Mortgage Interest / Inflation / Taxes / “Rainy Day” Fundraiser
Day One: Financial Difficulties Explained
Today I’ll be talking about my finances, so as to fully inform my regular readers of my “situation.”
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I’ve been a full-time Catholic apologist and author since December 2001, and my income since then has always consisted of a combination of book and article royalties, part-time jobs as needed, and generous donations from thoughtful people like you. Since July 2020, Social Security payments (for both my wife and myself) have basically replaced the function of the part-time jobs. I’m still working as hard as ever at age 65 (and I think, doing some of my best work, too), with no plans whatsoever to ever retire or even to “slow down.” You see this in the work I produce almost on a daily basis.
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Those of you who have followed me through the years know how little I ever solicit funds, even though every legitimate apostolate has a perfect “right” to do so, according to St. Paul, who taught that “The laborer is worthy of his wages” (1 Tim 5:18, NKJV); and virtually all of them do, in frequent massive campaigns. I’ve also consistently followed the principle of *never soliciting individuals*, whether in person, by mail, email, or Facebook discussions or private messaging. I like to let my work speak for itself, and to count on the good will of people who utilize my 4,300+ free articles to consider reimbursing the author (as time=money).
Those of you who have followed me through the years know how little I ever solicit funds, even though every legitimate apostolate has a perfect “right” to do so, according to St. Paul, who taught that “The laborer is worthy of his wages” (1 Tim 5:18, NKJV); and virtually all of them do, in frequent massive campaigns. I’ve also consistently followed the principle of *never soliciting individuals*, whether in person, by mail, email, or Facebook discussions or private messaging. I like to let my work speak for itself, and to count on the good will of people who utilize my 4,300+ free articles to consider reimbursing the author (as time=money).
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I did fundraisers of this sort in the years 2012-2014, raising about $5,000 each time, and only once or twice since then (not recorded on my “Personal Page”). Meanwhile, my book royalties for older books are considerably lower than they used to be, when I had four bestselling books with Sophia Institute Press and a popular pamphlet for Our Sunday Visitor, dated 2002-2007. My current book, The Word Set in Stone, is selling pretty well, but I don’t know yet how much new income it will generate.
I did fundraisers of this sort in the years 2012-2014, raising about $5,000 each time, and only once or twice since then (not recorded on my “Personal Page”). Meanwhile, my book royalties for older books are considerably lower than they used to be, when I had four bestselling books with Sophia Institute Press and a popular pamphlet for Our Sunday Visitor, dated 2002-2007. My current book, The Word Set in Stone, is selling pretty well, but I don’t know yet how much new income it will generate.
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Now, to explain the title of this fundraiser . . . As I wrote about before (simply asking for prayer at that time), our previous used car died several months back. When one is living month-to-month and barely making ends meet, this can be a big problem in the family budget, and it certainly was for us, since we still had to pay off the old car for about two years, and then we had a new monthly payment of $257.50 for five years (we purchased a 2014 car with 55,000 miles for $10,000).
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Because we couldn’t incorporate that new addition into our budget, we were forced to pay the minimum payment for our mortgage, which pays it off in 30 years, instead of the amount we had been paying, which pays it in 15 years. As most of you know, this entails many many thousands of extra dollars of interest, if one takes 30 years to pay off a house instead of 15. I’ll already be 77 years old if we pay it off in 15 years. So I need to raise that money, and it is $377.45 in additional principle every month, in order to maintain it as a 15-year loan. To do that, I need your help. Much of what I raise will go straight to the mortgage. I already “owe” it over $1,000; all because an old car died on us . . . such is life.
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People don’t realize how little authors make from their books. It’s only a standard 12% cut. For example, my current book sells for $18.95 right from the publisher. Thus, I would make $2.27 on a paperbook sale. But most today probably buy it on Kindle or some other form of ebook. That costs $12.99 from the publisher or $9.99 at Amazon, bringing me about $1.56 or $1.20 per sale. And apologetics is a small market.
