We get dozens of requests at GetRichSlowly.org every day. They are usually queries such as “Can I guest post to promote my business?” (No.) “Will you share our infographic with your readers?” (No.) Last week we received one that intrigued me. The writer had started a crowd-funding effort to pay off his mortgage and he wanted me to share it with the Get Rich Slowly community. I replied, “Why would anyone want to pay off your mortgage? I'd like other people to pay off my mortgage too. What's in it for them?” His reply and reasoning made me decide to let him tell his story and make his plea to you.
There have been successful crowd-funding efforts in the past couple of years to help people pay their student loans, their personal credit card debt, medical bills and much, much more.
I warned Eric that the attitude of the GRS folks tends toward “be responsible for yourself,” and his request could invoke the wrath of the crowd. (Crowd-sourced vitriol!) But he said he was willing to take it.
Beyond his particular plea, I would like to hear how the GRS community feels about crowd-funding for personal goals. Is this a fad? Or might this become a “pay it forward” movement?
My name is Eric Estrada, and please, don't let the name fool you, I'm not an actor famous for riding on a CHP motorcycle. I'm actually just a regular guy. I'm 34 years old, I have three kids — two girls, one boy — a fiancée, and a dog named Zero. My fiancée, Jeanette, is a hair stylist and I work for a medical device company as a Quality Process Technician. We pay all of our bills on time, we currently do NOT have any credit card debt, and budget as best as we can for groceries and other miscellaneous monthly costs. I'm not a financial guru, nor do I claim to have all of the answers. Heck, I've made some financial decisions in the past that I wish had not and made others that I wish I would have made sooner.
One of the “best” decisions we made was to stop renting and purchase our first home in 2010. As our family was growing rather quickly, we knew it was time to buy a house. Not just any house: It had to be a house that we could raise the kids in and see ourselves living in for a very long time –you know, all the important stuff that everyone else looks at when buying a home. After searching for a few months, and falling in love with many houses that were big, beautiful, and obviously expensive, we decided to stay within our means, and bought a small three-bedroom, two-bath, 1,322-square-foot home with a price tag of $167,100! We found a house that was below market value (I'll have to write another article on how we found it for such a low price). Although the bigger houses would have been great, especially since we found out we were pregnant with our third child, we decided this small home was just going to have to work.
It's been four years since we bought our home. We've worked really hard to get where we are. For the first time in many years, we have a savings account that we've actually saved money in! We've sold our new cars and bought much older cars with cash to avoid interest and monthly payments. We don't eat out as much as we used to. We buy clothes at the second-hand stores. I even grow my beard as long as a I can so I don't have to buy razors. What? Razors are expensive! Some might even say I'm obsessed with the thought of having financial freedom. Call me crazy, but I like to save anywhere I can.
As frugal as I may sound, I do have a kind heart buried in me. As many of us are, I'm constantly being asked to donate to those in need and, like many of us out there, I do. I donate what I can, when I can, whether it's the change in my pocket or a few dollars in my wallet. I try to donate whenever possible no matter what the cause is. Obviously, the individuals asking for donations are in need of something or have suffered more than I have, so I donate.
“Donating” is just one of those things we as humans do. Charity has been around forever and I'm sure it will be around for a long time. These days social media plays a huge part in how individuals share their causes and receive donations from all around the world.
The Ask
Although I am not personally suffering from any major illness, or living on the streets, I have a goal and that goal is to pay off my mortgage, the last of my debts, to give me “Financial Freedom.” This goal of ours is what led me to create the account gofundme.com/onedollaratatime.
Some of you may say, “I want to pay my mortgage too! Why the hell would I help this guy pay off his?” Some of you may even stop reading here. But to those who keep reading and may want do the same thing, I want you to know I asked myself the same questions. “Could crowd-source funding REALLY help me pay off my mortgage?” I say the answer is YES!
And I'm sure you'll ask, “What's in it for me?” For starters, you get to be a part of a fund that helps a family achieve a life-long goal of having financial freedom.
