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Archive for October, 2006

Nephew turned up!

October 16th, 2006 at 04:02 am

He checked himself into another rehab 3 days ago -- not the latest he was at, but one we tried about 5 years ago...this one is Christian-based...maybe that is what he needs...find his faith...anyway, we found out because the Director of the home called my sis to see if she could/would help with the fees or if he has to be taken in as "without family" (they do that, if possible, they try to get the families to help out financially, but you don't get turned out for lack of funds)...she told the guy she could not lie to him and that she was happy he had taken that course, but, unfortunately she could not believe he had done that sincerely and in good faith and, as far as she was concerned he was alone...she also gave them the father's phone number and adviced them to call him, as he had once said that if R. stayed in rehab at least X amount of months, he might consider helping financially...

so, he's still out of the house and he's still disowned, but sis is a lot calmer thinking that he's in a rehab center and not at a crack house, and that he has a roof over his head and isn't sleeping under a bridge!...I know in the end, if he DOES finish with this program, she will accept him again...I just hope she has the strength to keep away for long enough...I've been talking to her...I told her if she gives in now and sees him, it would be the equivalent of buying a new gun for someone with suicidal tendencies...

I really think my nephew needs to find God ...

$54 for the $20 challenge

October 13th, 2006 at 10:39 pm

forgot to add this, I finally got paid for my translations, so that's $54 for my October challenge...yay!

Payday!!! -- I made it! (just barely!)

October 13th, 2006 at 10:18 pm

Well, I made it to payday...I got a (very) slight pay increase this year... $42 gross/month...which amounts to about $30 after tax...still, it will pay for my half of the water and electricity bills!...woo-hoo!!!...but, SHHHHHHHHHHHH...my boss asked me to keep it a secret (out of embarrassment at the amount, I would imagine! LOL!...still, it's SOMEthing...and last year I got $0, so....)

Now, the first thing I will do is pay for my half of last month's rent (this month's will still be outstanding, though! Frown ) ...then I need to pay for my debt and then leave at least something for gas and the nanny on Monday...hmmmmm...I guess I won't be filling the tank!

$100 more for the $20 challenge of October

October 13th, 2006 at 07:01 pm

This time, it DID go to Ale's school...together with $47 more I had in my account...

Next crisis, please!

Oh, yeah, I have to pay $165 towards debt and $157.50 for late rent...plus the $157.50 of this month's rent...

The money for toys should start coming in by the end of next week...

In the meantime...I'm off to juggle numbers and see what I can do with what I've got!

He's out of the house...

October 12th, 2006 at 08:01 pm

and sis has disowned him...that means he is cut off from the family altogether...

we just couldn't go on anymore...7 years is enough!

Long weekend in November!

October 12th, 2006 at 07:43 pm

November 2nd is Day of the Dead, and a National Holiday....since it's a Thursday, the company has "authorized" we take Friday off as well (automatically deducted from our vacation period, of course!)...so, anyway, we have a 4-day weekend!...I'm planning what we will do...I'm thinking that Friday we go to the Aquapark (that Ale showed me on the paper)...so that'll be $4 + $2 + $1 = $7 entry fees and I'll add $10 for gas and $10 for luch...so that'll be $27...on Saturday she has her normal activities and Sunday my sis goes to the supermarket, so we might cook something for a family lunch...

That leaves Thursday...I've been wanting to do a "craft day" with her for a long time...that shouldn't be too expensive (we'd use recycled materials and we have paints and stuff...) ...or, who knows, if my niece is back at home they might paint their room (they have a 1/2 gallon can of Princess Pink paint!)

