I have always been poor, my whole life. It is not my fault, it is because where I was born and from what my family does (my mother and foster-father) do in Iceland. I also have disability (short of) called Asperger syndrome. I also have poor ability to learn in school. All of this factors is something I had no control over. I also come from Iceland, something that I did also not have control over.
I have tried and failed to get out of this circle of poverty before. The main reason is that my income from social welfare has not increased and is now falling behind on what it costs me to make a living here in Denmark. I don’t know when this is going to be over, or if it is ever going to end for me. At least I hope so, since I don’t like to be in this place in terms of economics (I like where I live). Where I just make due over the month and nothing more. For the past year I have mostly been living on income that many consider below minimal threshold of what most people use. This has started to get to me in more then one way, not only makes this me feel bad. It also often prevents me from working properly on my writing, since I get all tangled up in my worries about money and if I can buy food during the month or not.
The economic principles of my problems
The economic principles of my problems are quiet simple. The benefits from the Icelandic government social welfare are not enough. By the Icelandic government own estimate (Icelandic and the link might not work) a single individual needs to have 291.932 ISK (1.798,94€, 13.420,93 DKK. Current exchange rate.) a month to have it decent if he is living in Reykjavík or capital area, this is without a housing cost. It is a little bit less if the person is living in a rural area or a town in other part of Iceland. For comparison what I get as social welfare today is around 159600 ISK (983,49€, 7.337,26 DKK). This small amount only allows me to pay my bills, current debt (getting lower by the month), rent and nothing more. Currently there is no interest by the government to fix the poor status of people on social welfare in Iceland. Since the current government has it’s ideology in laissez-faire and the idea that is based on making rich people even richer. A bad policy in my view and nothing good is going to come out of it. On top of that I am dealing with poor exchange rate that moves up and down a lot in short period of time. That makes it really hard for me to plan ahead in all this.
Trying to get out, it is just not working
I am trying to get out of this poverty. It is just not working. While donations that I get for my work at Iceland geology blog happen at random and some months I get a lot of donations, while other months I don’t get any donation at all. All I can hope for the year 2014 is that my first published short story that I am going to sell at Kobo help me. Along with more traffic to my short story website. Where I plan to publish more stories in the year 2014 then I did in the year 2013 if everything works out properly. I am also just hoping to win the lottery, it would help greatly in all this. At least I can just dream if nothing else.
I have looked into getting a job here in Denmark. But the companies are it seems interested in hiring people at low wages (under 18 years old of age) rather then to hire person like me at full pay. I also do not hold any degree since I do not function so well in school in terms of learning in the school system. I am trying to make my living off the internet by writing about what interests me. Making a full time income from writing on the internet can be done. But for me I need an eruption in Iceland before that happens, with the work that follows it. In quiet years as has been the case for the year 2013 it is just not going to happen for me.
I am an optimist by nature so I am not going let my current problems turn me down. But this is far from easy for me and has been dragging me down mentally for several months now. I just hope for the best and hope that the good news come one day. Via big lottery winning or an eruption in Iceland. I am going to keep being hopeful and optimist.
Blog post updated at 17:51 UTC.
Blog post updated at 18:23 UTC.
Blog post updated at 18:47 UTC.