Ever since I saw the first billboard go up a couple of years ago, I said: ooohhh, I'd love to live there!...today, we went to look at an apartment there...beautiful apartments, great location....it's a four tower complex, with tennis and basketball courts, a pool and even a 1km trail for walking!...the smallest apartments (~160 m2) are $180,000 ....they're all sold out...the last phase is being built...apts there are ~250-280 m2...and sell from $280,000 - $300,000 ....

Dreams are free, aren't they??

1. keep better track of my spending- same situation!..I need DISCIPLINE!!

2. Send out at least 15 resumes in January(best time of the year to find a new job in ES!) and, at least one more per week for the rest of the year until I find a job that pays better! done!...believe it or not I have a job offer...NOT from the resumes...from this site!
3. FINALLY decide on a school for Alejandra, AND save money for her enrollment fee, uniforms and school supplies Already paid $100 to reserve Ale's space. Someone from the office has offered to help with $500 towards Ale's education...this takes care of enrollment, books and uniforms!
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. Higher than last month, as now I have the loan for the car!!...BUT! I asked for some "extra" money so part of that is going to go towards the cc's (much lower interest rate!)...real situation is: $7.8K (refinanced) loan, $3.1K car loan, $2.5K cc's

5. Help Ale find a way to earn those $3 she's missing to open her account with HER OWN money...Pending...

Total for April

Challenge statistics:
invested:
$20 gas for cousin
$15 for taxies/April
=======
$35.00

Earned in April: $257.00

net for January: $12.15
net for February: $318.40
net for March:$380.00
net for April: $222.00
Total ytd for 2006 (net):$932.55

I got paid my remaining $10 yesterday!

...car insurance here in ES is not mandatory, but it's really necessary ...so, for starters, I will enroll it with the company's insurance (they have a collective insurance set up for employees)...since the monthly payments for the loan to the coop will be $79, I can afford the insurance! (I think)

The $170 appear credited to my account now...dated 15-Mar-06, too!!

Case closed! I'm happy now!!

This definetely has been a good day for finances!!!

(oh, and this is entry No 69 categorized as progress, vs 66 categorized as setbacks!!...the scale seems to be tipping in the right direction!!...)

This means: I almost have a car now!!! woo-hoo!!!...it feels sooooo great!!..No more rides!!!

...now, I need to work on my $20 challenge to be able to reach that $4,000 goal by 31-dec-06!!

Finished a $30-job. Got paid $20 already, missing $10.

These count towards my April challenge! yay!

I just logged onto the Ministry's website, the status of my return is now:

El estado de su declaración número 111020358644 presentada el 08/03/2006 es:

AUTORIZADA : La devolucion esta autorizada y en proceso de hacerse efectiva

Wooo-Hooo!!!..the money should be deposited by next week! (they only make deposits once a week!)....

::doing the happy dance::

((sigh)) I just called the Ministry and, they tell me there is no correction to the state of my donations (they appear still as if they haven't been declared by the foundation)...Since the number I called is supposed to be "taxpayer counseling", I asked what I should do...their advice? ...modify MY declaration to exclude the donations...this makes me angry...this is NOT a solution (it is, in the sense that then I'd get my money back, but, it isn't in the sense that I don't feel I should have to modify my declaration. My declaration is right, why should I modify it??).......AAAAAAAAAARRRRGH!

they checked my co-signors and, said this goes to committee tomorrow and, if approved, the money would be deposited on Thursday! ....back to waiting! ((sigh))

well, I went and paid $100 to reserve the space. They gave me a list of the documentation they need, and told me to bring Ale by one of these mornings, so she can be with her would-be classmates and so they can evaluate her...At this, my sister almost had a heart attack: "she has to do a test??"...LOL! she thought they were going to sit Ale down to do a "formal" written test!...I already told Ale she gets to visit one morning at the new school and she's very excited about it!

Also, one of the directors offered to help with Ale's school (every year he and his wife try to help 2 kids with their education... unfortunately, one of the kids they were helping has gotten involved with gangs and is no longer studying, so they thought they might help me with Ale this year...the amount they set aside for this is ~$500 per kid...in Ale's case, that covers her enrollment fee, books and uniforms! yay!)

