miclason's Personal Finance Blog

I paid half the rent (will pay the next half on the 30th)...so that I have enough for grocery's and 2 weeks nanny's pay and gas...will receive my translation $$$ tomorrow...I think the school only pays once a month...

Nope...maybe MAYBE today at 5:00pm ("Official" paydays are 15th and 30th of every month...sometimes the company programs payments for the day before...) this payday will be a challenge because it's the first time they'll discount Ale's school money....will post on it as soon as I get it....

As I think ahead of what the next year will bring, there are a few expenses that I need to consider - other than Ale's school, of course!

1. New bed for Ale...she's still in her toddler bed (her crib "converted" into a toddler bed, that one was a GREAT buy!!)...she's already 1.17 mts...so I will probably need to upgrade her to a "real" twin bed either by the end of the year or, at the most, the middle of next year...she's already started asking about a new bed...will start looking into it...I might go to Nahuizalco - a town that's about 1.5 hrs from here, where they make beautiful wicker and rattan stuff...my sister got my niece's bed there, custom made, with 3 drawers underneath for clothes and everything...cost her about $90 (including transport!!)...I will also look around downtown...last option will be the used-furniture stores...why last option??...sadly enough, in El Salvador, hand-made means cheap (in price!)...so I know I can get something gorgeous - custom made -for the same price or even a fraction of the price that I would pay for something used...and I won't even go near the dept or furniture stores!!...

2. New bike for Ale...this is a "want" really, but, she IS getting to big for the old one! ...maybe Santa can bring it...we'll see...it's a the bottom of my list at the moment anyway...

3. I hope it doesn't happen this year, but, I think my car really can't last much longer (10 year old car)...and, at this stage, just using the repair money to buy a new one (or for the downpayment on a new(er) one) might be a smarter option... praying to God that it will last enough for me to get some $$$ set aside for it, or, to let me win one at the supermarket raffle! (you get entered automatically for each $10 you spend!) ....What I don't like is, it would mean going back to making minimum payments on the CC's...which means I'd take FOREVER to finish paying!...((sigh))...at least, I HAVE an option...(a year ago, I wouldn't have!)

4. Ale's birthday party!! - will have to start shopping soon so the expense is not all on one month....

5. Renewal of my car registration card....up in July....thank Goodness my license is still good for another 2 years!!

Really, I need to start working on the school for DD, because a lot of my financial decisions will revolve around that...

Nanny is sick, her daughter called yesterday asking if it was ok for her to come on Tuesday....I said yes, eventhough I doubt it she'll show up tomorrow...not if she's been sick all weekend and is going to the Dr's today...
My ex called yesterday to ask whether I knew anything about her (she goes to his house on weekends to do laundry and clean up)...she NEVER fails, so we thought there might be something wrong..
so, anyway, this week might also be expensive, as I will have to use the daycare service at school ...and, since I'm starting a new course this week (I'm teaching), then DD will have to go to my cousin's until my sister can pick her up (daycare closes at 5, sis will probably be free at around 6:30pm)....
We'll see what happens tomorrow...

sometimes, you have no choice but to spend money...Ale got sick...really sick...started vomiting at 12:00 midnight on Monday and didn't stop until 5:00am...had to take her to the Doctor...her regular Dr wasn't in the country, so I took her to the community clinic, but, still, between paying for the visit, the exams and the medicines...it wasn't as bad as if we had gone to her regular Dr., though, perhaps $30 in total...plus more gas and cell phone calls than usual...Friday I went to lunch with a friend - $6 and today was expensive...we ate at BK- $6 and she went to the movies with the scouts, so $4...oh, and I had to go back to the store to get dog food (I didn't have enough cash when I went to the store, and everything was so expensive...) ...I had also promised Ale to buy stuff to make cookies this weekend, so that was an additional $15...

So...total unbudgeted expenses for this week: $81!!! (I'm adding the extra $20 that I had to use on Monday just to get the regular stuff!!)... well, now I have to wait until payday...still 4 days away!!!

