Is their some hope for us poors??? Need to vent

[Alex_C]

It sounds like you are paying $2800 a year. You need to move to California. Too expensive where you live and I bet all your other expenses are sky high.

I've had 3-4 FREE places to live in CA here, electricity's cheaper, gas is cheaper, people will give you vehicles if you keep your eyes open and ask, etc. Whatever the rumor mill tells you, you can count on it being the opposite.

[Cowboi]

I'm taking 100mg a week. You're likely doing that or 200mg every 2 weeks.

Yeah we are on the same dose, I pay $60 per vial after shipping. I think I use like 2 and a half vials a year, so I actually pay like $150 per year. I also don't have health insurance or anything that helps cover the costs so it's all out of pocket for me as well, and the same for my fiancee.

We both have other medical costs as well though that really add up. My meds for being bipolar alone cost over $300 per month, I am just lucky that I have low enough income that I qualify for a medication assistance program through a local clinic and get mine for like $15 per month. Then of course my fiancee is also on T blockers and she is bipolar as well so that's another $50 a month for meds.

Then we both have to see the endo twice a year and get blood work so we spend about $2000 a year just for that, she also has to get extra blood work done for her other meds so that's anouther $500 a year. Plus you have to add on psychiatrists and all of that stuff it gets crazy around here.

I think between the two of us we spend about $4,000 a year out of pocket and that isn't even paying for the entire visit up front with most of our doctors, just the little $30 or whatever they make you pay when you come in to begin with. That is a permanent $4,000 a year as well since all of our medical issues are things that are life long and will always need treatment.

Our surgery total combined for everything will end up being AT LEAST $50,000 if not more, all out of pocket unless something changes in the next 10 years!

Forgot to mention that the $50,000 only includes basic top and bottom surgery costs, not the extras she will need for appearance like shaving the adams apple, etc. She doesn't need and doesn't want any facial surgeries at least. She had a nose job to correct a deviated septum and a good half a dozen broken noses through out her life that had left her unable to breath out of her nose for over 15 years. Other than that she didn't want anything else done to her face.

[Alex_C]

I make maybe 5 grand a year. Your med expenses are almost my whole yearly income. Ouch.

Yeah it sounds like the same stuff, $60 a vial after shipping. I vial lasts me 3 months, actually a bit over that, 20 doses. My doc visits with blood tests cost a bit under $100.

My income right now is almost all made during the warm months, there's no income to speak of during the cold months. So, this ends up making for an adjustment to living on very little. You just start trimming away, and trimming away ...... the economy may come back somewhat for me now that the weather's warming up, but surviving winter is a mini-Depression happening every year, to keep me on  my toes and pessimistic.

You know those old guys who save used nails and string? Well I'm one of those guys!

[zombiesarepeaceful]

Zombies - I really applaud you for performing at that gay bar, once you get good enough you may branch out into other places too. People keep telling me music/performance are bad careers financially speaking, but what careers are good ones these days? I see musicians making $100 a night, for a few hours' work, that's pretty good to me. Drive on!

Thanks dude. I would have already branched off into other bars if I still had my car. Once I get one, get a job, etc...I will be. It's by no means a career..it's just an outlet for negative emotions, for all my rage against my body...etc. At this bar we don't get paid to be in the show, unless we're a host, then you get $50 for hosting. I make ok tips though...about $10 a number if it's a good tipping crowd. And I usually do 2 numbers a show. I might have a chance to host in late april. I didn't even think I could dance when I started doing this but...surprise. It's worth a shot, if you need money and can get past the stage fright. Finding an outlet like this for negative emotions is great, whether it's writing (which I also do), sports, whatever...it eases a ->-bleeped-<-ty life and ->-bleeped-<-ty circumstance.

I found a therapist through a person that is also trans, she only charges $35 a session and its online, and my friend had like 5 sessions and got his T letter.

[Alex_C]

Zombies - I have a ukulele and a bunch of uke books, I haven't been practicing because of all the other stuff going on, EMT school etc., but that's kind of my insurance in case my one good eye goes bad. That's what people did 500 years ago, if you're blind you become a beggar or a musician. That's the world we're going back to, as we enter the Greatest Depression. Since I can see, there are all these things I can do, making things and learning about things etc., but if that changes, well, I have music to fall back on I guess. Imagine the world of the 1930s and then imagine it going down from there.

A big problem in the US is, without a car you're a non-person. You can't get a job, go anywhere, etc., frankly the way it's planned, if you can't support a car you're supposed to just sit down and die. I sure can't support a car, this is why I'm glad to have this place to stay, I do chores and stuff, the guy's  a fellow survivalist, so it works out nicely.

