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!

of course, it'll be at least 30-45 days before I actually GET the money, but...

They were very happy with the job (the end customer), and said they'd probably have some more next week...(this was a new customer for the people that sub-contracted me, so that means THEY're happy, too!--of course, if they hadn't been impressed by the first translation I did for them, they would never have trusted me with a new customer!)

YAWN...I'm going to bed!

LOL!...it's 11:07pm...I sent my last work of the day at 11:04...4 minutes after my self-set cut-off time!...woo-hoo!...only 12 pages to go and, from what I've seen, I can have them ready before noon.

I then have to work on some other stuff, but that is not as urgent...I might even stay with Ale at a friend's b-day party tomorrow (was thinking of just dropping her off if I was still swamped!..now I'm thinking it would be a nice nap!LOL!)...

speaking of which...I gota go ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ now!

Will update total wordcount for the weekend tomorrow!

I went to bed late, and got up early-ish (ok, so 7:30 instead of 8!--it's SATURDAY!)...managed to translate most of the day --minus a 1 hour break to rest/bake some honey bread...yum! Just like grandma's! And I didn't want Ale to feel TOO neglected!...
I'm almost done (in every sense!)...I'm going to go watch TV to soothe my brain a bit...
I still have stuff to translate, but, I will work/send that tomorrow before noon! (they need to have the docs tomorrow at the latest, so they can put them all together --they gave us half and the other half they gave to another translator!--make them look like there was only 1 single source, print it, bind it and present it to some VIP's before a mid-morning meeting on Monday, so....)

Good thing it deals with stuff that I know (and I mean KNOW, as in: this was "our business" 2 jobs back!)

$127!!!... ~$114 after taxes...for 2 hours worth of translations!!...woo-hoo!!

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, they just announced a salary increase of 2.7%...after taxes, that comes to about $12 more per pay period for me...I'm goint to put this towards our Disney trip (more on this later!)...starting 9/27!!

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!

I just finished sending all the translations I did today (I still have a package to process, but my brain is fried for the day!...$329 worth of translations done today! -- at $0.04/word...you do the math...honestly, right now I just want to go to bed and ZZZZZZZZZZZZ...running out of battery!!!!

Well, I had made plans to spend my morning going to the social security offices to renew Ale's card and to have our "adscription center" (meaning where we are to go for medical care!) to one closer to home....as the one on our records was the one closer to the place we USED to live!....and then going to the bank to make a (small) payment towards my loan....Although I couldn't get started at 8am like I intended (the office opens at 9, not at 8!), I was done well before 10am! Nice surprise!...Instead of roaming the streets and wasting fuel, I came back home to finish Ale's sweater (and log on to SA, of course!)...and, Nanny told me there had been an "urgent" phone call for me...from the translation offices!...sure enough, they have some urgent translations...since they only have print-outs, they're sending them to me right now!-- which means I still get enough time to log on and work a bit on Ale's sweater!....I'm "free" from now until 3pm, when I have to pick up Ale, so I expect there will be plenty of time to do the work! (I'm rather fast!)...

I'm glad, because, if I had been at work, I wouldn't have been able to take these translations (let me see: working on translations during normal business hours, when I'm supposed to be working on my primary job ...er, - NO!)

So, I'm off to finish knitting the pocket to be sewn onto Ale's sweater!!...(small enough that I KNOW I can finish it today!)...

HAPPY LABOR DAY, EVERYBODY!

apparently the new ones have more security features...ours (Ale's and mine) are about to expire anyway (Dec 2007)....the part that I DON´T like?

The director of immigration saying:
"we still don´t know if the new ones will be more expensive, we haven´t decided, but, take into account, at $9.14, we currently have one of the cheapest passport issuance fee IN THE WORLD!"...

anyone smell a BIG increase coming for passport issuance??

I do hope I´m mistaken!!...in the meantime, they are not renewing or issuing any new passports....unless you can prove that you NEED to travel NOW (as in, you have a medical condition which requires treatment abroad...that sort of thing!)...

Oh, well, I´ll keep my eyes open!!

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

They finally have the "official" uniform sweat pants....we were lucky, Ale has PE on Tuesdays and Fridays...that means I'm only buying her 1 pair, and not 2 (as I would have if the PE sessions had been closer to one another-- rainy season lasts 6 months, after all... and we don't own a dryer!)

ugh! have to blog about this one! I get a message from the bank in my machine...they want to "speak about the delinquent payments on the personal loan AND credit card...it's about the designation of a lawyer, better call us and avoid and embargo!"...WHA???...

1. my cc is NOT delinquent. I'm up to date and, my next payment isn't due until the 15th/sept!!!