People don’t realize how little authors make from their books. It’s only a standard 12% cut. For example, my current book sells for $18.95 right from the publisher. Thus, I would make $2.27 on a paperbook sale. But most today probably buy it on Kindle or some other form of ebook. That costs $12.99 from the publisher or $9.99 at Amazon, bringing me about $1.56 or $1.20 per sale. And apologetics is a small market.
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Unfortunately, my 30 or so self-published books make me very little, too. How little? Well, Lulu sends me royalty money every month. For the last four months, the total revenues were $30.63, $46.17, $31.56, and $58.21. I also make $150 / month for two articles a month at National Catholic Register. You get the idea by now . . .
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Unfortunately, my 30 or so self-published books make me very little, too. How little? Well, Lulu sends me royalty money every month. For the last four months, the total revenues were $30.63, $46.17, $31.56, and $58.21. I also make $150 / month for two articles a month at National Catholic Register. You get the idea by now . . .
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At present, I have 14 regular monthly financial supporters, who provide a total of roughly $627 a month. Yet I have 5,000 friends on Facebook and 2,934 additional followers, presumably regularly reading my materials. Needless to say, I could use many more such monthly supporters. According to my records, 1,002 individuals have supported my work since 2001, with 112 having donated twice, and 114, three times or more. That’s fabulous, and I am so thankful for such generosity, but on any given month, it usually doesn’t add up to much. I pay my bills, and little is left. A friend of mine once accurately observed (at least for those in apostolates), “God will provide your needs, and not a penny more.” But there are now other factors, too, eating up my barely adequate income.
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Those of you who are suffering under the present inflation like I am, don’t need me to tell you how rough it is. Of course, it causes relatively little harm to those making a fair amount of money. It’s those like myself who barely make ends meet every month that greatly suffer as a result of government incompetence. For us (as for many), it shows up most obviously in higher food and gas prices. And so we need more money to get by. It’s as simple as that. We were doing fine, until our car died and prices went sky high. I’ve always met my bills, had very good credit (over 900 last time it was checked), and we don’t use credit cards. We’re very responsible with our money. That’s not the problem. We simply need more income, for the reason I am explaining in this post.
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Those of you who are suffering under the present inflation like I am, don’t need me to tell you how rough it is. Of course, it causes relatively little harm to those making a fair amount of money. It’s those like myself who barely make ends meet every month that greatly suffer as a result of government incompetence. For us (as for many), it shows up most obviously in higher food and gas prices. And so we need more money to get by. It’s as simple as that. We were doing fine, until our car died and prices went sky high. I’ve always met my bills, had very good credit (over 900 last time it was checked), and we don’t use credit cards. We’re very responsible with our money. That’s not the problem. We simply need more income, for the reason I am explaining in this post.
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Taxes are also causing a problem with our budget now. For many years, because we had four children and a relatively low income, we got a great deal every year with the Earned Income Credit and two different child tax credits. We would get a refund for $4-5,000 and live off of those funds for many months. Now our children are too old to be listed as dependents (yet two still live with us), so I have to pay tax, due to self-employment tax. This is a huge difference. In three of the last four years, I had to pay from $909 to $2367 in taxes. We get a much-needed tax break now with untaxed Social Security, but it’s still a payment rather than a refund, and we can’t meet it according to our monthly budget as it is, and so have to raise money for that, too.
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As for the “rainy day” portion of this fundraiser; well, that is things like car repairs. I owe my daughter $650 right now for front and rear brakes. Now we need four new tires, since they are going bald and the car shimmies above 60 mph. It’s things like badly needed new eyeglasses. I saved a whopping 72% with a great Medicare plan (Molina) but I still had to pay $289. I have to renew my car registration now ($103). Clothes have to be bought every now and then (and we get them used as much as we can). A house has to be maintained. These expenses have to be included in family budgets, but the combination of factors above are making it impossible, short of raising new funds.
