miclason's Personal Finance Blog

Finally got her to take my call (after calling every day and sending the docs by fax 3 times!)...She gave me this Spiel about having problems with communications at the office - apparently, they could RECEIVE only (only in-coming calls/emails went through, but not outgoing ones...same with her cellphone!)

She told me the check has been cut and she will bring it by my house tomorrow....If she doesn't, I'll start my 3-calls-per day routine again!
((sigh)

I have to go file my taxes tomorrow. Actually, I'm just taking my paperwork and letting them calculate it for me (yes, you can do that! it's a free service they have...one year, a "customer service" person told me I could NOT use that service because it is set up only for people who cannot pay to have someone do their taxes for them...NO!...it's set up for people who cannot do their taxes themselves...I cannot do my taxes...I USED to be able to, but now with different streams of income, it gets more complicated...Also, this year, I have to report income from 5 entities, but there's only space for 4 on the form...how do I handle THAT??...the instructive they hand out does not have a provision for this...so, I need expert guidance!)...I'm at the verge of a heart attack: the translations actually brought me up higher in the tax bracket, so I may not have to pay ~$1,600 total as I had originally estimated, but ~$1,600 ADDITIONAL to what was already withheld!
((sigh))
I'll keep you posted!

Went to cousin's house last weekend and we raided the school supply closet for my "homework box".
We found art brushes in 3 different sizes, poster paints, finger paints, cover paper, glossy colored paper, pencils, 1/4 gallon of white glue, some glitter glue (silver, copper, gold and yellow), glitter (green, red, purple and green), stickers...

I have been going crazy trying to find information on El Salvador's productive activities...not that there is lack of information, there's A TON...but nothing my DD could grasp (she's 7!)...yesterday night, I decided to look in her book-case (yes, she has her own book-case!) and found an Atlas with a special section on ES (international editorial that customizes for each country in which they have operations) and a collection called Active Pre-school, whose last book is entitled: Let's get to know ES. Great! Info is short, but complete and definetely at 1st-grade comprehension level!...the Atlas even has a map with little pictures!...
so, today I downloaded a simple map of ES, and a few icons to replicate the map in the Atlas (to make it more kid friendly, and also to make HER copy the location of the crops/industries/etc on the map)

This is due next Wednesday, so we will probably work on it during the weekend (no, I'm not a torturer, I try to make homework as much 'a la Art Attack' as possible, she actually enjoys it!)

And, I don't even have to buy any special materials!

well, I just got another translation job...considering the 30-day credit rule, I should get paid for this one on May 5 or thereabouts...it will be about $100!
Now, if I could just collect on the other customers....

It's asymmetrical, cobalt blue, pretty pretty (to me, at least), smallish, hand made.....and $30!!

In case you're wondering, we're having a furniture fair today at the compound!...

No, I did not buy it...not only do I NOT have the money, but I wouldn't know where to put it (not that I couldn't FIND a space for it, though!)...

I DID take the artisan's business card...who knows, maybe later in the year...

now the Bank has told cousin she is not eligible for a refinance of her car loan because they don't consider there's a "will to pay" on her part.(I wonder why, she "only" did not make payments for 2 YEARS!!!) She has to pay in full ($1,400) + legal costs to avoid seizure of her assets...if she doesn't pay, then they'll seize her assets and she'll have to pay the $1,400 + legal costs, which will be even more (sadly, she may just let them do it and decide not to pay a penny!)...if her assets are not enough to cover it, they'll be docking my sister's salary!

Sis is fuming (obviously!) She will try to get a loan with another bank (the bank that is offering the best rates, to which she applied, is the same one in which sis had co-signed for cousin- I hope this doesn't "follow" her to the other banks!)She has already told cousin she better start selling stuff to come up with that money, because, even if sis DOES get a loan from another bank, she wants the other issue GONE, DEALT WITH, FINISHED, FINITO, DEAD!

I've told her she has to follow up on that, and not believe cousin if/when she tells her she took care of it: make time to go to the bank with her (so as not to have to rely on her account of things) and request copy of all proof of payment...Also, once that is paid, she (sis) has to make sure that cousin does follow up on getting the letters and documents that state there's no more debt or costs outstanding, and to make sure she gets a copy of those docs, too!

