Ale and her best friend want to open a store to sell "stuff"...they actually want to call it "Ale and Danny's stuff"...Ale says that Danny will be in charge of allocating the money, but that she (Ale) gets to be the boss and she gets a bigger share of the profit (her expression, not mine!) because it was HER idea...Ale will be in charge of ordering the stuff to sell, but, she says, she will have to order other stuff, too, as it would be nice to have restrooms in the store...she also thinks it would be nice to have a cafeteria, so people can eat there and save on food and gas...the food in the cafeteria would be free for customers, so if someone coming in for the first time notices the cafeteria, she'd tell them: oh, it's free for our customers...

AND, she says she would be very good at selling, because she's already been to the flea market on Sundays, and has also experience buying stuff from coming with cousin and me on our weekend expeditions downtown...

She knows she has to pay for the stuff she buys, plus the people that work at the store, and that from they cannot take all the profit because they need to replenish the store.... (I wish I had known all that when I was 7!! LOL!)

Well, it WAS the battery!...the car started today with no problems...took it to the shop and the guy tested the battery, asked me to start the car: no problem....told me to turn it off and turn on the lights, radio and a/c- without starting the engine- and, sure enough, after that, it was dead again!!!...it's ok, when I bought the car (used) I knew the guy that sold it to me had had to buy a battery for it, as the one it had died on him 3 days before he delivered the car...I KNOW he didn't buy a NEW one...so, it lasted 18 months...now I have a brand new battery, which has a 2-year warranty...it was on sale, too, at $60....I'm glad for several reasons:
1. it happened NOW, when I had the $$$ to buy it without incurring new debt
2. it happened TO ME, on a WEEKEND, at my cousin's, at around 7:00pm....and not to my niece at the university on a weeknight- she finishes classes at 9pm!...

Thank God for small mercies!
...I'm happy!

another expense for today were Ale's medicines (needed to complete her treatment): $38...this is after the 20% discount!!!- they did some research and found that Salvadorans pay the most for medicines in Central AMerica....up to 500% of the "real" price...whatever that means!...oh, well, at least part of the medical expenses is reimbursable (we'll see how much!, it's my first time using THIS policy!)

****
Expected expenses for tomorrow: plumber!...there are leaks in 2 of our bathrooms that are above my level of expertise! (I'm afraid I'd end up like the people in the comic strips, flooding the house and having to pay extra while trying to save some $$$)...minor repairs, I do myself, but at least one of these means replacing parts that I have no idea how to put in!- I can't even explain it in English!...I expect it to cost anywhere between $30-$60...I'll call the plumber tomorrow morning, as they charge extra to come on the weekends!

Ale came to my room today at 3am, crying because her head hurt so badly...I gave her some Tylenol and let her sleep with me...but it really frightened me because it is the second serious headache in less than 15 days!...needless to say I called the Dr's office at 8:01am!...The doctor saw us around 10:00am..."luckily", it's just a synus infection! (I'm $110 poorer after Dr and meds, but, believe me, from the things I was imagining....I thought she might be developing a tumor or something REALLY scary like that!...)...
I won't lie to you: the lady at the pharmacy left us alone for a few minutes to go get a medicine at another branch they have nearby -well, not REALLY alone, there was another saleslady, but she was tending other customers- and, for one nanosecond my mind went: oh, what if I just took these and ran??...LOL!...wouldn't do it though...I took a toy at a store once, when I was about 4, and I still remember when Mom made me go in and return it AND apologyze to the cashier!...
Anyway, I had to use the rent money that sis gave me, but, I do get paid on Friday, so the rent will get paid then (will have to re-work the numbers for the bonus $$$!)

40, really, as I've already spoken to my friend so we can split them!..

woo-hoo!!!

If you said MORE Translations....you're absolutely right!...3 PowerPoint presentations for the training tomorrow!...woo-hoo!...and it's only 9:30pm and I already sent them!!!...that levaes me 1 and a half hours to work on the 4th presentation (due on Friday)...the comments from today's training sessions will have to wait, but, of course, those are lower priority... I still haven't done my wordcount on those presentations, so I still don't know how much $$$ I'm getting for them! LOL!...

they've MOVED!!!...now, don't think that I only paid $254......that's the impact on the principal, no interest is included! so, my debt is no longer over $13K!!!
...but,hey, it's a difference of $254!!!!...and I still have to make more payments this month!!
Oh, and the $20 towards Disney is an automatic monthly deduction!

since we had to buy a toy to bring as a sample to one of our customers and, since it was $21.30, AND, since there's a "spend $19.99, get a free t-shirt" on Barbie products right now, we got a free t-shirt for Ale. If the customer likes it, we will buy 11 more, so we would end up with 12 t-shirts in all!...since there are 4 different ones, Ale would get one of each and, the others we would request in different sizes so we could give some to Nanny's grand-daughter and would have some to give away as presents to other little girls. ...and, no, the customer doesn't want them. Same thing happened last year and, because not ALL the toys have a "giveaway", it would seem like they're being partial to some kids (or groups) by giving them 2 "gifts" instead of just one!- it seems this happened to them with a previous supplier and it was a big mess!...so, whenever the toys have giveaways, they always ask us to keep them!