If this still doesn't answer the questions “what's in it for me?” or “what do I get for donating?” I answer with a question: “Wouldn't it be great to be a part of something that helped one family at a time?”
If a regular guy like me was able to actually receive $5 donations from approximately 31,000 people, what stops me from starting an organization that helps others who want to achieve financial freedom? I envision an organization that would collect donations from small private businesses and large corporations to help individuals like you and me achieve the same goals. Of course like any organization, this organization would have stipulations like once a home is paid off, you can't sell it and buy a bigger house. When we pay off the mortgage, we plan to be mortgage free for the rest of our lives.
The possibilities are endless. Whether you think I'm crazy or you find yourself thinking the same way I do, please hit that share button. If you have an extra $5 in your wallet, please donate. Who knows, once I reach my goal, we can get started on yours.
This sounds nice, but it also says you want a handout. If everyone owned their home and was entitled to that, what motivation would people have to be responsible?
I’ve thought of trying crowd-sourcing, but I wanted something tangible to offer. I have some ideas. In the meantime, I put a Paypal Donate button on my blog. I’m raising money to repair my parents’ home (damaged by a tornado) so they can move back in after 7 years as well as pay off debts. My site is livinginmyhonda.blogspot.com If I received help paying off a mortgage like Eric Estrada is attempting to do, I would feel a strong sense of responsibility to be a good steward. I’d manage the funds better than I manage my own earned money because… Read more »
I know, how about we ALL post our favorite wish that we’d love to get funded? 100% of us readers here can put this as a message on every single blog post we see. Isn’t that a FANTASTIC idea? What could possibly go wrong?
Wendy my contribution to the world will be the sarcasm font hahaha. Haven’t made a font yet…but my friends and I use what we refer to as sarcasm quotes. They work just like regular quotes except you put your sarcasm inside the greater than and less than symbols .
Should we help someone else pay off his mortgage? Unless he’s experiencing financial hardship (and he pretty much admits he’s not), I don’t see the point. It sounds like you wants to set up a debt cooperative. So… where are the plans? How are you going to make it work? How are you going to assess peoples’ ability to pay into the system? Do you really believe in such a system? If you do, what is the next step to building it? A clear vision will be required to convince people you’re not just interested in clearing your own mortgage.… Read more »
The point is to have FINANCIAL FREEDOM. Wouldn’t anybody want that? Yes its a wanted handout but if anybody can help out somebody else not only is a good deed on your part it helps out somebody get to their goal. I have always said why not create a group where 1 million people donate $20 in Which you pick out lets say 10,000 people from those 1 million that will gets $10,000. Not only did you help out 10,000 people its a $20 donation if you didn’t get picked. I love the idea that people should be able to… Read more »
coming in a little late to the meeting, but ya know, if the mortgage is paid off, that frees up assets to be spent much more freely in the community which lifts up local business, which then adds jobs, more money available to put the kids through college etc., etc.!
Yeah there will always be those that abuse the system but more humanitarian thinking would give all of us a boost
Huh. I’m curious to see the reaction to this post. (Comment bait?) I wish him luck with his dream, but I don’t think I could do this myself unless I was in genuine need of help.
The idea intrigues me though.
Yeah, I’m more intrigued than upset. Does one have to pay income tax on donations received?
Pure comment bait.
And yes, he will owe taxes on gifts received.
Generally, gifts are not taxable to the recipient, only the giver. This may be a bit different because it’s done through Kickstarter.
Don’t you only have to pay gift tax on gifts over $14,000 (per person)? http://www.irs.gov/Businesses/Small-Businesses-&-Self-Employed/Frequently-Asked-Questions-on-Gift-Taxes
The donor pays gift tax on giving more than $14K of their estate away. Well, in most cases they just file a gift tax return and any eventual gift tax gets taken out of their estate return. But it’s about estate tax, not income. Kickstarter is taxable if you are earning money from your products or services. Basically, if someone agrees to buy your CD in advance you’ve just made money being a musician. But pure begging? It’s not taxable income for someone to just decide to give you $1 because you’ve got a bowl out at the corner.
