Fund a Car for Muneerah

TL;DR : I am seeking help to fund my first car so that I better manage living and working with my chronic health issues. Keep scrolling to learn more and see my estimated budget breakdown.

My name is Muneerah Abdusshahid. I work part time and go to school for music and recording arts. I got my driver’s license in October 2020 during the pandemic when classes were still largely remote. Now that in-person school, in-person employment opportunities, and longer days are a reality, it is more important than ever to have reliable means of transportation.

In addition to a busy life as a working student, I live with chronic fatigue, pain throughout my body, migraines, anxiety, depression, and post-exertional symptoms like lightheadedness and dizziness. For years, I have managed to work around my symptoms because of how long it takes to diagnose and find lasting relief for chronic conditions. I have had great days with only mild symptoms and then many times over the last several years, and especially since March 2020, when my symptoms have become a lot more overwhelming for me to manage.

My daily symptoms and flare ups of fatigue especially have been intensified with my demanding schedule, commute, and flare ups. Flare ups can last up to 3 days. Within the school and work week, it is common for them to start on a Thursday or Friday and until Sunday. When a flare is for a shorter amount of time, I call these mini flares or simply a difficult morning. These can slow me down and often result in being late for or completely missing classes, doctor’s appointments, and even work shifts.

If I miss the bus to work, school, or a doctor’s appointment and/or feel too sick to walk to the grocery store, I either stay home, take the later bus, or have to pay for Lyft services. Lyft services are not consistently reliable and hard to budget with my current income.

I currently rely on public transportation and walking most of the time to get around and do my best not to spend on Lyfts more than once or twice a month. I am able to borrow a car a few times a month to ease the burden of time constraints as well as the exhaustion that comes with my chronic health symptoms.

When I have access to a car:

Financing ownership of a car on my own at this time, would include taking on a loan and making a monthly payment, paying for registration, and paying for monthly insurance. This way of financing is far beyond my means at this time.

I care very much about the climate crisis and so naturally my dream has always been to own an electric car. Some wonderful bonuses about Electric cars like the Nissan Leaf are that they require little to no maintenance, have wonderful charge longevity, and when purchased go for ~$12,000-$18,000. The model I see as a great choice is listed in my estimated budget breakdown.

It is my hope that this page will help me to fully finance ownership of a used Nissan Leaf without accruing more debt. I do not expect it however to assist with monthly insurance payments. I only see purchase and registration costs as the priority at this time. This is where you come in.

Most of all, I want to get better and see this as a great stepping stone to getting the level of independence that would allow me to manage my chronic health issues, get to work and school, and get to see doctors that will help me get the diagnoses and treatments I need.

I hope I have communicated my story in a way that helps you understand where I’m at. Thank you to everyone who is contributing and sharing this link. I greatly appreciate your support and wouldn’t be able to do it without you.

Love,

Muneerah