I've Never Asked for Help. I'm Asking Now.

This isn't an investigation or a case file. It's a personal note. I'm going to be straight with you, because that's the only way I know how to do this.

For the first time, I'm asking

In all the time I've been doing this work, I have never asked you for money for myself. I've asked you to share a story. I've asked you to send a tip. I've asked you to pray for a family going through hell. I have never asked you to help me.

I'm asking now. And I'll tell you exactly why, because you deserve the truth and I won't dress it up.

Where I'm at

I'm behind in my bank account. Rent is due, and I don't have all of it. I need help with groceries. That's the plain reality this week.

I did get a job — real work, on top of the investigations and everything else I do. I'm making a comeback. But it takes money to get caught up from what happened, and this isn't a "Ryan can just pay the bills and move forward" situation. There are still medical bills. There's gas to get to the job. There's a truck sitting parked in my driveway because I can't afford to insure it right now — so I'm borrowing my mom's little Camry to get around. I'm climbing out of a hole, and I just need a hand getting over the edge.

Everything I need — in one place, to the dollar

No middleman. No organization. No overhead. Just me, and every dollar shown live. My real monthly goal is $5,000, and here's exactly what that covers — if you ever want a receipt, I want to be able to hand you one:

• Rent — $1,400/mo
• Food — $500/mo
• Medical bills — $1,000/mo (prescriptions, doctor visits, and everything else; Amanda is pregnant right now)
• Gas — $500/mo (to get to the job and keep the investigations moving)
• Vehicle insurance — $300/mo
• Build tools — $600/mo (Claude Code, Claude Cowork, and Grok — the AI tools that build and run this site)
• Research — $500/mo (ChatGPT and Codex)
• Extra Claude credits + buffer — $200/mo

One honest note on the household: I'm asking you to help cover me. But I'll be straight about what this house is carrying — Amanda is working and getting her own business off the ground, and that's taken a lot to build. I'm not asking you to pay for her. I'm just showing you the real picture of what we're taking on every month so the numbers above make sense.

Pick where your gift goes and watch it climb out of the red, or just give where it's needed most:

The fight I'm in

Some of what I need isn't a monthly bill — it's a legal war chest, and I broke it out separately above.

I'm fighting local tyranny. Local injustice. First and Second Amendment battles right here in East Texas. I'm up against people working with government officials to lie about me, and people looking for a quick payday by coming after me. I can represent myself pro se — but I really need a civil and criminal attorney to do this right. I have two meetings this week: one attorney runs $5,000–$7,000 to start, the other around $15,000.

If you want to help me fight — really fight — that legal fund is where to put it. A dedicated post on it is coming. (And who knows, maybe I'm also up against a few little Wookiees in the woods from outer space. I'm kidding. Mostly. You have to keep your sense of humor when you're standing in this much corruption.)

I'll show you every dollar

I'd rather be transparent than comfortable. You give me a hand, I'll show you exactly what it did — see the running totals any time at realryannichols.com/support. That's a promise.

Can't give? This helps just as much

I mean that. If money's tight for you too, sharing this is real help — it's how the people who can give find it. One tap:

However this lands

If you can give — thank you. It will reach me, and it will matter more than you know. If you can't, nothing changes between us; I'm grateful you're even reading this. Share it, say a prayer, keep showing up. That counts too.

I've spent a long time being the guy who shows up for everyone else. I'm asking, just this once, for a little help showing up for myself.

Thank you for being here. Truly.

— Ryan