I’m nearly speechless. I guess I just don’t get this post and I’m surprised that it’s here. A post asking for asking for 31,000 handouts. Incredible!
And here I’m trying to pay off my mortgages the old-fashioned way… by patience, hard work and self-discipline. But I guess in this age of strategic defaults we can just ask others to pay our way through life. What in the world is happening here? Is this a troll post by GRS?
Ugh!
I agree with you! This guy wants help paying off his mortgage? GEESH!!
Curtis I follow your blog and am thrilled when I log on and see an update. Keep up the great work!
WOW! I’m very honored, Steve! Thanks so much for that. I will continue the mission.
It took years for my wife and I to pay ioff my mortgage early. Coming from humble circumstances It is something I am very proud of. I would not want to deny you the opportunity to do it all on your own and feel that self satisfaction.
There are too many good people with greater needs then yours – life isn’t always fair or easy but it seems to me you are doing pretty well. Thank god for that…
I have never been angered by a Get Rich Slowly post before. This is the most outrageous example of entitlement mentality I have ever seen! If he wanted financial freedom sooner than later, he should have picked a smaller house, found another source of income, or picked a different set of priorities. Come to think of it, if he thinks everyone should pitch in for someone else’s lifestyle, perhaps he should go live in a communist country.
I’m retired so probably older than many readers of this column, so I guess I’m the only one offended that this guy has three children with a woman he is still calling his “fiancée.”
Way to commit.
I am in your age group and think it is a sad statement of the times that they each think the other is good enough to live with and raise children with but don’t feel marriage is necessary, even after three children.
I, too, am casting a squinky eye at anyone who has THREE kids and hasn’t bothered to marry their mother. Doesn’t sound like sound planning for taxes, real estate, insurance, pensions, social security, and other rights of survivorship. Meanwhile, I’m paying off my $150,000-barely-900-sq.ft. without a partner OR handouts OR whining about it.
Hi Ed,
I am 34 and I completely agree with you. The very first thing that bothered me about this post was that he wasn’t married, but rather engaged. I wouldn’t give this guy a dime because I can’t respect him. We need more Ed’s in this society. Thanks for your comment.
You are not the only one offended by that. I realize having illegitimate children is all the rage these days, but I’m old-fashioned enough to think it’s still something to be ashamed of instead of proud of.
Frankly, if a guy is too irresponsible to use a condom or to at least marry the woman to legitimize their children at the FIRST pregnancy (not the third), then he’s probably too irresponsible to handle money well. Getting out of debt requires restraint, and popping out illegitimate children without bothering to commit to a relationship points to the polar opposite.
I can see where you’re coming from, but the former teacher in me would like to point out that a big party and a piece of paper doesn’t always mean commitment either. People cheat on their spouses. People neglect or abuse their family. People get divorced for all kinds of reasons. IMHO, being dedicated and loving to your family and building a strong future for them IS commitment. I’m old fashioned enough that I want to be married in the eyes of the law and the church, but I’ve seen enough to know that a marriage license doesn’t actually make… Read more »
A marriage license may not guarantee commitment, but NOT getting one is a huge red flag as to the lack thereof.
Really? My grandparent and step-grandparent were together for more than 30 years without rings or a piece of paper. They shared their families and stuck it out through some pretty tough times — including a critical illness that ultimately took one of their lives. You know that “in sickness and in health… ’til death do us part” stuff? Yeah. They lived that. With some couples, not officially tying the knot may be a red flag. For others, it has absolutely no bearing on their commitment or happiness. I don’t think it’s possible to make generalizations — it really depends on… Read more »
I don’t think he ever said that his current fiancee is the mother of the 3 children, did he? Maybe she is, I don’t know. But maybe he was married before and his first wife died? Why jump to a judgment when you don’t know all the facts? I am a firm believer in not having kids outside of marriage, and I think the idea of asking others to pay your mortgage is utterly ridiculous, but I don’t necessarily agree with the judgment shown here.
