miclason's Personal Finance Blog

Have you ever seen one? tasted one?...

I looooove anonas (and they are in season now!)... and they're cheap...AND, there was a recipe for anona cheesecake in the paper yesterday...I think I'll try it!)...sounded positively exotic and sinful!

(at work, don't worry!)...I can actually see what I'm writing without squinting and/or slouching now!!...they sure took a long time, but they are finally here!-- I've already updated our asset inventory!!...we are all

LOL! Funny story: I plugged my monitor, but could not get it to work...I had to call my boss to help...he asked if it was on...(I gave him the evil eye)...and then...he chuckled and just closed the laptop and...voila! the image came on!...duh! ...I'm technologycally-challenged!

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!)

is threadbare and has to go!...I will darn it and give it to charity (the bad spot is near the seam, so perhaps someone skinnier can use it and just take in the seams!)...I will darn it carefully before putting it in the To Give Away bag...)
I've had it for way too long, but was one of my favorites...I'll have to start looking for a suitable replacement!

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!

you'll have to walk twice, my grandmother used to say (El haragan y el mezquino andan dos veces el camino)...well, I keep walking! LOL!...I was about 2/3 done with the first sleeve on Ale's sweater, and she wanted to see if it was long enough and...uh-oh, turned out it was too narrow!...since I had determined that knitting the size 10 instructions for the body would be enough to make a size 8 sweater (due to the yarn being thinner), I used that same logic for the sleeves...well, not really! when I saw that her hand would have trouble going through, I measured the sleeve (which I should have done as soon as I had knitted 2-4 rows, but was too lazy to do!) and saw that I needed 10 more stitches! ouch! I had to undo everything...I'm 1/2 way through again...to think I could have been working on the 2nd sleeve already!!! ((bumps head against the wall!))

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!!!

I'm knitting a sweater for Ale. Yesterday I told her that I had finished the left front and was going to get started on the right front (I started with the back on Monday)...and, she tells me: oh, so the sweater will be ready tomorrow, then?

huh?...I'm still missing the sleeves, and the pocket, and the trim....I explained all this to her and, her answer:...that's what I mean, it won't be ready today, but you can finish it by tomorrow!...

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??

Yesterday, Ale was reading her National Geographic book on Earthquakes, and there was a picture of fallen buildings and cracked roads...she said: Mom, a REAL earthquake couldn't do something like that, could it? ...so I explained to her that, yes, an earthquake could do that if it were strong enough or if it lasted long enough...I told her a bit about the earthquake in Peru and how there are drop off places for aid here in ES...she immediately said: Mom, we should send them some water...and maybe we could make packages of food...vegetables maybe...I told her those would have to be canned...fruits?...no, unless they're canned, too...are canned fruits expensive?...(they are, here!)...but we agreed that we would buy some water and look through our closets for good-condition clothes and will take them to the nearest drop-off place (coincidentally, a sales point for the company I used to work with!)
For some reason (maybe because I still remember the horror of our last earthquake, or because all Peruvians I've ever met were really nice people), but, of all the catastrophes we've had in the world lately, this is the one that has affected me the most, and, seeing Ale wanting to help really makes me proud...
I had to share!

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!

Ale was invited to a b-day party this weekend...she told me her little friend had gotten a cellphone ....I know that's her way of applying psychological pressure....so, I said: well, good for her, but you know my position regarding children and cellphones...(she may-or may not! get one once she's 12!)

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 printed a copy and am taking it to Ale so she can proof-read it for me!...I'm nervous!!...once that's done, I have to print out 3 copies and make a copy on a diskette, put everything in an envelope and sign it with a pseudonym. I must also include a sealed envelope with the pseudonym on the outside and all my "real" info inside it...it then has to be delivered to the Alliance Francese before Sept 30th.