...cousin calls today and says 2 more orders for toys have come in...she then proceeds to tell me her friend who had asked if we could include her in the venture, and that she could lend us up to $5K, provided she got a percentage of the earnings and did not have to get involved other than with the money side of it, has suddenly backed out and said that she lent her money to someone else...cousin then says: what can we do?... do you know anybody who might be willing to lend us $2K?...(she knows the answer is "no" -- outside of the people in my office, we all know the same people!-- ) ...I know where this is headed, so I play dumb...eh, no. Noone comes to mind...so, since I'm not saying it, she suggests it, finally: "and, you don't think any of the managers would...you know"...No, I don't know them that well - I say. ...In reality, I know a couple of them well enough to ask, but, it's MY NAME on the line, they would be lending that money TO ME, not TO US...and, bear in mind, that money would have to be at HER house so that she could go buy the toys...remember what happened last time??....now, what is there to assure me that it won't happen again??...that D. gave his word and that he has the judges orders that say he can't drink, or go out after 9pm and that he has to go to rehab and family therapy??...((ALARM BELLS)) don't think so!!!...now, admitted, I AM investing some of my own money into this, but, worst case scenario, I'll end up in more debt than before ((knock on wood))...but, if I ask these guys to invest THEIR money, my reputation is at stake, too!... no, I cannot risk that and, NO, I'm not going to ask! ...I'd rather we lose the business that could be generated by those 2 orders!!...Besides, as I told her: this wouldn't be necessary if she had fixed her problem with Bank S. (she had a cc, and she had arranged for her last employer to deduct the payments for the cc directly from her salary...as per Bank S, she owes them 2 payments....and the accrued interest for the past 5 years!...as per cousin, those 2 payments came out of her severance and, if the employer didn't pay it, it's not her responsibility -- HELLO??!! -- I've been telling her for years to get that fixed!)...if she had, she would be eligible for a "seasonal loan" for micro-business...but, it's "too much hassle"...
and "she doesn't have the time"...uh-uh, as I said before: not gonna happen!!
(I know she's probably thinking that I'm silly -- or a much harsher word!-- for not taking this opportunity, but, I'm not budging!)

woo-hoo! collected another $100!!...

I like to compare year over year so I can see whether there has been some progress...while my financial situation is still far from being in order, at least it's much better than it was last year...There are still spending issues, and I'm still struggling, but, overall, things are better (of course, that thing with the phonecalls didn't help a bit!...I'd be much better off today if I hadn't had to pay for that! -- hopefully, my cousin will repay me out of the toy money -- I will insist on this, as I know otherwise I will end up waiting for another full year to get my money back!)

forgot to add up the $20 challenge for October

Total for October
Challenge statistics:
to discount from challenge this month:
-$6 (taxes)

Earned in September: $440.00

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
Net for July: $210.00
Net for August: $835
Net for September: $430.00
Net for October: $434.00
Total ytd for 2006 (net):$3,210.95

TARGET: $4,000

$789.05/ 2 months to go!

It was my turn this weekend, we were out of milk (and, following my newly inaugurated custom, I bought a 1,800g bag of powdered milk--$9.98), and out of dog food ...I was also out of hair mousse (ran out last week, but waited until this weekend to get it...best to avoid temptation!) ...and I was almost out of deodorant....that's almost $20 !...Add all the other stuff and I paid $75...and still haven't gotten the vegetables/fruit for the week! (have allocated $10 for that, and will wait until Tuesday, when the supermarket by my office has their "veggies at cost" day...it is almost as cheap as going to the marketplace...except you don't spend additional money on gas!)

I still think I can have a total grocery bill for the month that is under $140, though!...wish me luck!

*************
Forgot to add, Ale wanted me to get the "supermarket bag"...the supermarket where we usually shop is having this promotion where, if you buy $50 in products including 3 participating brands, you pay $0.01 for a canvas bag filled with products...now, I didn't know about the products, I thought it was only the canvas bag...which I can use for the marketplace and, at $0.01 was a good deal in itself...so I got a nice surprise when I found out it had a 2.5 lt of Ale's favorite soda, 1 loaf of white bread, 1 pack of paper towels and 1 bag of cookies...while not on my regular shopping list, all are items that we CAN use around the house, so..added bonus!

Ugh! This month was good!:

the categories where I was at or below budget were:

CELLPHONE
CAR
SCHOOL
CLOTHES
LUNCH

That leaves me overbudget in
GROCERIES
EVENTS
ENTERTAINMENT
OTHER


so, for October, the result is 5/9
The great news is that, OVERALL, I was overbudget by $6 only!!