Quote: “As our family was growing rather quickly, we knew it was time to buy a house.”
And “…especially since we found out we were pregnant with our third child,”
Sounds to me like Eric and Fiancee are the breeding couple without benefit of clergy or birth control.
Maybe he should have thought twice before having 3 kids if he wanted to pay his mortgage off. How dare he use the “gofundme” site to fund something he is able to do himself. That site is for people with cancer, Lou Gerhig’s disease etc. People who are truly in need.
This is just a set-up b.s. post, right?
I want to clarify for everyone that crowdfunding sites are NOT just for people in need (unless the site specifically states that, in which case they will remove requests that are inappropriate). You don’t have to like the requests, but please don’t think that the requests are a misuse of the sites. GoFundMe answers the question “What Can I Raise Money For?” on their FAQ’s page: “Most people use GoFundMe to raise money for themselves, a friend or loved one during life’s important moments. This includes things like medical expenses, education costs, volunteer programs, youth sports, funerals & memorials –… Read more »
This is pretty disgusting comment bait. Get Rich Slowly, or Get Rich by asking for handouts? There are people with disabilities, people who can’t feed their own kids, but by all means, let’s help this greedy jerk pay off his debt because he doesn’t want a mortgage.
Here’s a thought. Grow a set and take responsibility for your own life!
I’m extremely disappointed with GRS for giving this jerk a platform.
I’m not upset by the request. There’s nothing wrong with asking and everyone has the right to say no.
If Eric wants to start an organization to help others he doesn’t have to wait for donations or involve businesses. I’m not sure what it’s called, but I’ve heard of groups of families (particularly immigrants) creating clubs where everyone contributes monthly to a pool of money, with the pool going to a different family each month. Maybe Eric could start something similar in his community?
Really? Because I *am* upset with the request. I find begging every where I go. On Facebook with the GoFundMe pleas. In emails. In solicitation phone calls. Everywhere I go there’s someone with a bowl, someone holding a sign at an intersection, someone knocking on my window. Yes, I *DO* mind. I give to charity. I cook and serve as the soup kitchen. I donate both time and talent. But there is an insatiable demand for people to be given things and I think it is RUDE for them to join in the chorus.
Hey, the squeaky wheel gets the grease, right? That seems to be the justification that many people use to ask for things they want. You don’t get what you don’t ask for, so he just gave it a try as he has nothing to lose. My objection is that GRS gave him a free and easy forum to do what amounts to panhandling. I’m not sure who made the decision that this scam fits into what GRS is about, but I fail to see how it’s worthy of inclusion. In fact, it runs counter to what this blog is about!… Read more »
I am working from home this morning and my landline has rung four times now with spam solicitations. Civilization cannot bear the constant barrage of requests. It’s simply rude. It’s rude the way it’s rude to stand up at parties with signs for your political candidate or inquiring of your dinner guests if they’ve found Jesus yet. We all have our political beliefs, our religious beliefs, our need to fund our daily existence. Once you start imposing it on others it’s just rude. Rudeness exists, certainly, but we shouldn’t be OKAY with it.
This is scraping the bottom of the barrel. So disappointed in GRS…..
Isn’t the point of frugality being able to distinguish a need versus a want? Push that further- is your want to have your mortgage payed off when you are not desperate more important than someone’s else’s need to afford cancer treatment, or therapy for their autistic child, or for a foster child to have the support they need to be “independent” at 18?
No.