So sad, that we have to come to that!
Cousin hasn't called me- of course!- she knows what I'll say! (I've been telling her for years she should have her credit fixed, repaying old debts...I never figured things were THIS serious...I was referring to a debt of ~$150 she has with the telephone company and to a debt of ~$300 she had on a cc- that she claims WAS paid, but "didn't want to bother" looking for the documents to go to the bank to prove it!)

The books for the English program will be $200 (same as last year!) ...payable before May 30...yay! May has 3 pay periods instead of 2!!! - I like it when things work out!

is getting ugly...sis has actually prohibited cousin from entering our house (conveniently for HER, she did not bother to mention this to cousin when they were talking on the phone, but expects me to tell her/enforce it!...er, NO! this is THEIR problem)- don't get me wrong, I think sis is right in being mad, and, although she DID put herself in this situation by co-signing with cousin (just like I DID put myself in a bad situation by installing that phone line in her house under MY name), cousin's actions have been wrong. Still, I don't think it is fair to ask me to be the go-between.

This unfortunate situation may be just what cousin needs, though, to finally wake up to the reality that she's lost all her friends/family through bad money management... How so?...well, let's start with family: we don't have too many relatives - actually, we do, just not that many that we are close enough to ask for help, when her parents divorced, her mom decided the family had no right to see the kids...since my Mom was a total meddler - bless her heart- she kept going to my aunt's house to see the kids with the excuse of bringing veggies, fruit and cold meats from our store...her Mom's family is from another country, so she doesn't have close relatives here on that side, either...
There was 1 aunt who used to help her with her son's school tuition (this aunt used to pay for half the tuition, but decided to cancel her offer of help after being told on more than one occasion at school that cousin was behind with payments of her part of the tuition)... 2 she alienated cousin M, who offered financial help (lent her $1k at 3% annual interest, payable in 3 months to use as investment money for the toy season about two years ago...she took 1 year to pay it back...meaning she did not repay him immediately after getting paid for the toys!) 3. Me. Need I say more than what you already know? I still go into business with her, yes, but I don't lend her money, nor my credit or my name for anything in which I am not personally involved - and, given the results from the translation work, I've even considered withdrawing from that "partnership" 4. Sis. This problem with cousin's car first raised its ugly head a year ago...when sis got calls from the bank stating since she co-signed and since cousin was behind on payments, they would start docking her salary for the car payments...this was supposedly fixed: cousin refinanced her loan on the house (through a shark loan!) and supposedly got enough money to pay the remainder of the loan...I don't know what she did, but, apparently, she only paid the overdue amount and left the rest outstanding...until last month, when sis was denied a new loan she wanted to take to consolidate her debts based on cousin's outstanding car loan...
As it stands now, cousin would have to pay $800 just to bring that loan up to date enough that she could ask to re-finance it and making it into a new loan which would NOT have sis as a co-debtor... and she whines she doesn't have the $800 but says she could make payments of $50/month...if that is the case, why didn't she make those payments during these past 12 months?...Because, as long as nobody is knocking on her door, she doesn't really care! (that's the conclusion we have reached, anyway)...

It all reminds me of something my Grandma used to say: "don't (call them) 'poor' people, they'll end up believing it". Why? Because it gives me the impression that she feels that, because we have "steady jobs" while she is "on her own" (a.k.a: 'poor' her), we don't need the money as much as she does...and that it is "mean" of us to expect her to have money to pay her creditors amounts that "even we" with our steady incomes cannot pay....

