that. Never complained about his job ever again. There's a lot to this whole story, I'll tell it another time. Right now however, we're talking about something else.

So he works for this company through his probation period. The lady foreman ends up getting fired, and the only person in the whole company with a license was my man, so he was appointed foreman of that crew. A lot of stuff happens in-between this time, but he stays at the job. Loves it like he's loved no other job. It was b/c he could stay gone all week long, only live at home 2 days out of the week, and do whatever he wanted the rest of the time. He ends up getting fired b/c he was driving the company truck and wasn't supposed to (on his off time). The supervisor actually had told him he could drive it whenever (I heard him). BUT they had a new company take over, and like I said a lot of shit happened. The supervisor threw him under the bus. Acted like he didn't say he could drive, and so he got fired for doing it. That was wrong, I will admit that.

When he comes home, he starts looking for jobs. Says he is older now, says we won't go through the same shit we had been going through prior to him getting this job. Asked me to just trust him, have faith in him. So I did.

He ends up asking that same company for a job in the company in any position. They actually took him back. When the time comes for him to leave tho, he doesn't go. I told him he needed to go, b/c he can't work factory jobs. He can't work any job where he lives at this house and has to go to it every day. He can't do it b/c I am here, and when I'm here he isn't independent. He relies on me too much. Acts like I am his mother too much. I told him what would happen is he would start getting mad about waking up, or mad about me not getting up with him and shit like that. I told him that he'd start bitching and crying, and blaming me for "making him go to work". I stg it reminds me so much of a teenage boy crying to their mama. I told him he needed to take the out of town job. He promised me he wouldn't do all of that stuff. He's "changed". Okay, so I trusted him like he asked me to.

He gets a job with another tree crew, but this one is local. He doesn't take it b/c it's $15 a hour and he was getting paid $24 a hour at the other job. He doesn't understand that he was using almost $500 each week for himself out of town, so basically making $15 a hour is equivalent to the $24 since he's not out of town having to use all of the extra money.

He turns down that job. Says he has another job lined out. He did, and he got the job. This job paid $30+ a hour. Highest paying job in this area, and we are about 5 minutes from the job location. Really great! He works there one week, and then doesn't go the next. Does a no call no show for four days. Tells me he has been given another tree job. Out of town to the same area, just with a different company. Okay, but he didn't even ask what they pay, will he have to room with people, etc. He just impulsively quit the best paying job he can get here, to go with a company he doesn't even know anything about. He just assumes they pay more than the last tree company. He was wrong.

A day before the time comes for him to leave, he tells me that he "doesn't want to leave me". I got so fucking mad, I saw red. You have to understand how frustrating this shit truly is. Then he finds out this company pays $20 a hour, and yes he WILL have to have a room mate. Greatttttt! He tells me he can get the job back with the other company. I didn't believe that, and I told him he needed to go to the tree job.

He agreed, so the time comes for him to leave. I go to the store to get him a few things for his travels. He messages me when I get to the store, and tells me he's told the boss he's not leaving for the tree job. He messaged his job that he did the no call no show at, and they said they'd give him ONE MORE CHANCE.

Okay, I didn't bitch about it none. I just said okay, I trust you.

He goes back to the good paying job. Works a week, and now this week he worked one day, went the next day and worked about a hour and come home. Then today, he quit. Did another no call no show. Great job! He still hasn't provided me with a reason as to WHY THE FUCK he's done this shit.

I told him he needs to go see a fucking doctor because something is fucking wrong with him. He is 34 years old. He shouldn't be acting like this.

I don't expect anyone to fully take care of me. I am fully capable of doing it myself. It pisses me off however when a grown ass MAN thinks that a woman should take care of him, take care of everything, and then still be in a "womanly" role when she's in the bedroom. Fuckkkkkk noooooooo. You put me in a mans role, and I'm going to be in that mentality. Sorry, I don't want to fuck you when I'm taking care of every damn thing there is to take care of. You're like my child at that point anyway, and who wants to touch their son in that way? Get what I am SAYING??????

It makes me the most mad b/c when he quits like this, doesn't prepare, doesn't have any money saved, doesn't have any resources, nothing. What does he do? He expects me to take care of everything. With no job, and I do it. I am getting sick of doing it tho. It's a lot easier to do everything myself on my own. Without a man child hanging on to my tit. He has a mother. She won't take care of him either, but I'll tell him this. That is where he will be going if he doesn't provide a source of income for HIMSELF asap.

Am I wrong for feeling this way? Idk!

[baddfemmeshe]

Manifesting Success story #006

Back with another success story in less than 24 hours

It’s the first of the month so you know bills but I’m happy to pay them. So my rent was almost $200 more than what I was expecting and when I got the notification, instead of reacting to the 3D, I just told myself “okay, I have two days to make some shit happen, let’s get it done”.