I got a call from a friend of my sister's...he wanted some scripts translated into English and German (won't do the German, though, I really haven't got the skill to do it, and I feel it would be dishonest to even try!)...I will, however, do the Spanish to English one...and I also get to read both the English and German texts so he can incorporate it into the documentaries he's putting together...He says he has $150 for the whole package, so, what I get depends on how much he has to pay for the translation into German...

Once I get paid, this goes to my challenge money/CC debt

I just came from the store and, am having a heart attack! - I spent $62 instead of my budgeted $40...but, the only "extraordinary" things were a bottle of shampoo ($2.77) and a box of hair dye ($3.96 on sale!)....I did't even buy chicken (they were out of chicken) or dog food...((sigh)) will have to convince the sis to go on a rice-and-bean diet for at least one week out of the month!

Oh, and, half a carton of eggs (a carton here is 30 eggs!) is "on sale" at $1.50!!!

WOW!Writing down every single penny really is a shocker!...I am using my agenda. Since it has a monthly and daily planner, I write down everything as I spend and, at the end of the day, add it in two entries into the monthly planner...the categories are: Main (NECESSITIES or pre-budgeted stuff, like Ale's school, nanny, groceries) and Other ("preventable" spending)...well, my "Other" total for this week was: $23.94 ....what did the most damage was yesterday...we went to CREA (where my nephew did his re-education to get off drugs), and, because I got up late and didn't cook, we ordered pizza (total was ~$17, of which I paid half) and, since we came late from there, we stopped for pupusas (only sis, Ale and I)...since my sister generally pays, I decided to invite her this time (she invites about 90% of the time!)...total was $7.00...add the pizza and sodas Ale had at CREA and SMACK! big dent in the budget...well, I guess that means I'll have to be A LOT more careful this week!

I just got a request for a translation...they send me part of the document, and still pending on the other pages, but, still, only with what I have right now I should get $100-$120....add the rest (say it's only half of what they've sent) and it should be AT LEAST $150-$200... woo-hoo!! AVAL CARD, HERE I COME!!

Oh, since this is extra, it would count towards my $20 challenge...but, I'll post a summary of the earnings for this at the end of the month!! (just this morning I was praying for some extra $$$ to pay debts!!)

Of course, now I have to stay late at the office to get started (our computer at home just died...we should get it back on Sunday...it'll cost $15 to repair it!! - we asked a friend...the technician we called first said it would cost $190!!!- could you believe that??)

1. keep better track of my spending- although there seem to be less "leaks" than before, I'm still not as accurate as I should be! - I'm going to buy a mini-notebook and keep track of every penny!!- haven't done this yet!! - I know, I know...- have started as of today 060201

2. Send out at least 15 resumes in January(best time of the year to find a new job in ES!) and, at least one more per week for the rest of the year until I find a job that pays better! managed to send out 4, in answer to promising-looking ads...This is an ongoing quest!

3. FINALLY decide on a school for Alejandra, AND save money for her enrollment fee, uniforms and school supplies the looking/deciding part is on hold until May- when schools start accepting applications...$$ for fee, etc to come out of the English classes...

4. continue to lower my overall debt - I started Jan 05 with ~$17K (out of which ~$4K were for a loan and the rest -~$13K!-pure cc debt) and, am starting Jan 06 with $~11K (with ~$8K for a loan and ~$3K in cc debt)... expect to be able to end Dec '06 with ~$7K, which I expect to be purely for the loan... to come partly from the English classes/$20 challenge. Current debt still at ~$11K due car repairs in Dec 05

5. Help Ale find a way to earn those $3 she's missing to open her account with HER OWN money....still at a loss with this one!...perhaps get her to sell more toys at the next flea market??- decided on selling her bike, which is already to small for her!...where did we put the training wheels?? hmmmm (060402)

I received my first payment yesterday!!...due the cut-off date for accounting, I only got paid for the first weekend, so I only received $20.70...oh, well, I paid it towards the cc with the highest interest rate! yay me!!...Did I mention my challenge earnings are going towards debt repayment??...AVAL Card SA de CV practically owns my salary!!...When the next payment comes in, I will divide it between AVAL and "Ale's school fund"...Need to find another way to make more $$$...but, at where will I get the time??