2. I KNOW I'm behind on 2 payments...last time I checked, 60 days weren't enough to send your case to a lawyer, much less to execute an embargo on your assets...Plus, check the payment history, lady, my last payment was less than 10 days ago, and the ones before that were about 8 days apart from each other...so, it's not like I'm being dodgy!!....

3. she was RUDE! --I already filed a complaint, but I also called her back and told her that the fact that I'm not current on my accounts does not give her (nor anybody else) the right to be disrespectful to me!

AAARRRGHH!...she wants to embargo me over $181, delinquent for 60 days???...
I'm paying them $60 tomorrow and, God willing, getting up to date before the 9th (when my next payment is due)--and none of this is because of her stupid phone call, I had agreed to this to the very nice person who called me on the 21st of August...why do they keep assigning me new collectors every week?? It's annoying, as I have to explain everything all over each time!

I know we are close to month's end and she probably wants to fill her collection quota, but, GET REAL!!

due for tomorrow am, no less!...it's about 35 pages (though only abou 3,500 words, so not as bad as it seems, but it has a lot of tables (empty, thank God!) and they take a lot of space!

gotta go!

*****
it will bring in $121 (~$110, really, after taxes!)

I withdrew $40 from my account today and, nearly had a heart attack when I saw the balance: $91...I thought I was supposed to have ~$130 (DUH-H! yep, I HAD $131...minus the $40 withdrawal!!!) the thing is, in reality I still have $121...but, sis isn't giving me her share of the household expenses until the 30th (when she gets paid) and, rather than wait for that, I'm giving nanny her $40 for the week, so when sis gives me the money, I get my $40 back!
I feel so dumb!

Well, my eye looked like a cherry tomato on Thursday, so this Saturday I did go to (another) eye-doctor...he said I DO have a very nasty infection...total for saving my eye came up to $38 (I thought it was going to be $30, but, hey, my eye is DEFINETELY worth it!!)...so, to make $$ impact less serious, I took my $5 out of the allocated $20 for the book fair (left Ale her $15!)...
BUT, there was a 2X1 shoe sale and, I talked to cousin (I know she's been looking to buy shoes lately, and that she had a $20 max for it...we bought some really nice Hush Puppies at $35...so only $17.50 each!...Ale also wanted shoes, and, reviewing what she has...I gave in and bought her a pair of dressy sandals + Hush Puppies sandals for $10...so, this weekend cost about $80!!! --let's say $43, I will NOT count my eye appointment and medicine as a weekend expense!! ...oh, and the Doctor said it's time to change my prescription!...I think I WILL put this one on the dept store card, just so I can get the new glasses NOW, but make a point to pay it off in 2 payments...(t's either that or guide-dog lessons for Fiona, and, somehow, I don't think THAT would work!)

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!

came yesterday. Payment should be in about 15-30 days....about $60-$65 (haven't done the wordcount yet!)

woo-hoo!!!

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...

If you KNOW you aren't good managing cash (like me!), don't carry any!...If I have it, I'll spend it!...so, mostly I take out $X for the week on Monday and that's it...same for the weekend...I try to leave the debit card at home, to avoid the temptation to withdraw more money!

The translation they sent yesterday night will bring $68! - woo-hoo!...
just a short lease contract, and it took me about 2-3 hours....I could hear their minds going ca-ching! when they asked me if I worked nights and I said "Yes"....most people will not work on a document received after 6...but then again, this is my 2nd job...and, mostly, I start working on it at 8:05pm, right after DD is put to bed (8:00pm is her bed-time!)

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!

That's all that's left in my account until next payday, which is NEXT Friday!!...unless I can collect on those translations...scary, but, nanny's paid, school is paid, the car has a full tank (well, semi: 3/4 full!) and I don't have to buy any groceries until the 25th- next Saturday- so I should be ok.

Of course, there's the matter of those overdue loan payments and the calls from the bank, but, since I know where the money is (eventually) going to come from (translations), I'm not panicking...

I got an email today: we have a purchase order for $10K for house furniture, do you approve??....WHAT??...NO, I don't! (believe me, I'd KNOW if I had placed a P.O for that amount!!...) I sent them back an email saying I didn't have a record of that, but to send the info so I could check with my bosses before approving/rejecting (in theory, they should have asked me to place the order...so...)...and, get this, this is just for dining room furniture!!!

((breathe in, breathe out))

****
Boss #1 doesn't know about this, either!!!

well, I am still owed about $320 for translations...since the people I did the work for were supposed to get paid last Friday, I'm calling today to see if my payment has already been processed...

Call #1:The person in charge wasn't there...will try to call in the afternoon!

Call #2: The payment should be ready this Friday (17/Aug)...we'll see...

Call #3: The end customer still hasn't paid!