#1. My boss sent the chart for our loan, and he is not asking 12%, since he considers me low risk, he's only asking for 5% annual interest! woo-hoo!

#2. My niece's aunt (whom I know and trust) has a school transport van...she has agreed to take Ale from the new school to her old preschool (to do her homework)...that means that Ale gets the help she needs and, I get the peace of mind that she's with someone I KNOW will deliver her unharmed! (of course, this is what she does for a living, so I have to pay for it, but, I would have had to pay for SOMEONE else, too...only with her, I know Ale is safe!)

Another one of my bosses (H) --who's been away because he's in charge of a project to open a new company in another country-- came back this weekend and, said he wanted to talk to me ... He had spoken to my boss who gave me the loan (J) and, wants to give me a loan to cover the rest of my cc/extrafinancing debt (actually, they are very good friends and H lent J money to pay for his MBA, that's where J got the idea to lend me money)... his rate is higher than the other guy's (12%), but, still lower than the cc (28%) soooo...I'll move whatever is left over after that last payment I made! (have to look at the account, I don't want to leave $0.01 there!)...I think I'll take lower payments over the same period of time, though, just to make sure I can pay all my debts (or, leave smaller payments for the next 7 months, and go to larger ones once the phone bill is paid off!)..that would effectively rid me of all CC debt...of course, my level of debt would still be the same, but, at least my payments WOULD make a real difference!!-- I would be done with J's loan in a year and, with H's probably in about a year and a half or two years...also about the same time I'd be rid of the car payments!...It would be like getting a HUGE raise!...and THEN I could start seriously saving for a house! (my life savings right now total $700...no, I cannot touch it, they are with the company co-op and, the only way to have access to that would be to resign from the co-op and, to do that, I would have to repay my loan in full -- $2,900...It's a requisite at the coop to put some money into that account each month, and I don't regret it...some day, it'll come in very handy!)

A couple of days ago, I was craving soup for lunch (we had that kind of weather), so, I bought a bag of instant cream of mushroom (powdered) and a bag of pretzels, I only used half the bag and half the pretzels...and sealed the rest and put it in my desk drawer...
today, I forgot my lunch (I packed it yesterday night to try to save time...now I remember WHY this doesn't work for me!)...I noticed when I dropped Alejandra off, and, was mad that I was going to have to buy lunch...and THEN, I rememberd my soup and pretzels!!!...woo-hoo!!! all I have to buy is a drink today (~$0.35) I feel happy!

so far so good...seems I have a good chance to be on budget with most items/categories this month...but, still half a month to go!

$24.54 --gas, @3.551 per gallon ((faint))

I'm currently trying to help my cousin make some money (NO, I'm NOT lending/giving her any money!)...she's back to selling clothes...so, I asked a friend and she said whenever SHE wants to sell something, she just sends an email to all her friends, asking them to forward it on...and she usually gets many responses...sooooo, I created an e-mail regarding the clothes and listed both her and my numbers..I already received 1 call...we'll see how it goes...after all, it is in MY best interest that she make some money!!

Night before last I dreamt I was in love...and that I was showing my beloved a duck and a child playing "tug-of-war" over a leaf...

the dream dictionary says the duck, the children and the romance-love part are all good omens for my finances...

Today, I got a call from the bank executive, stating that the bank has changed their policies and now is offering employees from my company loans, without a cosigner, for 10x their salary (as opposed to 7x their salaries)...if they approve it, they'd give me $1,000 (as they would refinance what I already have)... the payment would remain unchanged, only for a longer period of time...

I have to wait and see if they WILL give it to me (as I now have the loan for the car, which I didn't have before...but, still ...if the payment will remain the same...)...if they DO, then I have to decide what to do with it....common sense says: put it towards the CC, which is at ~28%...but, I don't know whether it would be wise to pay off the phone bill ($700) and pay only $300 in the cc... the advantage would be: the phone bill is 7 monthly payments of $100...I would eliminate that, while the CC is at least a "variable" payment, I could make payments that are only slightly higher than the minimum and have a bit more cashflow, which could be good given that I am still unsure of how high the school expenses are going to be...the disadvantage of this is, the CC is at ~28% and the phone bill is at 0%....

Decisions, decisions!

Today I received Ale's latest (and last!) progress report from the pre-school...she's doing excellent in math and reading (not only does she read well, she UNDERSTANDS what she reads and, does not forget what she read 2 or 3 lines above!)... the writing is still her weak spot!...so much so that the teacher asked me what grade I had enrolled her at (we had spoken about enrolling Ale in 1st grade), when I told her I had Ale enrolled in Preparatoria (basically repeating the grade she just finished), her face lit up...she said that was exactly what she was going to recommend, because 1st grade would be too tough for Ale at this point...I was happy, too, since it took me a long time to decide that this was the best option for Ale...her performance has been so up and down the last year, that I didn't want to risk having her repeat 1st grade...right now, there is no sense of loss or inability if I make her repeat prepa because she's starting in a new school with new classmates, but, if she had to repeat 1st while her classmates go on...(not that repeating a grade ever killed anyone, but...)...so, Ale "repeats" prepa at the new school (she'll be ahead in some things, but that will free her some time for catching up with others!)...her teacher even told me I could bring Ale to the preschool after school (for free!) to do her homework there, and she will help her! ...this is a wonderful offer and, I'm definetely going to take advantage of it!...Ale is truly a blessed child!

ok, The List, at retail prices, would be $52.34...at cost, with some items at retail prices would be $43.12 and, "out of pocket" to me is $20.61! (this is estimating the stupid planner at $9.00 for the wholesale/retail lists....a friend just gave me a very nice agenda, so I'm not adding that to "my" total...the plan is to use that, unless the school specifically prohibits it!...if they don't I'd have to add whatever it costs to find/make one!)

