Struggling college student in WI

[Olivia123]

I am a student at the University of Wisconsin Oshkosh.
As you may know, I am planning the College of Business Autism Awareness workshop for this May. I have been really struggling this past year financially. Waiting for my first paycheck until the 24th of April has been extremely stressful and difficult for me. I wanted you to know that I am going through a lot right now in my life and am prepared to help myself.
My financial mess started out after I purchased a 2003 Lexus ES 300 in December 2020. I have taken my vehicle repaired at many facilities. I needed my axles and shafts replaced within the first summer when after I purchased the vehicle. I needed to loan the repair money but I felt that it was important to pay off my car as soon as possible. After that period of time, I had to replace the windshield wiper motor plus a knock sensor. And when I moved to the hotel, then I needed to have my brakes replaced, coolant hoses, and a leaking power steering parts. But I have gotten my vehicle repaired many more times during this period of time that I was able to pay for. This October, my vehicle needed many repairs and had to lose out on the emergency fund that I have already created at one point and then it took borrowing from my grandparents. That repair apparently did some poor work and some of the nuts and bolts were missing from the vehicle.
Here is what is going on with my car, I took my car into J&R auto on Main Street and had plenty of things done with the car. I have a 2003 Lexus ES 300 and some of the things that I done to it are the three catalytic converters, sway bar link, ignition coil, and oil leaks in my engine. It did okay for a few weeks.
Then I noticed that my tires went out shortly after my repair was completed, my tires went out flat and it was on the highway where I had the issue. When they got replaced at Discount Tire, the back two tires was so bad, almost all of the rubber came off since it took me a couple minutes to pull over on 41. The front two tires were pretty corroded as well due to alignment. J&R told me that the tires should be replaced before winter but they did not say that there was an issue due to alignment.
Let’s talk about the corroded battery terminal next, I could not believe that J&R or any other repair shop did not mention anything about having a corroded battery terminal. It was so obvious that the battery terminal cable was corroded as stated by All World Ford who I could actually trust.
My car needed a good engine scrub down and due to all of the grease and if I paid for an engine tune up, then I should have gotten it wiped down when they were done.
I paid for an engine tune up as a college student waiting for a paycheck in Wisconsin, so obviously it was hard to get the funds. There were supposed leaks fixed but they came back and started smelling hot oil all over again and then finding out that there were times I was driving without oil and not knowing it which is absolutely atrocious. The parts that were leaking oil was exhaust manifolds and valve cover gaskets all of which had to be replaced at All World Ford because the nuts and bolts were missing and oil was leaking into the catalytic converters just like before.
I ordered my own parts which means no warranty but it sounds like J&R is using that as an excuse to cover up their mistakes. I did some research and it is very common to get scammed by car repair shops and to be charged a higher labor rate per hour if you are ordering your own parts.
I’ve recently have been hearing sounds when I turn my car probably due to bad power steering pump but J&R said that there was nothing wrong with it.
This put me in such a financial crisis living here in WI and trying t pay for college as I pretty much had to give up car insurance after this happened and I am now having trouble with financials and achieving the milestones I want to achieve with money. I have talked with a girl online who we both like, she lives in the Rockford area and I wanted to go visit her but couldn’t due to car trouble after J&R screwed me over. I haven’t been able to pay my grandparents back for car repairs that they have helped me out with. I had emergency savings and now it is gone. I have never been in a bad position like this before.
Last year I had three tragic deaths in my family and it made it very difficult let alone autism. I am looking into continuing my family’s Titan Legacy as my dad graduated in 97 and my mom graduated in 99 and I want to continue the Titan Legacy because I want to, not because my family wants me to. I have been diagnosed with significant depression and minor PTSD. I am managing that very well because I am on a couple of medications and I am working hard on eating healthy and using different coping techniques. I have been doing a better job of explaining my disability and being more open to talk about my autism which I am always working on and you will see that in the magazine coming out in January and the Autism Awareness Workshop for the College of Business this April. I have been following my doctors orders and I am following that and I was encouraged to contact you. I am not giving up and I am not a person who gives up. Before the three deaths that hit me last year, I had a hard time with the transition of online learning and then back to in person learning since adjusting on a time without tools is a challenge that I have but now, I have tools to do both in person and online learning. In 2018, I received the privilege of competing in the Special Olympics USA Games for track representing Team Wisconsin and earning a gold, silver, bronze, and a fifth place and received a formal citation after I came home. I have had challenges with remembering to turn in work on time and excessive mind racing on exams. All I was really advocating for was a little more direction to ensure my successes!
How much money do I need:
- My dads parents Ken and Kay Falk: $4,100
- My moms parents Richard and Carol Mueller: $1,600
- Credit Card debt: $2,200
- Affirm: $1,145
- ESCI: $1,500
- New insurance: $1,398
- Register plates: $150-200
- Collections: $42.00
- Taxes I owe: $209.00
- Starter Emergency fund: $1,000
- Car repair fund start up: $1,500
- Regular savings account: $500
- Dr. Vinyl savings and detailing account: $450
- Overdraft
I have proof of needs for all funds listed above. My vehicle will need more repairs and I am not giving up on the car yet. I really want to purchase a new car but I cannot afford it yet. My serving job at IHOP did not help me earn enough to pay my living expenses and so I got a new job at Hilton in Green Bay as a front desk agent.
I want you to help me because I want to help myself.
I have talked to numerous agencies in the area as well as dialing the 211 hotline for assistance but I had no luck. I have reached out to Advocap and Leaven of the Fox cities, on top of catholic charities of Wisconsin.
To help myself,
- I am planning on seeing a financial counselor weekly at Goodwill to review my budget and do whatever they say that I should do
- Seeing a financial advisor to strategic planning regarding my finances
- Setting budgets for saving more money for my goals with the bigger income
- And more
If there is anything you could do to help me out as far as grants go or helping me be current so that the I am not behind when I receive my first paycheck. Please let me know. If you could remove the ESCI charge for my University balance so that I could enroll in courses, that would be a great idea.
Please contact me via email:
Thank you,

[Admin]

That is some list of needs. There are programs in Winnebago County WI including Oshkosh. We assume that if you are in college that will not impact your application, but of course you need to check and apply. Also of course talk to your college financial aid office. But find financial help in Winnebago County here. https://www.needhelppayingbills.com/htm ... ce_pr.html