a friend of our family gave her $25...she decided she did NOT want to save any of it!!!...she spent $4.50 at the little store at the country club...then he bought 2 pairs of shoes (she asked me to take her to a store where she had seen a 2X1 special) for $10...then she said she wanted toys, and asked me to take her somplace where she could buy them...I took her to the toy section of the dept store, as they were having "an additional 35% off sale prices" if purchase was made with store card...she wandered the aisles looking at what she could buy for $10....she then found the "additional 35%" aisle and asked the saleslady to check on final prices for several things...she finally decided on a "potty training Kelly" for $9.49....
I charged it on my card and she gave me $9.49 to pay it off right then and there!...she then spent $0.25 on gum from a gum ball machine...so she still has $0.80 left...perhaps I could persuade her to save THAT???
All in all, she didn't do too bad for a 7-year old...at least she looked for bargains!

LOL!...well, no, not really, but, at least now the places in the cementery and the funerals are all paid off! Yay!...officially, July would have been the last payment, but, I called the company and the lady that handles billings told me I had 2 options:
1. Make only the June payment ($35.33) and then finish paying in July (another $35.33), or
2. pay $42.18 and finish paying NOW!...

guess what I did?? (the difference is for debt insurance, taxes, interest and fees!- OUCH!)...
....now, the cementery lot is ok (fits 5, and only mom and dad are there at the moment), but the funeral services were 3, so that leaves only 1 paid for/available....and there's still 4 of us! (sis, Ale, niece, nephew and myself!)...and while some would rather shut their eyes to the possibilities, we all WILL die someday!...

you've read my rants about my cousin and the $1,ooo in phone calls her son made on my line...this is VERY old news (this was in January of 2006!)....and how she had only repaid $300....well, she gave me $100 towards this debt yesterday!!...
I am truly amazed!... I honestly thought this was going to be one of those times when she promised and "something came up" at the last minute!!...
I just HAD to tell you all!

1. Control expenses and make sure total is at or below budgeted amounts for category/month, any “leftovers” in categories will go towards debt!...tsk, tsk...haven't really been taking good care of this, but, I KNOW I've been putting money towards debt like crazy!...I also know I've been spending on silly unnecessary stuff...like pizza on the weekends at least once a month!

2. Continue to lower my overall debt - I started Jan 05 with ~$17K and Jan 06 with $~11K (with ~$8K for a loan and ~$3K in cc debt)... Jan '07 started with $16.5K …. Expect to pay about $5K this year- not counting interest! doable as per my projections!...

3. Start my own business– formally: E-Spiral is the name, translation is our business (G-d and Ale are my partners!)… and contact at least 4 new potential customers per month, so as to find 50 pages of translations per month in 1Q07, getting to 150 in 4Q07…. From Jan – July: 40% of each job will go towards debt, 40% back into the business, 10% into savings (to fund my Freedom Fund!) and 10% to the Padre Vito Guarato Home. From Aug-Dec 07 percentages to be 30,40,20,10 ….hopefully, I’ll be able to quit my current job by mid 2008!! hmmm, I actually stopped this when I got the new job...re-starting now that I feel more "settled in"...I actually have new contacts!
4. Help Ale earn/save $25 for her savings account by 071231! still at $5...have 6 months to help her come up with $20!....

see? I knew that'd get your attention!!...actually, I DID go on a shopping spree...for stuff I NEED (new shoes for Ale AGAIN!...size 2 this time!!) and a pair of pants for me (to replace ones that nearly disintegrated in the last wash!)...I decided yesterday was a great day to do that, as a popular dept store was having a "yellow tag" sale...meaning for two days only you got 30% already discounted prices on select merchandise...I got Ale 2 pairs of shoes (1 "everyday", 1 tennis shoes) for $26 and, the pants I found were $25 original price, but ended up costing me $12.50....there was other stuff I would have wanted (3 other pairs of pants, all gorgeous, all similarly priced)...but, I really didn't NEED that...I can wait to get that later on, when things have stabilized more financially ...

I finally went to get my severance check and, it turned out it was more than I thought it would be ($600 instead of $200!)...BUT, regulations required me to endorse it to the employee coop due the loan I have with them... I had much better use for that $$ (applying it towards higher-interest debt!)....oh, well, at least that means I owe the coop nearly $1,300 instead of nearly $1,900!!... gotta look on the bright side, right??