Honest, I think in her mind, the reasoning must go something like this:

"oh, poor me, I don't have a steady job, and I work on my own, so it's more difficult for me to pay for my expenses than it is for my cousins who both have steady jobs/ good salaries. To be able to pay, I'd have to lose the house. I don't want to lose my house; they cannot expect me to lose my house. The house is my #1 priority. And, they cannot expect me to lose/ sell the car, either, my livelihood is tied to the car, surely they cannot expect me to lose the car. And, certainly, with all the deprivation that I endure, I am entitled to at least SOME fun, they cannot expect me to give up the cable TV. And, the internet connection costs so little, $15, really, since it is bundled with the cable, surely they don't want me to give up THAT...plus, the whole package is ONLY $50...and I need to pay $800, so $50 really makes no difference. And, I have so many other expenses...what with me having to have lunch out of the house, and not because I want to, but because sometimes I'm out on sales calls or trying to get new customers and I just go out at such horrible hours that I cannot make it home for lunch...and, since I wasn't home to make lunch, surely I have to bring my child some bought food. They cannot expect me to starve, or not to feed my child. And, after all, I don't even buy expensive food, but fast food. That is what? $3- $6? No, surely they cannot expect me to give THAT up" - you get the drift! SHE's the victim!

SO: this is where we stand right now. Can you tell I've had it?

since 2 customers had promised to pay me "at the end of the month" (already overdue, since one should have paid end of Feb and the other one mid March)...I sent them a note today inquiring about the payments ...((sigh))...after all, $$$ on paper is just that...$$$ on paper...it's no good to me unless I actually GET it...in fact, it's bad to me if I don't get it, because that means all that effort (oh, and my fingerprints!) were wasted!

****
The dermatologist suggested all that typing MIGHT worsen the problem!

a.k.a.
Tonio



and Fiona

This one is Spanish into English. About $140!
woo-hoo! (I was starting to worry!)

Ok, so I kept calling until the receptionist knew my voice/number and refused to take my calls...no problem, I just dialed a different number and got someone else (it's one of those "rescue services" provided by a local cell phone company to its customers, so they HAVE to answer). I even had a bit of a spat with her, because she said: oh, yeah, I know, we will give her the message. And I asked: are you sure you got my last name right? Sure. Ok, could you spell it for me, just so I make sure you got it right? I can spell it, lady, don't worry. Really? go ahead, spell it for me! ...you catch the drift (only the people that KNOW me get my last name right...everyone assumes its either Lazo or Larios or Claros...)
Anyway, I called again today (gave her 3 days to respond to my last message)...since I was told she's not in, I asked for her boss...I was told HE's not in (not sure I believe it, it might just be the secretary trying to cover for the girl that contacted me)..ok, so I ask for his e-mail...would you believe the secretary "doesn't know what his e-mail is"?...yeah, me neither. So, I asked for a fax number (she couldn't withhold THAT from me, could she?) I wrote a very nice memo explaining that I had been contacted to do the job on 2/26, agreed that terms of payment where "immediate" and that I had delivered the work on 2/27...I also added that I normally deal with the person that contracts me directly but, that since I had fruitlessly tried to contact this girl (didn't use that expression, of course!) for the past month, I felt I had no other recourse but to contact him directly. I stated the amount I was owed and asked for a speedy payment. I included a copy of all the translated documents, a copy of the email I sent the girl and a copy of the fax transaction report...
Of course, I also added my phone # and email...

I hate this!...I should have asked to get the original documents (birth certificate and other legal docs) and not release them until I had the $$$ instead of making things easier for her by telling her she could scan them and send them to me via email/fax!

small bakers have gone on strike in ES over the price of flour...they will not bake for 2-3 days...
they are asking for a government subsidy to help them cope with rising prices in flour and lard without having to increase prices to the public...

Meantime, bus owners and other transportation business owners are asking the government to place a ceiling of $2 for diesel prices...

Troy will burn! (there WILL be trouble, one way or the other!)

I'm thinking of putting together a "homework supplies" box...using stuff I already have, but adding some stuff, I was thinking:

1. pencils (Ale tends to lose them!)
2. eraser
3. sharpener
4. colored pencils
5. box of crayons
6. watercolors
7. white glue
8. 2 or 3 brushes
9. old magazines (for cutting up)
10.glitter glue (we do have some leftover from the school supply sale)
11. colored bond paper, letter size
12. white bond paper, legal size (we have about 10 reasms!)
13. yarn in different colors (leftover from knitting projects)
14. ribbon
15. gift wrapping paper (I do have some small scraps left over, too)
16. construction paper (from school supply sales)


Anything else you think would be good?

