It is done

[pyesetz]

I have officially declared myself to be a failure as a provider for my family.  I have sent a letter to my aunt, asking for some early inheritance so I can make ends meet.

When I joined the Furry Fandom, I was feeling like a failure because I could not figure out a way to get my family out of a country that had gone crazy and whose government wouldn't grant me permission to leave and wouldn't say why not.  But eventually I got past that problem.

Now I'm a failure again.  But I don't feel like barking.  What sound does an anthropomorphized Homo erectus make when things aren't going well?  Maybe one of these.

Maybe I should join the otherkin, but their self-description doesn't quite sing to me.  My biology is obviously within human range since I have managed to produce offspring.  I don't really have species dysphoria or phantom-tail syndrome.  My Inner Ape is not a self-exploration exercise, nor a daydream to escape from my burger-flipping existence.  I haven't played D&D in years.  I am a professional computer wizard who casts spells for a living, but that says nothing about what kind of animal is inputting the keystrokes.

Comments

[xolo.livejournal.com]

We live in shitty times. Don't feel badly because you have to ask for help.

[shiver-raccoon.livejournal.com]

I keep trying to write a reply, but the words don't come out right. Even before you posted this, it seemed that you were rather preoccupied by something, but I couldn't tell what was wrong. As Xolo says, times aren't too good right now, so "you gotta do what you gotta do". Hopefully you can use the money to pay off debts and try to get back on your feet, rather than just using it to pay the bills and end up back in the same situation 6 months from now. If you want someone to talk to, I'm always available by email, and can easily be on IM if that helps.

As for a sound, maybe a whimper or whine would fit best?

In hindsight, are you glad that you came to Canada? Was it worth the hassle?

[pyesetz]

times aren't too good right now
That's not my problem.  I have been in poor health for about eight years and cannot earn enough to support my family.

end up back in the same situation 6 months from now
Actually, I don't really have a problem at the moment.  But I am expecting to have a problem at the end of the year because I won't have the funds to pay my income tax bill.  So I'm declaring the emergency now in order to get it resolved by then.

are you glad that you came to Canada?
It would be better without Harper, but even so the reduction in national insanity has been a pleasant change.

Was it worth the hassle?
Yes, I think it has just about finished paying for itself in reduced healthcare costs.

Hopefully you can use the money to pay off debts
There is simply no way that is going to happen.  I am expecting to spend more than I earn for the next six years.  The question is whether I can avoid bankruptcy while finishing up this 25-year project to produce offspring.

[shiver-raccoon.livejournal.com]

I am expecting to spend more than I earn for the next six years

Not a good situation at all! Maybe it's time to cut up the credit cards and put the whole family on a monthly cash allowance?

[pyesetz]

a monthly cash allowance?

Won't help. Just food, medicine, utilities, insurance, taxes, and gasoline uses up all but $200 of the income for an average month.  Add kid clothing and the occasional root canal and I'm already overbudget without having bought any toys or a sump pump.  "Mr. Bear" says I should be happy that my house is gaining in value enough to cover the shortfall.  I should just treat it like a cash-cow, refinancing every few years to pull more value out of it.

[shiver-raccoon.livejournal.com]

I presume "Mr. Bear" (heh... I haven't called him *that* in months!) doesn't want to have you work any more hours than you already do. Sacrificing your remaining "family time" for a second job doesn't sound nice, even if you could find something else way out there in the country. Could your wife find work locally, perhaps? Maybe it's time to see if the "Mr. D" project will happen?

Regular re-financing of one's home always sounds like a bad idea to me; that should be one area where you can build up equity for your retirement.

I wish I had good suggestions for you; that is certainly not a pleasant situation for you to be in (and may only get worse, as your pups reach university/college age).

[dakhun.livejournal.com]

Erf. :-(
But how did you end up having to pay more in taxes than you have?
You didn't seem sick when I saw you last.

I'm puzzled and confused but sympathetic.