Princess Perky,
I found an even easier alternative! I found some very nice hard-bound notebooks which I could have used! (or, will use, if the school doesn't like the agenda idea!)

just for the fun of it (and to see how much I'll be saving) I plugged in the numbers of the COST (at cost, wholesale prices) of buying everything on the list... some of the stuff we don't have (those 9 items) I really don't know how much they would be, so I just guessed at normal retail supermarket prices and, the list would be about $38!!...I estimate I will end up paying less than $15 for the items that I DO need to get, but,we'll see...

This will also help me estimate how much I will spend next year (taking into account materials for Preparatoria are usually more expensive than those for 1st grade!)

I'll keep you posted, this is an interesting exercise!

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...

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!

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

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

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!)

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!

She also submitted an idea for the contest, and she went for her interview today and, was accepted into the program on the spot! This is great news!
Woo-hoo!

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!

My cousin is finally starting to warm up to the idea of one of those "plug in" phones (you plug them into any electrical outlet and you have a working phone line!) which are only available through pre-paid plans (you use up your minutes, you buy a card, just like a prepaid cellphone...) ...sure, the rate per minute is higher, but, with her son, it would still be cheaper than a regular phone (if only because you cannot abuse one of these, your time expires, your phone is dead for outgoing calls until you recharge!)

It has taken me almost 6 months to convince her of this!

She's taking out a loan on her house to pay for several debts (including the current debt on her house)..it makes sense because the rate they'll give her is lower than her current one...plus, she gets to pay for her car and several other debts...she currently pays about $500/ month for car and house (2 separate payments of $300 and $200), and, with this new loan would have one payment of $300 ...part of the money she's borrowint would go to pay for the famous phone bill!

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!

the local newspaper publishes a monthly magazine called El Economista, which features local entrepreneurs and entrepreneurial initiatives....the June mag arrived yesterday...Ale now likes to read the paper with her breakfast and, she said to me: Can I have the magazine?...as a joke, I gave it to her...she read it!...I don't think she understood much of it, but she read it! LOL! -- let's hope for some subliminal learning...

yesterday, we went to buy a few extra party favors for Ale's b-day (I thought there were 30 children at her school...turns out there are 40!...I don't expect ALL to show up, but, I wanted to buy 3 more "baby" gifts)...We went to the Dollar store and, Ale picked the gifts: she found two 3-packs of squeaky toys and said: "Look, Mom, we give 1 squeaky toy to each kid, so with 2 packs we get gifts for 6 children!" (which is what we ended up doing!)

I feel so proud of her! -- and she's only turning 6 next week! Not only does she know how to plan a party now (which she mastered at age 4!) she also knows how to keep her costs down!! woo-hoo!...I feel like I'm doing a good job with her! (of course, she's such a smart kid, it's easy!)

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

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!!

8.55 gallons @ $3.47 = $29.67

Not as bad as I thought it would be, considering my sister's car broke down while I was away and, she used my car to get around!

the ministry of economy of my country is having a contest for entrepreneurs!...basically, if you are salvadoran and have a small business or if you have a good idea, you can participate...I'm thinking of participating...they have 9 "grand prizes", which are $6,000 seed money and follow-up counseling for a year. Also, the ministry would be your co-signor so you could apply for credit from the local banks (which traditionally don't give credit for micro businesses)...the really cool thing is, even if you don't win, the different phases of the contest include:
1. they'll help you write your business plan
2. They'll give you special training in different areas of your choice (administration, taxes, human resource management, strategic planning, accounting, IT, for example)

so, even if you don't win, you get something very valuable out of it!

I want to do something with translations...at this stage, I have a vague idea of what and how I want to do it (that is ok, that's all I need)...but, I also need A NAME!!!....I've never thought about this...anybody have any ideas?? (good or bad, I'll take them all!...I can work with anything and see how I can adapt it or something!...obviously, I have to do something that will be good both in English and in Spanish!)

HELP!...I have a week to turn it in!

my nephew, the one that is in rehab, had to have an operation on his nose...apparently, he got his nose broken at some point and didn't even realize it...when he went to live in Delaware the cold weather gave him a sinus infection...it got so bad he was having trouble breathing...they had to operate today because his Dad offered to cover it with his wife's insurance but, as of the 10th of June, they are switching companies and they wanted to make sure it was covered...so, anyway, to make a long story short and to get to what's important: the operation went very well and he's in his room now...only problem is, he's feeling so well, he's already complaining about the bandages and about the medication, etc...((sigh)) he'll stay 2 -3 weeks at our house for recovery (the re-hab center won't take him until he's fully recovered and can follow the psychological treatment just like everyone else!)...these 3 weeks will be "added" to his total treatment time (it will be as if this were a parenthesis),the total treatment is 22 months...so, instead of being out on Dec 07,he'll be out on Jan 08...he's protesting about that, too!...