miclason's Personal Finance Blog

A friend of mine has asked me to do some (paid) translations...I just sent her the first item (3 pages)...
I know she'll pay me when she comes back in about 2-3 weeks (is currently working on a special project and is traveling frequently)
woo-hoo! this will go towards my $20 Challenge!

Another one of my bosses (H) --who's been away because he's in charge of a project to open a new company in another country-- came back this weekend and, said he wanted to talk to me ... He had spoken to my boss who gave me the loan (J) and, wants to give me a loan to cover the rest of my cc/extrafinancing debt (actually, they are very good friends and H lent J money to pay for his MBA, that's where J got the idea to lend me money)... his rate is higher than the other guy's (12%), but, still lower than the cc (28%) soooo...I'll move whatever is left over after that last payment I made! (have to look at the account, I don't want to leave $0.01 there!)...I think I'll take lower payments over the same period of time, though, just to make sure I can pay all my debts (or, leave smaller payments for the next 7 months, and go to larger ones once the phone bill is paid off!)..that would effectively rid me of all CC debt...of course, my level of debt would still be the same, but, at least my payments WOULD make a real difference!!-- I would be done with J's loan in a year and, with H's probably in about a year and a half or two years...also about the same time I'd be rid of the car payments!...It would be like getting a HUGE raise!...and THEN I could start seriously saving for a house! (my life savings right now total $700...no, I cannot touch it, they are with the company co-op and, the only way to have access to that would be to resign from the co-op and, to do that, I would have to repay my loan in full -- $2,900...It's a requisite at the coop to put some money into that account each month, and I don't regret it...some day, it'll come in very handy!)

...I read someplace that learning to crochet is good exercise to improve your handwriting...so, I brought up the idea with Alejandra and SHE LOVED IT!...I told her we'd begin once she and I were on vacation, but, she insisted so much, I started teaching her yesterday!!...
she's so enthusiastic about it, she tried to do a couple of stitches on her own today while I was in the shower!...it is a less than perfect chain so far, but she's getting the hang of it!

I sold some tickets to the Museum, and got $10, rather than deduct them from our Entertainment budget, I'll put these towards my $20 challenge, since it's cash!...

The answer, of course, is because I'm disorganized!!...the landlady just called...according to her, we are 1 month behind in rent...we just went over all my payments with my bank account vs her bank account and, sure enough, there's one month missing!...(this happens because my sis gets paid on the 25th and I get paid on the 15th and the 30th, so, rather than try to consolidate, I pay my half on the 15th and my sister's whenever she gives me her cheque - anywhere from the 29th to the 7th!)...now, we looked at Jan through July...but, I discovered an additional payment (3 payments) in Dec, so I need to call her again and, I guess we need to make an appointment to sit down and look at it very carefully --because, until Dec, I WAS behind...so I really cannot remember if that 3rd payment is to bring things up to date or, since it was for Dec 29th, if it was already for half of Jan 2006...
My sister, of course, relies on me to keep track!...
shucks, I guess I'll talk to her so she can take a look at HER account and see when she gave me her money and when I deposited it!...it's $157.50 vs $315!! (in my book, I just paid her for the beginning of the month of July, with only my sister's part remaining...but, in her book, this past payment covered the end of June!!)...AAAARRRGHHH!...we need to agree on where we are, and then start keeping accounts all over again!

A couple of days ago, I was craving soup for lunch (we had that kind of weather), so, I bought a bag of instant cream of mushroom (powdered) and a bag of pretzels, I only used half the bag and half the pretzels...and sealed the rest and put it in my desk drawer...
today, I forgot my lunch (I packed it yesterday night to try to save time...now I remember WHY this doesn't work for me!)...I noticed when I dropped Alejandra off, and, was mad that I was going to have to buy lunch...and THEN, I rememberd my soup and pretzels!!!...woo-hoo!!! all I have to buy is a drink today (~$0.35) I feel happy!