Relying on others can be stressful

October 12th, 2006 at 06:20 pm

My cousin arranged the purchase of 4 boxes of Kimberly paper for printing our Business Plans for the contest (she gets them at $1.50 each, 100 page box....local price is between $1.90-$2.25 for a box of 25!)...well, the business plans are due Monday at noon, and, we had agreed to try to have them by Friday noon so we could hand them in either Friday afternoon or Monday at 8:00am...but, she still hasn't gone to pick it up!!!!...and it's THURSDAY...and it's almost noon!!...((sigh))...
my plan was to print the main body here at the office (b/w) and take only the color pages (about 6 per plan) to X*erox across the street to have those printed today and then have the whole thing bound... Frown

She said she'd drop them off as soon as she gets them...we'll see...otherwise, I'll have to come up with a Plan B before end of day today! ugh!


**** woo-hoo! update!!! she has the paper and will drop it off after lunch!

Preparing for 2007

October 11th, 2006 at 08:45 pm

I know it's a bit premature, but I've already set up my expense tracking excel file for next year! (i don't want to have the excuse of not having it set up! I'm starting the tracking at 12:01 on Jan 1st, 2007!)...Also, I have a "budgeted" monthly amount for each category and, an "ideal" (aka 15% underbudget)for every category as well...
This year I didn't start until mid-May and, I kind of fell off the wagon with it during the last half of August and September...so I'm back at it again!...I hope that with this new awareness of where the money is going, and what my spending limits are, I might actually be able to dig myself out of debt sooner and start to enjoy MY money more! (as opposed to just handing it over to pay for past spending!)

I got my business plan back!

October 10th, 2006 at 08:00 pm

woo-hoo! there are very few corrections to make and, they actually wrote : Very good business plan, the business concept is very clear to the reader

Woo-hoo!

Out of balance

October 10th, 2006 at 04:51 pm

August and September were really bad months, as far as overspending goes...the good news is, nothing went on my cc...the bad news is, this has caused a serious cash flow problem....especially since I was counting on getting some of the money that is owed to me, and, that is looking very unlikely at the moment... I'm already one month behind with my part of the rent, and, I have until tomorrow to pay Ale's school without having to pay a late-payment fee ($10)...that means that, at the very least, I have to find $130 for tomorrow and, $160 more before Sunday...now, Sunday is payday (we get paid every 15th and every 30th), but, that money is already allocated to: rent, debt, food, nanny...so, unless I find those $290, I will have to do some serious changes in the budget...I really have noone to blame except myself...I hate being in these situations, why do I do this to myself??...

FITI's 10th anniversary

October 9th, 2006 at 08:10 pm

The Children's theater festival (FITI) just closed it's 10th season...we went to 3 shows...it's a nice change of pace for Ale and me...we both enjoy it very much...She was upset that FITI is older than she is...(the Festival's mascot is also named FITI, here's the official poster)

...this season was dedicated to Hans Christinan Andersen... Ale wanted to know if, 20 years from now, FITI will still be older than her!

The first show we went to was the Three LIttle Pigs, on Sunday, then on MOnday night - a VERY special treat for us to go out during the week! we went to see Thumbelina, which was a Black Theater show...very unusual to see in this kind of festival, that's why I wanted to take Ale so much!...and the last show we saw was the Emperor's new clothes...the King actually came down and walked through the aisles asking people if they approved using the kingdom's treasure to buy the fabric for his new clothes...of course, he threatened to behead all those who said "no"...to those who said "yes" he would say: Thanks, you are a good citizen...at one point, he went right past us and, after telling someone they were good citizens, he looked at me and I was just half-smiling waiting to be asked and he just said: You're not! off with your head!...Ale couldn't stop laughing!...

In all, we spent $21 for those 3 shows, and, eventhough that "kills" our enterntainment budget for the month, I consider it worth it!

I cannot understand how people who will take their child to see a 1hr and a half movie can tell me that she'll get bored by 45 minutes of live theater! (kid-oriented, and interactive, too!)

This one is RICH! (read if you want a good laugh!)

October 7th, 2006 at 12:14 am

...my cousin's son (D), he of the phone calls, walks in last night and tells my cousin (M):

D: Mom, I have been thinking, and, I will get a credit card for myself....(remember the kid is 16, has just quit school after failing 9th grade for the 2nd time and is not working--nor willing to work!)

