Emergency GoFundMe with Rare Cigars as incentive for donations! Please Read!

[Richterscale]

Hi Folks, Sorry I know this can be annoying but I've got a crisis unfolding and a young mans future is on the line so it's worth the humiliation. If this is against any rules I sincerely apologize and will understand if it must be deleted.
Quick synapse.. Girlfriends son just went back to college for his JR year on Thurs. He was notified on Friday that there was a problem with his FAFSA (federal financial aid) which also affected his grants and that we have until Sept 1st to pay $3200 out of pocket or they will literally make him leave campus... wow?

I cannot explain how remarkable of an individual this kid is and 2 years of hardwork at risk of being all for nothing is abhorrent. His mother has been paying his tuition out of her pocket all by herself to make sure he succeeds however she was laid off in October and is just now getting back on her feet and caught up. I've been dumping every nickle I make into their family to support them while she was job searching.

Needless to say, we are in such a tight spot that a GoFundMe was the absolute last resort and only option we have with this short of time to reconcile. We've gone loan routes, Hardship letters etc. And they did say that once his FAFSA is straightened out, he will be reimbursed for this or at least a portion of this $3200. So that's a good thing.. anyway.. down to the goodies.

Some friends of my GF have donated a couple of really cool items for folks that donate X amount. I also donated my own money as well as a full box of Fuente Unnamed Reserve from 2014 as well as a couple of high end bodyguards to the first person who donates $300. That box and any of the other swag will be shipped free of charge CONUS and we will do our best to work something out for international interest.

Thank you so much for the time and I apologize for the longpost. But this means the world to me, let alone to her and her son. Heres the link to the GoFundMe.

(If anyone is interested in purchasing any Padron Anniversarios, Davidoffs, etc please let me know and I will do the best I can to make it worthwhile and also to ensure we're helping this young man out)

I know we all likely have needs and storys of needs but this one is mine.. actually it's Kage Smith and Gina Smiths need but I'll do anything I can including taking the load on myself to help them. Even if you cannot donate, you may know someone who can. Please share the link if you feel comfortable doing so. Thanks!!

GoFundMe Link: [url=http://www.gofundme.com/mb3a98dg]http://www.gofundme.com/mb3a98dg[/url]


Sincerely and Humbly yours,
Jason 

[themoneycollector]

Sorry to hear about this unfortunate turn of events.

There is a life lesson here that many financial advisors will give you.  Student loans are one of the healthiest form of debt, and parents should never spend their retirement money to fund a child's education.  In this case, it doesn't sound like dollars for retirement, but living expenses, which would have even more priority for the parent than retirement.

Reason being.  Student loans are plentiful at low to nearly free interest rates and there is no such thing as a retirement loan. 

But it also sounds like this may play itself out and a temporary loan is really what is needed since he may get reimbursed, either way a student loan would cover him and if the FAFSA comes through, he can do an early payment on his loan or sock it away since most student loans are deferred interest until after graduation since he has at least 1 more year of this.  The Dept. of Education has a site for student loans studentloans.gov.

[Cohim]

It's all in the planning. I opened college funds for all of my children the day they were born. You would be surprised to see how much money will accumulate in 18 years. I do $250 a month each in a 529 plan. This has payed off in spades. My son got his first year paid for in a full paid scholarship to Texas A&M. Three free semesters was a huge help. I'm still funding his 529 and if there is any monies leftover he can keep it to do what he pleases. Down payment for a house, buy a car, or take a awesome trip, or advanced studies abroad. Having these funds really take the stress out of college tuition. 3 semesters at TA&M equals $36,000 give or take a thousand. He is in the Cadet program, so he qualifies for in state tuition. There are many ways to get tuition help. Joining Uncle Sam is the fastest easiest way to get the whole nut covered.

[Cohim]

Alumni associations have money to help kids out just like this. That would be a better place to look.

[pelirrojo304]

Having gone to college recently this smells funny to me. I have some questions.

Was there no communication with the institution's financial department? They don't typically spring large outstanding debt on you within a week of the due date.

He qualified for grants, but not loans?

He's remarkable and a hard worker but wasn't able to bring in any kind of scholarship?

Has he considered discussing a payment plan with the university? Perhaps a job would come in handy in this department.