Because I didn´t have my regular income in April, I´ve fallen behind with some payments...rent (I should have had March paid off by the beginning of April, but, I used the rent money to pay for Ale's school and transport)...1 cc (used that $$ to pay for groceries), the bank loan (used that for gas and the nanny)...so now of course I´m trying to play catch up (have half of March rent paid off, so I need to pay for April and half of March by the end of May!)...on a month when I also have to pay for Ale´s school books for next school year (they have to be ordered by end of May, else they won´t get here before the beginning of August!)...Thank God May is a 3-pay period month! (new job pays every other Thursday, so I will get paid on the 3rd, the 17th and the 31st)...this feels so strange!...my old job paid on the 15th and the last of the month!...
Anyway, I have been working my numbers and, between paying for the renewal of my car registration and Ale`s school enrollemnt fee, school supplies and Spanish books in July, it´ll be a good six months before I´m able to catch up totally (meaning I´ll be up to date AND making progress, I already paid the cc, but, because of the many fees for missing that 1 payment, only $7 went towards debt!)
Oh, well, it´s worth it, because by 2008, things WILL be very different!

ok, so I asked God for a new job:

1. which paid more than what I was earning...from $12K to $16K per year, gross earnings...and less deductions!!!

2. where people appreciated and recognized my work (it was recognized and appreciated at my previous job, I just didn´t want risking falling into a job that didn´t!)

3. close to my home (5 blocks...I´d say that´s close!)

4. which allowed me more time to be with my daughter (I cannot stay in the premises beyond 6pm without an escort...I leave the office between 5 and 5:30...which means I arrive home between 5:10 and 5:45...at my previous job I left between 6:00 and 8:00...and it took me anywhere from 30 minutes to 1 hour to get home, depending on traffic!)

5. Interesting, so I wouldn´t be bored or feel like quitting....

So, I just wanted to give Him public thanks for giving me this new job!

Only about a 100 times, I think!...
well, my best friend called yesterday because they need some translations at the place she works. I quoted her $570 (it is about 40 pages)...since it's over %500, she has to get two more quotes...so, now I'm waiting to see if I will be the one to get the assignment or whether someone else will give her a better offer ...I hate waiting!!!...it would be SO great to get it!!

sold some toys and my share (of profit) is $49! woo-hoo!!

just a reminder

well, it's official, I am starting my new job on April 2nd...yay!!!...Part of me is really excited...of course, part of me is sad to be leaving my "children"...
one of my bosses made me cry yesterday (the one that has helped me with Ale's school)...he made sad puppy eyes at me when he said "I'm so happy for you"...

I'm also a bit mad at the other admin, because she is indignant that "they don't care" ("they" being our bosses)...and, I know that is not the case...but, I cannot tell her because obviously I cannot tell her about the 1001 ways in which they have proven their appreciation to me (plus, that would probably just make matters worse!)...oh, I need to let that go, I cannot really do anything about it...

So, I have two weeks to clean my desk and finish any pending tasks...also to bring the other admin up to speed on my tasks/responsibilities...OUCH!...she's going nuts as it is with all the travel arrangements not only for our unit (22 people) but for 2 sets of consultant teams (6 and 4 people, respectively), plus all the travel arrangements for people that are coming for interviews... It would be simple enough if people would make up their minds as to what they want....she hasn't been in the best of moods lately and, I guess the perspective of dealing with all the admin stuff on her own is not too appealing...

...still, I´m $25 short to make it to next payday (Feb 15!)....I think I can collect that from here to Tuesday!...we´ll see!

the lasagna nanny made yesterday was such a hit, there were no leftovers!!!...and, there were only enough leftovers from day before yesterday to pack 1 lunch: Ale's... that means I have to buy my lunch today....unless there's a Work Unit lunch and somebody decides to invite me, but, I'm not counting on it!...oh, well, I'll try to keep it as close to $2 as possible!

we made $56, which means we have the $$$ to buy the tubs of glue we need (we had each already contributed $20 for the paper and 12 tubs of glue), cover the entrance fee ($3) and still had enough left to buy $2 cards for our cellphones...not a bad deal!...Ale bought a plush bunny and, afterwards, when we went to the supermarket, she bought a book and a set of 24 colored pencils...

well, we are going to take our last notebooks (about 50-75) to the flea market...they have already been stored for over a year (from past Jan 06 to this January 07) and who knows if they'll survive another year in good enough condition to be sold...we are also taking a boxful of stickers, and the returned glue...I'm going to be taking some old books to see if they sell and we are also taking some sandwiches....Ale has declared that she will NOT bring any toys this time...wish us luck!