What you envision is a type of pyramid scheme–help me pay off my house, then we can ask others to pay off yours. With a kind of vague “there will have to be stipulations, of course” that will be defined at some later point in the future that would apply to your donors…but are not in place for you at the moment. For the others there will be rules, but since you are at the top of the pyramid, no rules exist. I think you can see the inherent unfairness in that, to put a diplomatic touch on my point.… Read more »
I suspect tactics like this work only for the first few people to do it because of the novelty factor. People will talk about this family, share this “crazy idea” and perhaps even make a donation because “hey, why not?” Many of us aren’t too careful with small amounts like $5 anyway. Amplify this by hundreds or thousands of families trying to do the same thing and people will lose interest pretty quickly. I’ve worked for small businesses and seen how often they get hit up to contribute to this or that good cause. I doubt people will have much… Read more »
Wow, just wow. Really disappointed in GRS for going this editorial route. Debating whether I remove GRS from my RSS feed after many, many years…
I’ll be honest – I couldn’t finish reading this post so maybe I missed something. I can see GRS’s point in posting it – to get reader feedback on the general idea of using crowdfunding to help pay off debts. But this guy is better off than me and I’m paying my mortgage the old-fashioned way – by busting my ass at work to bring home a paycheck. Dude, life isn’t ideal. Everybody wants a nice house and no mortgage. But you’re not owed a nice house with no mortgage. (I do believe, though, that everybody deserves a clean and… Read more »
I am with you. To read past the first paragraph was an obvious waste of time. This post is an insult to the readers.
I’m with you, too. I just sent a small donation to youcaring.com for a young mother fighting stage 4 breast cancer. THAT’S where my heart and dollars go. To people struggling through a crisis.
I can’t believe how angry I am at this post!
What a ridiculous request and I’m disappointed in GRS for giving him this platform to try to real his goal. Isn’t the premise behind GRS doing the hard work yourself to reach these types of goals? I’m a firm believer that people don’t truly appreciate and take pride in the results unless they do the hard work themselves. Let’s hope that none of the GRS community play into this type of game. What is it they say about a fool parting with his money?
I’m not upset by the request (can’t hurt to ask and people can choose to do it or not) and it does create an interesting question by GRS to see how crowdfunding in general is seen by the readers. That being said, I won’t be donating. This is a want, not a need. He pays all his bills on time, he can feed his family, they both have jobs. He just *wants* to be mortgage free *now* vs later. Keep plugging away, you’ll get there.
I agree with your perspective. I don’t think that I would do this, but if it works for him I have no problem at all with it. Crowdfunding is an opportunity that I am very interested in, but not in this application. Not completely clear on what the article is doing on this site, though.
Que? What? Quoi? Was? Sorry I ran out of ways to say “wth”. Being home less than 48 hours from a month-long stay in impoverished W. Africa, this post actually turned my stomach.
It may not hurt the OP to ask, but it would hurt my pride and sensibilities. Why pay the price of coming off as a greedy miserly character just to reach FI? For me 1/2 of the pleasure of reaching FI is the feeling of achieving a goal through my own hard work.
Lmoot is back!!!
Hi!
Hey El Nerdo! Good to be back.
Best wishes for a life changing trip lmoot. Amazing really…the idea that you can change your life by doing something for others who have asked nothing of you vs. the other way around. Be safe!
I usually throw in a finnish “Mitä?” as well.
Out of curiosity, the other day I spent some time on Go Fund Me to see what kind of requests existed. There are thousands of people like Eric asking for things, for no other discernible reason other than that they want it now. Help me pay off my mortgage. Help me start an organic farm, even though I have no capital, no experience, and am only 20 years old. I’m really not asking for much, just about $400,000 to get my sustainable farm going. Help me pay to go to Vegas to be the maid of honor at my best… Read more »
Yeah it didn’t take long after a couple incidents like this that Kickstarter changed their policy to ban “please finance my lifestyle” projects. “”Help me pay off my mortgage. Help me start an organic farm, even though I have no capital, no experience, and am only 20 years old. I’m really not asking for much, just about $400,000 to get my sustainable farm going. Help me pay to go to Vegas to be the maid of honor at my best friend’s wedding, since at the moment I am struggling to pay my rent.”” With that last one: if her friend… Read more »
I dont get why people are getting annoyed with this guy. I can understand if you dont want to help him. But i can see the point in his appeal. Essentially a vast amount of money is collect from us, the responsible workhorses, (who are neither rich not dirt poor) in the name of helping the poor, the disabled and so on. more often than not, all this money is frittered on irresponsible, immoral and bureaucrats, charity bosses. so when a responsible, working man asks for help to pay off his mortgage so that he can avoid paying vast amounts… Read more »
Wow… this post goes against everything GRS has stood for over the last 7 years.
heck, it even goes against the NAME of the webpage.
