yesterday I had the bad luck of finding an ad for car stereos...they had a nice CD player for $109...and an even nicer stereo/CD player --Pioneer for $119...

and my precious Trollmobile doesn't have a stereo....it was SOOOO tempting...and, the ad was from the dept store to which I have a card....(which is currently at $0 balance!!)...

This is pure WANT...

I had to make myself think of my "newly acquired debt" and of Ale's bed to make myself stop consider it...

Sis and I like to have plan B, whenever possible...at least to know what our options are if something doesn't go as expected...
She was telling me a couple of days ago how some people at her office tease her about being "negative" or pessimistic because of that (now, she CAN be negative, I won't deny that, but, to me, that is more when she focuses on what cannot be done or fixed, not when she thinks about alternative solutions should the primary course of action fail...)

I like to have a Plan B in case things don't work out...sometimes it's very difficult to find alternative plans...sometimes it's very easy...needless to say, Plan B is never "as good as" Plan A...that's the whole idea...Plan B is more like 'damage control' than anything else...

How about you? Do you have a Plan B?

I got paid a portion of my services. Since this is additional income, I'll add it to my challenge for July: $200

and, trying to curb my compulsive eating/spending...Whenever I feel mad or depressed, I tend to either spend or eat compulsively...which really isn't helpful at all!...with all this thing with my nephew, yesterday I was feeling like buying something...after all, if I have to pay for this debts anyway...but, then I fought the impulse and, told myself: DON'T be stupid! Adding to the debt yourself doesn't help, quite the contrary!...so, I'm trying to look at the brighter side of things, so as to bring my feelings to a level where I don't feel like overeating/overspending...
1. I have some money owed to me for services (should be about $1,500 in total...asuming I get at least half of that, then things will be ok and at least I won't be short this month--although, this money was supposed to go towards cc, but..trying to stay positive here!..at least it would prevent additional hardship!)
2. I have a steady job/steady income
3. I did have some $$$ saved up for Ale's tuition...I won't be able to pay the 2 months in advance like I wanted, but, I shouldn't have a problem paying for the month of August

Breathe in, breathe out...breathe in, breathe out...

Ok, gotta go to the phone company now to pay the $300! -- I think I can stomach the mall now!, but, just to be safe, I'm not bringing any extra $$$, nor my debit card!

It went just as I expected...he's acting as if he were the offended party!...at one point, he was slouching in his chair and my cousin said: sit up straight...his answer: I can't help it, I'm sleepy! ((said with an attitude,not in a nice way!))...
When I left she was in her car, and he was standing next to the passenger side of it, with his door open, but visibly arguing with her!...I imagine he was scolding her for putting him through all that!...I hope he says something stupid enough to make her mad enough to react!!...In the meantime, I have to cough up $300 today and $100/month for the next 7 months...at least they didn't include any interest on the money!
...OH, and I made it VERY clear that HE DOES owe me interest...same interest as the highest card and, until HE repays me, and even 3 years after the day he finally does, I have EVERY right to remind him 24 times a day --if I want to-- that he made those phone calls on MY line and damaged MY credit!

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Latest update: what he did was get out of the car and get lost for a couple of hours...he just returned home...of course, my cousin was already worried...(which I imagine was his intended purpose!) ...some days I feel like punching him...but others I just feel like slapping her into her senses!

I also printed a spreadsheet with all my fixed and variable expenses -- including debt repayment-- for my nephew...I'm going to put this in front of him and let him "decide" what I should stop paying/cut to pay for HIS calls...then I'm going to ask him to explain to me WHY he thinks it's fair that I do that in order to pay for phone calls I didn't make! (obviously, the answer is going to be a great big "I'm the wounded party here" silence, but...)

I'm chocking with anger right now!

today is "supermarket day"...wish me luck staying at or below $70!!!

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woo-hoo-hoo!!! $63.10!!!