God is good and He's sending us help from many different sources!

...they did not grant a new loan, they just re-financed the one I had...which effectively means I got $400...
Oh, well, I'm keeping the cheque...and applying for a loan with the company co-op!... I already have my two co-signors...I'm going to fill out the paperwork today... I had to move some money from my savings account with them to my contributions account (these cannot be touched unless you leave the co-op or leave the company), so that I have enough in my contributions account ($387) to request the amount of money that I need!...
...still moving in the right direction, I think!

I sent a follow-up email yesterday to the foundation and, they said the correction (reporting my donations to them) had already been filed (yesterday), so I'll wait a couple of days and re-check the status of my return on line...if nothing has changed, I'm going to call the Ministry again...
At least, we're moving in the right direction with this! (hey, it's $282!!)

Says they told her the application had been approved...she submitted it for $4,000 but she still doesn't know if the whole amount was approved!...

I'll keep you posted!!!

I called today to find out what the next steps are to enroll her...
I need to go and fill out an application and pick up some new information and leave a deposit to guarantee the space... They will let me know when I have to deliver the money to purchase the books she'll use...
I still have to decide what happens if, when tested, it turns out she should be in first grade as opposed to preparatoria...I lean more towards having her start in prepa, though, because school here goes to grade 11 now, instead of 12 (as it was back when I was at school) and, I don't know if I want Ale at University at 16!! ((faint!))...My niece will be out of school at 17, starting University at 18 and, I feel she's still a bit immature as it is...then again, maturity doesn't always go hand in hand with age...but still ...decisions, decisions, decisions!

The CC company wanted a copy of the payment voucher- again...so I resent it. "they're taking care of it"...now I'm trying to decide whether I want to spend the energy pursuing their deleting some of the interest charged to my account due the money being "lost" for 2 payment periods! ....

Income tax refund - sent a message to the foundation. They have the letter and will send it in tomorrow, so, in THEORY, this should be settled by Thursday (yeah, right!!)

((sihg)) PATIENCE!

YAY! I bought myself a new pair of tennis shoes, so that I can go out for walks again (the old ones were bought before my pregnancy and are too tight now!-- yes, my feet grew 1/2 a size!)...so, now I have no excuses to NOT go out for walks: I have the shoes, I have 2 pairs of sweatpants, I have plenty of socks and plently of t-shirts...

AND, since I'm not going to be teaching classes at night starting this week, I won't be exhausted in the mornings (or, at least, I shouldn't be!)...

My goal to start with is 3X week...

1. keep better track of my spending- I still having a hard time sticking to this one!

2. Send out at least 15 resumes in January(best time of the year to find a new job in ES!) and, at least one more per week for the rest of the year until I find a job that pays better! Interesting development in this area

3. FINALLY decide on a school for Alejandra, AND save money for her enrollment fee, uniforms and school supplies Went to see a school that had been recommended. Think it's a good fit for us!...reminds me of the first school I went to: small, few children, re-converted house conditioned to be used as a school...strict but loving owner/director...AND, the initial enrollment fee is $380, and the monthly fee is $110!!...(at the preschool I pay $200 and $70, so the differnce is not THAT much!--at least, it's not $1,000 and $200!!!)...I think this one's a go, so, now I can really do numbers and work on the rest! yay!! Have to take care of this before April ends, though, to ensure there's a space for Ale at the proper grade!

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. Same as last month, all "additional" income going towards the "car account"...

5. Help Ale find a way to earn those $3 she's missing to open her account with HER OWN money...Pending...

Well, since I have saved most of my $20-challenge money towards the car (except the $20 for Jan!), I think I should set the price of the car as my goal, so, I'll say $4,000 by December 31st!

and, as you all know, I hate waiting!!!...
oh, well, I have about $1,000 and I can get $500 from the company co-op...plus, someday I'll get my $282 in tax returns...so I know I can do something to get a car!....will keep you posted!