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Challenge statistics:
invested: ~$6.00 initial
~$2.55 (addtnl) gas/Jan
=======
$8.55
earned: $20.70

net for January: $12.15
Total ytd for 2006: $12.15

it's payday today....I received $214.00 (yes, that's for 2 weeks, no, it's not a typo!!)...they discount the loan (I took to consolidate as much debt as possible) directly from my salary...luckily, they don't discount all at once, but rather half ($80) every two weeks....from the $214.00 I received today I have to: pay Ale's school ($70), fill my car (about $15), buy a phone card for my cell ($2), buy one-week's worth of groceries (~$40), pay for utilities (~$35/ that's my share!)...if you notice, that leaves me about $12.00 to survive until next payday!! (we get paid a monthly bonus of $120 each 15th, which, after taxes,comes to about $90/month) --and people wonder why I get stressed over money!!

this morning I got a call from accounting, they wanted to know when I was going to return some invoices they sent for approval...I was like: huh? I have nothing pending (honest, I don't!)...well, you signed for them and they aren't back, can we check??...turns out the invoices were given to me in OCTOBER, after some searching, I found an email that I sent TO THE PERSON THAT WAS CALLING ME stating that these particular invoices were NOT "ours" and that they had been sent to the pertaining area/person for approval...she proceeds to ask me for the ticket number (things that are sensitive are to be sent with a numbered ticket via comail)...er, I don't have it...I don't even remember if I used one!...(I can feel her glowering at me over the phone)- who did you send it to?...-CP (the manager for the unit, and the one who was supposed to sign)...she hangs up on me and calls the SECRETARY for the unit and, of course, she doesn't remember...I NEVER talked to her about this!!...so, now I get an email stating they all want the ticket number so they can find out what happened to this...I send an email back, stating: I don't really even know if I used a ticket, this was 3 months ago (to the day!) and, with all the stuff that we send out (which is true!) I really can't remember from the top of my head. CP, it's difficult to remember based on invoice numbers alone, but these invoices are for training X, which I coordinated with the hotel, but which was to be charged to your cost center. I even drew up the payment request and sent it to you so all you had to do was sign....
Aha! - here comes a response from his secretary: Now that Maria mentioned the payment request, I remember you gave me those documents to be sent to accounting. I made a copy of the front page and, I just looked it up and, sure enough, it's from Maria and it has the invoice numbers and amounts. The ticket number was XXX and comail dept is showing it as RECEIVED IN ACCOUNTIN by XYZ - not the person calling me!
HA!! TAKE THAT!! - if anyone has lost those invoices, it was the accounting dept, not me!...Especially when they are invoices (but, honest, I have over 100 sent items with tickets for October) ...and here she was, treating me like I was some sort of criminal or like I'm disorganized or something! (I'm not the neatest person in the world, but I keep track of these things!)
In the future, everytime I send or give them something, I'll ask that they sign and stamp it!!

this issue with the storage and the moving company?? The one that cost the company ~$8K (actually ~$11K once you add the storage!) ...it was finally resolved yesterday...my boss agreed to pay part of the storage (the one that might be imputable to us due delays on the documentation we had to supply) and they agreed they'll try to recover the rest from the company they subcontracted to do the packing at origin (because most of the storage fees came about becasue the stuff couldn't be taken out of customs because the packing list was not detailed enough!)...Although I didn't authorize the expense, it fell somewhat under my duties to do the follow up and, actually, the authorization SHOULD have come from me...except I was tied up with trainings at the time and so I wasn't the one reviewing/approving the documentation - for $8K, you bet I wouldn't have authorized it myself, I would have gone to my boss and HE certainly would have said no!...luckily for me, this was authorized by HR, but, I was the go-between and so it fell on my lap once my boss said not to pay it and the moving company kept calling to collect! - so, that's one less thing to worry about!I feel sooooo relieved!
(and, yes, I try not to take these things too personally, but, it's really really hard!!- darn work ethics! LOL!)

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This refuses to die!!! I just got a call from the woman who handled the cargo: the moving company is going to charge her and she wants me to intercede with my boss so that we pay for it...which I know is NOT going to happen!!....aaaaaaaaarrrrghhh!