Disappointing, to say the least
Agreed with many of the other commenters. If the ultimate goal to start an organization or foundation, why not ask others to help fund that instead?
Lol, can I mail you a quarter? I’m fine knowing the postage is more than my donation!
Doesn’t hurt to ask, we all have the ability to say no. I would have like to hear from Eric what he’s doing to pay off his mortgage. I don’t see any mention of extra money being paid towards it, or extra jobs extra. If that’s truly his goal and he’s not doing anything to achieve it other then asking for donations, that disappointing.
I dunno — it doesn’t bug me, and if he can raise money that way, good for him. I give money on this type of fundraiser to people who have to get the money together for expensive operations for their dogs (usually rescue dogs). I’ve donated to four such fundraisers (about $25 per time). I know how expensive pet operations can be, and I’m happy to give $25 to help pay the costs for those who are struggling. And I’ve given to this type of online fundraiser for victims of a fire in my neighborhood and for a family whose… Read more »
I gave earlier this year (through Kickstarter) to a friend who was raising money for a CD release party. A want – not a need. I then gave to a family whose little boy had cancer and they were raising money for medical costs. A need. Later this year, I want to give to an elephant sanctuary. My point is, we give to causes that somehow touch us or have meaning for us. I think Erik is hoping that his story will touch somebody or have meaning for them. Maybe someone will be impressed with Erik’s history of being hardworking… Read more »
It IS a new low.
One I hope GRS never repeats again.
To me, this post seems to higlight exactly what is wrong with this request–there is NO cause. We give to a variety of “causes,” and here, we have a person who has no reason for asking for this request that he can take care of for himself–unless one considers “greed” as a “cause.” We all have only so much we can give to others, but he is asking us to fund himself instead of funding those causes where there is a NEED. He recognizes candidly he has no need.
HEY ERIC ESTRADA THIS IS MY CORNER, GO AWAY. GO FIND YOUR OWN CORNER.
LOYAL READERS PLEASE SEND ALL YOUR SPARE CHANGE TO [email protected]
THINK OF THE CHILDREN
I just tried making fun of this article by asking for money and posting an email address.
The spamfilters ate my post.
How come they didn’t eat the whole article in the first place?
edit: oh wait! there it is! ha ha ha
While I can’t say it’s wrong to ask for help, it doesn’t seem like your circumstances justify the need. I face more dire circumstances and would feel quite guilty asking for such help. I bought my first home in 2004 after Hurricane Ivan destroyed my mother’s home, where I’d been living. My mother moved in with me. The house was overpriced, because everything in the area was in high demand due to all of the displaced families. Property values fell, and I have a very underwater mortgage. I lost my job. I’ve had health issues, and now my mother is… Read more »
I’m not sure why you all are getting so upset. GRS said they normally don’t do this and it appears they are interested in what the “crowd” (grs) thinks about this idea.
It appears more of you are upset b/c they posted this instead of the “i want” attitude of the guy.
I also am happy to see that basically nobody has contributed to guy that wants his freedom without working for it.
Do you really think they didn’t know what the crowd would think? If that is the case, they don’t know their own audience.
This is the iconic definition of chutzpah. There is no law against asking, but IMHO, donations should address requests that result in a benefit to society, not individuals who can help themselves. If this man and the woman he is living with we’re more responsible, they would not have had any more children than they could afford.
Horrible! I am so tired of people asking for handouts because they are lazy and the ” i want it now” attitude. His life sounds like mine but he seems to be in better financial shape than me. I work two jobs ( in the past, i’ve worked three to help pay off the bills. There are other options to meet his goal (get a second job) rather to stoop that low and ask others who most likely can’t provide for themselves, to give him money for a mortgage that most people now couldn’t even afford.