Ok, since the DETAILED results are just too embarrassing, I'll just confess to this:

the only categories where I was at or below budget were:
CAR
SCHOOL
CELL PHONE

That leaves me overbudget in
GROCERIES (ALMOST made it!)
ENTERTAINMENT (the trip killed me!!)
LUNCH (no excuse, I just didn't pack enough lunches this month!)
CLOTHES (again, no real excuse, just: the deals at Ross were too good to pass up!)
EVENTS (Ale's b-day distorted this one...my b-day is in July, so we'll see how this goes!)
OTHER (no excuses, just plain stupidity!)

so, for June, the result is 3/9

Hopefully, on 060801, the news to report will be better!

((remember this covers variable expenses only))

I swear, it is just TOO hot!...I was hoping to make this a no-spend day, because Ale and I have plans to go to the movies tomorrow morning --matinee is cheaper!(to see Cars, which just started last week, or Over the Hedge, which started on Friday), and then in the afternoon to the Children's Museum (gotta use up all those tickets!)...but, it's already 4:00pm and the sun is as fierce as if it were high noon!!...I might cave in and go get some ice cream with Ale...just to be in the air conditioning (few people can really afford it here, most of us have fans only...and, believe me, right now, the fan is NOT enough!...I wish I had a bathtub, so I could fill it with ice water and stay in there all afternoon! --of course, I'd have to fight sister for it, as she, too, is melting!-- the electricity bill is going to be horrible this month!...oh! and the government has announced an increase in the cost of electricity starting Jul 1st!)

::think cool thoughts:: ::snow:: :: penguins:: :: pool:: ::waterfalls:: ::ice cream::

for the loan that my boss gave me...he never gave me an amount, but we had spoken of $75-$100, for 12-18 months...but, he said he'd have to make an excel spreadsheet to track it...he never got back to me, so I deposited $75 in his account (I have the numbers for all their accounts, as I gave them to payroll/accounting for deposits of salaries and reimbursements)...I didn't want to risk applying that money to something else and then being left without money to pay HIM!

Well, last year I was trying to sell the apartment, drowining in debt and worrying about my sister's illness...on top of that, my niece had just been returned from the US by her aunt and her dad...by the way: that promise he made to my sis to pay my niece's tuition?? ...guess what?? ...yep, he has faaaaar too many expenses to help with that (you gotta understand, the membership to the country club, tennis lessons for himself and the new Mitsubishi Nativa ARE expensive! --CREEP!)...There were also BIG problems with the old car!

This year my economic situation is not desperate (despite the "new" debt thanks to my nephew/cousin!), sis is just pending her last (we hope!) MRI, niece is at school and getting satisfactorily good grades (honor roll student she's not, but, at least she's not failing any subjects this last trimester!), the new car and I are still in our honeymoon phase (it has to go for an oil change at the end of the month)...and Ale is going to a "real" school in August!

Things are definetely looking up!

Total for June
Challenge statistics:
to discount from challenge this month:
-$0.00

Earned in June: $32.50

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*
Total ytd for 2006 (net):$1,301.85

TARGET: $4,000

$2,698.15/ 6 months to go!

* was expecting some $$ owed to me for services, but, apparently, they'd be paid until tomorrow...so that will go into my July challenge (If they pay, I'm starting to have my doubts!)

I need to confront my cousin ref the phone bill...I mean, she knows, and she knows I'm mad...but, I want to tell her that I'm particularly upset about the way she has handled the whole thing...and, no, I'm not talking about her parenting (or lack thereof!)...I'm talking about HER... she told me the other day that she had gone and paid the internet/cable service so it would be reconnected (was disconnected for 1 day!) because "not because of D., but because of me, because cable is my only enterntainment and I don't feel it's fair to give even THAT up"...
well, I guess she hasn't figured that, so that SHE can have her enterntainment, MY DAUGHTER AND I are going to have to cut ours to be able to pay for her son's bill...at least, I'm hoping that this is because she's CLUELESS, because if she realizes this and still justifies reconnecting her cable, that means she's just as inconsiderate as her son...

I also want to tell her that I DO expect her to pay me, and, since this will have to come out of my cc payments (I'd have to make minimum payments only on the cc to be able to apply the rest towards this debt for 6-8 months), that I expect her to pay for the interest...at the same rate I have on the cc...

Also, I want to make it clear that, if she runs into any more financial trouble (and she will!), I am willing to offer moral support, but nothing more...

