The road to SteemFest: Funding the campaign

One good but somewhat weird thing about being on Steem is my increasing comfort in talking about personal finances. I come from a generation and family where these things aren't up for public discussion but essentially to some degree here, the visibility of wallets and earnings somewhat normalizes it. I am not saying I am free but, it is less uncomfortable than I was. Baby steps. Having said that, there is still somewhat of a delineation between my Steem finances and my personal but, I will cross some of those boundaries a little today perhaps.

Oh, by @anomadsoul request, you can catch up on some of my other #roadtosteemfest posts (I think I missed some) through these links. Road to Freewrite, 3 Fun facts and My expectations.

History of Finance...

_{I failed both Finance 1 & 2 at University.}

When my wife and I were married, we were in a pretty good financial position. We were both working and earning something and even though not a great deal, we were still able to save a decent proportion of our salaries and were able to clear a few debts along the way. I had started my business and for a couple of years, it was all pretty okay. My wife even was able to take a low-paid, massive opportunity job which will be a core part of her future employment possibilities (now, she is back to studying full time). Then our daughter was born and there were complications.

This threw everything into massive disarray, it came at a time of the year I was meant to be building courses for the next year, I had to take time off work, I lost clients, my wife was ill, my daughter was ill, money trickled in and flowed out. Two years of pretty hard saving was washed clear in less than 6 months. My wife and daughter's failing health meant she had to stop breast feeding after 6 months and due to some bureaucratic red tape, the special formula our baby needed wouldn't be subsidized. 600-700€ a month more needed to be found (almost twice our mortgage), we had no savings, I was the only one capable of working.

In near despair, I joined Steemit.

But, I pushed myself incredibly hard at my work, was able to get a couple clients extra and, struggle through without using the massive Steem earning I was getting which equated to about 20€ a week at the time. Yeah, Steem wasn't going to save us but, I enjoyed it. It was my space and while I sat up at night with my daughter crying every 30 minutes, I watched TV less, wrote more - and, here we are.

Today's position

Well, I still haven't used my Steem earnings although in the summer it came very close. Our daughter still has issues and even though the Finnish healthcare system covers most of the medical, there are many associated costs that come in many ways including, me having to miss work from time to time. On top of this, some of the companies I work for have scaled back and training is often the first thing they cut or, find hard to add to. Getting work is currently difficult.

So, still no savings.

Funding the SF3 Crusade

_{It feels like a holy mission to get there}

As I mentioned, regardless of my own financial position, I still consider myself better off than many others so I am not entering any of the competitions for free tickets, if @ned wants to give me one, I won't say no though. Btw, great hair Ned.

1. I started a power down. last week I stopped my 'emergency SteemFest buffer' powerdown to cover delegations to @steem-ua for some people. I started the powerdown again of what was free for just in case. I don't plan on using it though and will likely power it back up later. Honestly, I still don't know how I am meant to turn it into Fiat anyway.

2. Work. Work. Work. I really, really don't want to have to use Steem to cover the event so, I am doing all I can to pick up an extra client session here or there to add a little more into the coffers. The problem is that over the last few months, there have been those one thing after another costs that have rolled in.

3. Don't pay my taxes. Of course, I am going to have to pay my business taxes eventually but I am a little behind already so, I might be a little further behind. Having said that, this is a business trip isn't it? I am also getting a return this year (it comes after SteemFest though) so I am going to risk it.

4. Go to the gym. Besides getting rid of a little pudge, starting back up at the gym means I am less likely to spend on unnecessary extras. I don't drink but, I do have a sweet tooth so cutting out a donut or two for a couple months is an easy way to put more aside.

5. Go without. I mean that I go without, not my family. It is not like they are massive consumers anyway but making a few changes to the way I consume will hopefully be enough to close the gaps. All three of us have various health issues though so there are a few hundred euros in necessary medications we must cover. Candy is not a medication though, nor is sushi.

6. I have considered selling my body on the street corner; butthe pudge means I am not really going to attract the big money anyway.

7. Credit. :( At the end of the day, I am going to put some of it on a credit card. This is a big issue for me and I don't want t have to do this for anything ever but, I also see Steem Fest as an opportunity to be a larger part of something that I believe has a future. At the end of the day, I don't know if it will work but I don't want to miss out on the opportunity because of a few hundred euros.

Long views

I really wanted my wife to come too but it is impossible, even if we had the money because our daughter is unable to travel due to her food allergies and, it is way too long for both of us to be away from her, even if we did have people who could look after her during that time. When it comes to Steem, I wish my wife was more involved but, I am glad she trusts me enough to give some space so I can try to build something for our future.

I hate the feeling of relying on people but what is worse, is not being able to provide enough for those you care about so, I work so that one day, we may not have to worry about the unexpected expenses, the odd hospital stay, a client or two cutting back and of course, whether we can go and have sushi together.

Essentially, my answer to everything in this life is the same, work. If I want something, I have to do the work for it and making sacrifice, learning to take a risk or two, investing in the future is all part of the responsibility of work. I will work here, I will work in my business, I will work at home. I can still enjoy myself within these constraints. No one said work need be horrible, they just said i wouldn't be easy.

I am really hoping that part of my work will help some of the other great people I have met here, get to Steem Fest too and I am grateful to all the competitions and sponsors who are doing various things to help as many as possible. I think it makes a massive difference not only for the people that win but, for how the other entries engage and feel a part of the platform. I really enjoy the content that is created around this time of year and I think it shows a much better view of the real people that make at least parts of this community, awesome.

Taraz
[ a Steem original ]