My name is Jesse Maier. I’ve been out as transgender since I was thirteen (the beginning of 2017). I luckily got to start hormones towards the end of 2020, but shortly after that, I ended up moving out when I was seventeen, with no savings whatsoever. I had just started at my very first job, making minimum wage, which at the time was $12/hr. I worked weeks straight at a time just to get by and make a life for myself. I’ve worked my way up through different kitchens in the last four years, working as many as three jobs at once, which allowed me the opportunity to buy a car that I’m still paying off (around 7k). I have credit card debt that I accrued when I didn’t fully understand how credit worked, around 3k in total, and in addition to that, another 1.2k in medical debt for having blood work done. That being said, in my current financial state, I’m only making around $2200/month, and trying to save while paying down debt and day-to-day expenses/bills/rent has proven to be extremely difficult.
Since I moved out with nothing to my name at such a young age, I’ve been playing catch-up and breaking even ever since. I’m finally starting to work towards my goals, but it’s still a struggle. I’m making this fundraiser in hopes that it will allow me the opportunity to get a little bit closer to a goal I’ve had for the last 8 years.