I'm really not confrontational, so I know this is going to be difficult...

On top of that, I haven't decided whether I should do this as part of a meeting that I want to have with her and her son (God, grant me the restraint to NOT kill him!) or as a separate meeting -- she really doesn't need anybody else making that child feel like SHE's not in control...but, then again, the situation between them is such, that...does it really matter? She has no control, he truly is Master in that house (yes, capital M)...

any ideas are welcome!

Well, the interview is mainly to test your level of "entrepreneurship"...so I really don't know how I did!...since I'm not the most aggressive person in this world, I KNOW I didn't get the highest scores possible, plus, I have got a lot to lose (job security at a very solid company) in their eyes...we'll see...they'll call next week to let me know whether I have been accepted into the next level or not!

If not, at least I tried!

I've taken out goal #3, as it was achieved last month! 3 more to go!!!




1. keep better track of my spending- Ouch!...I’ve been good all this month, in that I HAVE tracked even the tiniest of expenses –YAY, me!...but, of course, this has uncovered a horror story…the result is that I have split all my expenses into several categories and have started tracking them separately …hope to be able to report improvement in actually meeting the budget! This is an on-going goal, so I will keep reporting on it!

4. continue to lower my overall debt - I started Jan 05 with ~$17K (out of which ~$4K were for a loan and the rest -~$13K!-pure cc debt) and, am starting Jan 06 with $~11K (with ~$8K for a loan and ~$3K in cc debt)... expect to be able to end Dec '06 with ~$7K, which I expect to be purely for the loan... to come partly from the English classes/$20 challenge. ...current situation is: $7.6K (refinanced) loan, $2.9K car loan, $1K personal loan, $1.4K cc's ...a work in progress...another one that won’t get taken off the list!Add the $1K of the phone call to the list! I just know my cousin won't pay for it!

5. Help Ale find a way to earn those $3 she's missing to open her account with HER OWN money...same as last month…!
...but now there is another loose tooth!

My cousin has started trying to contact small bilingual schools to see if they might be interested in us having a school supply sale, since they are just now starting to give out their school supply lists to parents!!...so far, 2 have shown some interest...we'll see how we do...this would be a great relief for her and, would go towards my $20 challenge!!

They called me!!!...I have my interview on Friday at 10:00am!!....I have to go there and explain my idea!!

Ok, now I have to go to my boss and ask for permission to go!

2.92 gallons @$3.42
Must admit I cheated by only buying $10 worth of gas, just enough to get me to Saturday so the full tank will be registered as July's expenses...

It's still only the 27th and, I'm already $30 ABOVE last month!!...if it weren't for the famous tickets for the Museum and the trip to Las Vegas, though, I'd be $112 BELOW last month....it would still be overbudget, though...but, I guess I'll give myself a blue star for a nice effort in June and, make an even bigger effort to keep tracking/controlling variable expenses in July!

well, we had the party at the Museu, and less than half the people showed up...(on a side note: the saddest part is to think, even on a Friday, we would have had a higher number of people show up if we had done this at Pizza Hut or any other fast food restaurant! -- seems people are afraid of Museums!)...anyway...remember they had said that I only had to pay for the people who had attended...well, at the end of the event, the person in charge of events --with whom I had had a meeting on Tuesday -- said that what they would give me was a 25% discount on the tickets for the people that hadn't shown up...WHAT??...I had discussed this with someone else, and they had said I'd only had to pay for the people that attended...she said that the person that I had spoken to about this didn't know about Events...ok, so, now it's getting late and Ale is starting to get desperate to go home and it is starting to rain and I can see there will be A STORM...so, I was pressured to leave as soon as possible....then, they gave me some used tickets as proof of purchase...NO, I will accept used ticket stubs for the tickets we DID use, but, at least got them to give me the tickets that I paid for that we had not used!..so, now I have a BUNCH (about 38!) of tickets to the Museum (which I intend to use/give away! I don't care, but, I WILL get my money's worth!)...we went there on Sunday already...
What I will do is add this to my enterntainemnt account as available fun money until they run out...
...I'm guessing this is just one more reason people DON'T have their parties there!>