My niece got picked to be in an ad for a local dept store...she's getting $60 after taxes...soooo, my sister wrote this on a piece of paper and pasted it on her bedroom door:

This is what happens in real life:
They pay $60
you spent $4 (to have a blouse altered)
you spent $5 (to have your hair blow dried --when you could do that yourself at home)
You owe me $20
and your aunt $5

You end up with : $26

Welcome to the Real World!

We have our patron saint festivities (such a Latin thing, don't you think?) in 2 weeks...so, in the capital city we get August 3,4,5 and 6 off...some years it's great, whenever the 3rd falls on a Tuesday, but, still, even just 2 days off like this year are nice...
I'm thinking about what to do with Ale those days (the city all but shuts down)...I was thinking about doing some arts and crafts at home and going for a nice "picnic" in a park near our house...(debating the last one, though, as the city seems to have grown more dangerous lately...) ...maybe take her to the aquapark one day...although, what I hate about that is that they don't let you bring your own food and, their food is both HORRID and EXPENSIVE (I wouldn't midn the expense as much if the food were worth it...)

This is what went through my head today when my cousin called to tell me that her car needs a new tire, because it's starting to vibrate funny and she took it to her friend that is a mechanic and he told her there is a "bump" in one of her front tires....
Now, I DO believe it, but, I also knows that means paying for the phone bill just dropped a few more rungs in priority for her! ((sigh))

Well, in the end it wasn't $1,000...it was $900 and they took out $160 for the current month's payment (which the office will pay for at the end of the month anyway, so it's like a double payment towards the loan this month!)... so I ended up with $740...Only $700 will go towards the cc...the other $40 I'll keep to help pay for this month's phone bill payment ($100 total!)...

Still, I'm happy...$700 going from 28% down to 9.50% MAKES a difference!

soooo, the bank exec came by today to give me my check (I was out on my lunch hour, having the tape player installed in my car!)...BUT, she's coming back tomorrow morning!! woo-hoo!!...Aval Card: here I come again!! (no, the cheque won't cover the whole amount, but, bringing even part of it from 28% to 9.5% is progress!!)

Ale's school stuff, that is...I really don't understand this...mainly because our school was subsidized, so what we bought was minimal (think pens, pencils and notebooks)...books had a stamp inside where you wrote your name and grade and, where to be bound in clear plastic if new when they were given to you (on loan)...

So, yesterday I stayed up until 11:00pm labeling stuff (didn't finish, though!)...I just have to say: I'm happy we have computers and can print the same label 11,000 in 10 different sizes if needed, without having to type it more than once! (or I'd be even crazier!!)

my goal this week is to finish labeling EVERYTHING and, put everything in its plastic box as required by the school, then put it in the highest tier of my closet where Ale cannot get to it! -- that way I'll be ready for my next challenge: binding books in clear plastic! (books haven't arrived yet...have I mentioned I was so spoiled that my nanny would bind my books/notebooks for me when I was at school??...it's difficult to do it right!...I guess I have to learn now...better late than never!)

1. New bed for Ale... Pending, not urgent yet, but increasing in priority as she grows...she'll soon be too big for her bed!--Have started quoting...the dept store to which I have a card has a set of twin bed with drawers (nice!) with headrest, night stand (not needed) and chest of 4 drawers (not needed) at $399.00 --waay to expensive for so many un-needed things!! I'll use this as my "base" though (or, rather, as my "top", considering this the most expensive alternative!)...still looking into having it custom-made (which, ironically,would probably be less expensive here in ES!)...Ale has started asking when we will buy her new bed!

2. New bike for Ale...Has dropped even lower in priority...depending on how things go, maybe Santa can bring it!

5. Dresses and shoes for friend's wedding! (she's getting married in Jan 2007, so that gives me time to save!...and to lose some weight, too!)