UGH! the school didn't accept the generic white glue...they want X brand-name...the one we bought was $1.28/tin...the one they want is $2.75/tin....now, this is just white carpenter's glue and,it's being used for kids crafts...

anyway, we need to bring the replacements between today and tomorrow, which means there's no time to sell the ones we have first...which means WE have to shell out the money and then find a way to recover at least part of it!...rats!...plus, the profit on most of those school packages was about $10-$15....with this, it goes down by $1.47 per package (for preschool packages)...$8.53-$13.53....

I'm not a happy camper today!...

1. Control expenses and make sure total is at or below budgeted amounts for category/month, any “leftovers” in categories will go towards debt!...well, I went overbudget in: House (1 additional rent payment to be up to date), Fun, Other, Events (due best friend's wedding!) and Debt (this is actually good, since it means I "spent" more on paying down debt than what was budgeted!)


2. Continue to lower my overall debt - I started Jan 05 with ~$17K and Jan 06 with $~11K (with ~$8K for a loan and ~$3K in cc debt)... Jan '07 started with $16.5K …. Expect to pay about $5K this year- not counting interest! balance for 31/dec was $16.5K, balance for 30/jan is $15.5K

3. Start my own business– formally: E-Spiral is the name, translation is our business (G-d and Ale are my partners!)… and contact at least 4 new potential customers per month, so as to find 50 pages of translations per month in 1Q07, getting to 150 in 4Q07…. From Jan – July: 40% of each job will go towards debt, 40% back into the business, 10% into savings (to fund my Freedom Fund!) and 10% to the Padre Vito Guarato Home. From Aug-Dec 07 percentages to be 30,40,20,10 ….hopefully, I’ll be able to quit my current job by mid 2008!! Contacted only 2 new customers, and worked on my presentation for the Min. of Tourism, which should have been delivered today, but I ran into some technical trouble with the music...

4. Help Ale earn/save $25 for her savings account by 071231!...she earned $5 for her help with the toy/school supply sale...but, took away $0.85 to replace the colored pencils she lost!

managed to collect another $100 for admin services last sunday...so, that's my first $100 for this year's $20 challenge!

I'm proud to say that on Saturday I took my laptop with me and worked on my presentation to the Minister of Tourism...all it needs is some music..now I need to work on my cover letter, too!...once that is ready, I'll burn a CD and drop it by the Ministry...my deadline is next Tuesday!...I will work on the music today and tomorrow (first find something appropriate, then put it in)...
wish me luck!

well, so far I've made 2 contacts (out of "required" 4)...this weekend I'm planning to tune up my presentation for the Minister of Tourism and, the plan is to drop it off at the Ministry no later than Wednesday next week!...
This year, actively seeking translations for the E-Spiral will be my $20 challenge...wish me luck!

unless it's exploitive (?) I am all for kids doing a little work (I used to work 2x a week at my parent's grocery shop)...helps them a lot, I think...Of course, it has to be age appropriate and should not interfere with their studies!

so, Ale helped with the school supply packages...she helped us set up things so we could make the packages (bringing stuff from the boxes to the table: 5 boxes of colored pencils, 5 boxes of jumbo crayons, 5 erasers, etc.) and she helped load/unload the cars (we carried the heavier packages and the papers, which are more delicate, but let her carry the small bags with the bottles of liquid soap and 1/8 gallons of glue, which are light enough for her to handle)...she also promoted the backpacks..which resulted in 5 additional ones being sold...so, we decided to give her some money ($5) for her work....since she was just helping because she likes it, it came as a surprise to her...I gave her 5 x $1 notes and told her I wanted her to keep at least $1 for her piggy bank...she thought about it and said: Mommy, I want to keep $3 for the piggy bank and use $2...(Yay!)...when we paid her, the first thing I told her to do was count it...right after she counted it, she separated $3 and gave them to me "for safekeeping until we put it in the piggy bank" and then took the other $2 and placed them in her wallet, as she wanted to use it at school...