M: oh, really? ...and just how do you think you're going to do that?

D: I know I can do that, mom. What do you think my credit card limit will be? $1,000? 2,000? (I have a limit of $2,000 after 10 years of having a credit story -- which used to be very good -- and with a salary of $1,200/month!!-- which is what I used to make at the old job!)

M:...er, IF you were working and making at least minimum wage, you'd be lucky if you got $200-$300....and then, remember, if you spend that on one day, that's it, you cannot use the card anymore until you pay that...

D: pay??...you mean you have to pay it back???

M: of course you do, what'd you think, that a cc was free money??

D: er...yes.

M: well, it's not. And, actually, you don't only pay back what you used, but you have to pay interest on it, which means that, depending on how long you take to pay it, you may end up paying up to twice as much as you used, if not more.

D: really?? blood-sucking vampires! Thieves!

M: yes, that's the way it works, and that is why your aunt gets so mad that she has to pay for YOUR phone bill instead of paying her CC.

D:...hmmm...well, I'll get a cc for myself anyway.

The word CLUELESS comes to mind!

$100 for the $20 challenge for October!

October 6th, 2006 at 10:03 pm

Got paid another $100! woo-hoo!...
sadly, this will not go towards debt, but rather into Ale's school...foolish spending + unexpected expenses (going to the all-inclusive place + changing the lock to our main entrance!) really took a toll! ...oh, well, the "old me" would have charged it! (or, even worse, taken a cash advance from the cc to pay for the school! )

Am I being snobbish??

October 6th, 2006 at 04:18 pm

Ale showed me an ad for an aquapark today...she showed it to me mainly because the entrance fees are: adults $4, children $2 and parking $1....so she thought this was very cheap (it is!) and we could go there...she also asked me if this is farther away or closer than the hotel we went to last time (all-inclusive resort for the weekend...didn't have to pay for my room because we had reserved it for a training attendee that cancelled at the last possible moment...we would have been charged for the room anyway, so we decided to use it!)...the aqua-park is closer...so, Ale wants to go and she already figured out it's a lot less money and a lot less fuel to get there...but I'm not sure I want to go ...mainly because it's so cheap, that "everyone" can go....am I being snobbish??

061005- $20 update

October 5th, 2006 at 10:57 pm

Total for September
Challenge statistics:
to discount from challenge this month:
-$20.00

Earned in September: $450.00

net for January: $12.15
net for February: $318.40
net for March:$380.00
net for April: $222.00
net for May:$336.86
Net for June: $32.50
Net for July: $210.00
Net for August: $835
Net for September: $430.00
Total ytd for 2006 (net):$2,776.95

TARGET: $4,000

$1,223.05/ 3 months to go!

ok....so, where do we find $2,000??

October 5th, 2006 at 03:56 pm

we were doing numbers with my cousin last night, about how much we would need to invest if this big company decided they want to buy their toys from us....we need about $2,000....because we figure their total purchase is going to be about $8,000....and our cost is about $6,000....it's customary to ask for 50% advance payment, so they would give us $4,000...where do we get the other $2,000?...if we are lucky, the other company (which is submitting their purchase order this week) will pay us in full BEFORE this one submits their purchase order (because then we could use THAT money)...this bigger company would give us the other 50% upon delivery of the toys...

We'll see....

send good business vibes!!!

October 4th, 2006 at 05:39 pm

my cousin is at a meeting with one of the largest factories in the country, to show them a sampler of toys ....yes, they buy the cheaper ones, but, its VOLUME! (we are talking about 2,000-3,000 toys here!)

Please send good business vibes so they choose to buy from us!

...stealing cellphones, apparently!