What, no pictures of the kids to really pull at the heartstrings? If you really want to sell it, you’re going to need to pull out all the stops…
Get rich slowly has gone downhill since it was sold awhile back
I totally agree! For all the ‘staff writers’ they have, you’d think they’d have better articles to share.
Maybe if he pledged to donate what he will save in interest charges I would see a vague karmic benefit to myself and the world at large. Maaaaybe. However, his statement “Who knows, once I reach my goal, we can get started on yours.” shows me he’s looking out for himself first, maaaybe me second.
I feel Habitat For Humanity has the better business plan, track record, and is a 501(C)(3).
Wow, this post has significantly eroded the trust I had for this site. The concept of crowdfunding (or, more properly, electrified panhandling) is easily discussed without giving a full post up to one particularly vile and undeserving case. As another commenter said, there are a million stories of self-interested, vacuous people asking for others to pay their bills because they are either too lazy or entitled to be bothered doing it themselves. Why couldn’t you just bring up the topic as opposed to schilling for this guy? What’s next, anorexia as a intriguing way to lose weight? In response to… Read more »
Since when is a 1300 SQ F house small and something that you have to make work? I live in a 1000 Sq ft house as a single mom with 2 kids. Its more then enough. No I have no interest in paying off your mortgage. Grow up.
If Eric gets money for paying off his home early good for him. This concept however screams entitlement and asking for welfare. If anything it does concern me that GSR chose this article out of the thousands that are submitted. If future articles are going to be about how to receive welfare checks, food stamps, and get government assistance, I would choose to move on to other great blogs out there working hard and sharing their stories.
Total BS. What a self centered, entitled asshole.
I guess it’s time to stop following this site for promoting this spam.
Like many poster have already mentioned, I’m good with crowd sourcing if it goes to someone in need of there is a “reward” tied to it (Like many bands are doing). I’ve happily donated money to a few causes with zero return. A friends wife was diagnosed with stage 4 cancer a year ago so I was happy to donate. She has since passed. When the Boston Marathon bombing happened, I readily donated to a fellow hairdresser whose legs were blown off. You know, people in need. I utilize crowd-sourcing with a number of bands I love. I think it’s… Read more »
Paying off your mortgage does not give you financial freedom. I paid mine off 7 years ago (at age 35). It’s certainly nice to have that 12 to 14 hundred dollar bill (I can’t even remember) off of your budget. And it was a thrill. But for folks like the readers of this blog, it changes nothing. You focus on funding retirement, or real financial freedom (not HAVING to work), or somehow getting your kids through school debt free, or a myriad of other financial challenges beyond your mortgage. The mortgage is one step. Will your next request be for… Read more »
“Paying off your mortgage does not give you financial freedom.” Amen to this. We recently paid of our mortgage after many years of hard work. People appreciate more the things they work for, so far be it from me to deprive Erik of this valuable learning experience. Instead of funneling that line item in our budget to paying a mortgage, we’re paying into our retirement accounts. Real financial freedom comes from recognizing the difference between wants and needs and living below your means. I find all of this “go fund me” stuff patently offensive. More often than not, it’s someone… Read more »
I also posted to a crowdfunding platform, asking for support to establish my own business. I am sixty two years old, disabled and want to work, however have not been successful. My husband works fulltime, and we also support my disabled 81 year old mother that lives in our home, a disabled daughter who has been successful in finding part time work, as well as a disabled grandson, who has not been able to find work, yet tries daily. We do the best we can, pay our mortgage and monthly bills with nothing left to put in savings each month.… Read more »
Have you guys heard of the crowdfunding of potato salad? This guy got $55k in donation for making potato salad. If it goes viral and catches on… Ppl will back u up. https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/324283889/potato-salad
A mortgage is in no sense a need. Rather than have others fund a house that you can’t afford, why don’t you sell it and rent? I have a friend who tried to use crowd sourcing to fund her summer unpaid internship abroad in Italy and then again this year in New York City. She only managed to raise about $20 each time…from her mother. Why put try to put your financial burdens of overspending onto others?
WTF
Pretty well sums it up for me.
