Help Liza Pay Her October Bills

Hi, everyone -

As many of you know, I've been really struggling financially recently, with my health issues limiting how much and when I can work. I have been quite successful for the last several months using focus groups and usability tests as a sort of very flexible part-time job. (Last month I actually got a usability test that ran 3 sessions over 2 weeks for which I made $900!) I've also been trying to get my portrait business off the ground, in order to use my photographic skills in a more practical (and hopefully lucrative!) way than I have been with my fine art photography. I had planned a series of 5 Halloween mini-session shoots for 4 different locations throughout the city over the 2 weeks prior to Halloween.

This past month I spent 15-20 hours a week applying for focus groups, thru all the usual outlets that I've used successfully in the past. Unfortunately, I didn't get one single group all month! I don't know why, or what made me a desirable subject in previous months but not this month. Perhaps its really just a matter of luck.

My mini-sessions plan also went down the drain. One location, where I had scheduled two dates, took exception to me posting flyers on city-owned light poles around the outer perimeter of their location, and they removed them. One location I did not have flyers for, as I didn't see a particular location or demographic to gear them to, and color printing of flyers is very expensive. These flyers cost me half of my remaining advertising budget. (A very painful loss; once I use that money up, I'm not sure what I'll do!) The flyers for the last two locations were supposed to go up last week, but I ended up having a particularly bad reaction to my most recent Covid booster, and spent most of last week in bed. Then this past weekend I was down with a bad fibromyalgia flare. One of those events was supposed to take place tomorrow, Wednesday, 10/26, so there really was no point in flyering for that; the time for promotion was over for that. The final date, on Halloween itself, was still potentially viable, and I could have posted flyers today or tomorrow. But at this point, I really felt my time was better spent continuing to try to get a last-minute focus group. I am continuing to run Craigslist ads, in the hope that the right person sees it and I can get at least ONE session booked.

The bottom line of all of this is that for the month of October I made not one single dollar, my worst month yet! I don't know what I'm doing wrong, or if it was just a very unlucky month for me this month. I've been living on some of the $900 I made at the focus group last month, but now I have no money for my bills next week. I've raided everything I can to cover my bills, including my (smaller than I thought) emergency cash stash in the house. That has covered most of my smaller bills. But I am still left without money for my two biggest bills - rent and Spectrum, as well as a couple of other smaller bills. I'm absolutely terrified about not paying my rent; since I am the inheritor of a rent-controlled apartment in NYC, my landlord would initiate eviction proceedings 5 minutes after midnight on 11/16 if he could. (By law, landlords can't begin anything until your rent is 15 days late.) And because the apartment is not yet legally in my name, I wouldn't have a leg to stand on; I'd be out on the street before Christmas. As for Spectrum, my internet connection is the only way I can work and TRY to earn money; its also my connection to the world. Perhaps most importantly, my therapist, psychiatrist and, in most cases, GP are all seeing people virtually these days, so without the internet, I'd lose my very necessary healthcare, as well.

What this amount covers is my rent, Spectrum, $20 towards Con Ed (full bill is $66, but I've learned that if you give Con Ed SOMETHING, they'll work with you and you can pay it off in bits), plus one smaller bill that auto-deducts, and 2 weeks worth of basic living expenses (things like laundry and paper products) for November, by which point I hope (assume?) I will have gotten some work and be able to cover things myself.

You have no idea how much I hate having to ask for help again. I'M sick of hearing myself ask for help! But I don't have any immediate family to rely on, and more distant relatives and my best friends are already all stretched thin. So I really feel I have no other option than to turn to all of you again for help, trying to just hang on by my fingernails until my luck changes or SOMETHING improves for me. I'm doing everything I know how to do or can do physically; I really don't understand the problem. Please know that any little bit you can chip in is incredibly appreciated, from the bottom of my heart, and as a thank you for a donation, I will gladly send you a digital download of one of my photos, in the style/subject matter you prefer. I will send along a letter that will allow you to print the image out if you wish.

Thanks again, and I hope everyone has a safe and spooky Halloween!