On the 10th, I bought a new package of contact lenses - 3 pairs of lenses, because my last ones broke...I expected to pay this from the extra $$ from the teaching job (I had already been hired) and, so I used my store credit card to get them at Siman (although their interest rate is awfully high, they do not charge you if you pay within the same period, meaning if I paid for them before Feb 10th, I wouldn't pay interest on them)...the bill came today (Monday 23rd)...

On FRIDAY (20th), I came home to find that Ale had opened all the containers and played with the lenses, letting them all dry! - except for the pair I was wearing at the time, of course!...

I got sooo mad!...Plus, we've been having this discussion about NOT touching things that aren't ours (repeated problems with my niece's stuff!) ...

I hope I don't come off as a child beater but, I did hit her hands repeatedly (more for the shock factor than for actual pain), and, she is now banned from my room for 1 week AND I'm not buying her ANYTHING - until I manage to buy my new lenses (this month I have to pay for the ones she ruined...next month I have to buy the new ones)...

Banishment from my room means: no cuddling up in the mornings or at night (she has her own room, but likes to come to my bed early in the morning before breakfast) and none of her regular TV shows (the other TV's in the house don't get Nickelodeon, we don't know why, but, since DD is the only one that watches it, we haven't gone around fixin it!), no movies....so it IS a strong punishment for her!- just remembered: must call the nanny to let her know!

It might seem a bit harsh for contacts, but, they are expensive and, also, contact lenses are no vanity for me, I cannot drive with glasses at night because of the reflection!!

I posted a while ago about my boss's maid, and about how the people that had lived/lives in the house were willing to pay for her little son's school and school-related stuff...
I had to call her a couple of times, but, she finally brought me the list of school supplies requested by the school (they are not willing to give her cash, for fear she will use it towards other expenses)...so I went and bought the stuff for her...I tried to get the best deals possible, but still, with uniforms, books, supplies and shoes (1 pair dress shoes, 1 pair tennis shoes) it came out at ~$74!!! I did get clearance before buying the shoes...but, I did not really get permission for the tennis shoes...but, if they say anything about it, I'm willing to let it come out of my pocket: that poor kid was wearing shoes that were 2 sizes too small!!...I don't think they'll object, though...and now he has everything he needs to start the school year!

You know what kills me? this child is my daughter's age (5 1/2) but, size 6 clothes are waaaay to big for him, he wears size 4 clothes! his shoes are size 29 (13)...Ale wears a size 30...in our circle, she's considered tiny and, next to him, she's tall! ...and, just think about it, because he has lived at the company house the last 2 years, he's had much better nutrition than his brothers!!
I'm glad my boss (& the others) have taken an interest in him and are willing to see that he gets a chance to improve his living conditions.

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edited to say: they were ok with the tennis shoes!! - my boss was happy that I had taken that decision and, also that I suggested we keep a file - both physical and electronic - on all expenses, so that he can show it to the other people that have contributed to the fund!

I get a new group of students starting on MOnday, 2 hours each day, from Mon-Thurs, that's 8 more hours/week!! - WOO-HOO! I can use half of that money towards debt and save the other half for Ale's school enrollment fee!

Credit where it's due: Thank You, God!!

Ok. So I guess I'll start counting the English lessons as part of my challenge....so far, I've invested ~$6.00 (gas to go get my police records, fee to obtain said records, parking, 1 folder and 1 Coca Cola!) ....Will see how much I get at the end of the month!

by law, in ES, a percentage of your salary goes to an AFP (Pension Fund Administrator) to be invested. The law has recently changed and, as part of their customer service, the AFP to which I'm affiliated has come to our offices today to update account statements, affiliate new members, AND, give you information/explain about the changes in the law and the impact to employees....so, as soon as I get some documents that I need to have signed by someone downstairs, I'm dropping by the conference room to ask questions!!

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went down and they don't have much info, only that 1. foreigners can now take their money out when they leave the country and 2. the percentage of the money they get that goes to savings is now 10.3% instead of 10%...
This is not enough information, so I need to check the SSF's site for a full document...

