Please Help Me Regain Financial Stability

Hello, my name is Caitlin. On August 10th, 2020, my mom passed away from complications of a heart attack she had a week prior. Since then, I have been working hard to stay afloat and desperately trying to handle all of the expenses I’ve now had to take on. My mom had been the one in charge of all of the major finances such as the utilities, the mortgage, insurance, etc. while I would be in charge of the lesser ones such as groceries, vet care for our cats, and my phone. She didn’t want me to worry about the larger bills until I found a steady job and got to save some money to act as a cushion in case of an emergency.

Shortly after her passing, I received help from some family while I looked for and thankfully, found a job. My half-brother and his wife helped me sort through and sell some of my belongings to get some extra money and on the off chance I had to move. They even offered to help with the utilities until I saved enough to move. However, I’ve since come to realize that the help they offered wasn’t meant to help me as much as it should have. Not only had they shot down every suggestion or request I made for their help finding an apartment or trying and keep my parents’ home, but they insisted I move back to Connecticut so I would be closer to them. Their excuse was to help me, but with rather strict stipulations that I’ve since recognized as red flags. They had wanted me to surrender my cats, apply for jobs of their choosing, return to school, and take classes of their choosing, and if I didn’t live with them, they would pick my roommates instead of letting me choose my own. Were I still a minor, that might have made more sense but I’m not and they were treating me as if I was, giving me no voice.

They insisted I couldn’t keep my mom’s car, that it was pointless, only to learn too late that I could have kept it had I gone to the DMV with the title and my mom’s death certificate and paid a small fee. On top of that, in late 2022, my utilities started getting shut off without any warning and discovered my half-brother stopped paying for them and never notified me that he was stopping payments. I’ve since been scrambling to try and keep up before they sprung out of control. Had I been more like my mom and not be so reliant on my half-brother, thinking he had my best interest in mind, I wouldn’t be in debt with a car I can’t pay for now. I might not be as far behind with my utilities if I had found out they weren’t being paid sooner as well as gotten financial assistance much sooner. I may not even be as far behind on my parents’ mortgage if I hadn’t listened to my half-brother telling me it was pointless and to give up. That includes making a GoFundMe sooner, but my half-brother shot it down and essentially was forbidding me from making one. But I wasn’t, and I’m trying to rectify my mistakes, receiving help where I need it, and getting the information I should have been told from the start.

Between my mom’s passing and now, I’ve gone through several jobs. Much of it was related to my car breaking down consistently, making it difficult to hold them. I was working a seasonal job but it ended in April. I've been looking for work since, but I haven't had the best of luck as of right now. Nowhere near where I live is hiring and until I have a working car, I'm limited in my choices. I can't afford Uber or taxis, nor can I rely on them. Other public transportation such as buses are out of the question as the nearest bus stop is in another town. I've been looking for remote work, but so far I haven't found many or received many responses from applications I have applied to.

I'm worried about not finding work however based on how things are going financially. The few places that have reached out to me for potential employment I've had to turn down because they were too far. If I had a working car, then I would have accepted and might have been working much sooner. My other issue now is that I don't have a working phone. The port for it to charge broke and I don't have the money to get it repaired or replaced right now. Having a phone is something I need while applying for jobs. Without it, potential employers won't be able to communicate with me.

With my current car, being that it's broken down, I still have to pay it off. I only have a little over $1200 left to pay before I have the title in my name. If I'm able to get it paid off, depending on how everything goes, I would either sell the car for what I can, either as parts or as a whole, and purchase a car I can drive. My other option would be to use what money I get from here to repair it. As of right now, all it needs is an alternator, but since it has sat for well over a year, I'm worried that it might need more work such as new tires, possibly a new batter, brakes, etc. That's not counting paying to get it inspected so that it passes and getting it registered. So I'm looking more towards getting another car I can drive and hopefully better maintain, cost-wise.

I've been in the process of signing up for financial assistance to help with some of the costs. Whether I'll be approved for any of them, I can't say for certain. I have tried to apply for unemployment in the past, however, they kept rejecting me because I had no way to physically to their mandatory workshops that are in other towns/cities. I’ve been approved for health insurance thankfully and there have been no issues with it so far. However, I recently lost my EBT because I haven't been able to find work in their allotted timeframe and while volunteer work is possible, a lot of places I could volunteer at are too far or have positions I cannot do. I'm hoping if I can get my phone resolved, I can make some calls and see if there is a way to reapply given the circumstances or if I might be simply out of luck.

Below are my current bills: I will try and keep them updated as things change.

*New*

For the electric bill, the image is an example of what the monthly payment plan is for the next 12 months. The first one was done so far, but I'm worried about the coming months. Partly because a roommate who is staying may be moving out soon. It will depend on his situation, including having to shuffle his bills around to ensure he can still make payments with them on top of paying his rent.

The gas bill was able to get caught up for the time being. However, like the electric, I'm worried about not being able to make the payments in time and it gets ahead of me like before.

If I'm able to find a job, then the stress won't be as high as it is. At least, that's what I would hope.

I know that I’m asking for a lot, but anything given would help a great deal. Should you donate, it will not only help with getting me caught up better with my bills, but I’ll be able to pay off my car and if I’m lucky, replace it. And if enough donations come in, I can set some aside to go towards future bills such as electricity and water.

Therefore, I’m asking every one of you for help. Not just for myself, but for my cats as well. They are my family and I want to do what I can to keep us together. They were also my mom’s cats as much as mine, giving me greater reason to try and keep them with me.

Thank you for taking the time to read. Again, should you decide to donate, the money will be going towards my bills and my car. If you can, please share this with friends and family who you think could help.