I'm so proud!

we were puzzled yesterday when cousin got a call from the school administrator asking for an emergency meeting to discuss some "problems" with our school packages...we check every package with the parents to make sure the packages contain everything on the list and, whenever a parent doesn't like a product, we take it out and discount it accordingly (happens very seldom)...so, cousin went there and, thankfully, the only product where there is a real product is our plies (?) of bond paper...we were sold half-plies and were told that was the standard size...she reached an agreement with the administrator/teachers: the school will accept the plies from the parents, then gather them and give them back to us and we will replace them (no biggie, should be about $0.10 per plie and I don't think we sold more than 100 of those!)...the other "problems" were instances where teachers did not approve of certain brands we had used, but, the ADMINISTRATOR saw the substitutions and said to the teachers those complaints were unfounded, as the products we had used were of similar quality...another "problem" was that a teacher said she had requested metallic board paper and we had brought metallic wrapping paper...cousin asked that an original list be brought from the school files and TA-DA! there it was: papel estaño, not CARTULINA estaño (as in all other 4 lists!)...settled, in our favor!...yet another complaint was the fact that they had asked for a (brand) pencil sharpener, with two sharpeners,one for standard pencils, one for thicker pencils or crayons.. code 511-004....surprise, surprise, no such thing exists!...the (Brand) 511-004 only has one sharpener, for regular sized pencils...since they had used the code, we bought and sold the one correspoding to the code...the administrator said they'll accept them and make sure the same mistake is not made when writing up the lists for 2008...
Next!: the liquid soap bottles we provided did not come with a pump...the list only said: 1 liquid soap bottle, 230 ml (note: that size doesn't exist in the market, we had to buy the bottles and fill them!)...the administrator said: Teachers, you did not specify a pump, so you must accept the bottles ...

Other inconsistencies--that did not affect us, but that the administrator detected and ordered changed: one list requested Staedler Mongol pencils...Mongol is a trade mark of Paper Mate, so, which one is it? Mongol or Staedler pencils??...

Cousin also asked about the metallic netting they had requested (we were wondering what they used it for, and why it had to be metallic, for the 4-6 year olds, it seemed kind of dangerous!)...and told them of our concern about safety (we did get hurt and had "splinters" of metal while taping the ends with masking tape...but, with use, the masking tape will deteriorate and the ends will be exposed!)...she offered to make/bring them a sample made with plastic netting so they can see if it will serve the same purpose...they must have been very impressed, because the administrator asked her to come in October to meet with the teachers and review the lists before sending them to print! I guess this guarantees we will be allowed to sell again next year and, also gives us another advantage over our competitors!

That was my share of our earnings for the Xmas + School supply sales...

Allocated as follows:

staying on track with my proposed plan and re-working the numbers:
cc == $295.00 (to be paid tomorrow)
Ale's bed == $116 (PAID $108.53/ PENDING $8)
Ale's school == $137 (PAID)
Ale's transportation from school == $30 (PAID)
personal loan == $69.63 (PAID)
Infamous phone bill == $303.15 (PAID)

car maintenance (tires,brakes and shockabsorbers)== pending, depending on cousin's payment (wish me luck!)

Which basically means I'm "broke" again...but, Ale has a new bed and I have $597.37 less debt...and I'm up-to-date with all payments...I can DEFINETELY live with that!