There are inconsistencies in it...mainly, Fundacion Hermano Pedro (the children's home that I contribute to) has not presented their declaration of donations received...($31 in my case)...soooo, my options are: 1. wait until they present the documentation or 2. re-do my income-tax report and omitting the donations...) - sigh!

What if I omitt and in the meantime they present the documentation?? It'll be held up again!!...

Plus, this is the sort of thing that you have to do IN PERSON here in ES....so I'd have to find the time (they only open from 9 to 4) and the transportation (taxi! -$$$) to go do it!!!

AAAAAAAAARRRRGGGGHHHH!!...

...I'm calling the foundation to find out what happened and if they foresee any resolution to the problem in the near future!!

****************
They say they'll draft a letter and send it to the Ministry....unfortunately, the Ministry closes on Monday for Holy Week vacations and won't be open until Apr 17 (and, sadly, even if the foundation sent the letter tomorrow, I doubt it the Ministry would do anything about it until after the holidays!)....oh, well, at least this should be solved before the end of April!

Woo-hoo! I got 3 more paid translations for April!! - that's $36 more for my April total!! (and it's only the 5th!)

Well, I was looking at my entries for March of last year:
I was getting TONS of creditor calls and could not even manage minimum payments...I was paying every other month!...My car broke down and had to spend a lot of money repairing it!...also, Fiona, our dog, was then just a puppy and creating all sorts of trouble at the house!

What a difference a year makes!
Nowadays, I am making payments that are slightly higher than minimum payment (of course, I have less credit cards, and lower balances!! YAY, ME!!)...I am trying to get money to buy a new car, so I guess in that sense I'm worse off than last year...and, while Fiona still creates trouble sometimes, these are now exceptions, and not the rule!

This was a good exercise, it helped me put things in perspective...I've still got a long way to go, but, there has DEFINETELY been a lot of progress!!

Translated 3 pages for a friend, that'll be $36 to be added to April's $20 challenge...

Posting it so I don't forget to add it at the end of the month!

Total for March

Challenge statistics:
invested:
$20 gas for cousin
$48 for taxies/March
=======
$68.00

Earned in March: $448.00

net for January: $12.15
net for February: $318.40
net for March:$380
Total ytd for 2006 (net):$710.55

1 small translation- 1 page
need to add $12 for my March total...just noting it down so I don't forget!

...as soon as it is humanly possible..not only am I exhausted by Wednesday, but Ale is having trouble at school and I cannot really help her...I mean, I tried today, but, the poor kid was falling asleep on her notebook! (I arrived at 8:45 and, I had her practicing dictations and spelling until 9:15, which is a bit past her bedtime!)...plus, I feel like a drill sargent, Mom is not fun anymore!...she has a "graded dictation" on Wednesday...
And, I can't really expect the nanny to help..she's more than willing but, it's difficult for her... I had to explain the word "dictation" to her... after all, she only went as far as 1st grade herself...and at a public school, too!!...

Have spoken to H regarding the job he wants (to put all his 100+ presentation cards into Outlook contacts for him), says he'll pay me $10/hour...should I cry? If I translate my regular pay/regular hours,it's almost double!...
so, we'll see how long it takes...I'll probably get started tomorrow, as I don't have to teach a class!

I got the package - turned out to be an envelope!, and left the documents at the Ministry. I called a school ref info for enrollment and have a meeting with the principal tomorrow (HAVE to look into this!)- I called the Ministry of Education ref teaching accreditation, definetely a no-go unless you have your diploma...hmmmm... found the website for the university I attended...turns out now you can do a lot of stuff on line...for other things, though, you have to go there!...they also don't list the courses on line, so I'd have to go there and get a list of the courses required to graduate nowadays (the plan is probably different, if it isn't, all I need to do is make my social hours - translations, maybe? and I'm set!)...if the plan is different, it might require going back for a course or two...or taking a test! ...depending on what the courses are, this would be a good option...
All this and it's still 2:26 here!....Oh, and I graded the listening comprehension/structure part of the English tests!...still have to do that pivot table for the modules feedback... (waiting on 1 overall final survey to update the presentation, though)..
Not bad, not bad at all!