Hoping to have better results for 061201!

((remember this covers variable expenses only))

we each received a diploma and a letter with comments/critics to our business plan..
mine reads:

*Emphasize tourism companies in target market section
*Review proyections, growth is overestimated,rework financial analysis
*Salaries are not according to the reality of an emerging company (so...they think I can hire good translators at $300/month, or what?...the first year, the only salary contemplated is MY salary, and of course it is based on me making enough to cover all my living expenses....)
*Review sales forecast (ok, I agree with this!...this has always been my greatest problem: getting customers...marketing plan was supposed to take care of this!)
*Consider cultural change in target market
*Be realistic regarding profit margins (sorry, the costs of translating are NOT high!...most of the investment was my education, how much does it really cost me to translate a 20-page document? ...next to nothing!...unless I pay myself a high salary!...so, even with the "unreal" salaries, they think the profit margins are too high!)

...I think what saddens me the most is that it must have cost me about $200 to participate in the competition thing...at least I consider that money as an investment and not a waste!...I did learn a lot! (mostly about myself!) and, as I said before, I still believe I have a GREAT business idea...and, you'll see, I WILL start this company, even if it takes me a year just to get enough money to get it started!

...well, I guess this one dropped off the radar somehow!...niece is graduating HS and, we have the party on Nov 16th...of course, I want to give her a nice present, but, I don't want to go broke over it....I went scouting for parfums today...a nice boxed gift set of Amarige Mariage (100ml parfum + body lotion + shower gel) is $74!...I'm thiniking of asking one of the managers to quote how much it would be at the duty free store at the airport (they travel almost every week!)...I could even ask them to buy it if it's around $60, for example...

Still, before doing this, I might look into other (hopefuly, cheaper) options...

1. keep better track of my spending- I have been very good at writing down EVERY expense this month! Yay me!...I have also done better at staying on budget! (right now, I’m overbudget by $6 – I can live with that!- and, today and tomorrow should be no-spend days!)

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: $13.4K total: ~$8K (refinanced) loan, ~$2.7K car loan, ~$799 personal loan, $1.5K other personal loan… Phone bill is $400...a work in progress...another one that won’t get taken off the list! ..some days it feels as if I’m not progressing with this, so it’s good to see how things are going…

5. Help Ale find a way to earn those $3 she's missing to open her account with HER OWN money...didn´t open the piggy bank in October, either…Ale has only been able to save about $0.25 for the whole month out of her $2/week…I guess I have to work harder to try to make her understand that it’s not a matter of spending the $2, no matter what, but of trying to save as much as possible!

I got a migraine while Ale was at her swim lesson (the heat did it!) and, was all for buying lunch today, just so I wouldn't have to think too much, but, migraine and all I made it home and just put some leftovers in the microwave for Ale and myself...yay, me!
(believe me, the way I was feeling, it IS a great victory!)

...yesterday, when I gave my keys to one of the managers so he could take my car home (I took theirs, so I could leave straight from home at 6:30 am this morning for the police inspection!), my car had a bit less than 1/4 tank...today at lunch, when I moved my car out of the manager's spot, it had a full tank!...now, my car doesn't do that (fill up magically, that is!)so, that means the manager filled the tank yesterday!...that was really nice of him! (especially since his house is about half-way from our office to my house, so it's not like his taking it would have meant higher consumption!)...

woo-hoo!...that should last about 15 days (or, 8, if you take into account our planned "Termos del Rio" excursion with Ale!)...hmmmm, should I put $20 (about what it would have taken to fill the tank) into my $20 challenge??

this doesn't go in the $20 challenge because this is a REIMBURSEMENT of expenses for the toy venture (this is coming out of the 50% advance payment, with this we buy the toys and reimburse expenses, the complementary 50% comprises money to finish paying our suppliers for the toys and to distribute between us -- THAT will go into the $20 challenge!)...

I am already thinking about my goals for 2007...they will, of course, be dictated in part by what has been achieved/left pending at the end of 2006...but, I want to make them more specific and useful this year...for example: my goal of "tracking expenses" was good enough for this year, as all I really wanted to do was gain awareness of my expenditures and where my money was going and, while tracking expenses should remain part of my goals next year, the main focus should be shifted from mere tracking to controlling expenses to make sure they are consistently at or below budget...

I'm looking at this year's list first and then re-working the current goals in this way, before setting any new goals...