Now, I need to re-focus my "outside of work" energies into the translation business!!

staying on track with my proposed plan and re-working the numbers:

from the toy sale$166)
cc == $50.00
Ale's bed ==to be paid today 070107



From the translation:
cc ($145.80)
technical dictionaries + internet bill(investment in business as per allocation - $145.80)
savings $36.45
donation $36.50


From the school supply sale (?):
cc == $550 (expenses)
Ale's school
car maintenance (tires,brakes and shockabsorbers)
personal loan == $70
Infamous phone bill == $300

Payment due from cousin (!)
infamous phone bill!-- she says she'll give me at least $200... we'll see...this would be put towards cc == $200 (?)
Loan to pay for 2 months of school for her darling Prince last year: $170 ==
additional bedding set for Ale's bed +/-$30 and cc +/- $140

I keep playing around with these numbers!

things I paid:
1 month's rent (I was still behind, now I'm 100% up to date!)
I'm left with $30 to "survive" until Jan 15th!
****
still pending

from the toy sale:
cc
Ale's bed
personal loan


From the translation:
infamous phone bill ($145.80)
technical dictionaries + internet bill(investment in business as per allocation - $145.80)
savings $36.45
donation $36.50


From the school supply sale:
cc
Ale's school
car maintenance (tires,brakes and shockabsorbers)

Payment due from cousin (!)
infamous phone bill!-- the last of it!
cc
additional bedding set for Ale's bed

Re-worked the previous numbers a bit! ((sigh))

1. keep better track of my spending- managed to stay within budget this month (barely!)...we still have to buy the stuff for New Year's Eve, but, I still have $79 "left over" for that...


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: $12.9K total: ~$7.9K (refinanced) loan, ~$2.6K car loan, ~$609 personal loan, $1.3K other personal loan… Phone bill is $200...$600 on a cc for toy/school supply sale expenses (pending full payment in Jan)…

we are tracking all expenses/payments with cousin on the school supply sale....I was commenting this with sis the other day and she said she doesn't understand why I do business with cousin if it seems that I never make any money...I agree, profits are not as good as they could be (about $700 for the whole toy venture this year....and an estimaded $500 for the school supply venture in early January)...that's a lot of effort for that money and, on top of that, I never get to "see" the money ...meaning I don't really get to do anything "visible" with it...I don't buy stuff...I just put it towards debt...

I agree with sis that there are other things I could do and, that going into business with cousin has proven NOT to be the cleverest decision (after all, that is how I got suckered into putting a phone line to my name in her house!)....but, another reason is precisely to check what she owes me and, to at least be able to recover SOME of it when we are dividing the profits...

((sigh)) Believe me, G_d willing, I won't have to do the toy gig in 2007 (most likely, I will have to do the school supply thing, as we estimate that there will still be items left over due the changes in the lists!)....it takes up too much of my time and energy and, leaves Ale needy for my attention and very resentful of the little time we spend together....(a happy kid is A LOT more valuable in my book...right now, I really cannot afford NOT to do the toy thing, otherwise too many debts will go unpaid... ...Ale really deserves better!)

I'm still speechless...anyone that knows me "in the flesh" will tell you that my being speechless is not only highly improbable, but also impossible...but, I am...sort of...
This morning, my boss (VP) called me to his office and, there were a couple other people there looking like the cat that swallowed the canary...they left and my boss asked me to sit down and then said: "you may have noticed I haven't given you a Xmas present..."...I said: yes -- very matter of factly, honestly I just thought he had given them out while at the Xmas party that I didn't attend and figured he probably had forgotten it at home and I would get it next year...no biggie...he said: well, I hadn't because I was trying to find the best way to go around it and do the best possible while keeping it affordable...by this time my mind was thinking: cool! he got me a raise!...and then he said: ...I have heard from other people in the unit that you are interested in pursuing a business on the side...yes (it's no secret, really!) and then he said: and I also heard that one of the things holding you back from that was a computer...(I swear my jaw scraped the floor!)...and he continued...so, I bought one of our old laptops from the company, it's not new, but I had it cleaned and refurbished and loaded with all the software you might need....I believe I might have said something like: Ak-ak-adack before saying THANKS!...
I mean, physically it's just a computer, but, in reality, it is so much more!!!...I really can't find the words! (which is why I am here at my desk crying as I type!)...but, this one is just too big to keep to myself!
..I know I also have to give G-d a HUGE Thank You for putting people like this in my life!

...((sigh)) YES!...
they want all expenses for 2006 to be tallied in 2006 (obvious!)...so, one of our PM's sent a message to the whole unit regarding this, so now I'm SWAMPED with things that need processing for payment before tomorrow (when our PM leaves!) ...it's 4:40 and, I don't think I can finish before tomorrow noon! ...

H
: E
:: L
::: P!