I managed to get my letters to be able to file my taxes...oh, and while I was there, I ran into someone that, upon hearing what I was doing there, asked: did you also get the letter from the coop?...I hadn't even thought of that! and I made $46.66!- I imagine it was paid towards my loan (fine with me!), but, of course, this would have made my tax information inaccurate!...I'm glad I have all the letters/documents I need now!...
Now I just have to find the time to go to the Ministry and file! (er, no, you can't NOT go!...even if you file via internet you're required to print a copy of the declaration and bring it to the Ministry!- how silly is THAT?)
oh, well....joy of joys!....I'll go play with the numbers a while to see if I can figure our how much I have to pay!

There was a very famous tourist spot with natural spring pools that people loved to visit...the place was severly damaged by the 2001 earthquakes (besides damages to the actual facilities, the road was also badly damaged)...7 years later, they re-opened March 14th. They had expected about 17,000 to 20,000 visitors per month: they had over 5,500 that first day...And, remember, we were not "fully" on holiday until Wednesday!
The sad part is: by Wednesday there were already reports on the news that the facilities had been damaged. Apparently, the so-called authorities at the park did NOT close the park once the allowable number of people had entered, but allowe more people in than the park can handle...since there were no rest areas available, people just went ahead and held picnics in the gardens...they also threw trash into the pools, so that by Friday, the pools were filthy! (remember I mentioned that we don't have a "no littering" culture here?)

So, apparently it takes Salvadorans just 3 days to ruin something that cost $1.5 million to fix! Things like these not only make me indignant, but also make me ashamed for my country!

Ok, our 4-day holiday is over, and tomorrow we all have to go back to work!
It was nice, while it lasted, and, for a change, I DO feel rested!...Our lunch is already packed in containers in the fridge (leftover Aztec pie) and I only have to add the milk, juice, yogurt and an apple for Ale's lunchbox (I pack a snack for recess and a full lunch for noon)...oh, and I'm sure she'll want to pack at least a piece of Easter chocolate! (but I have to remind her to eat it at recess, rather than waiting for lunch, otherwise it'll melt!- the Easter bunny always gets "real" chocolate!)

The Easter bunny came at the break of dawn...Ale woke ME up at 6:11am...wondering whether the bunny had already come...I told her to wait until the parakeets flew by- we live between the place where they rest at night and the place they live in by day, so we hear them every morning and afternoon, or would, if we were awake... (about 6:15am)

zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz........Z!

I think I'm going back to bed! (I got up to make sure Ale didn't eat all the chocolate in one sitting!)

I was feeling so good, having made 2 full meals from leftover chicken (so, 3 meals total from the same chicken!)...and, as I went to look for something in the cupboard, I noticed.... there are those nasty bugs that eat pasta/grains in there!...ACK!...went through everything...had to throw away A LOT of stuff!... At least, I fumigated the cupboard and managed to save some of the stuff (I need to talk to Nanny, this is precisely why I bought all those plastic containers, so NOTHING would be exposed!)...ugh!

was really nice!...It must be a lot better if you can come in your own yatch or small plane ...the access road was terrible!...we only dared go in because we had already driven for 2 hours to get there! It's unpaved and narrow ...those last 10 Km took us 30 minutes to complete!...even if I had the money for the membership, I wouldn't be able to take it ( 3 or 4 times taking this road would probably kill my car!)...PLUS, it's far away (117 Km or something, sis said)...good thing one of the benefits sis gets is unlimited gas for her car, because otherwise it would have taken us about $50 for the trip...it really is not worth it for a day trip...if you were staying a couple of days, yes...

