miclason's Personal Finance Blog

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!

knitting today....else the rainy season/cold weather will end before I finish Ale's sweater! LOL!...

Need to remember to do the sample to see if the gauge is correct....else I will knit something too small/too big (too small in this case, because the wool is not as thick as the one called for in the pattern...but it was the thickest one available!...) I'll probably need to make adjustments...or use the larger-size instructions...but that will depend on the gauge...

the good news is, I know enough to make the needed adjustments!!

I'll try to post pictures...(niece has a new digital camera, so that might make things easier...as opposed to waiting for me to develop the ones in my camera!!)

the annual book fair will take place 25-28 August...I have allotted $20 (as usual)...Ale is very excited about it...if I let her, she'll use the $20 on herself! (I want to buy 1 book for myself!)...
Sadly enough, the library is not an option for us...
1. location (it's very far away, and there's no parking!)
2. working hours (M-F, 9 to 4)
3. you cannot take the books home!

....so, it's buying or lending for us!

and never to fall in debt again!...
that was Ale's wish last weekend....it's my wish every day! LOL!...
she knows that debt is the reason so little of what I make actually makes it into the house!! LOL!

I just logged onto the Ministry of Education's website, and it says the school principals will be getting a detail of the evaluations starting August 20th....that effectively means the school doesn't have it yet and, of course, cannot communicate about something they ignore!

Oh! thought it would be interesting to post the numbers:

119 schools ranked A
245 ranked B
572 ranked C
64 ranked D

This (obviously) has been in all newspapers lately...There are different opinions about it...some think it's ok to give D and C schools some time to improve, while other analysts consider these school should have been closed...

let's see how I'm doing, shall we?

NEEDS: ($150-$200 for ALL)
Uniforms for Ale (including shoes, socks)-taken care of! just waiting for the skorts!
Oil change for the car - done!
New windshield wipers (rainy season!!)..they didn't have them, will have to go to another shop
New dictionary for translations….(not URGENT, but IMPORTANT!...if I’m to get serious about the translations, I need the right tools!)



WANTS: (about $100-$150 for ALL)proud to report I haven't indulged in any of these!
New curtain for my bedroom (I wonder if I could find a cheap sheet in the right color downtown...I've seen sets for $5...)
New clothes for me just because my older clothes have started disintegrating!!–...will move these from want to needs in about 3 months...should start budgeting for it!
New shoes… same as above
1 day of relaxation at the beach maybe in December??

flour
sugar
honey
baking soda
powdered cocoa

...ah, yes, time to start baking cookies every weekend! (not that we didn't during Ale's vacation, we just didn't do it EVERY weekend!)

Knitting has become expensive!...I have been surviving on my stash of yarns, but, yesterday I went to buy some white (acrylic) wool to knit a sweater for Ale (she needs a white sweater and, given our weather, it's almost impossible to find one!...unless you're going to the some European franchises, and, last time I went into one and dared ask, they said $60!!!!...SIXTY US DOLLARS!!!! for a sweater for my 7-year old???....not in 1,000,000 years!)...so, I went to buy the materials...I had expected it to be about $15, but turned out to be $18....and I only bought yarn!!! (I have everything else!)...I even saw some yarns that were $5.99 EACH!!!...eeek!...
On the positive side, Ale liked a yarn that was about $2.90...says she wants a tank top knitted out of that...I think I can make it with 2 skeins....of course THAT will be more expensive than buying one downtown....but I bet it'll last longer...plus, it WILL be very special!

well, now that Ale's school stuff is out of the house, I have 1 full cubby for myself!...already moved my hand lotions and contact lens solution in there!...I also took the carton where the eggs came and put it inside my drawer (cut to size), so now I have little "nests" for my jewelry, instead of having it roam the drawer, where I can never find a whole pair of earrings!)...Next, I need to find one of the huge photo albums (ex-hubby picked the pictures he liked and gave me back the rest, which I re-arranged into 2 albums instead of the original 3, so now I have an empty one) to place all our family photos which didn't make it into frames!
This will free up one drawer in my night-table, which I can then use to consolidate all important documents (passports, legal, income tax reports, etc), which are now scattered in 2 different drawers in 2 different parts of the house...this, of course, will free up those 2 smaller drawers....it's like a small chain!