Here's to financial sanity in 2007!

Well, since I'm almost out of cash for the month and, since my poor car was almost running out of gas, I went to the gas station yesterday and paid for $10 worth of gas...at $3.12 a gallon, it was the cheapest gas I've bought since I've had this car!!!...(gone are the days when we thought $3 for gas was expensive! how sad is that?)

Took my car for an oil change today...spent $22.84...they also quoted on some other stuff that needs to be done: brake check, 2 new tires and change of coolant in the radiator...for a total of $108....
...so...I'll start quoting and shopping around! ((sigh))

well, my budget for today was $60, but, I ended up with a $65 bill!...not too bad, though, considering Ale needed new toothbrushes and toothpaste (for home and for school!)...I found a 2X1 Oral-B package of brushes for $1.98...same for me (although I only need 1 right now, since the one I keep at work is still good...but, hey, I WILL need a new one, so I might just as well keep the other one in storage!)...we also bought a new collar for Fiona (her's was starting to be a bit tight!), and that cost $2.75!...what was bad is that I bought a 2.5 lt of soda (totally un-needed!)...that cost $1.38!...

still, I have to check with my excel spreadsheet at the office, I believe this is the closest I've ever been to being on-budget for the month!...

hmmm...but, we still have another week to go and Ale's lunch box stuff will need to be re-plenished...last time that was about $8....

We'll see...

We went to the mall yesterday (needed to repair DD's schoolbag, but the store that does it was closed!)...we passed in front of store #2, they had the exact same bed that store #1 sells at $199.20....only at #2 it was priced at $219...the payment plan?? (also on the card displayed on top of the bed, we didnt go in!)...24 easy payments of $16/ 52.00% interest + VAT...(so, I could get the exact bed for $315!!!)...honestly, I had to laugh!...

Plus, at this moment I really don't know if it makes any sense to keep looking...there's a (slight) chance that we may be moving out of the country in 3-6 months...true, Ale is almost at the limit and her tiny toddler bed will soon be uncomfy, but...I'm honestly thinking of waiting until March (this is when we would know more about that potential opportunity!)...

I decided to buy a simpler bed for Ale, and settled on a Capri Jr, which has a cute headboard...I went to a store that has a special promotion: buy now pay your first installement in December (yes, they are after our Xmas bonuses!)...the bed costs $199 (I should have marched right out, I've seen this exact bed at $165 elsewhere!)...still I asked the saleslady to quote a "6-month,no interest" plan...the don't have it...so, the "normal" plan is $25 downpayment and 12 monthly payments of $19.90 ...that's almost $65 in interest they are collecting! ...they're crazy (or else, they think I am!...
I'll keep searching, thank you!

...of course, it helps that I don't have any $$$ available! LOL!...anyway, October has been a good exercise...November should be a better month, financially, since we are getting paid for the first toys...so far, we have 4 companies that want to place orders, and 2 that want us to host their parties (small fee just for coordinating the other suppliers, that way the HR people get to enjoy the party as well)...all these will bring no more than $500 net total, but, hey, it helps!

well, my cousin and I have been speaking with other contestants and, it seems that at least 15 people did not deliver their plans on time (meaning they arrived late, and were not allowed to submitt them!)...now we are trying to find out how many people are still in the contest....at last count (when we started with the counseling), we were 88, then 3 out of my group dropped out and, 1 guy from another group got killed, and 2 people from my cousin's group dropped out...these are the ones we KNOW about...so that would leave 82 people...minus the 15 or so that were left out....67...and then there are the ones that submitted incomplete plans (God knows how many, let's be conservative and say 4, one per group: Ethnic products, tourism, entrepreneurial women and IT&Communications)...that would leave about 63....Of course, this aren't official numbers....and then, the REALLY important thing would be to know how many people are left in OUR specific groups, since there will be 6 finalists out of every group....those 24 finalists will then be competing "one against all others" for the 9 prizes...

Rumor has it that you also get "points" based on the date/time you submitted your plan. If so, I already have some "extra" points, because I was the 2nd person to submit, the first having submitted her plan on Friday 13th....mine was submitted at 8:30am on Monday 16th!...(I imagine this only helps if there's a "tie")...anyway...I has now become a point of honor for my cousin and me to be at least among the 24 finalists! ....(we DO want to be among the 9 winners, but, at the same time, cannot help but feel a bit aprehensive of what that would entail!)...keep sending winning vibes!!!