OK, back to the good part! The place is beautiful, the employees were all very nice (at other places they make you feel bad when you come with a free invitation - which is totally stupid, if you consider that people are given those free invitations to try to entice them to sign up for membership! Go ahead, alienate the potential customer!)...but her people were very nice...
They had a wading pool, a small pool and also a jacuzzi... they have cabins for 4 or 8 people if you want to spend the night...if not, you can stay in your "palapa" by the pool or by the marina (and, they do not have a beachfront, as they are further inland, but they will take you on a 2-hour tour to a nearby beach if you want to...free for members, $113 to hire the boat if you're not a member...needless to say we DIDN't take the tour...the food was also very good and, not really expensive (each plate cost $9, your choice of fish or meat- good, tender meat and really good fish- potatoes and a salad...sodas were $1 and beers $2...we didn't bring a cooler, but saw many people HAD brought their own drinks)
The place was very clean (worth noticing because, unfortunately, we still don't have a "don't litter" culture here in ES!)...oh, and that also applies to sound pollution...generally, if you go to the "popular" beaches or resorts, it seems they are trying to drown the surf sound (??? isn't the sound of the ocean one of the reasons one goes to the beach??)...here, they had some soft playing music (as in: if you were sitting next to the bar, you could hear it, but if you moved 2 or 3 meters away, you could hear the sound of the birds louder than the music- bliss!)...hmmm, so this is how the other half lives! we could get used to it!- and, honestly, at $300/year for the membership, it would be "doable" ...but, besides reasons 1 and 2 mentioned above...well, it's not a necessity, so, of course, it's not happening!- it was a nice excursion, though! - total cost was $25 for Ale and myself...I consider them well spent!

Here's a link to their website:

This is ridiculous! ...
I call at 9am, she's not in yet, I call at 10, stil not in...I called at 12 (yesterday) she had just left for lunch...I called at 2, she still wasn't in...I called at 3, she hadn't returned and they didn't expect her back for the day...

today, the same thing...I emailed her (from 2 different addresses, just in case she has me blocked) and sent the translated documents again via fax (together with the original transmission page from 2/27)....

We are being dismissed early today...I'm still hesitating between going to her home tonight (I know where she lives because she originally contacted me through the owner of the translation agency, and they're neighbors) and waiting until after the holidays to contact her boss directly (who, after all, is the owner of the documents, so he's the actual end customer) and refusing to deal with her anymore...

hmmm....another option would be to just try to get her boss directly today after lunch (it's already 12:30)

Needless to say this isn't someone I'd like to work with in the future...(all this over $53! can you imagine if it were more than that??)

because of the holidays, payday was early (today, as opposed to Friday)...the bad news is...that gives me 3 more days to spend the $$$...

So, to avoid temptation, I already paid my share of the rent and the personal loan... I do have $25 allocated for "holiday spending" - we are going to the beach tomorrow and to the movies on the weekend!

Woo-hoo! I finally convinced Ale to take the training wheels off her bike...just as I suspected, she didn't really need them, but was just afraid to try!...

She still drives as if she just came from the Happy Hour at some bar, but, she didn't fall or bump into anything...so it's just a matter of (more) practice!

I never learned to ride a bike, so this is twice as exciting for me!

well, sis is gone, but she did buy some food for the week (not the usual amount, since she and niece will be out)...however, since nephew was here this weekend, she did buy some sausages and meat...too much of it, actually, so now Ale and I have 3 sausages and 4 steaks that were left over...which means all I have to do is re-heat! ...there are also leftover potatoes and rice...so for the meat I'd have to do some "chirimol" for myself(chopped tomatoes and onion, sprinkled with cilantro and bathed in lemon juice...slurp!)...Ale still doesn't like it! (that's ok, neither did I at her age!)

sis and niece are gone this week (Holy Week, they- and Ale- get the whole week off, I only get 2 days) so, Ale and I will have the house to ourselves for a couple of days! woo-hoo!
She can sing in the garden at 6am if she wants to.... we can watch a movie without being interrupted (if we are somewhere else, nobody comes to bother us, but, the moment we pop a movie into the DVD player, everyone wants to chat!)....
we can cook anything we want (same thing: the kitchen is usually deserted, but, the moment we go in to cook, niece and sis keep popping in with dirty dishes or to open the fridge trying to find something to eat!)...
I sound like a hermit!- I'm not, really, I'm not!....(maybe just a bit)

I'm almost done gathering all the documents I need to start doing my taxes...I'm only missing my statement of withholdings from my previous job. There'll be 2 letters: one for my salary and one for the professional services fees...
I definetely will have to go to the Ministry of Treasury to have them do this for me...I finally learned how to do a "mixed" income declaration (salary and professional fees) and now I have to deal with the new job NOT withholding income...I have no idea how to input that in the form...so I'd rather take all my documents to them and let THEM figure it out...
As I've said before, there's not much you can deduct anyway, so...