Yesterday, we were going to pick up a friend and we went by a church...Ale said: people have weddings in churches...people that go to church must have money...
I asked why and she said: because to get married, you need a cake...
(MIC)Not really, you can have a cake if you want to, but you don't NEED one...
(Ale) You also have to buy a dress, and the man has to buy the thing he wears, and that's expensive....
(MIC) that is nice to have, but you don't NEED that, either...
(Ale) still, if you want to have those things, it is expensive, so what parents should do is save their clothes for when their children get married, because, after all, you only use that dress for one day...

Remember the charge I disputed with the CC??..It appears credited on my latest account statment (finally!)...woo-hoo!!!...

my grocery bill was $76...my goal is $70 or less...if you take into account that I didn't NEED the hair dye, which I bought 2 of because they were $2.75 (vs normal price $4.76!) and, that my niece also included 2 boxes, which she has vowed to repay next week (she's going to be in an ad, and will get $100 for it), then my "normal" total would have been $11 less ($65!!! -- on budget!!)...and, if niece DOES pay (and I'll make sure she does!), I get $5.50 back!...so that the actual price for my groceries will be $70.50....$0.50 above budget...I can live with that!

I "gave in" and bought music for my car....
No, I did NOT buy the $119 cd player...
I found a $22.50 radio/tape player...they store will install it for free, too! (after all, what I REALLY want is the radio!!)..and, yes, I am very counscious that this is a WANT, not a need!...still, since I{m not celebrating my bday in form, I'm putting this expense under Events!...and it's still underbudget!! :P

so far so good...seems I have a good chance to be on budget with most items/categories this month...but, still half a month to go!

$24.54 --gas, @3.551 per gallon ((faint))

This month had to be only slightly above minimum
Have not received my payment for some services yet...have to consider the phone bill ... and payment was due tomorrow...If cousin comes through and pays me for the phone bill -- even if little by little -- I'll put that $$ towards the card...If the bank approves my loan, that will go towards the CC, too...I'll deal with the phone bill separately... ((sigh))

My birthday is this next Sunday, but, sis decided to surprise me yesterday and bought some ravioli from our favorite Italian restaurant...yum!...

She also decided to bring them yesterday to avoid a full family celebration (honestly, we don't feel like partying with my cousin right now!...not that we hate her or anything, but, we are both hurt right now and we'd rather skip the family get-together right now....not to mention it's much cheaper to buy food for the 4 of us than for 6, specially considering my nephew is not precisely considerate about the amounts he eats or seeing that there is enough left for others!)...so, we had our family celebration yesterday!! ravioli from El Rosal, a nice bottle of Chilean wine and Frank Sinatra on our stereo (we grew up with that stuff!, so in a way it was like having Mom and Dad present!)

I'm currently trying to help my cousin make some money (NO, I'm NOT lending/giving her any money!)...she's back to selling clothes...so, I asked a friend and she said whenever SHE wants to sell something, she just sends an email to all her friends, asking them to forward it on...and she usually gets many responses...sooooo, I created an e-mail regarding the clothes and listed both her and my numbers..I already received 1 call...we'll see how it goes...after all, it is in MY best interest that she make some money!!

Night before last I dreamt I was in love...and that I was showing my beloved a duck and a child playing "tug-of-war" over a leaf...

the dream dictionary says the duck, the children and the romance-love part are all good omens for my finances...

Today, I got a call from the bank executive, stating that the bank has changed their policies and now is offering employees from my company loans, without a cosigner, for 10x their salary (as opposed to 7x their salaries)...if they approve it, they'd give me $1,000 (as they would refinance what I already have)... the payment would remain unchanged, only for a longer period of time...

