It is the new year and the first in a bit where we haven't taken out a new loan to pay off last years bills. We're going to try not to do that this year; just try to get through month to month. But we do still have a couple of old loans to pay off and, of course, new bills. So it is necessary to post these appeals for help. All contributions are welcome and appreciated.
Many thanks!
Paypal contributions come straight to our accounts.
Hugs,
Erin, Piper, Jamie, Cat, Ashly, Rasufelle and the rest of the crew
Use this link to subscribe through the Hatbox Membership page:
Checks can be made out & sent to:
Janglewood LLC
602 Higgins Ave
Suite 1 #283
Brielle, NJ 08730
USA
If you prefer, you can donate through Patreon:
Become a Patron!
Thank you!
Comments
Traffic
Sent $100.
What is your monthly traffic count versus five years ago?
Are there ways you can increase traffic? More traffic = more potential contributors.
Jill
Angela Rasch (Jill M I)
Thanks!
Our analytics service seems down right now, but we get about 200,000 unique visitors a month.
Hugs,
Erin
= Give everyone the benefit of the doubt because certainty is a fragile thing that can be shattered by one overlooked fact.
Up or Down
Is traffic increasing or decreasing?
Jill
Angela Rasch (Jill M I)
Increasing
It seems to be increasing, but we hit a peak in July and it went down a bit till October started. We also had a peak early in the pandemic. The increase in October/November was almost up to the peak in July. From previous years' experience, we are likely to have a slight decrease in December and an increase in January through February, decrease in March, then increase from April to July. I have no idea why this rhythm.
We get about 40 new people a day, and a bit over half of them are still coming once a week or more a month later. The average visitor looks at four or five pages and spends 8 or 10 minutes reading, apparently. Windows users are about half of our traffic, and half of the rest are using a mobile device. We're going to do a redesign to make a more mobile-friendly front page for mobile users while keeping the standard page for others, or mobile users who prefer it.
Hugs,
Erin
= Give everyone the benefit of the doubt because certainty is a fragile thing that can be shattered by one overlooked fact.
Traffic
As you know I have a bit of experience generating traffic. I lost well over a $million trying to establish a website business. In my opinion Google will never allow you to have too much traffic unless you pay them. Have you ever spent any money with Google Ads?
How are your new visitors finding you?
Are there current members who could help generate more traffic?
Your site ticks all the boxes for legitimacy. Yet, I haven't seen you in search results.
I would be interested in what others think.
Jill
Angela Rasch (Jill M I)
We have used ads in the past
We could do so again. It just takes effort and time and I'm...doing a lot of stuff that takes effort and time.
Hugs,
Erin
= Give everyone the benefit of the doubt because certainty is a fragile thing that can be shattered by one overlooked fact.
Ticking boxes
Sadly, a lot of WiFi operators think that this site is full of porn/adult themes and block it. I've even had one mobile operator block it.
With the current war on everything trans being waged by the far right in the USA, blocking this and other sites could become more common. All it would need is one ISP to put the shutters down and many more will follow.
That's life, I guess.
Samantha
I guess
I guess this site is treated as a conservative one, because of the two genders. Most ISPs are on the far left together with google.
$100
Just sent you $100. Don't spend it all in one place.
Melanie.
Thanks
Thanks,
Erin
Hugs,
Erin
= Give everyone the benefit of the doubt because certainty is a fragile thing that can be shattered by one overlooked fact.
over the bank account and thru the ether to bcts we go
On the way.....Carol
Carol Anne
Thanks, hon
Hugs,
Erin
= Give everyone the benefit of the doubt because certainty is a fragile thing that can be shattered by one overlooked fact.
Same procedure as last year, Miss Sophie?
Will drop a note to Joisey this next Monday when I get back home. Thanks again for all the work you guys put in for our pleasure!!
Hugs,
Miriam
Thanks, hon
Hugs,
Erin
= Give everyone the benefit of the doubt because certainty is a fragile thing that can be shattered by one overlooked fact.
$25.00 on the way.
$25.00 on the way.
Thanks, hon
Hugs,
Erin
= Give everyone the benefit of the doubt because certainty is a fragile thing that can be shattered by one overlooked fact.