I also have to find all my medical receipts... (don't worry, I have them all in one place...they are in a manila envelope in my dresser...I know which drawer!... but I have several envelopes there, so I have to figure out which is the right one...shouldn't take too long!, and I need to add the letter I got from the insurance company...I dont' think there's more than $300 in medical expenses though...will see)...I already have the tuition receipts...that's an $800 deduction (maximum allowable by law!)...oh, and I have to go get my donation receipts, too!....Need to call the Foundation on Monday to see when they will be ready!

This one is going to Europe!...
it is 4 pages long, and it needs to be sent in by Saturday 5:00pm (that's ok, it's plenty of time...especially since the topic is related to my work, so I know/have access to the vocabulary!)
I might have to work until midnight tonight, as we have a fun family activity (just Ale and I, but, hey, we ARE a family unit!) for tomorrow morning...and I'd hate to cancel on Ale because of work!....
this one could easily bring in $110-$120

I'm happy. And grateful. Just yesterday I prayed for a ~$100 translation for either this week or next one (Holy Week is next week, so there probably won't be any work, thus I'd have a "lost" week for translation $$$)...so, after taxes, I would have about $100! How's THAT for a speedy answer??

A girl can dream, right?
Someday, I'd like to have my own house again...
I spoke about it with sis- to see whether she'd be willing to share a house or whether I just have to consider MY own circumstances...
she would be willing to share...
Just like I did with the car, I've started looking at listings in the classifieds on both major newspapers, just to get a feeling of "what's out there" in terms of availability and prices...
right now, we're probably light years away from actually buying, but, it's always good to have some sort of idea of what you want, isn't it?
...like: we were talking about it with Ale and she says despite all the problems, she'd rather share a house with sis and niece, because otherwise she'd "miss them so terribly much"...she also said we should consider an additional room for nephew, so he doesn't have to use the maids room (Nanny is NOT a "live-in" maid, so the "maid room" is used mainly as a laundry room, but we did put in a bed for him in there...while we understand that this might be alienating psychologically, right now, it's the best we can do...plus, it's only 1 night every 15 days or so that he stays at the house...but, Ale is right, IF he comes to live with us, he'd need his own room - either that or he shares with sis (if only 3 rooms like right now)
so...now we need a bigger house with the same amount of money! LOL!...
I don't think Ale remembers, but he did say the other day that he'd much rather stay and live in the city he's living in right now (3 hours away from us, but I do believe it would be a better, healthier environment from him...plus, I DO think his relationship with both parents is toxic, so the farther away from them, the greater his chances to succeed, imo)

They are having a Craft Fair today at the Cafeteria...I just looooove handicrafts....so colorful, so beautiful...
I fell in love with:
1. a handbag
2. an indigo-dyed blouse
3. a red blouse
4. a cornhusk doll
5. a mirror
6. a giant piggy bank
7. a clay frog (he'd look sooo pretty in my garden!)
8. a blue blanket (last time they came I bought a pink and a yellow one- the only two they had left- gave the pink one to Ale and the yellow to my sis...she needed it more than I)
9. a wooden ring (so groovy!)
10. a couple of beaded necklaces
11. An embroidered dress
12. An embroidered table runner/napkin set

I bought nothing...I had left for lunch with $0.52 so that I knew I couldn't buy anything, even if I wanted to!- no, I have no self-control, so it's better to keep temptation away!- of course, if I'd REALLY wanted to buy something, the ATM was less than 50 mts away, but...see, once I HAVE to go to the ATM, it isn't an impulse buy anymore, it gives me time to think about it!