30 minutes later my mom calls, which is weird because she normally just texts, but I just went with it. I answered the phone thinking she needed me to help her with something but she was calling to check on me to see if I was okay. Another weird moment because she’s someone who will just wait for you to tell her what’s wrong. So I told her that I’m a little overwhelmed because my rent was more than what I expected but I’ll have it covered before the weekend. I actually had majority of the difference, was just short $50. So I told her I’m short that amount and she said why didn’t I say anything?

Note: I NEVER ask for help because I always find a way

She said, well I’ll just send you $200 because you never ask for anything. More than what I was expecting tbh. She then asked do I have gas in my car? Like what, my gas light literally just came on 🤣. But I was going to put gas in there anyway. So her solution is that since she gets gas cards through her company, every Sunday she’ll fill my tank up for the week.

Like..

Look at my manifestations working. I’m celebrating the little wins because that means the big ones are always around the corner.

Not to mention, I had a meeting today and was running late, they emailed me before the meeting even started and said we have to start an hour later today. Like WTF, y’all are showing out now ☺️

And then because I’ve been busy ALL DAY, my ex randomly texted me and asked if I wanted him to bring me something to eat. Like damn, I was just saying I need to eat something and here you are. And boom, he rang the doorbell and brought me my fave.

These little wins are just reminding me to stay positive

Oh, I forgot one…

I randomly applied to start my own business where I do contract work for banks doing customer service. Didn’t think I would even get any opportunities yet but 24 hours after applying, they sent an email and approved me to work customer service for a big credit card company. And the best part is that I create my own schedule and only have to work a minimum of 20 hours per week plus I get paid every week

Receipts 🧾 (because you know I have those)

I’M A MANIFESTING QUEEN

[thesheel]

Biden's pledge to heal the global climate is under severe criticism with the rising numbers of broken promises regarding the environment. As the footage of Biden traveling in an 85-cars long motorcade in Rome went viral, the carbon emission watchdogs are questioning his narrative if he really wants to walk the talk or is it all a ruse to walk the popular agenda. As if this controversy was not enough, his footage of falling asleep during the speeches of the global leaders at the COP26 summit has also pushed him into hot water. During his nine months in the White House, Biden has been convincing America that climate change is real, but he himself seems unconvinced at times, which is clearly evident in his policies. Biden Walking Trump's Path: Ignoring Climate Change to the Maximum After winning the presidency, Biden banned all new leases on public lands and offshore waters, which was an encouraging sign for the climate watchdogs. However, just a month ago, the Biden administration approved 78 million acres for offshore drilling in the Gulf of Mexico, which is being termed as the largest offshore oil and gas auction in the history of the country. Now, this is not only the case of broken promises but has also unveiled the hypocrisy of the administration. On one side, the president gives the notion in COP26 that, under his leadership, the United States has re-entered the Climate Change agreement and will lead the efforts to counter this threat. On the other hand, he is pursuing the same policies inspired by his predecessors. In May 2021, the Biden administration approved a massive oil project in Alaska that will be producing 100,000 barrels of oil for the next 300 years. While defending this project, the administration stated that Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change does not provide sufficient causes to stop such operations. The hypocrisy has led the Biden administration to defend the oil and gas drilling in Wyoming while indicating that the president may not renew the pause implemented on the extraction in the state that is due to end this year. The new framework of Biden's bipartisan Infrastructure Framework also fails to draw significant investment in combating climate change. Biden backed down on a corporate tax, which would have played an important role in funding the proposed infrastructure investment. The rising opposition from moderate Senator Joe Manchin seems to be the reason why Biden wants an easy exit.   Read More: United Nations Warn the World for a Climate-Driven Disaster Democrats Conflict of Interest: Preferring Politics over Climate "We have reached the code red," were the words echoed by Biden during the UN meeting; however, his efforts tell a different story. Democrats have power in both chambers of Congress and the White House, leaving the president with no excuse not to implement his promises. Biden is kept back only by his will and conflict of interest of his fellows Democrats in the oil and gas industry to implement the climate change policies. Senator Joe Manchin, a moderate Democrat, has interests in the coal industry and is the biggest obstacle to the Clean Electricity Payment Program, urging the electricity companies to shift from fossil fuel to clean and renewable energy sources. The "Build Back Better Bill" was set to be the most significant effort of the United States in the fight against climate change but is now being orphaned after negotiations with moderates. The new plan does not include the fee paid by oil and gas companies for emitting methane, which rules out the possibility of any framework to reduce fossil fuel usage and cut subsidies flowing to the oil, coal, and gas companies.   Final Thoughts While Biden apologized to the global leaders for Trump's behavior of withdrawing from the Paris Climate Accord, he is yet to overturn many of his climate policies. The president has still not decided whether or not

to restore the original boundaries of Bears Ears National Monument and Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument, which were slashed in size by Trump. These might not seem important for climate change at first, but this is a question of preserving biodiversity and hence the climate. With a stroke of the pen, the president could have seized Line 3, Mountain Valley Pipeline, and Enbridge pipeline, but he refrained for the reasons best known to him. The Line 3 project alone will be responsible for a carbon cost equivalent to fifty new coal power plants.