Kitty Food
Tin enroute Paypal
Quick 50
A quick $50 is on its way via pals who pay.
Happy New Year! <3
Thanks, hon!
Hugs,
Erin
= Give everyone the benefit of the doubt because certainty is a fragile thing that can be shattered by one overlooked fact.
Have sent
Have sent $100 via PayPal.
Thanks, hon!
Hugs,
Erin
= Give everyone the benefit of the doubt because certainty is a fragile thing that can be shattered by one overlooked fact.
Funding
Sent another 100.00
Thanks, hon!
Hugs,
Erin
= Give everyone the benefit of the doubt because certainty is a fragile thing that can be shattered by one overlooked fact.
I loves me some COLA
The Pending Cost Of Living Adjustment for my monthly social security payments
will most likely mean a slight increase in my BCTS donations in 2023
but unfortunately nothing too spectacular. Or at least that's the plan.
~fingers crossed, HAPPY NEW YEAR! Veronica
.
(And if $75 per month really does make a big difference
I might even kick in to help the Red Cross, Wikipedia
or Ukrania's adorable glow-in-the-dark hell hounds:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bmVGwOP_zi8
if after investigation it doesn't seem to be a scam...)
Well shit, I guess it really CAN happen here..,
.
Slime dance?
Happy New Year to you Ronnie (and all the BCTS kiddos)! The slime dance was the dance all the hip kids did when Petula Clark sang that classic from the '60s, "It's the Slime of the Times." Those were goo times. *sigh*
Sammy
I change my bottom of the comment blurb weekly
So your reply is gonna look totally weird and nonsensical when
it's a link to a video about tigers playing in bpxes or something...
~slimey lol hugs, V
Well shit, I guess it really CAN happen here..,
.
Happy New Year
Hopefully this year patreon will get other stories more often then pete’s
hugs :)
Michelle SidheElf Amaianna
You know
You know, I have a new chapter of Hard Way to post, but now I think I will wait a week or two. Or maybe post it next year!
:)
Hugs,
Erin
= Give everyone the benefit of the doubt because certainty is a fragile thing that can be shattered by one overlooked fact.
Full chapter?
That’s definitely a violation of my eighth amendment rights.
hugs :)
Michelle SidheElf Amaianna
Already sent
Usual MO was sent last week. It's never enough.
Out of curiosity, if the big cut that PayPal takes is eliminated, how much more would BC get and would it make a enough difference to matter?
Paypal's cut
Paypal's cut is not big, it varies between 5% to about 8%, the bigger number is when people make payments via credit card, so both Paypal and the CC have to be paid. Actually, Paypal is a VERY cheap processor for this kind of thing. We CAN take credit cards more directly, but we don't because you end up paying the CC on both ends.
Hugs,
Erin
= Give everyone the benefit of the doubt because certainty is a fragile thing that can be shattered by one overlooked fact.
Dropped in yesterday’s mail
As per Saturday’s PM. Love you guys!
— Emma
Thanks, hon
Hugs,
Erin
= Give everyone the benefit of the doubt because certainty is a fragile thing that can be shattered by one overlooked fact.
Happy New Year to one and all!
Done!
Carol Anne
Thanks, hon
Hugs,
Erin
= Give everyone the benefit of the doubt because certainty is a fragile thing that can be shattered by one overlooked fact.
Yay Money! I actually have some
...thanks to the first decent increase to my SSI stipend in years.
So yay Inflation! And here's $30 via Paypal...
~hugs, Veronica
Well shit, I guess it really CAN happen here..,
.
Thanks, hon
I got a bit extra from Uncle this morning too. :)
Hugs,
Erin
= Give everyone the benefit of the doubt because certainty is a fragile thing that can be shattered by one overlooked fact.
Boy Did I Have That One Wrong
During the run up to the election, there was talk of Republicans wanting to cut Social Security. There are a lot of wingnuts on both sides of the aisle so I chalked that claim up to right wing fringe. Cutting SS is a third rail.
This morning I got curious and read an old Forbes article. It turns out that what Republicans want to do is raise the age for SS to 70. I've been in favor of doing this for at least twenty years.