What exactly was the "problem" with FAFSA and who's at fault? If there has been no issue with FAFSA in the past either something changed significantly in his/your life or it wasn't filled out properly. Either way, the previous FAFSA forms should be on file somewhere.

I'm all for kids getting the opportunity to go to school and get a degree. College credits do not disappear if you take a semester off so it isn't all for nothing. I cannot personally donate as a significant portion of my income goes to paying off my student loans and will continue to do so until a beautiful day in February of 2020. Good luck.

[TheGipper]

[quote author=pelirrojo304 link=topic=34889.msg148228#msg148228 date=1441061548]
College credits do not disappear if you take a semester off so it isn't all for nothing.
[/quote]

Indeed. Taking a semester off isn't the end of the world.  You don't have to go back and re-do all those Freshman 101 classes.

[Richterscale]

Well I definitely should've listened to my better judgement and NOT posted here... I'm not nearly as active here as I have been and am in other places so of course it's kinda cheesey. Couple of details that should be paid close attention too..

[list]
[li]This GoFundMe account has absolutely nothing to do with me financially other than I've donated what I can and will do when I get my weekly paycheck this Friday. This was setup and is moderated by my girlfriend for her Son. Feel free to read the story and see, ask her any questions or even reach out to the young man who is to be benefactor and talk to him. His FB page is open to the public and you can see all of this openly. If you'd like to see any of my FB activity on the subject I'd be glad to add you although it's been set to public for all of this so that it reaches more people. [/li]
[li]I only posted it in this forum AT ALL because there were some free cigars (well not really free but as a milestone reward for a $300 donation.. this type of incentive is only meaningful to cigar smokers and honestly I also did consider that adding cigars to the kitty would allow me to post it in more places because my goal first and foremost is to keep this young man where he belongs. Sure taking time off wouldn't be the end of the world, however, he has forged some incredible friendships and networks Fraternal and otherwise in the last two years and it would be really demotivating for him to fall out of synch with those people.[/li]
[li] As far as "me still being a conman" didn't you learn your lesson in that other thread you little bitch? I certainly do regret bringing this issue here but I was so desperate to keep this kid in school that it was worth it to me to expose myself to the less than brotherly board members.
I've pulled my auctions aside from my Padron auction due to the non-sense that Taps caused... even though I was ultimately vindicated and even apologized to by others involved, that reckless accusation cost me any ease of transaction in future sales and I said screw it and just went on my way figuring lesson learned.
[/list]

I was just coming back here after a very full and stressful day to thank the first two posters for their input and especially Taps for being seemingly supportive. I was shocked and touched.

I guess all it took was a couple of naysayers to get the natives restless and start accusing me of being a crook etc. Well I'm glad to announce that thanks to some incredible friends and acquaintances we have gotten almost all of what he needs to stay in school, they will be receiving all kinds of goodies and will also be reimbursed as he is when his FAFSA gets handled (btw. this happened because they had 2 apps on file for him, no fault of his own and they did not notify him of any issue until FRIDAY when he met with admissions the day he got back)

I just wanted to address as much as I could before leaving this thread. I completely regret ever coming here and from now on I'll stick to using this place as a marketplace and nothing more. And even then, I'll do so as a a last resort, no offense to Wade or any of the great people here... but this place has gotten out of control with trolls and negativity.

I work in the cigar industry because of the special bond we all share and the community that always comes with a great shop/lounge. I most certainly do not find that here and I'm clearly not the only one.

I apologize for posting this here, I was desperate to help and BEWARE, someday you too may have a cause so close to your heart that you ignore judgement and only focus on the outcome. When and if that times comes I hope that you find yourself surrounded by the good people in this world and not by the black hearts that lurk the internet waiting to pounce on the first wounded animal they see.

Anyone questioning who I am is free to add me on FB, my life is pretty much public domain and I have no problem chatting with or getting to know any of you personally.

Thanks guys, take care! 

[Richterscale]

[quote author=pelirrojo304 link=topic=34889.msg148228#msg148228 date=1441061548]
Having gone to college recently this smells funny to me. I have some questions.

Was there no communication with the institution's financial department? They don't typically spring large outstanding debt on you within a week of the due date.