The Ministry of Education of ES conducted a school census to verify the quality of private schools...there are ~1400 private schools.... ~400 are going to be closed down...students can finish the current school year and that's it....
The remaining schools have been divided into categories: A, B, C and D...
A's get 10 year permits with yearly follow-up visits
B's get 5 year permits with yearly follow-up visits
C's get 28 months to improve or else they will be closed down
D's get 16 months to improve or else they will be closed down

the criteria included such things as infrastructure, teacher certification, student-teacher ratios, full-time vs part-time teacher ratio, among others...the list was released yesterday...

Ale's school has been classified as a C school, which wouldn't be too surprising, given that their facilities are two converted houses...but, other schools with similar infrastructure made the B list (some of the other schools I visited but couldn't afford).

Now, I like the school and, I'm hoping that the deficiencies found can be easy to address and that the school will do something about it (I also hope this doesn't include charging more or asking for additional $$, because I REALLY cannot afford that)....Today is the first day and, I expect to have a memo from the school before the end of the week (customary). I hope that the principal will include this important issue in the memo, but, if she doesn't, I think I'll write to her next week to try to find out: 1. what were the areas that received the lowest ranking, 2. what is their action plan and 3. as a parent, what can I do to help?...depending on her answers, I'll have to devise my own action plan (but, just in case, I need to start putting money aside for those pesky one-time enrollemnt fees at other schools, which can be anywhere from $1,500- $10,000 depending on the school!)

Today is Ale's first day....she's a first-grader now...she keeps reminding me she's one of the big kids now...she had to go to school wearing jeans today (not that she had anything against it!)...they are allowed jeans the first week if they don't have a full uniform yet...and this year they didn't have any skorts in her size....so I had to have them custom made...still waiting for them...although I did tell the seamstress I needed them for Tuesday (in case she gets delayed, I should have them before next week, when I REALLY need them!)..they were out of sweat pants, too, but should receive a new batch on Wednesday (already asked the secretary to save a size 8 for Ale!)...
we baked cookies yesterday, and today packed her two cookies and some yogurt for recess and, sausages and rice for lunch, with some strawberries as dessert...can't wait to hear how her day went!

well, this was a good week. I actually managed to spend only $51 (against budgeted $50!!!...and, in reality, you could say I spent less, because this total includes the fish, which "technically" came out of the oil change money!!) yipee for me!

...they had a special promotion on the oil change...it cost me $23 instead of $35 (same oil, I checked!!)....so, with those $12 I bought the fish that I couldn't get during the holidays!!!....I'm cooking it tomorrow, though, because I couldn't find oranges (or, rather, I would have had to buy a bag of 50!...) so I'm going to the corner store today, where I can either buy less oranges or, buy the same 50 for a lot less than at the supermarket!!
Funny how such a small thing can make your day!...to think that all through my childhood we had fish or shrimp EVERY Friday (except for lent, go figure!) and now it's a luxury!!

ok, I just went and paid $11 into my cc to bring it up to date!!!...that means I'm "only" overdue on personal loan ($400, due on the 19th) and with rent ($160)...now, this may sound like little to you, but, to put it in perspective, I get $490-$515 per bi-weekly check!...so, no, I don't think I can get current in August...but, hey, let's look at the progress, shall we?

at the beginning ouf July I was overdue on 2 cc's (for a total of $275), rent ($315) and the personal loan ($400)...so, 4 accounts for a total of $990...now it's 2 accounts for a total of $560!!!....now, I did make a payment on the loan, it's just that it was all applied to interest and fees (being overdue for 2 months will cause that!)...but, still, I hope I can make an additional payment to the loan this month (although I doubt I can make it current before oct!)....

I'm stressed out and, for once, additionally to eating like crazy, I've gotten the de-cluttering bug!...

trying to look on the bright side, at least I'll have a nice orderly room (who knows, maybe even a nice orderly house!) once I find a way to cope with the current family crisis!...

since I don't have enough to pay EVERYTHING I have to pay for (until the translation money comes), then I prioritized my payments and, between today and the 15th I HAVE to pay:

gas
groceries
nanny
Ale' school
oil change
cc

what will remain pending for the time being is:

personal loan
car loan
cc
rent

not too bad....not great, but much better than before!

said with her most impish expression...
This is what Ale asked today when I told her I wanted her to review her toys and separate them into: "to keep", "to give away", "to sell" and "to trhow away"...so I explained to her that, since her friend T. is going away, she's getting some of her toys...
"Oh, to make space!"
Smart girl!