I had already paid it off, but I still hadn't gone to the cc company to have it cancelled (which I did today!)...they asked me if I would re-consider if they gave me a preferential rate (good for one year only! -thanks, but, no thanks!)...tomorrow I'll go and cancel the other one that I already paid off, then I'm undecided on which one to tackle next...

I have also decided not to renew my loan with the company's credit union to pay off credit cards (it's a good deal because they offer much lower interest rates, but I need to have these $500 available for Ale's school instead!)At least, I'm going to TRY not to do it...

I'm also going to try to save at least $80 from the English lessons towards Ale's school...If I can do this, I might have enough in my bank account by June in order to enroll her in school without incurring in any new debt!- wish me luck!

We still haven't heard the final amounts sold from the exhibits that we mounted, but, I don't think it's much and, I need to pay off the credit card expenses that I had in December (new car battery, new fish tank!- the old one broke, so those were NECESSARY expenses!, still, I had counted on the proceeds from the school supply sale to cover them!- it's a good thing I didn't go ahead and charge a lot of "wants" counting on that money!!)

The newspapers today are all about the Peace Accords and about whether they have been complied with or not...
I cannot believe that there are people who say nothing has changed...because my personal experience tells me things have changed...while I myself have been the victim of high crime rates (having my car burglarized 5 times!!), I have been lucky enough to escape violence...
And, while -as you have seen- I'm not in the best financial shape, and while I know that the generality of the people are struggling just to get by, I cannot understand how someone can fail to see that:

1. No longer do we have burnt busses in the middle of the streets
2. 12 year olds do NOT know how to tell the sound (or shape!) of an M16 from an AK-47
3. Military forces no longer patrol the city
4. Orders for Military Forces or the Police no longer include: shoot first, ask questions later
5. There is no curfew
6. Meetings of more than 6 people NOT belonging to the same family are no longer considered a crime
7. When faced with someone wearing army fatigues, you no longer have to look at their feet to know whether they ARE army or guerrillas
8. Children are NOT being taught how to make "molotov cocktails"
9. You can "confess" to any party affiliation you want, and not have to fear retaliation...
10. I haven't heard any bombings in the last 14 years!!
11. I see people under 22 just run over bags or boxes on the highway...people in my generation SWERVE to avoid them, meaning one part of us is still afraid it might be a landmine!
12. My niece -at 16- and my daughter -at 5- are not aware that if you hear shots you should "hit the floor, look for cover and, whatever you do, DON'T lift your head"
13- when I leave home every day, my daughter doesn't wonder whether she'll ever see me again (while this is a fantasy, because any of us might just die at any minute, unless you've lived it, you have no idea of the level of anxiety that it creates in a child to be aware that your parents might NOT make it back from work!)
14- When taking my daughter to school, I do not have to say: "don't look out" while passing dead bodies on the street (the way my dad had to when driving me and my sister to school!!)
Oh, and we lived in the part of the city that was the LEAST affected by the conflict!!!

No, I cannot believe people that say nothing has changed...and, while I do admit that much remains to be done, I don't think closing your eyes to whatever good has been done is the way to go!!...You know what I find funny? These people don't realize that the mere fact that they can criticize freely IS a change!!

while at the school selling supplies, I ran into an old friend, who's a teacher for their English extension program...classes are from 6:15pm to 8:15pm Mon-Thursday (and the place is like 10 blocks from my office!) and they have classes on Saturday mornings (8-12) and afternoons (1-5)....I have signed up to give classes either at night on the weekdays or in the afternoon on Saturday....so far, they have only offered the Saturday afternoon (night classes are considered "prime" hours, and they pay a bit more, so they don't give you those unless you've been there for at least 6 months)...the pay is not much and, after taxes, it'll be like $5/hour, so I'd be getting ~$23 for each Saturday...not great, but, it'll work out to about $80/month, which, added to the $70/month I currently pay in tuition for Alejandra, gives me enough money to cover her tuition at the new school (bilingual schools charge anywhere between $125-$400 per month...obviously, we are NOT talking about the American or British schools here, so $150 should cover it!!)...If, in 6 months I am given night classes I'd probably drop the Saturdays...eventhough financially it would make more sense to keep both...

