2017-2018 Financial Summary

[mith]

The real scoop:

Code: Select all

2017-01-01 to 2018-04-03 Financial Summary

     Donations:  $  240.00
    Card Sales:  $  180.00
   Paypal Fees: -$   18.21
   Domain Name: -$   26.22
   Server Cost: -$ 1494.90

           Net: -$ 1119.33

2018-04-04 to 2018-12-31 Expected Costs
   Server Cost: -$  891.00

I had intended to do these more regularly, but life. As you can see, these numbers aren't too far off the April Fool's Day post - and prior to that post they were even closer ($100 less fees came in within a few hours of that thread going up, thanks guys!).

The good news: I received a promotion at work early last year, and have done well with raises and bonuses, so we haven't been struggling to keep up with the costs.

The scary news:

• Pretty much the same time as said promotion, my wife left her job to stay at home full time with Luke.
  
• We had to replace our furnace/AC late last year (it had a hole in it, and was probably leaking CO though enough inside to trigger the alarm), and also replaced our garage door (spring broke) and fridge. That takes care of most of the obvious home improvements, except for the fence (part of which fell over last year during a bad storm), and also took care of a good chunk of our savings.
  
• We really were looking at preschool options when the AFD post was made, and Luke is going to be starting a half day program next week.
  
• All of that would be easily within budget... if we didn't have a stupid amount committed to student loan debt.

The good/scary news: Child number two is on the way.

All that to say: We're fine, and you don't need to worry about ads or losing letters from our name... but I'm sure it would make my wife feel better if we weren't covering the server in full every month. So, if you are able to donate, that would be much appreciated! (I am also still hoping to get cards available as print-on-demand, at some point in the future, mostly a matter of finding the time.)

Donate Here

Cheers,
mith

[mith]

how much do I need to donate?

I'm not going to give a specific amount. I think if everyone donated $5 a year it would more than cover server expenses, but of course that won't happen. We have had some very generous donations in the past (and recently - $250 from 6 donations since the AFD post, last I checked), which I am certainly thankful for, but I am just as thankful for the smaller ones. Every little bit helps.

Is there any possible way to sell more merch in an easy way? To make a little extra cash?

Or let's just become Valve and sell hats and online cosmetic prizes.

As I mentioned in the OP, I am still planning to look into making the card deck which was previously sold as a fund-raiser available print-on-demand. I think the t-shirts went over well when we did that, so that's an option for POD as well (though one likely to not make much money for the site, I suspect). I have no interest in any sort of online incentives for donating, or subscriptions, or ads, etc. as a matter of principle - despite the internet being all about monetization these days, I'm against it.

[mith]

I've been meaning to donate, but it would be easier for me to do on a month by month basis rather than a huge chunk at once. Is there a way for me to do that without eating multiple paypal fees?

Let me know.

paypal.me/mafiascum should work? At least, it shouldn't charge fees if you are doing it as a transfer from your bank account, rather than a card.

I think there are other options that don't charge fees - Google Wallet, maybe?

[mith]

Serious offer:

No. Donate if you want to donate. There are no perks.

[mith]

I wonder how much I could get for a game-worn mafiascum shirt. Maybe next donation drive will have an auction.

(Seriously, though - I'd like to do t-shirts again, and I'll look into it after getting the cards available for POD.)