October 3rd, 2006 at 04:38 pm

...yesterday night, my niece came back from her father's and, was sooooo excited about her prom dress and shoes...when my sis went to put her to bed (yes, she's 17, but my niece still insists her mom tuck her in!)...anyway, my sis took the cellphone off the bed and put it on the dresser...this morning, it was gone!...the house is secure now, with the new locks, so the only likely suspects are: sis, niece, Ale, the dog, myself and nephew...
Soooo...sis kicked him out of the house...now she's crying at home, because she's afraid of what might become of him....I feel for her, but, as I told her: it's HIS choice, and there really isn't anything she can do to help him...he didn't even admit to it, said he's tired of people always pointing their fingers his way whenever things get lost around the house!...we'll see what happens!

What's your productive activity?

October 3rd, 2006 at 03:50 pm

Yesterday I was having a conversation with my nephew about how we all need to have some sort of productive activity...whether you HAVE to work or whether you have enough money to afford not to -- in our case, we don't have enough to afford not to, obviously! -- you must have a productive activity to feel good about yourself...

In our home, my sis and I work outside the home, she's in sales, I'm an admin...the girls study (my niece also is captain of the cheerleading squad at school, and is the equivalent of the class president -- her school doesn't do "class president"-- organizing all events that the class is required to do to help the school, organizing social events for the class, speaking to the principal and the school board on behalf of the class)...Ale has her swim lessons and would like to do other stuff, as well...
So, I asked him, what do You do? ...what is your contribution??...if you aren't working or studying, you should either be looking for a way to finish your studies (he only got as far as 9th grade) or looking for a job OR helping around the house (the fact that we have Nanny and she does the housework doesn't mean he couldn't help!, he could be fixing small things around the house, for example, or watering the plants!...but, SOMETHING!)...I'm really mad and disappointed in him right now, because his response was: I'm getting called for a job between the 4th and the 12th and, I was going to go to the Minstry of Education to see about the studies, but Mom said that S (a friend of the family) had offered to go with me and he hasn't said anything more about going....HELLO!!! WHO should be the one saying: I want to go tomorrow, can you come with me???....ugh!

sorry, just a rant... I needed to vent! (I did tell my sister, though!)

Payment requests submitted!

October 2nd, 2006 at 10:03 pm

WOO-HOO! For the first time since they established the new system (payment requests can ONLY be submitted on Mondays, from 1pm to 5pm), I submitted my requests before 5!!!....woo-hoo!

Biggest loser

October 2nd, 2006 at 08:12 pm

since there are a lot of us that are carrying around a few (or more than a few!) extra pounds, we are going to play Biggest Loser at the office...
the rules are: $30 to get in. You recover half your money if you lose 8% of your total body weight...the other $15 stay on until Dec 15, when we see who the Biggest Loser is(percentage-wise) and, s/he gets the pot!!
...someone asked what happens if none of us loses the 8%...we really hadn't thought about that! (at least, it means we are all being very positive about this!) ...someone jokingly said if none of us reaches the 8%, then we'll use the money to pay for a pizza party! LOL!

So....I re-started my diet today, am NOT drinking sodas at work and, will go out to walk again tomorrow!

Starting weight (after breakfast, clothes on, but no shoes) is: 140 Lbs....

EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEKKKKKKKK!!!!

061001-tracking expenses...oh, Shame!

October 2nd, 2006 at 06:36 pm

Ugh! September wasn’t much better than August!

the only categories where I was at or below budget were:

ENTERTAINMENT
CELLPHONE
OTHER
CAR


That leaves me overbudget in

GROCERIES
SCHOOL
CLOTHES
EVENTS
LUNCH


(no excuses, just plain stupidity!)

so, for September, the result is 4/9
The great news is that, OVERALL, I was on budget this time!!

Hoping to have better results for 061101!

((remember this covers variable expenses only))

It's 12:42...do you know where YOU are??

October 1st, 2006 at 07:44 am

I'm barely conscious...I just finished my business plan...and I'm not too sure the last 3 sentences I wrote made any sense...anyway, we have a final final final review tomorrow night, so I might have to work on it again, but, at least it's 98% finished...all it needs is touch ups and then it goes for the "official" review and comes back to be re-written, er, corrected and submitted to the judges...

wish me luck!


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