Oh wow, this post left me completely disgusted. I think particularly so because I just found out that my grandparents have been hiding the fact that they have not been able to fully pay their school taxes for the past few years, and now have their home set for a sheriff sale. Our family had absolutely no idea. So, the thought of a Navy vet who worked for over 60 years and a woman who built her own business in the 1970s losing their home versus an entitled 30-something who is seeking to capitalize on the generosity of others really… Read more »
I don’t feel that donating $5 for your mortgage is something I should do, but if you don’t have the money to marry your girlfriend, I’m pretty sure you could get some crowdfunding for a marriage license.
I’m just going through the archives on a slow day at work, and reading about this guy with a fiancee and three kids brings up a question. Having watched far too many Judge Judy episodes, there are many litigants who appear with longstanding fiances/fiancees. Under JJ’s grilling, it frequently comes out that an official marriage never takes place because then the fiancee would lose state benefits since she is no longer a single parent. Is that the case in this situation? If so, then this family has already been the recipient of crowdfunding. If this really is the case, enough… Read more »
When I first started my blog, I posted about the thought of crowd sourcing for our student loans. I want to be a stay at home mom and the loans (which we are able to pay but not pay ahead) are the only thing on the way. It’s an intriguing idea, but I knew I don’t have a compelling story. My children have minor birth defects – but they are minor. No one has debilitating or terminal illness. Sure if I stayed home, I’d be helping my children and probably paying forward to others… But that’s not really very compelling.… Read more »
Serious birth defects, diseases, surviving disasters – these are not “compelling stories.” They are real hardships that people have to live with, and have a greater impact on their lives than whether they can get financial help through crowdsourcing. You might try reframing the way you think (or at least talk) about this.
I love the comments about entitlement and welfare mindset. Not that I’m endorsing his request. We as taxpayers paid a couple trillion in corporate welfare since 2008, particularly to Wall Street and essentially received nothing for it, perhaps only to set off an eventual rebound recession of greater impact. If we had applied that money towards Main Street and the infrastructure spending that we so desperately need (its in the local and national papers daily) there be far less real unemployment with a positive rebound in tax rolls, employment and real stock market gains through consumer confidence not one that… Read more »
This is disgusting. Hey Eric, stop asking for a handout and get to work!
GRS is fading into oblivion with posts like these.
Ditto to AG: this is a pyramid scheme. (And since he says this house is a squeeze for them… where do I get the feeling that an upgrade would soon follow?) Disappointed in GRS: this is lowest-common-denominator material. BTW, Eric, the way you say you give a few dollars or the change in your pocket to everyone who asks makes me wonder if you’re tracking where your money goes? But it certainly rewards organizations that spend a lot of money on fundraising. Pick a cause or two that’s meaningful to you, do your research and pick a recipient that spends… Read more »
I have to admit that I am seeing this type of ‘give to me mentality’ nearly everywhere I go these days. Young people approaching me for money in parking lots,gas stations,when I’m sitting in my car,etc. Healthy, strong young people that could be working 2 & 3/jobs like I did when I was their age while taking college courses but, instead, they’re choosing to be beggars and loafers. Oh, I know words like those,as well as bums, are not politically correct these days, but that’s what I see them as and I refuse to help them. See, if they approached… Read more »
Evening if I accepted all of your motives and logic towards “helping” as sound (which I do not), the math behind what you’re saying just doesn’t work out. If it takes 31000 people to pay off a mortgage, you will always need 31000 times the number of people donating than the number of people receiving. Good luck with that. Get a second job and lower your standard of living if you want to pay off your mortgage quickly. I really think you picked the wrong site for this request, but they say all publicity is good publicity and stupid things… Read more »
GRS, please respect your readers and don’t waste our time. This is ridiculous. You should have gone with your gut and not run it.
This is spam and a total waste of my time. I look forward reading to reading this site each day. Were you desperate for a last minute article? This is inexcusable. I would take this post down and rerun an oldie but goodie. I don’t blame the writer, I blame the site managers. This was a huge mistake.