I have to wait and see if they WILL give it to me (as I now have the loan for the car, which I didn't have before...but, still ...if the payment will remain the same...)...if they DO, then I have to decide what to do with it....common sense says: put it towards the CC, which is at ~28%...but, I don't know whether it would be wise to pay off the phone bill ($700) and pay only $300 in the cc... the advantage would be: the phone bill is 7 monthly payments of $100...I would eliminate that, while the CC is at least a "variable" payment, I could make payments that are only slightly higher than the minimum and have a bit more cashflow, which could be good given that I am still unsure of how high the school expenses are going to be...the disadvantage of this is, the CC is at ~28% and the phone bill is at 0%....

Decisions, decisions!

You just have to laugh...
My niece was telling me yesterday that a friend's father had told her he could find her a job as a cashier at some store once she's out of school, so she can earn some $$$ while going to college...she then said: It's a job...AND, then she said: and I'm sure I can do something with $1,500 (whenever we speak of salaries in ES, it's always monthly salaries that we speak about)...
so I said: $1,500? ...she said-- very defensively -- it's SOMEthing...
and, I said: sure it's something...I make $800 and your mom makes $1,100....
she then goes: Oh!...it must be less, then...
Yeah, if it is 1,500, then it's probably Colones ($171.42), pre-tax!...she figures she'll spend about $30/month for her Peugeot (that her father says he's getting her!-- she should know by now, he'll find some lame excuse...HE'S NOT EVEN PAYING FOR HER SCHOOL!!!)...

I swear, that child lives in Fantasyland! ...

Today I received Ale's latest (and last!) progress report from the pre-school...she's doing excellent in math and reading (not only does she read well, she UNDERSTANDS what she reads and, does not forget what she read 2 or 3 lines above!)... the writing is still her weak spot!...so much so that the teacher asked me what grade I had enrolled her at (we had spoken about enrolling Ale in 1st grade), when I told her I had Ale enrolled in Preparatoria (basically repeating the grade she just finished), her face lit up...she said that was exactly what she was going to recommend, because 1st grade would be too tough for Ale at this point...I was happy, too, since it took me a long time to decide that this was the best option for Ale...her performance has been so up and down the last year, that I didn't want to risk having her repeat 1st grade...right now, there is no sense of loss or inability if I make her repeat prepa because she's starting in a new school with new classmates, but, if she had to repeat 1st while her classmates go on...(not that repeating a grade ever killed anyone, but...)...so, Ale "repeats" prepa at the new school (she'll be ahead in some things, but that will free her some time for catching up with others!)...her teacher even told me I could bring Ale to the preschool after school (for free!) to do her homework there, and she will help her! ...this is a wonderful offer and, I'm definetely going to take advantage of it!...Ale is truly a blessed child!

I can send Ale in with her Air France 2006 agenda! The school ok'd it!...so...officially, I'm only missing the books (arriving at the school in the first week of August) and, the labeling of all her stuff!

I feel sooooo liberated!

ok, The List, at retail prices, would be $52.34...at cost, with some items at retail prices would be $43.12 and, "out of pocket" to me is $20.61! (this is estimating the stupid planner at $9.00 for the wholesale/retail lists....a friend just gave me a very nice agenda, so I'm not adding that to "my" total...the plan is to use that, unless the school specifically prohibits it!...if they don't I'd have to add whatever it costs to find/make one!)

Princess Perky,
I found an even easier alternative! I found some very nice hard-bound notebooks which I could have used! (or, will use, if the school doesn't like the agenda idea!)

I can't find one!!!...the "normal" school year here is Jan- Nov....so, most companies don't bother with the few bilingual schools and don't stock up for the middle of the year...
And the school is requesting a school planner ... :0
What is there to do??...I'll keep calling the stores to see what I can find...

Stuff that was pending:

School supplies --nearly done!

sweat pants for gym class (2) - navy blue... found them downtown, $6 each!...very nice quality, too!

Book bag - need to check if the school has restrictions on these (can they have characters or do they need to be solid colors only?...) Size will depend on school supply list!...we also have some left over from the sale...

We're almost done!

I'm missing 5 items, which we didn't have in stock...

All I need is to label everyting!

Will do the numbers once I have everything and, will post about it!