Appreciate the suggestion, but we honestly have what we need in terms of regular videos. I run a regular channel with my husband called The Project Help Desk. We use a Sony ZV1 for that and typically use one of two tripods depending on what the set up is. My channel is The Creator Classroom (teaching how to use Canva for YouTube) and so far it is screen recording on my computer with OBS without even a web cam although I do have a Logitech Brio webcam that we purchased in 2022 so I could get ready for potential live streaming by September 2022.
My issue is that my current phone can not screen record. I've tried pulling up apps and it crashes. It also can't just screen shot so I can't screen shot mobile Canva App of where things are to be able to show my audience even that. I'm okay with that limitation for now, but down the road I would like to get a better phone so that I can screen record & screen shot things on my phone from the Canva mobile app so I can show people where things are on the mobile device if they are wanting to have that information.Buying a phone for only video purposes just isn't going to be in our budget. The next phone we buy will replace one of our dinosaurs as a phone AND have the added benefit of being able to film videos & screen record easily.
We have a list of things that are priorities and unfortunately we have a LOT of things on that priority list so it's whatever dies first. We also just became Amazon Affiliates (in the process of being evaluated I'm sure since we just had our 3rd sale in 10 day period) so we are going to use any funds we make specifically to help knock things off our needs list. We are hoping that in the next 3 months one if not both channels we be monetized. Both channels are about 75% of the way there. One channel has the subs almost twice over - and is working towards the 4,000 watch hour goal. I have 3,028 towards the 4,000 watch hour goal. The other has the watch hours, but the subscriber count is at 731. However, we've been having a little bit of a momentum swing in the last 28 days. We both believe The Creator Classroom will reach 4,000 before The Project Help Desk hits 1,000, but we never know.
Anyways, this is my priority list.
1. Monitor - My monitor messes up at least twice a day to where I have to reboot it and each time I'm worried that's the last of the monitor. I know that I will need a dual monitor set up with live streaming so my husband is researching that as well as what will be best for me for both live streaming and living with on a daily basis. I get sensory overload easily so he's researching what will be the best option and also what will work with my glasses & live streaming with webcam. I need the monitor to certain height and position or I get terrible neck pains so we just need to do a lot of research.
2. Computer - it's an older laptop that is really chugging a long. I need something faster with more memory. It also has internet issues even plugged in directly to the internet so I need something that will be way more reliable especially when I'm filming a tutorial.
3. Phone. As already mentioned It's a dinosaur that crashes something multiple times a day. Reboots are required multiple times a day. We've replaced the battery in it twice already now so we expect that it might be the first to go, but the other two things are more of a priority since it's what I use on a daily basis for both channels.
Obviously those are big ticket items for a family with only one source of income, but hopefully the affiliate marketing we're putting into place will help cover some of those expenses. The worst part is that I have a huge doctor's appointment tomorrow that would probably cover ONE of those items. That's one reason why we haven't been able to just bite the bullet. I have these appointments that insurance does not cover. Every time he thinks okay I'm going to buy something on this list, something happens with me physically. He doesn't even tell me - it's after the fact. I was going to buy the new monitor, but that blood work bill just came in and we just can't swing both the blood work & the monitor especially with next month's (which is now tomorrow) medical appointment. We just have to prioritize and try to make what we have now work until it just doesn't work anymore.
So sorry to hear about you medical issues. I myself am recovering from skin cancer surgery. Lost most of my bottom lip to Squamous cell carcinoma. I was fortunate that they caught it in time, so I will not need chemo. Just had a full battery of blood work myself. I cannot afford insurance, so it is all out of pocket. I had health insurance before Obama care. It cost me $187 a month. After Obamacare, that jumped to $1,200 a month which is more than half of my monthly income. Before you ask, as crazy as it seems, I am too poor to qualify for Obamacare. Yes, too poor. Obamacare is for middle-class people, not for people like me. I have applied every single year and I get a letter saying that I make too little to qualify. So Obamacare drove my insurance beyond affordability and left me without insurance. Yeah, it kind of sucks.
I have to pay for all my medical expenses out of pocket, so I fully understand the struggle. My wife needs dental work, so we will be packing up our bags and heading to Mexico where we can get her work done for 10% of what it would cost in Texas.