But I would like SS expanded to increase benefits to include mandatory retirement plans to get people to the point where they have eleven times their annual income in a retirement account when they retire. This money should be untouchable for Congress to spend. The main problem with SS now is that the money paid in was spent and is leaving us with unfunded obligations.
Anyway -- what a shock to find out I'm in agreement with the GOP on anything.
Jill
Angela Rasch (Jill M I)
Raising retirement age
I agree to a certain extent. I think it should be conditional on current life expectancy of the population. The lower the life expectancy then the lower the retirement age. Covid has lowered overall life expectancy, for example.
Also, if older folks who do want to keep working to that age keep being discriminated then that would just leave those folks out in the cold. My brother was a software engineer on Wall Street and he lost his job at age 60. And there was nothing he was able to do about it.
Ageism exists and it can be subtly done so unless something is done about that then I am against it.
Age Discrimination
I had two women who worked for me into their eighties. One was one of my best employees. The other was a cranky and nasty. I was constantly apologizing to clients for her attitude. She was our account current hound. We had $millions in collectibles every year and wrote off less than $1000 a year. Cranky, nasty, and effective.
Age discrimination is common but so are age discrimination suits. As they should be.
Jill
Angela Rasch (Jill M I)
For most of the people I know retirement is a myth anyway.
You don't retire: you just keep working until you're so broken down nobody will hire you, then spend the rest of your life fighting with disability to keep your bills paid.
My mom had a max 5 lb lift limit placed on her by doctors before she was out of her 30s, but due to the job market where I'm at couldn't stick to that, which of course caused issues when she would have to go back for the same problems, until it got to the point some mornings she can't lift a coffee cup, much less a machining tool or a case of cans. My dad worked into his late 40s, industrial jobs, up until he was forced to quit working due to health issues made worse by conditions and a lack of concessions on job sites. He'd been on a 5 lb lift limit since his early 20s due to blown discs in his back, but his last job was machining automobile parts, because employers will overlook a lot of things insurance won't, and bills have to be paid.
No such thing as re-training if there aren't jobs to retrain for. No such thing as retirement if you're pushed through 50+ hour manual work weeks until you break, but they can't just take ya to pasture and shoot ya so... there ya are. Fighting with disability for the next 20+ years.
Sorry, a bit bleak and negative. Just a story from a different side of the experience track.
Melanie E.
Yep
People age at different rates. One may survive to 70 to collect social security but which may be okay if one is in robust health and can continue working. The problem is, there is no intermediate justification for getting social security 'early' in that currently in that disability is the main way of getting it early and what the 70 age supporters probably do not account for the inevitable spectrum of people who are still functional but in a degraded state and would struggle before 70.
For the rest, financial planning and living within means is the only way. As horrible as an opinion this may sound, I think if you can't afford to have children then don't have them. Sorry, it is not an entitlement to have offspring.
Retirement?
I took my last job in 2012 knowing that it would be my last. In April 2016, I decided that I'd had enough and retired at the end of Sept that year. Over the next year, I had plenty of offers for work but I was done with working for a living. I turned them all down as I was just not interested in working again.
Since then I have done many new things and acquired new skills. TBH, I've never been busier but with things that I want to do.
In an hour or so, I'm off on a weekend of 'Crime Writing'. In a few weeks, I'll be photographing the machining of a new set of Cylinders for a Steam Engine. Add to posting over 200,000 words last year, sometimes I wonder how I find the time for anything.
Am I limited by my health? Possibly. I take my meds and get on with life. I don't let my ailments dominate my life. I nearly didn't make it in 2009 when I was diagnosed with a rare form of Leukaemia but I never gave up.
Just my two bent pennies worth.
Samantha
Kitty Food
Usual tin enr PP
Thanks, hon
Hugs,
Erin
= Give everyone the benefit of the doubt because certainty is a fragile thing that can be shattered by one overlooked fact.
A happy new year
- and some money should be on the way
Thanks, hon
Hugs,
Erin
= Give everyone the benefit of the doubt because certainty is a fragile thing that can be shattered by one overlooked fact.