Oh, and, while we were at this store, I spotted a hot-pink bike that looked about the right size (it was! I made Ale try it!)...and it costs $73, as opposed to the one we had seen at the other store, which was $106 (I do get a 13% discount on the $106, but, that is still $95.40....)

I was thinking about that "extra" money and, I KNOW what it is!...it's the $69.36 loan payment (which I finished paying in August, but didn't "see" last month because I was still trying to "catch up" on other payments!)...so, yes, as of this month, I should have $70 "more" to put towards other debt!...this is so exciting!

True, it hasn't been easy. True, I really wish I hadn't put myself in this situation....but, you know, my financial problems helped me take a good look at my priorities and, I can now say, this (crisis) would have happened sooner or later (most probably later, when I wouldn't have had as much room to "maneuver" so to speak!)...

Also, the crisis hit while Ale was very young and, thus, still didn't have that sense of entitlement she might have had if we had continued to live "the good life" on credit! ...being aware of money from a young age will be benefitial for her...most of her classmates don't have a clue! (after all, they're only 7!)...but, Ale at least has an idea of the value of money and, she knows getting into debt is a bad idea....

I have learned that you CAN have fun without spending much...as a matter of fact, you can even have fun -GASP- for free!...

I also learned that your true friends won't leave you just because you can't "keep up", but will try to schedule more cheap/free activities into their lives so you can participate!...

So....eventhough some parts of THIS ride have been awful, at least it has been worthwhile!

And, no, I'm by no means "out of the hole" yet, but, I can look back and see the progress I make and, I can look forward and see the end of it all!...

And, who knows, maybe I'll have gained enough sense to NOT fall into the trap again!

well, we have our first orders and, there are a couple of new customers, too...they still haven't placed their order, but they seem truly interested...we'll see if it works out!

We need to contact the school to see about the new supplies list, too, so we will be ready to start working on THAT as soon as the Xmas season for toys is over (which should be about Dec 5-10)

There's the usual stack of bills, and no additional income in sight...ah, how I long for November, when I will have: 1. An additional payperiod, 2.The year-end bonus, 3.The payments for all those translations!...The promise of November makes me think of 2008 with optimism!...

while I do hope to get more translations in October, I don't think I'll be as active as last month (I hope I'm wrong, though!)....so, we'll see how this month unfolds!

Well, September is gone and October is here already!...

El Salvador celebrates Children's Day on Oct 1st...so, for all of us who are kids at heart: HAPPY CHILDREN'S DAY!

Yeah, it's tomorrow, but we are celebrating today!...I bought Ale 1 present (got a plush bear for free!) and yesterday I took her to the mall, because she's a member of the Club Prensita (this is a children's insert in our local newspaper, which is published 2 times a week)...by showing her card at the newspaper stand at the Children's carnival, we got free tickets to the Fairly Odd Parents show (next week)... each ticket costs $10, and, since her membership was free...of course, the idea was to lure you to the mall, but, we just enjoyed the freebies and then left....Not that the weekend wasn't spendy anyway...Nanny's daughter was hit by a car (luckily, she only had bruises, not even a broken bone!), but, still, I thought it was only fair to give Nanny the week off so she could take care of her daughter...she takes such good care of us when WE are home sick, that it just seemed the right thing to do...so, on Friday we had to buy fast food...$8..OUCH!...this wasn't planned, but niece was supposed to pick Ale up and take her home for lunch, then drop her off at the daycare...but sis and niece went to the eye doctor yesterday and they didn't make it on time, so I had to rush out of the office to go pick up Ale, feed her and then drop her off at the daycare...and I only have 1 hour for lunch!...I was still 15 minutes late!...Oh! and I got a call during lunch that an urgent document had arrived for processing at work!...nearly chocked on my hamburger!!...Oh, and we went to the children's theater festival...we saw The Sand Boy...it was really nice...that was another $6...AND we went to church for a musical...total for that was about $7 (that includes the pupusas which Ale ate, and I still cannot believe that she ate them only 2 hours after having dinner!...she's eating like a termite lately! -which is a nice change from her near-anorexic eating habits, where she will eat if you put the food in front of her, but will totally forget if you don't!...I guess we are in for a MAJOR growth spurt this time!)

Got paid $100 from one of the earlier translations yesterday...I will go make a payment to the cc tomorrow...

