The January Tin Cup Rattle

Hello friends, this is  only your periodic reminder that Steel Magnificat, and my family, are almost entirely run on gratuities. I work from home as a writer due to my chronic illness, churning out three to seven literary art projects per week here, my husband copyedits for me, and he’s also the homemaker who takes care of Rosie and does the housework since I’m so often too sick to get off the sofa or out of the house. I get a very small monthly check from Patheos based on clicks, and the rest of my family’s income is based on tips from satisfied readers. Think of it as a magazine subscription where you pay whatever you think my writing is worth and you get to read even if you don’t.

We are extremely grateful for everyone who tips– we get a lot of small five-and-ten-dollar tips and a few large ones; some people sign up through Paypal to tip at the same time every month and some just do when they can. Some months we’re comfortable, and some months we make next to nothing, but we have been getting by ever since this blog started thanks to you guys. You literally keep the lights on for us.

We find it especially helpful when people sign up with Paypal to tip automatically at the same time every month, because that makes planning ahead household spending week to week way easier.

The dead of winter is a particularly low-income time combined with a particularly high-utility-bill time. We’re grateful for everyone who got us through December; I’m still not sure how we did it. This month will be a fun challenge, because we’ll need to get three new bus passes for the year (Rosie is officially too old to ride free now) and my winter coat and two kitchen appliances fell apart right after New Years.

So, as always, I ask: if you like what you read, give me a tip! Just click on the tab marked “donate” under the Steel Magnificat banner, then click on the yellow  button and PayPal will walk you through the rest.