If I'm going to catch up/beat my debt, I need at least $100/month worth of translations...I need to get moving and get more contacts!
(at least, now I have 2 new contacts, so that should help...although I know they won't be sending work my way every month, I know that once in a while I will get something from them... plus, the second contact was a referral! )

we certainly don't use one everyday, but, there's some stuff we have been unable to do (replace 3 light-bulbs in our house...2 of which are in the staircase!) because no-one is able to reach it!...it's also a problem whenever we paint walls...
I'd say it is a need, because most of the time we stand on stools or chairs or get very creative when changing lightbulbs and, although we've been lucky so far, it IS a security issue....
what has made me put it in the want section is the price (the one we need would cost about $80...)
HEY!!! scored!!!...I called the other admin and, she has an old ladder...which she just "donated" me!...I'm supposed to go pick it up on Friday (after the painters are gone!)
woo-hoo!

since the other admin at the place where I used to work is going to the US (her papers came through!) with her two daughters, she's leaving all their toys for Ale...she knows we cannot possibly "digest" them all and knows some will be given away and others will be sold...still, it's very nice of her and, I know Ale will be thrilled when she finds out (I still haven't told her!), just like I know my niece is going to have a heart attack! (she thinks there's too much junk as it is...she doesn't understand that, if a toy is in perfect condition, it's generally because it hasn't been played with much, whereas the toys that look like they belong in the garbage are the ones that are truly loved! -- like that Barbi e on the final scene of Toy Story 2, which had half the hair cut off and a rainbow painted on her face!)...oh, well, I guess we'll all have to deal with it!...I'll encourage Ale to give some away to nanny's grand-daughter and, see what she can sell at the next flea market!...this might be the perfect opportunity to earn $$$$ for her account!

let's see how I'm doing, shall we?

NEEDS: ($150-$200 for ALL)
Uniforms for Ale (including shoes, socks)-taken care of! all I need are the socks!
Oil change for the car - scheduled for the 11th/aug
New windshield wipers (rainy season!!)..will see if they have them at the place where they do the oil change{/b]
New dictionary for translations….(not URGENT, but IMPORTANT!...if I’m to get serious about the translations, I need the right tools!)



WANTS: (about $100-$150 for ALL)[b]proud to report I haven't indulged in any of these!
New curtain for my bedroom (been using an old sheet and, frankly, it does nothing for the room!...and, since we have been decluttering-reorganizing, I’ve started to feel that it would look SOOOO much better with something nicer, in a different color…)

New clothes for me – just because my older clothes have started disintegrating!!...I still have enough to make do for a while, though, so not really a need!

New shoes…after all, we HAVE been going to all those shoe stores! LOL!...don’t worry, I won’t give in so easily! (although if I find a bargain like last year, Hush Puppies at $10, I will probably get them!)

1 day of relaxation at the beach during these holiday period (4 days…) not likely to happen…

our holiday started out great!...we went to the children's museum and, because of the holiday, they were open from 10am through 6pm! (they normally close for 1 hour lunch break!)...we played in all the exhibits and bought tickets to the renovated planetarium (which was great! much more children-friendly that their last arrangement!...you get to lie on your back on the floor on a really cushy carpet and look up at the "sky"...before you sat in rows of cinema-like chairs)...when we came out Ale complained about a headache, and I thought it was because we had been walking in the park next to the Museum and she might be a bit dehydrated because it was very very hot...I had planned on buying the fish on our way home, but, since Ale wasn't feeling well, I decided to do it some other time! (am I glad! the fish money ended up being used for medicine!)... she started having fever and, I started her on acetaminofen, but, when I asked she said nothing hurt (not her stomach, not her throat) and she hadn't been sneezing or coughing, either!...she was hungry but, somehow I decided to put her on a bland diet (call it mother's instinct!) and made her a vegetable soup and some toast for dinner...sis said it might be dengue, because the fevers were so high, but, Ale has had dengue before, so I know what it looks like, and I knew that wan't it! ...her fever kept increasing and I was starting to really worry, but it turned out to be a stomach flu! (high fevers are "normal" )...at one point I was just so exhausted that I failed to give her the acetaminofen on time and, her temp reached 39.5 and she started throwing up (this is "normal" in her, if her temp gets to high, she starts vomiting...our pediatrician says it's good, because some kids will seize if their temps are too high - I used to, I was admitted to the hospital twice because of that!...not that I can remember, but it made mom really paranoid about checking my temp when I was sick!)...so, to be able to actually give her the meds, I had to bring down the temp first....the old fashion way!: wrapping her in cold towels....it was so awful, because she was nearly in tears and begging me to stop!... but I didn't!...finally I dried her off, dressed her in clean pajamas and, gave her the meds...she's doing much better now (no fever, and her stomach is doing much better!...) she has asked when she will be able to have some pizza (I don't think so!)....so she must be feeling better!

yipee!! because of the holiday, we are allowed to leave at 3:15pm today, which is...er, 12 minutes ago!!!...what am I doing here??...oh, yeah, finishing up and setting up my out of office reply...