This is the total (after taxes) that I have pending from my translations...
Of this, $490.70 are from the "special package" which I had set aside as the would-be Disney money...so $1,783.59 would go towards debt...I'm tempted to make it $1,750 or even $1,700 and using the other money ($33 or $83) on some other stuff...I still don't know...I guess it will depend on the overall situation when I actually GET the money!

It's that time of the year!...the International Children's Theater Festival (FITI) opens this Friday...Woo-hoo!...
I've identified 5 shows we could attend...
the opening piece will be The Sand Boy...the story of a sand boy in love with a mermaid...
Ale's pretty excited, too!

I spent $37 stocking up on spices, toilet paper, powdered milk, detergent and other things...it's ok, I won't have to spend as much the next 2 or 3 months!...

Funny thing: they had saffron, at $0.25 for a package that normally costs about $2.50...so, I decided to make a paella...

I bought some shrimp, some clams and some Spanish chorizo....it all cost me about $5, and I'll add some leftover chicken....guess WHAT I forgot??...THE RICE!!!...how do you make paella without rice? ...well, you really can't!...the good thing is I still had 1lb in my cupboard...the bad thing is I don't think that'll be enough!... I'll see if the little corner store is open tomorrow morning....I really don't want to go all the way back to the grocery store for a bag of rice!...

This is a "small" one...a contract...should bring in about $30-$40

sooo, today I get to go to someone's house to help them translate a PowerPoint presentation for some high-ranking govt officials...
We'll see how much this earns me in the end...but, right now, I want as much as possible to put towards debt...(and, I need to work on being patient, because I'm not seeing any $$$ until mid-Oct/early Nov!!)...all this could be my Xmas present to myself!!
...who knows, there might even be enough for Ale's bike!

I've just landed this translation job that could bring around $1,000....I haven't been given a deadline, but they said preferably this week...I may not be ablo to do it alone, mind you, so that $1,000 might be split, but, still....
ok, back to my dictionaries and glossaries! (I want to make sure I have all I need!)...I'll be using my lunch hour and, also, will leave at 5:00:00pm!...oh, and since Independence Day is Saturday 15, we will get the afternoon off on Friday (guess who'll be working like crazy?!)...
I have a high-interest cc with $2,600 on it...
wish me luck!

Of course, Ale is all for saving right now (with the Disney trip on her sights!), but I explained to her paying down debt comes first...

so, here's our conversation:

A: so, first we pay debts.
MI: yes.
A: then we travel, no, then we make sure you don't go into debt again...Mom, we should just shred the credit card, that way you can't use it!

(LOL! I wish, but, local norm dictates you HAVE to bring an intact cc to be able to close a cc account. Otherwise, they make you wait for new plastic --AND CHARGE YOU FOR IT, so I'm taking good care of my cc, but it's "grounded" and cannot leave the house!)

I've been doing "happy numbers" - which is what cousin and I call it when we make numbers based on the best-possible scenario (which is, of course, the worst way to prepare for anything!)...and, if I managed to make an average of $400/month with translations, I might actually be able to be debt-free by mid-2009
.... oooooohhhhhh!!!

Dreaming is free!

woo-hoo!...I haven`t seen it yet...it´s supposed to be a big one!...If it really is as much as they say it is, I will take Ale either to the Museum for an art lesson ($1) or to the LIon´s club for swimming ($2)-weather permitting...because that gives her something nice to do (as opposed to watching me peck in the computer!) for 2 hours....and I can take my laptop and work while I wait for her! ...

Whatever $$$ I get paid for this one will go towards debt!

Some time ago, ex-hubby called and said we "needed to revisit some long-buried converstations"...uh??
Turns out he wanted to talk to me about:
1. A promise he never fulfilled (and, in my mind, I just thought: which one of them all??-- lucky I decided not to say it!)
2. His airline employee ticket benefits will end next year and, he will save 2 (space available) tickets for Ale and myself to go to Disney if we want to. Now, mind you, he isn't Ale's dad (warning, because if he were, this next thing would be petty!)...I have to pay for the tickets...about $300/each (taxes and fees INCLUDED)...which is a lot less than the regular fares from ES to Miami, which generally fluctuate between $599 and $649 (tax and fees NOT included! which means they come up to $750-$875!)..

so, it's a good deal...the problem, of course, is: it takes more than plane tickets to get there!!!...I've been doing numbers and, I estimate I'd need at least $1,300 (including plane tickets!) to even consider it a go...Ale, of course, thinks we can make it...I'm not so sure...

Mainly, I'm still having trouble paying down debt...I expect to "catch up" in November, and, be up to date with everything + pay a cc in full...but, that will leave only about $45/month (which is my current minimum payment on that cc, and which I'll allocate to other payments starting Dec 2007)...