As for the “rainy day” portion of this fundraiser; well, that is things like car repairs. I owe my daughter $650 right now for front and rear brakes. Now we need four new tires, since they are going bald and the car shimmies above 60 mph. It’s things like badly needed new eyeglasses. I saved a whopping 72% with a great Medicare plan (Molina) but I still had to pay $289. I have to renew my car registration now ($103). Clothes have to be bought every now and then (and we get them used as much as we can). A house has to be maintained. These expenses have to be included in family budgets, but the combination of factors above are making it impossible, short of raising new funds.
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Everyone knows what they get if they support this ministry. You see my work and my constant labor in the field. It’s evident on my blog and in my 53 books. I have no overhead, no rent, no employees, no big “projects” that I need to fund. It’s just me writing every day and supporting my family (as a “sole proprietor” on tax forms). Catholic apologist and author Karl Keating wrote about me a few years ago:
Everyone knows what they get if they support this ministry. You see my work and my constant labor in the field. It’s evident on my blog and in my 53 books. I have no overhead, no rent, no employees, no big “projects” that I need to fund. It’s just me writing every day and supporting my family (as a “sole proprietor” on tax forms). Catholic apologist and author Karl Keating wrote about me a few years ago:
“I know you spend countless hours writing about and defending the Church. There may not be any American apologist who puts in more labor than you. You’ve been a hard-working laborer in the vineyard for a long time.” Catholic apologist and author Devin Rose echoed this observation, in stating, “Dave is the hardest working Catholic apologist I know.”
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And there is the evident fruit of changed lives. In the late 90s and early 2000s, I kept track of the personal reports I received, from folks (both Catholics [part one / part two] and non-Catholics) saying I played a primary or significant role in their becoming convinced of Catholicism, or returning to the Church. I documented 156 of these people in one blog post. But there are surely many more: unrecorded or those who never wrote to me and told me how I had helped them. It could easily be many hundreds of people by now. I get the reports all the time. Just two days ago someone shared with me that “your ministry has been instrumental in my own conversion.” All glory to God; it’s all due to His grace and willingness to utilize this poor sinner. But it’s relevant to report when good fruit is evident. It shows that I am doing the right thing, following my calling, and that God is at work and bringing forth good results as I “co-labor” with Him (as the Bible says).
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Your support helps very tangibly in bringing about such conversions and “reversions.” You play an indispensable role. I’ll keep working hard and doing what I do no matter what. But with your charitable help, I can get this heavy burden of falling behind in the family budget and the mortgage off of my shoulders.
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Your support helps very tangibly in bringing about such conversions and “reversions.” You play an indispensable role. I’ll keep working hard and doing what I do no matter what. But with your charitable help, I can get this heavy burden of falling behind in the family budget and the mortgage off of my shoulders.
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Over the next several days I will write about the scope and nature of my writing, so everyone can see what it is they are supporting through generous donations, prayer, “likes” and shares, Facebook comments, purchasing of my books, and word of mouth recommendations.
Thanks for reading!
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PLEASE PRAYERFULLY CONSIDER A GENEROUS ONE-TIME DONATION OR MONTHLY COMMITMENT (*ANY* AMOUNT IS VERY HELPFUL) TODAY!
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See the information on donations (including a 100% tax-deductible option).
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Day Two: Brazilian Outreach
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I’m like any other Catholic apostolate, in that we all need the help of generous donations. But I ask for it much less than almost any other apostolate, so I need relatively more funds. I simply need to pay the usual bills that a family has, since I am a sole proprietor. Your financial support makes it possible for me to offer for free almost 4,400 apologetic and theological articles on my blog, and sixteen free books. You can help change lives for the better today, with your contribution. Please prayerfully consider it!
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I’m like any other Catholic apostolate, in that we all need the help of generous donations. But I ask for it much less than almost any other apostolate, so I need relatively more funds. I simply need to pay the usual bills that a family has, since I am a sole proprietor. Your financial support makes it possible for me to offer for free almost 4,400 apologetic and theological articles on my blog, and sixteen free books. You can help change lives for the better today, with your contribution. Please prayerfully consider it!
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Today I’m writing about a very exciting development in my apostolate: my involvement in interactions with Brazilian Protestants and the growing body of my writings that have been translated into Portugese (volunteer work) by Brazilian Catholics like Fábio Salgado de Carvalho, Carlos Martins Nabeto, and several others.