[Cowboi]

Yeah it sounds like the same stuff, $60 a vial after shipping. I vial lasts me 3 months, actually a bit over that, 20 doses. My doc visits with blood tests cost a bit under $100.

I find it weird that it doesn't seem to last as long as it should. There are only 52 weeks in a year, if you are taking weekly injections then the vial should last about 5 months. 4 weeks in a month, 20 divided by 4 is 5. I just got mine filled at the beginning of December and I am just about to need a refill here at the beginning of April or so. I have found that I forget a few shots here and there though, it's funny because the math never seems to actually work out. If it was actually 20 shots it should last me until almost the end of April, but even with missing 2 or 3 doses it will be gone at the beginning of April. Have you noticed that too? And I do know that I'm taking the right dosage, I mean I even have a second person here to keep tabs on it with me who actually understands it all since she does injections as well for her estrogen.


On a side note though I did just have a job interview yesterday for a kick ass job that went really well. The woman who interviewed me told me it was the best and most enjoyable interview she'd had in the last 3 days. All they supposedly need to do now is check my references but they are all people I know really well who are excited to get to help me out and talk me up so I can get a job finally, and one of them is actually already employed by the same company. It's just hotel reservations for Marriott, but it pays really good! I would be working part time and making $9.25 on week days and $11.25 on the weekends. For a part time gig that is hell of good!

[myles]

Three months doesn't seem like enough time, even with the extra weeks in some months. In the end it should still only be a little over 2 vials a year like 2.5 ish but still less than 3 per year. My last labs killed me $166 bucks and since I am having a problem with the T and my Liver I now have to do more testing, killing me this year. At this point I am at over $1000 in labs so far in the last year. I get my T from Stroheckers also.
Crazy
Myles

[Alex_C]

Hmm .... 52 weeks a year, 20 injections out of a vial..... I dunno they last me a while, over 3 months but I try to refill my prescription every 3 months, I dunno.

I heard today from a lady I met at a garage sale that they like EMTs at the local hospital, T-guyz or not, and the real way to get hired there is to know someone there. Someone with a bit of clout. That's how my ex got in, it's all networking. But I seemed to charm her and I found her to be a very nice person so I have good feeling about this. They hire EMTs to train as hyberbaric techs and a few other things. I'm actually not in a hurry to get a job, I like doing my own thing but a part time job if it's interesting is another things.

[myles]

I have a friend who works for a local University, as they keep geeting cut in the current economy he went back and did his EMT. Now he works weekends in a small town where he knew people and he had the network there to get in. I really do think it is all about networking. He seems to like it and thinks it would be a fine back up career if he loses his job. He's currently a lobbyist for rural health care and really like the health care field.
Good Luck
Myles

[Walter]

Money is an issue for me as well for going on T or furthering my transition at all. Other issues are keeping me from transitioning as well do..I've decided to just not pursue being Male anymore since it is causing too much problems for me and my family

Good times...Being Male was good times

[Alex_C]

I only assume a vial will last me 3 months so I get to get pleasantly surprised each time when it actually lasts longer.

My treatment is cheap enough that I can be sure of getting it. I may have to go back to panhandling, fight the other street people for bottles and cans, stand with a sign by the freeway onramp, etc but I can come up with $500 a year.

I'm trying to fight my way back onto the online economy if I can. It's extremely wait no, EXTREMELY hard now. Ebay's out of the question; I'd need a separate residence, with its own internet access (very high speed too, almost T1 speed) and a brand new computer, etc to do it now. I looked into it. It's cost me a year and a half and $200 to get a digital camera again, at least I can do Craig's List and if it's possible to set up a PayPal account, secretly and anonymously enough, I can sell crafts through a blog and on Etsy.

Mainly the idea is to live at least somewhat happily, and prepare for the coming times.

[myles]

I am getting ready to get my ebay account active again. Last time I made close to $2000 selling stuff I had setting around my house. I still have a bunch left to sell, I used to collect baseball/basketball cards. I figure I will need the money at some point so why not sell the stuff now, have the money setting around for when I do need it.
Myles

[Alex_C]

Ebay has gotten REALLY bad. Really really REALLY bad. If you've been out for a few years you'd not recognize it.

Try it again but be VERY CAREFUL they're seizing people's accounts and holding their money for months on end, stuff like that. Very very bad.

[Cowboi]

Ebay has gotten REALLY bad. Really really REALLY bad. If you've been out for a few years you'd not recognize it.

Try it again but be VERY CAREFUL they're seizing people's accounts and holding their money for months on end, stuff like that. Very very bad.

Not just that but it seems like the things that are being sold go between horribly over priced or horribly under priced. For example, I can buy this little hand held gaming system used in my town for $30 bucks, on eBay people try to sell it for close to $100. Then items that you'd normally be able to sell for $100 or more I see people getting for like $25. It's really hit and miss now days on that site.