I've investigated and, the best dates for us (based on school schedule and potential flight availability) would be:

Between March 13-19
May 1-5
Between June 21-28

June would be my preferred option:
1. Ale is on vacation
2. Her birthday is June 26. It would be cool if this were our last day at the parks!
3. It's further away= more time to save
4. I receive a small bonus in June

The problem? ex-hubby said ticket benefits end June 2008...so I don't know if that means:
1.tickets must be purchased before June 1st
2. tickets must be purchased before June 30th
3. tickets must be used (travel finished) by June 1st
4. tickets must be used (travel finished) by June 30th.

I've already asked about this and also about the exact price (since we are space available, price isn't subject to seasonal changes!)

So far, we have $121 in our Disney account (which I set up back in 2004, and should be nearing the $1K mark, but I had to take out the money to pay down debt about a year ago!) and the ~$12/pay period from my salary increase ....and I have decided that the package of translations to be paid at $0.03 go towards this, too...I estimate all these would get me to the $600 mark (once collected)...so, I'd have the plane tickets...Have to find a way to earn the rest!

Of course, the REAL challenge is to do THIS while keeping the same targets I had for paying my debts!! (which is why I added the other ticker ABOVE the Disney one!)

Keep tuned for updates!

well, the guys that have been handing me translations wanted to know if I would agree to work on translating the comments from some feedback forms for a series of trainings they are working on (they're interpreting at the seminars and feel too burned out at the end of the day to tackle this!)...it's easy, and I'm used to this sort of thing (used to do the same thing for the trainings at the Other Place I worked before!)...so, I know the handwriting is sometimes terrible, but I also know how to decipher it...these would be "small" jobs, really, depending on what the people write it might come to $15-$20 per day (after tax), working for 2-3 hours each day (I can do this from 8pm to 11pm, so I don't sacrifice my time with Ale)...and it's just until Sept 28....so, let's do the math...let's say $15 X 18 (working) days (not sure if they will have seminars on Saturdays or not) = $270....not bad!! ...of course, I would most probably get paid towards the end of Oct/ beginning of November, but, hey, as long as they do pay, I don't mind that much!

It´s that time of the year again, and we are back at work trying to put together a new toy catalogue for the Xmas season.... I´m on PowerPoint duty and cousin is working on the price list in Excel....this also has a sheet to track our earnings and how the different accounts get split...

she has about 98 lines of data...I have already about 90 pictures (with code) on the presentation.... we estimate by the time we are finished taking pictures/getting prices at the places we buy from, we'll have about 300 items on our catalog...so we aren't even 1/3 through!!

gotta get back to work!!...will come back and blog some more during my next break! :P

I'm so excited!...Ale and I had planned to go, now sis is joining, too!...
I already withdrew the $20 out of my account (it's payday today, and we've already received our $$$!)...
I will definetely leave the debit card behind for this! (I have no willpower when it comes to books!) $20 we have and $20 is the most we can spend!
In 2004, when we went to the US, Ale and I were let loose in B&N and, eventhough we didn't get everything we wanted, we spent almost $200! YIKES!...worth every penny, but, still...that was BEFORE, this is NOW, and NOW I'm actively trying to get out of debt and not shutting my eyes in denial!

Of course, I only have $3 in my account right now and, most likely, that's the amoount I'll have next Monday (I like to make all payments before I have a chance to spend the money on "wants", so I make payments, fill the tank in the car and generally make sure there's a ::very:: limited amount sitting in the account!) ...not good, I know, but better than the alternative!

I was thinking today how I'm spending about $60/month instead of $40-$50 on gas now that niece is taking Ale to school (sis puts in another $20/month), but that it's still positive because I'm not paying the $30 for the transport, so in reality I'm spending $60 vs $70-$80...and then I thought it's good that gas is cheaper now because it's "only" $3.14-$3.20

AND THEN I remembered that it wasn't so long ago when I felt that gas was "super-expensive" when it reached $3!!!

isn't that sad??

well, looking at my numbers, 57% of what I earn goes towards debt right now!!...OUCH!...
trying to look on the bright side...the impact of this has been a reduction of $4,286 in debt this year!-yay, me!...the $5K in debt reduction I set as a goal at the beginning of the year definetely looks attainable!

Got paid for some translations on Saturday, half an hour later, I was "poor" again!...I went straight to the bank and paid it towards the personal loan...the sad news is, a payment was due on Sunday, which means that I'm back to where I was on Friday....the good news is, at least they are seeing a will to pay (important! If they see payments, most banks will NOT report you to the credit bureaus!) and, also, the delinquency level keeps my account with the banks collection agency, it doesn't escalate to their legal department or to an outsourced collection agent (because then they start CHARGING you fees for every call you receive!)...
I'm still pending some other payments, so...

woo-hoo!...Place #2 for translations called with 2 good news: 1. my check will be ready Friday and 2. they need more translations, which they will forward to me tonight!...

woo-hoo!...this one will go straight towards the loan!!...I might be current before the end of Sept!