I'm not in love with this solution: It steals time from my daughter, which I hate, and from my rest, which is not good, but, I NEED the money and, frankly, at the moment this is the best offer I have - I DO love teaching, so that's a positive!....I wish I could find a job that I loved that would pay all the bills (meaning, that would pay $1,200-$1,500 per month!!)....((sigh)) At least, it's something!- and it brings the -$200 on my budget to -$120!!

No news either from the American Embassy or the European Union yet!

Well, this being our first year doing this, we have had to pay the price of learning: we bought way too much stuff, and sold only about half of what we expected...the good news is: we have already recovered the investment...the bad news is: there is no profit yet, so right now it seems that those 2 weeks of getting up at 6am and going to bed at 1am were for nothing...More good news: we spoke to 3 companies about setting up a special exhibit there so their employees can buy stuff, and they have all agreed to it, and the employees are rather enthusiastic about it, so we expect to make a profit after all!- it will just take about one or two more weeks, and will probably not be as high as we had expected... So, I'll say it went well.... We'll know how much we made from this venture by the end of the month...

Oh, and, GREAT news, I just paid off my American Express card (yipee!) and programmed a payment to pay off another card on the 11th - I want to keep my checking account from going into the overdraft for as long as I can!...so, now I only have 2 more cc's (and one HUGE loan) to go....

wish me luck!

I feel sooo tired lately!...for the past 2 weeks, I have been going to my cousin's every night - and weekends, too!- to prepare all that's needed for the school supplies packages (just to give you an idea, we bought 4 boxes of bond paper, that's 20,000 sheets of paper that have to be separated into packages of 25, 50, 75 and 100 pages - depending on the grades)....we still haven't finished doing THAT, and, then there is the matter of pricing and of actually MAKING the packages according to specifications for each grade (our profit comes from the fact that parents won't have to hunt for the stuff, but can buy it in one neat little package...some things are priced slightly above market prices, some exactly at market prices and some even slightly below...so we WON'T be selling anything individually, as that would "dilute" our profit)....

I have been arriving home at around 11:30 or 12:00 at night - I haven't been going to walk in the mornings, in order to get as close as 8 hours of sleep as possible!- then back to the office at 8am in the morning, leaving here at around 6pm, going home for dinner and then back to my cousin's....I wish I could say it's almost over, but it's not!...we still have way too much to do, and, then there's the sale itself in January (2nd -7th)....but, again, going over the numbers, we could make up to $2,000 EACH, just on the school supplies, without even considering the backpacks!!!...this COULD be the miracle I have been praying for!!

I received a special gift from the Sheraton HOtel....they have sent all admins in my company a certificate for a free weekend for 2 at the hotel - obviously this only covers rooming, nothing else- and I have planned to go there with Alejandra for the weekend of Jan 14th...I should have some $$ from the school supply sale and, it will be soooo relaxing to be just the 2 of us...she can swim in the pool and I know she'll be happy to be able to wake up and sing in the mornings - my niece naturally throws a tissy fit every time Ale starts singing at 7am!!...Also, we'll have cable and a BATHTUB, with HOT water!!!....oh, and she'll have mommy all to herself, she won't have to share me with anybody!! - I'm planning on bringing books as well!....the hotel is 1 block away from the Museum of Modern Art, which Alejandra likes because: "they have pictures just like the ones I make!"...LOL!...entrance to the museum is $1.50, we haven't gone in quite some time, so that could be an additional treat for her! - Me? oh, I get to soak in the tub in HOT water after Alejandra has gone to sleep, and I get to sleep in an air-conditioned room!

...LOL! I don't speak "mechanics" in English...I can ask the right questions in Spanish, though!...this time around they DID flush the brake fluid and replaced the brake pads...last time they "cleaned" them - which basically means they just took a look at the pads to see if they needed replacement or not and then put it back together....they charge around $11 to do that...luckily, this sort of maintenance is not nearly as expensive in El Salvador as it would be in the US...