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Brazil has more professed Catholics than any other nation in the world. But — as in America — many of these are nominal or non-practicing or otherwise poorly catechized, and in recent years, the Brazilian Protestants have been making more and more progress in enticing Catholics away from their faith. The less we Catholics know about our faith and why we believe what we believe (i.e., apologetics knowledge), the more likely we will be prey for Protestant evangelists who often think that Catholicism isn’t even a species of Christianity.
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I determined to try to do something about that (as much as one person can do, anyway). Many of my articles had been translated into Portugese for some time now, and eventually, two of my books, The Catholic Verses: 95 Bible Passages That Confound Protestants (2004) / Está na Bíblia – Os Versículos Católicos (2017) and 100 Biblical Arguments Against Sola Scriptura (2012) / 100 Argumentos Bíblicos Contra o Sola Scriptura (2021) were published by Brazilian publishers.
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I determined to try to do something about that (as much as one person can do, anyway). Many of my articles had been translated into Portugese for some time now, and eventually, two of my books, The Catholic Verses: 95 Bible Passages That Confound Protestants (2004) / Está na Bíblia – Os Versículos Católicos (2017) and 100 Biblical Arguments Against Sola Scriptura (2012) / 100 Argumentos Bíblicos Contra o Sola Scriptura (2021) were published by Brazilian publishers.
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In May 2022 I started a new phase of directly interacting with Brazilian Protestants. One of my Brazilian Catholic friends contacted me and asked for my assistance in answering one Pedro França Gaião, and I responded. I asked about other Brazilian Protestants whose writings I could reply to. The next one I interacted with was Lucas Banzoli. Between May 2022 and March 2023, I refuted his articles 66 times.
He waited six months to make any reply at all, and then started in with insults, claiming that my articles were “without exception poor, superficial and weak” and that “only a severely cognitively impaired person” would take them “seriously.” He resolved to “make a point of rebutting” them “one by one”; but alas, this resolve lasted only through 16 replies, ending in February 2023. My responses to him can be found on my Anti-Catholicism web page under his name.
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My Brazilian friends also mentioned the Calvinist Francisco Tourinho as a potential debate opponent. We have been engaged for over a year in a very in-depth (and perfectly cordial!) debate on justification, that was completed just last week. Tourinho owns a publishing company and will be publishing this debate in Portugese (and I think, also in English). The potential is very exciting with this book, since both Brazilian Catholics and Protestants will have an interest in it.
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Tourinho commented on my replies in this “productive debate” ands said that we both “developed intellectually,” that I “debated well” and “positively surprised” him. Moreover, he observed that I “used good arguments on several occasions,” and “confirmed” myself as “an excellent apologist” and that he hopes “to be able to dialogue more often on other subjects.”
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I have also responded to Brazilian Protestants Victor Andrade, Bruno Lima, and Rodrigo Silva.
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I’m told that my writings have had a significant impact in Brazil. All glory and praise to God! I’m simply one beggar passing along the great message of the fullness of theology and spirituality to others. Truth has inherent power, so when it’s spread it will have fruit.
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I’m told that my writings have had a significant impact in Brazil. All glory and praise to God! I’m simply one beggar passing along the great message of the fullness of theology and spirituality to others. Truth has inherent power, so when it’s spread it will have fruit.
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This is just one aspect (of many) of my ministry, that those of you who support it financially or with prayer or word of mouth recommendations (+ links, comments, shares, etc.) have helped make possible. The potential for many thousands being reached and properly educated in the faith and particularly in apologetics is certainly present in Brazil. I will continue working towards that end. With your help this exciting endeavor can have an even greater impact.
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Day Three: Biblical Archaeology Research and Books
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It all started in May 2021 when atheist Jonathan MS Pearce put up a post which asserted that there was no pitch / bitumen / asphalt in Egypt in Moses’ time (which was referenced in Exodus, in the story of him being put into a basket in the Nile as a baby). I had already been commenting on his blog for a couple of years by this time (but alas, OnlySky, the host of his blog, now bans me for no given reason, even against Jonathan’s protests).