[font=Verdana]A: No, this was not completely unforseen, His mother has been paying for his portion of the tuition which Grants and  FA did not cover for the last two years. She's a highly educated high-level manager and she was layed off out of the blue (as a lot of us can associate with) and it became impossible to make ends meet with only my income so the last tuition payment from last semester was postponed, thinking that she would have started her new job and that her adjusted FAFSA application (with new and lower income post severance) would be sent and completed sometime while he was on summer break.. well after many run arounds we left it up to him to meet with his Admissions Counselor as soon as he got back to school, thinking his FAFSA etc would also be primed to be dispensed, and he was beyond upset on thephone with his mom immediately with the terrible news that not only did we have past due tuition (which we had the $$$ to pay on the spot) but because of their being a mistake and there were dual applications out with his info on them they could not process his FAFSA until we refilled everything. So we have had to start over, order all files from IRS etc.. but the deadline remained unchanged. So I hope that explains how we got to that point with admissions. Yep they told us, but they told us on FRIDAY with a deadline of Tuesday.[/font]

He qualified for grants, but not loans?

[font=Verdana]A: Yes, he did get a grant however it's nowhere near enough to cover everything. He also got a small loan with a family member as co-signer to cover some tuition and costs. That lasted aprox 1.5 years before running dry. He has another family member who initially offered to co-sign another loan if he needed it back in June but he redacted his offer yesterday out of the blue and basically told this young man that hes wasting his time in school, etc.. very upsetting and that's a whole other story[/font]

He's remarkable and a hard worker but wasn't able to bring in any kind of scholarship?

[font=Verdana]A: No, he indeed had earned a scholarship, aprox $60k that was good for his first 2-years. We are outside of that timeframe now. [/font]

Has he considered discussing a payment plan with the university? Perhaps a job would come in handy in this department.

What exactly was the "problem" with FAFSA and who's at fault? If there has been no issue with FAFSA in the past either something changed significantly in his/your life or it wasn't filled out properly. Either way, the previous FAFSA forms should be on file somewhere.

[font=Verdana]A: See response a couple of questions up. There was some duplicate paperwork on their end and they did not notify us until FRIDAY, Aug 28, 2015. Not playing the blame game with FAFSA, I was simply trying to solve the problem and keep him at school so he could focus with no disruptions. [/font]

I'm all for kids getting the opportunity to go to school and get a degree. College credits do not disappear if you take a semester off so it isn't all for nothing. I cannot personally donate as a significant portion of my income goes to paying off my student loans and will continue to do so until a beautiful day in February of 2020. Good luck.

[font=Verdana]A: Thank you for your comments, I hope I answered them to satisfaction. I do have plenty I should be doing right now instead of defending an internet post but I brought this one on when I posted on this board. I let the desperation get the best of me. I'd hoped that some decent people would at the very least maybe share another BOTL's story somewhere on social media etc. I apologized in advance because I know how obnoxious it can be but to me this issue was as real as it gets. And by no means so I think that he is the only one going through something like this. But this was my experience and I was going to spread the word even if it meant exposing it to the trolls and nay-sayers. It was worth it.

I do thank you for even considering a donation and I totally understand that you gotta take care of you first. I applaud you for it. If i strike it big soon, I will personally pay off Kage's school bills as well as yours. And you can keep this thread saved just in case. :)[/font]

Ok I'm don'e with this stuff guys. I've given as much info as I feel I need to, the account will be closing tomorrow Tues Sept 1 at aprox 8pm Pacific time. But if anyone has any reservations (which thanks to some irresponsible comments I'm sure they do) please just silently or publicly wish him luck. He really does get blown away by the support he's given. In all forms.
[/quote]

Take care everyone.

[Richterscale]

[quote author=Cohim link=topic=34889.msg148225#msg148225 date=1441060363]
Alumni associations have money to help kids out just like this. That would be a better place to look.
[/quote]

Cohim!! How are you bro.. been busy here as you can see ;) I just told his mother about this bit of info and neither of us knew of this. It won't help right this second but this is something definitely worth-while to look into for the future!! Thanks bro, (add me on FB if you haven't already, I still have to send some things your way) Just use my email you have to find me. Thanks bro!

**Locking this as it's very destructive at an already trying time. Thank you to anyone who supported the cause in any way shape or form. I am positive that at least one person shared this or at the very least read it and sympathized. Thanks all. Be Well. **