It refused to start yesterday...had to buy a new battery ($70)...to be fair, the old battery had lasted 30 months and it had a 24 month guarantee, so....I asked them to check the brakes- had the last check in May, where they said they were fine and just cleaned them, so... brakes did need some work, so that was $60 extra and I also asked them to do the oil change (which should have been done the 1st week of Jan, anyway!)....In total I spent $148 in the car...back to my Excel spreadsheet to adjust cc payments and the like...((sigh)) I SO need that new job!!

Oh, by the way, there was a GREAT ad - or rather, the ad for what seems like a GREAT job - on the newspaper yesterday...I'm working on my resume (turns out I DON'T have a Spanish version of it- could you believe that??) and cover letter...I expect to email it by end of day today...It's for an international organization, so I'm sure it's a good salary and nice benefits...

Oh, and thanks for your good wishes on my 2006 goals!

IF the sale of school supplies goes as my cousin estimates, I could make large enough payments to finish paying the cc debt by Dec 2006!!! AND to pay for DD's school enrollment fee!!....I'm trying not to get too hopeful, though!!

On the other hand, my boss spoke to me yesterday and asked me if I was still doing the English lessons (?) I told him L had said she wouldn't be doing them anymore and had even been surprised that he hadn't told me...he said he wasn't aware of that...I don't think those will resume, though, and, if they do, I'm pretty sure they WILL end once school starts, so...

I have been working on a plan to get out of here, and, before, I thought I would only switch companies if someone offered me $1,200/month, which is what I NEED to really be able to get out of debt/afford Ale's school...BUT, honest, if someone offers me $1,000/month AND a chance to get a raise based on performance....because, see, here, I've already been told that the company will most likely NEVER give me a raise -oh, well, they said they would if ever they gave ALL other admins a raise first! - yeah, hell will freeze, thaw out and freeze again at least twice before THAT happens!!...so, it's a plan, I'll take $1,000/month if there's a real chance for a raise in the future ...

Yesterday we had an update- where we get to hear all sorts of confidential stuff otherwise not disclosed to anyone with a status less than Manager - and my boss explained about the reorganization (the one he had hinted at when I requested my raise!)- well, frankly, I don't think it'll happen before 1 or 2 years...and I don't have that much time....I have 6 months at most...because that's the most that I'll be able to hang on with my current level of income...AT THE MOST...so, I'm going to put all my efforts into 1.paying as much debt as I can between Dec and mid February and 2. finding a new job before Holy Week (April 2006)

It's a plan!...now, as they say: El hombre propone, y Dios dispone (man makes proposals, God gets to make the final decision), so, I'm praying that God approves of my plan!!

Ugh!...it's not a reflection of me as a teacher (I've done this before and I take pride on my teaching skills!)...my boss' daughter's mother said she won't be taking any more lessons...she kept it up for exactly 1 month...I imagine that, since she has been enrolled at the Centro Cultural Salvadoreño to finish high-school, and, since they started out as providers of ENglish lessons, she figures she'll learn what she needs...NO, she's NOT a child...she's already 23, but she never started highschool!...

The implications for me are that now I'm -$100 in my monthly budget....back where I was a month ago...Oh, well, I didn't REALLY believe she would continue once she started studying - I figured she'd focus more on her general studies...but I thought at least I had until mid-Jan when school starts!

The other admin (B) was so mad that SHE (B) was asked to find a school for her and do all the work of enrolling her...1. The "girl" (L) wanted to be enrolled at the GF School - now this is one of the top 5 non-bilingual schools in the country....they do NOT take "overage" students (it's bad for their reputation)...they do NOT take single mothers ("bad example" for the other girls) and....most importantly, L hadn't taken the admission tests...still, she INSISTED that the admin enroll her there - probably thinks that private schools take on anyone that can pay for them??....some of them do, but, the top ones reserve the right to admit only top students!....L has never been to private school before and, unfortunately, public schools in ES are B A D...and I mean REALLY REALLY REALLY B A D...and L got average grades there!...to be honest, there's no way she would have been able to cope with the academic load and the social pressure (since top schools are more expensive, naturally the richest kids go there and, believe me, Salvadoran society is VERY class-oriented, and they would have let her know that she didn't "belong")...Partly, I'm sure, she wanted to be enrolled there because it would have made her look well back in her little town, but...honest, it was a baaad idea!!...If she had had excellent grades, then putting up with the social BS would have been worth it, for the kind of education that she would have been getting, but..... 2. B is sure that L is NOT going to continue studying, so she feels that it is a waste of her time to go around looking for schools....3. B feels (and I agree on this one!) that, if our boss wants to enroll her in a school, either HE or L should be the ones looking....after all, this is a PURELY personal errand, isn't it?? ...I mean, it's as totally unrelated to the company as can possibly be!...so's giving her English lessons, but, at least, I was getting paid for doing that!