AND, saying "see you" to all my SA friends!

well...I have discovered that, by some miracle, I still have some $$ leftover...so, rather than spend it on pizza and soda, I'm going to buy fish and cook it...we all love fish, but don't have it as often as we like, since it's so expensive (about $4.50/lb)...so it'll be a nice treat for all!..I've already chosen the recipe!!

my bank FINALLY has an agreement with the issuers of my cc1 to take online payments...yipee!! right?.....not so yipee! after all...it takes 5 working days for the transfer to be complete so that it is reflected in cc1....I learned this the hard way! (made a payment on Friday and called on Monday to find out why it hadn't appeared yet...should have asked BEFORE I used the service!!)...but, at least now I know that if I am to use this method, payment has to be made at least 7 working days before the due date--just in case)...it's good to know!

The $$$ is starting to flow!!...$326.73....so, I'll take out the $55 I'm pendig of paying to Ale's school for her enrollment fee and the $53 for the uniforms/shoes...leaves $218.73...to be distributed as follows: $80 to catch up with 1 payment for bank loan...$100 to cc1 so it's up to date (yipee!! I had until Aug 18 for this payment!!)...$25 to cc2 (to remain up to date and pay a bit over the minimum for this month)...that leaves $13.73...$10 should go to the Children's Home...and, if I add $2.27 out of my own pocket, I have enough money for a trip to the Children's Museum, including the new Planetarium, for Ale and myself during the holidays!(they will be open!)...

It's a plan!

LOL!...a local fabric store is having a "super sale", 30-70% off...
generally, the ugly fabrics get put on sale, and the nicer ones get overpriced!...soooo, the "good" news is I don't have the money to buy the fabric for my curtain, because that means I won't even go browsing (which means I cannot fall in love with ANY fabric at this time!) LOL!...

Reality check before I go on vacation:

NEEDS: ($150-$200 for ALL)
Uniforms for Ale (including shoes, socks)
Oil change for the car
New windshield wipers (rainy season!!)
New dictionary for translations….(not URGENT, but IMPORTANT!...if I’m to get serious about the translations, I need the right tools!)



WANTS: (about $100-$150 for ALL)
New curtain for my bedroom (been using an old sheet and, frankly, it does nothing for the room!...and, since we have been decluttering-reorganizing, I’ve started to feel that it would look SOOOO much better with something nicer, in a different color…)

New clothes for me – just because my older clothes have started disintegrating!!...I still have enough to make do for a while, though, so not really a need!

New shoes…after all, we HAVE been going to all those shoe stores! LOL!...don’t worry, I won’t give in so easily! (although if I find a bargain like last year, Hush Puppies at $10, I will probably get them!)

1 day of relaxation at the beach during these holiday period (4 days…) not likely to happen…

I think it’s good to list them (first of all, it helps to see “wants” as WANTS!...and, to assign a $ figure, that way I know how realistic it is to grant myself some of those Wants… (no way I’m going to pour $100 in Wants when I have $200 worth of Needs!)

Polo-shirts are $6.86 (thank God Ale’s are still in very good shape and, I bought them on the large side, so they still fit!)…but, I DO have to get:

Pants ($7.00) – I didn’t get the “official” ones last year…they let it pass because they didn’t have them when I enrolled Ale and THEY told me they wouldn’t order more…so, they couldn’t really enforce the “full uniform” rule on us!
T-shirts ($5.14) – the ones from last year look awful!!!
Skorts (??) – the ones we have are too short and, the hem is too narrow to make a difference!!...

Shoes
Tennis shoes
(my lowest quote so far is $24 for both)

Hair accessories (~$3)
Socks ($2 for a six pack)

So…depending on how many pants/t-shirts/skorts I buy, I’m looking at anywhere between $53- $65….

I guess I will go for 1 pants/1 T-shirt, 2 skorts and see if that is enough….if not, then we’ll buy an additional set of pants/T-shirt and 1 more skort… I’ll plan on $53, then….and keep quoting shoes….I still have 2 weeks!! (hey, we’re having a “Consuma” fair this week…maybe I should look there!!!....yeah, I know, the name gives ME the chills, too!)