I just got paid $100 for some admin services (from July!)...I'm still owed $500 more for July, plus Aug and Sept!...slowly but steadily collecting this money!...right now, it goes into the bank account (to pay the overdraft!)...

I know, I shouldn't even be using it, but, just think, a year ago I was using the overdraft AND paying up to 47% interest on cc's!...next year, by this time, I shouldn't even be using the overdraft anymore (I have 2 more debts that will be eliminated in August 2007, and the total monthly payments for those is $104...)

I decided that next year I'm going to keep my current debt tracker (which calculates monthly interest and pending balances, along with how long it will take to clear them!), but that I will incorporate the monthly payments into my expense tracker...I also decided to add the "fixed" expenses under the category "House" (rent, utilities, nanny...although nanny should go with school and that should merge into Child care....but, since she also does housework...)...anyway, I did that and, I calculated what my monthly expenses from these 2 categories are...I added the monthly totals to the categories already being tracked and, it turns out, to cover all I would need $1,237.XX NET per month! LOL!...I'm making $1,062 GROSS...no wonder I'm always scraping for money! (and, no wonder a few weeks off the frugal wagon can have such a nasty impact!)...so, all in all, I'm not doing THAT bad (I mean, eventhough my fixed income is about $372 BELOW my expenses, I more or less manage to get along and survive! --and have the occasional treat now and then! )

I have to think of a way to lower the spending some more in some of the categories... but, honestly, it would be VERY hard to carve $372!(35%)...unless we all decide to go on a 3-day fast once a month! LOL!...

I have $66 in my bank account right now...$40 will go to nanny today....that leaves me the amazing amount of $26 until next payday, which is October 31st! ....I'm getting REALLY stressed out!...

Ok, time to start calling about money owed to me again! ((sigh))

forgot to add this, I finally got paid for my translations, so that's $54 for my October challenge...yay!

Well, I made it to payday...I got a (very) slight pay increase this year... $42 gross/month...which amounts to about $30 after tax...still, it will pay for my half of the water and electricity bills!...woo-hoo!!!...but, SHHHHHHHHHHHH...my boss asked me to keep it a secret (out of embarrassment at the amount, I would imagine! LOL!...still, it's SOMEthing...and last year I got $0, so....)

Now, the first thing I will do is pay for my half of last month's rent (this month's will still be outstanding, though! ) ...then I need to pay for my debt and then leave at least something for gas and the nanny on Monday...hmmmmm...I guess I won't be filling the tank!

This time, it DID go to Ale's school...together with $47 more I had in my account...

Next crisis, please!

Oh, yeah, I have to pay $165 towards debt and $157.50 for late rent...plus the $157.50 of this month's rent...

The money for toys should start coming in by the end of next week...

In the meantime...I'm off to juggle numbers and see what I can do with what I've got!

I know it's a bit premature, but I've already set up my expense tracking excel file for next year! (i don't want to have the excuse of not having it set up! I'm starting the tracking at 12:01 on Jan 1st, 2007!)...Also, I have a "budgeted" monthly amount for each category and, an "ideal" (aka 15% underbudget)for every category as well...
This year I didn't start until mid-May and, I kind of fell off the wagon with it during the last half of August and September...so I'm back at it again!...I hope that with this new awareness of where the money is going, and what my spending limits are, I might actually be able to dig myself out of debt sooner and start to enjoy MY money more! (as opposed to just handing it over to pay for past spending!)

woo-hoo! there are very few corrections to make and, they actually wrote : Very good business plan, the business concept is very clear to the reader

Woo-hoo!

August and September were really bad months, as far as overspending goes...the good news is, nothing went on my cc...the bad news is, this has caused a serious cash flow problem....especially since I was counting on getting some of the money that is owed to me, and, that is looking very unlikely at the moment... I'm already one month behind with my part of the rent, and, I have until tomorrow to pay Ale's school without having to pay a late-payment fee ($10)...that means that, at the very least, I have to find $130 for tomorrow and, $160 more before Sunday...now, Sunday is payday (we get paid every 15th and every 30th), but, that money is already allocated to: rent, debt, food, nanny...so, unless I find those $290, I will have to do some serious changes in the budget...I really have noone to blame except myself...I hate being in these situations, why do I do this to myself??...

Got paid another $100! woo-hoo!...
sadly, this will not go towards debt, but rather into Ale's school...foolish spending + unexpected expenses (going to the all-inclusive place + changing the lock to our main entrance!) really took a toll! ...oh, well, the "old me" would have charged it! (or, even worse, taken a cash advance from the cc to pay for the school! )