$6 more-- final payment for translations

No,no,no,no,no,no,no!...this isn't happening!...I gave a cheque for $432 for the funeral services - the money for this had been deposited CASH by ME in my account...there is a reserve for $432 in my account (which, in theory, was made by the funeral services company, right?) and, eventhough the money is reserved and there is STILL another $128 left on the account, the cheque has been rejected! (I'm looking at my own account on line, the funeral services company hasn't called yet or anything -- as a matter of fact, I just called THEM)
...this is just another mix up....(probably the cheque did not include the reservation code or else the reservation code they wrote on it was wrong, so the bank thought these were 2 separate charges...) UGH! I hate this sort of thing! It takes forever to solve!

****************
I called the bank....the error came from the funeral services company...when they reserved the funds, they input the cheque number as 126...and the actual cheque number is 726...so, of course, cheque 726 was rejected because there were insufficient funds to cover it!....that means I have to try to recover my $7.35 (bounced cheque fee from MY bank), from the funeral services company!!...wish me luck! -- but, I WILL fight this one to the end!

OUCH!...with 1 1/2 weeks to go, I'm still "in the green", but, only by $0.63....I'd say it is safe to say that I'm NOT going to make it on budget this month! ...oh, well, the trick will be to keep it as close as possible then, and, keep the gap at or below the level of last month's!

Well, my online application did NOT get submitted...on top of that, I called and they told me the category of Entrepreneurial Women had closed at 9:05! (this was not specified in the website!)...the categories still open were tourism, ethnic products and Information and Communications Technology...I submitted it under the latter, maybe they'll accept it! ((sigh))

Will keep you updated!

******************
updated to say they accepted the application....and they warned that they are backlogged processing them, so it will probably be 2 weeks before they contact me with further information!

well, no, not really...but, I hate it that yesterday I stayed after work to fill out my application to the contest and, it took me 30 minutes to fill out (and it read great, if I may say so myself!) and, when I hit the SUBMITT button, I got a message that said: field "name" is mandatory....I went "huh?"...guess what!...my whole application had been deleted!! ...
so, now I don't know if 1. my application went through and it's just that the site doesn't have a confirm message or 2. my application really got lost and I have to resubmitt it!...

So, I guess I'll re-submitt it (just to be on the safe side!) UGH!

Of course, we did spend money on goodies (part of DD's full movie experience!)...but, the whole tab was $5.95, when, usually, we spend $10 when we go to the movies(we always go to the matinee, so prices are cheaper)...We've got 2 more tickets, which are valid through 28/June, so we are going again next weekend...

1. New bed for Ale... Pending, not urgent yet, but increasing in priority as she grows...she'll soon be too big for her bed!--will start quoting!!

2. New bike for Ale...Has dropped even lower in priority...depending on how things go, maybe Santa can bring it!

4. Ale's birthday party!! - She wants to have it at the Children's Museum...Museum is available! will have the party next Friday!...depending on how many children/adults attend, it might be about the same that I would have paid for the cheapest party package at Pizza Hutt --if ALL attend, which is difficult, given that it's on a Friday!--and a much more interesting and unique experience...I'm already working on the invitations [/b]

****
New expense on the horizon: one of my best friends is getting married and has asked me to be a bridesmaid and Ale is to be her flower girl...so: dresses and shoes! (she's getting married in Jan 2007, so that gives me time to save!...and to lose some weight, too!)

well, my total at checkout was $80...but, I bought a tin of powdered milk (1,800g) for $9.98...(regular prices is $12!)...so, you could say the "regular" shopping was $70...not too bad, but there's definetely room for improvement!

Have to add the totals to my expenses excel sheet on Monday

I had lent someone $187, and they gave me back $190...so the $3 go to my $20 challenge for June!

Oh! and the $1.75 for this week's free coffee goes there, too!

the people from the coop discounted $65 from my pay again, so now Ale's school fund stands now at $402.11 (they should be discounting $32.50 each pay period!)...well, again, will try to live without it and send them ANOTHER message to try to correct it!...worst-case scenario, I'll have to withdraw $32.50 from that account!...
best-case I won't have to and can pay 3 months in advance at the beginning of the year!!