[tekla]

I think a lot of E-Bay was always like that.  Things are worth whatever people will pay for them, whatever that price is.

[Alex_C]

I used to gross $6k-$8k a month on Ebay.

In mid-2007, 2/3rds of my business disappeared. It didn't come back.

You can still make money on Ebay. But we're in a deflationary economy where 40% of the working age population is out of work and the other 60% are looking over their shoulder nervously. I'd like to say survivalist oriented stuff is doing well, but why is even that stuff getting so cheap?

You just have to be very very careful. You need to come as close as possible to zero living expenses. You need to ask yourself, What if my job goes away? If I can't afford gas? If Food Stamps go away? If the soup kitchens go away? If the trucks stop coming to the markets at all? Not saying these things will happen but what if they do?

An example is food stamps. I qualify, obviously. But it takes several days a month of fighting with them, for a bit under $200 a month in food stamps. The same number of hours spend panhandling is better because you can fight and fight with the gov't bureaucrats and they can still arbitrarily cut you off, cut them way down, or most scarily, decide to collect on PAST allocations of food stamps, pay up or go to jail. And say all goes well, OK then the gov't runs out of money or just plain collapses, no more Food Stamps! It's a big disruption if you depend on them, none at all if you've given 'em the big F.U.

Watchwords these days are Frugality, Resiliency, and Anonymity. If you're all tied into the grid, then you crash when the grid crashes. You might want to be out of its way when it all comes crashing down, and that could happen in 6 weeks, 6 months, 6 years, who knows. But it's a matter of When not If.

I'd love to believe everything's gonna be all nice and normal again. That any of us could get a job at Tastee-Freez and get that fat minimum wage and work our way up to Jr. Manager in 7 years. Or that an engineering degree will be worth something again. I used to never be out of work longer than a week or two. This thing we have going on is a Depression. This is what one looks and feels like from the inside.

So you are not alone. Just about everyone is having a hard time and thinks they're the only one, and that it's a personal failing. The powers that be want us to think this, so we'll pay for trade school and retraining and professional resume services and sign up with headhunters and buy a new suit or two at Brooks Brothers to interview in. That stuff did always work in the past.

I even look like I'm with the program. I'm in EMT school! Look how I blend right in. I spent a thousand hard-earned bucks, which I had to borrow and pay back, to pay for it. But it's different this time, and I'm in EMT school for the training, and I'll be very surprised if I ever earn a dollar as an EMT. We'll need people with medical skills in the coming times, especially since those in it for the money are gonna quit. There's not going to be much money in anything, the idea right now is to use what economy is still standing, to prepare for an future where money doesn't mean much.

[Radar]

This thing we have going on is a Depression.

Thank you. I've been saying this for awhile but no one will believe me since the government and news won't admit it. Recession my ass. The only reason it's not admitted is because people will freak out more than they already are. I don't blame them really.

[tekla]

I call shenanigans on that.

The fact of the matter is that there is not a depression, but an almost incredible redistribution of wealth from the lowest classes to the highest classes.  It's hardly across the board, which a real depression would be.  Hell, just south of where Alex lives people spend in a week what he makes in a year, just to play golf.  And it's harder to get a tee time at Pebble Beach or Spyglass now then it was a few years ago.  The real expensive restaurants in Monterey are doing fine.  I know a lot of people (myself included) who are making more money now then they did five years ago, and in my case, ten years ago when I was a college professor.

Alex, by his own admission, spend a huge part of his early life training for the Olympics.  Me, being stupid, spend it trying very hard (to the degree of pretty much crippling my social life for over a decade) to do two things - a) do very, very good in school, and b) studying electronics.  So, it's not exactly - but precisely - both our faults where we find ourselves today.

What is going on is not a depression, but in animal husbandry terms, far closer to a culling.

[Radar]

That's true, but even during the Depression the rich got richer and the wealth redistribution was extreme. For the low and middle class people life is harder, they have less money and might as well be a depression. I too make more now than I ever did (and hopefully stay that way) but many, many people don't. It could be from losing their jobs or losing hours, salary and benefits from work. Unless you're part of the 1% who own big money life is harder now in several ways- directly or indirectly.

[Alex_C]

Radar - you've got it dead on. But yes, if you go around saying it, you come off to people looking like a wild-eyed kook. Of course the "doom is nigh" crowd are looking eminently sane these days.

And anyone who reads up on the stats knows that the top 10% or so have never had it better, the unemployment rate for those making $150k a year or better is 3%, and so on.

I personally think the future looks like Bosnia. I'm preparing for a future like that. We are. Gonna be a lot of evening-up to do :-D