[pyesetz]

But how did you end up having to pay more in taxes than you have?
My income is monthly but my income tax is annual.  This year I got a notice from CRA saying that I *might* have to make quarterly payments, but no followup letter telling me how much to pay, so I didn't.  I could cover the income tax by not renewing my life insurance, or I might be able to get the bank to raise the credit limit on my mortgage.

You didn't seem sick when I saw you last.
I have one of those invisible illnesses that is often confused with goldbricking.  I find it hard to focus on work and usually can put in only half a day.  My job with Company 𝔾 is great because "Mr. Bear" puts up with my poor work habits—but I'm just not earning enough money for a family of four.

sympathetic
It's great to have furiends!

[dakhun.livejournal.com]

Well, you don't have to pay more than 1/4 of your estimated tax bill in each installment. Even if they gave you a recommended amount that they want you to pay in each installment, you always have the option of providing your own estimate of what 1/4 of your net outstanding tax bill is going to be. If you low-ball the estimate by more than $2000, then you have to pay a penalty. I've had to paid taxes by installments before, and I've correctly paid my own lower estimate of my tax bill without penalty (because I was within $2000, which is not hard to do unless you have investment income).

As for only being able to work half-time, the obvious solution is that you should be looking to cut ALL of your expenditures by one half. Forget refinancing your house! Just look for one that costs half as much. A cheapo fixer-upper, a tiny little town house, or a nice but rural property, might not be your dream home, but you have to live within your means, and the first step towards that is admitting to yourself what your "means" are.

[pyesetz]

Well, you don't have to pay more than 1/4 of your estimated tax bill in each installment.
I have to pay all of it by next April.

cut ALL of your expenditures by one half
Which family members should I kick to the curb?

Forget refinancing your house! Just look for one that costs half as much.
That wouldn't net me any money, just a reduction in monthly interest charges that wouldn't be enough to balance my budget.  The move itself would cost $1000's that I don't have and it would be difficult to borrow anything against the replacement house because I wouldn't be eligible again for the "new immigrant" mortgage.  In what way is this better than a refi?

A cheapo fixer-upper, a tiny little town house, or a nice but rural property
That's what I've got now.

you have to live within your means
I can't, without ejecting some children.

admitting to yourself what your "means" are
I admit that I have a rich aunt.  I have spent the last 20 years refusing her help because of the strings attached to it, but I just can't afford to go on this way.

Thanks for listening, but you seem to be assuming that I have a lot of discretionary expenses I can cut.  They've been cut already.

[dakhun.livejournal.com]

You think it takes a huge salary to raise 2 kids? Look around you at all the people who make less than you do raising even more kids. :-P But since you have a sure-fire fall-back position already in mind, I don't think you are going to accept any other solution besides holding to your current location and standard of living. I wouldn't either, come to think of it, so that's more or less understandable. But I have made the necessary sacrifices to get by over the past couple of years. I know how little it costs to move locally if you do it yourself - not thousands. Thanks for purportedly soliciting advice.

[pyesetz]

You think it takes a huge salary to raise 2 kids?
No, but it takes more than half-time work for a single-earner family.


Look around you at all the people who make less than you do raising even more kids.
Yeah, I'm really lucky that I can get away with working so little.

But I have made the necessary sacrifices to get by over the past couple of years.
I am sorry to hear of your pains.

I know how little it costs to move locally if you do it yourself - not thousands.
My household has way too much stuff!  They allocated to us half of one of those gigantic moving vans—it wasn't quite enough.

Thanks for purportedly soliciting advice.
Did I?  The only question in the original post was, "What sound does an anthropomorphized Homo erectus make when things aren't going well?"

Advice like "Just look for a house that costs half as much" seemed rather flippant to me.  Just how stupid do you think I am?  I did that already!  So my response was perhaps too nasty.  Sorry about that.

[dakhun.livejournal.com]

There's only one house that is the very cheapest house in the entire country, and everyone else has room to downsize. I did not realise that you lived in that house. :-)

Plus, given that the optimistic forecasts for Canadian housing prices over the next two years only show them going up at a rate somewhat slower than that of inflation, and the pessimistic estimates are well below that, this is not a good time to be overextended with residential real estate in this country.