I hope I don't sound like a total B*tch and, yes, I AM a bit mad at her, but, I think that B did L a service by enrolling her in a "vocational" high school....(plus, the school L wanted REJECTED her on the grounds that she didn't take the admission tests, so it wasn't like B didn't TRY!)...I warned my boss back in Oct, that they'd better hurry with the school hunt!!, I guess he imagined that since school started in Jan, he still had time!!

In the end, the only way in which this relates to me is that I have to find another source of income!!!

1. keep better track of my spending- although there seem to be less "leaks" than before, I'm still not as accurate as I should be! - I'm going to buy a mini-notebook and keep track of every penny!!

2. Send out at least 15 resumes in January(best time of the year to find a new job in ES!) and, at least one more per week for the rest of the year until I find a job that pays better!

3. FINALLY decide on a school for Alejandra, AND save money for her enrollment fee, uniforms and school supplies

4. continue to lower my overall debt - I started Jan 05 with ~$17K (out of which ~$4K were for a loan and the rest -~$13K!-pure cc debt) and, am starting Jan 06 with $~11K (with ~$8K for a loan and ~$3K in cc debt)...now, partly this decrease has been because of the sale of the apt and also the farm money, which I won't have next year, but, still, I expect to be able to end Dec '06 with ~$7K, which I expect to be purely for the loan... in order to make this happen, I need to find a way to make ~$100 more per month than what I'm currently making...so I HAVE to find another job, get a raise (yeah, RIGHT!) and/or take on additional work to bring in some extra money...it's going to be a TOUGH year!...need to post a separate entry to think this through, but I might switch jobs for slightly less money than I originally thought (I had said I wouldn't go unless they paid me at least $1,200/month, but...)...convoluted, and I have to do the math

5. Help Ale find a way to earn those $3 she's missing to open her account with HER OWN money....

both on the biopsy thing and the job situation...
I'm soooo glad it was really nothing (well, not NOTHING, but just a minor infection!!)...I guess I can cancel my sister's idea of saving for a hysterectomy! LOL!...
The job situation in ES is really terrible...I've been lucky, I was only unemployed for 2 months after I was fired...some friends that were fired a few weeks before me (July 2003) still haven't found jobs...others have had to settle for temporary jobs or for jobs that don't pay more than 50% of what they were making...as for me, well, if I were debtfree, I could lead a very comfy life with my current salary....I will start a more earnest job search in January (people don't leave -or don't announce they are leving- their jobs before Dec 15th...why? Xmas bonuses are given out on Dec 12th, and, if you leave voluntarily, by law you are NOT entitled to it...) so January always has some good job postings....I've had a new call from the Embassy- not regarding the job I applied for- to ask whether I had a valid driver's license and whether I am proficient in MS Office (anser to both questions is yes)...They asked if they could consider my resume for another position within the organization (YES!!), and, if so, they wanted me to send them IN WRITING confirmation regarding the license and the Office issues...needless to say, the HR lady probably hadn't even hung up when I was already sending her the required fax!!...I don't expect to hear from them before January, though....but, all I can do now is hope!

If I got that job, I'd have to do some serious financial planning...by law, they don't discount for pension fund or for taxes, so I'd have to find a way to set up an account for when I retire (people who work at Embassies in ES do not have to pay taxes, so that money would be "free" to go into debt payment!!)...oh, well, no use stressing about that right now, is there??

Oh, and, I didn't manage to finish all my Xmas shopping yet, and the Xmas shopping season has been formally inaugurated- bummer! ...at least, I'm only missing my cousin's present, and my sister's birthday present!!