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I started researching that topic and discovered that the claim (actually made by a friend of Jonathan’s who is an archaeologist!!) was dead wrong, according to current archaeological knowledge. That began a huge yearlong project of debates back and forth (including, prominently, the Flood and the Star of Bethlehem) with atheists and of learning about the latest discoveries in biblical archaeology that culminated in my book, The Word Set in Stone: How Archaeology, Science, and History Back Up the Bible (Catholic Answers Press: March 15, 2023).
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I did enough additional research (just about as fun and exciting as that in the first book) for a second book, but the publisher wasn’t interested in a sequel, so I offer that information for free. I also have a web page called “Bible & Archaeology / Bible & Science (A Collection)”: where I compile all of those sorts of posts (linked in the other post as well). I consider this area a very important means of potentially reaching atheists and other skeptics of the Bible, by means of secular science of various sorts.
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My book has done pretty well; and has usually been — these past five months — in the Top 100 for the category of Religious Antiquities & Archaeology at Amazon. It has been getting rave reviews. Catholic apologist William Albrëcht described it as “masterful . . . powerful tour de force . . . fantastic piece of work . . . perfect book.” Catholic apologist and author Devin Rose wrote that it was “one of those necessary volumes that we Christians need to readily defend the truth of the Bible. The book bolstered the reasons supporting my own faith.”
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And it’s not just Catholics who like it. It was written for a general audience, not only for Catholics. Hence, Dr. Paul Patton, Reformed Baptist pastor, playwright, and professor of communication and media, enthusiastically stated that the book was a “wonderful gift to the believing community . . . deeply satisfying intellectually . . . deepened my Christian faith . . . fantastic resource . . . a book not just to read, but to access and reference for the rest of one’s life.”
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And Rev. Dr. Ken Howes, STM, JD, professor of theology and Lutheran pastor [LCMS], noted that the this volume “contains a great many things people ought to know and upholds the principle of the Bible’s truthfulness. Much of it is absolutely brilliant . . . firmly based in Scripture and credible archaeological research . . . worthy company to the books of Lutheran John Warwick Montgomery and Anglican C.S. Lewis.”
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Buy it today, and be inspired by recent and cutting-edge scientific confirmation of the Bible, and emboldened to share your faith in a more effective and interesting, appealing fashion.
Buy it today, and be inspired by recent and cutting-edge scientific confirmation of the Bible, and emboldened to share your faith in a more effective and interesting, appealing fashion.
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Your generous financial support and shares and likes and comments and prayers and word of mouth recommendations help make all of this work possible. I can’t do it without you.
Your generous financial support and shares and likes and comments and prayers and word of mouth recommendations help make all of this work possible. I can’t do it without you.
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I don’t solicit very much (as my regular followers / readers are well aware) but I’m in a financial place at the moment (through no fault of my own, but things like inflation and cars prematurely dying), where I have no choice. I explained all of that in my first fundraiser post two days ago.
I don’t solicit very much (as my regular followers / readers are well aware) but I’m in a financial place at the moment (through no fault of my own, but things like inflation and cars prematurely dying), where I have no choice. I explained all of that in my first fundraiser post two days ago.
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Please follow the link to donation information, including 100% tax-deductible option, should you prefer that. If you think my work is worthwhile, and/or especially if it has helped you personally, please seriously consider supporting it with a generous contribution or commitment to a monthly recurring donation (even $10 or $20 a month is very helpful).
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Please follow the link to donation information, including 100% tax-deductible option, should you prefer that. If you think my work is worthwhile, and/or especially if it has helped you personally, please seriously consider supporting it with a generous contribution or commitment to a monthly recurring donation (even $10 or $20 a month is very helpful).
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Thanks for reading and God bless you!
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Summary: Explanation of the rationale and need for funds to support Dave Armstrong’s full-time apologetics apostolate. Please seriously consider a generous donation today!
Summary: Explanation of the rationale and need for funds to support Dave Armstrong’s full-time apologetics apostolate. Please seriously consider a generous donation today!