miclason's Personal Finance Blog

Just when I thought I'd be able to pay a little more on my credit cards, the car had to break down....I hate it!!...every time I think things will get better, I get slammed with something like this!!...
oh, well....((sigh))...yesterday, I went and dropped off the documents for re-financing one of my debts (they called and offered it, they KNOW I can't pay, so they are willing to bundle all their debt into one, at a lower interest rate, just to get their money back....I hope this goes through!)
Also yesterday, I got a phone call from another cc company, they are offering to consider my accounts "current" (as opposed to past due) if I can make consecutive payments in the next two months (I have been paying them every other month!, so that I can pay for other debts...kinda keep everything in the 30-60 day past due range)...
we'll see how it goes...I just wish the apartment would finally sell, that would really make a difference!!

Today, the nanny came home crying...her 15 year old daughter dropped off her grand-daughter (yes, she had a baby at 14!) at her home and left, supposedly "for good", and said that, if she (the nanny) didn't take the baby, she (daughter) would just give it away to someone else....I just got a phone call, it was the nanny, the daughter came back and said she regrets having left the baby...I told her to keep her at home for today and tell her to wait until I got there. I will try to talk to her...she's just a kid, and she got wooed by this creep - who, of course, has a new girlfriend now! - who even took her to his home and everything....he painted the "ever after" story in such rosy tones...now, of course, he kicked her out of the house....to think she left school (she was doing really well, and wanted to become a nurse) for this guy, makes me sick!....If she stays, nanny will have to take care of her AND the baby....as if she didn't have enough problems trying to raise her other 2 daughters!! (ages 17 and 10)...

Monday - $5.00 /gas
Tuesday - $40 / nanny
Wednesday - $100/ cc debt (somebody kick me!!!)
Thursday- $1.00 /lunch
Friday- $2.00 / lunch
Saturday- $5.99 / present for my best friend's son (b-day)
Sunday- $2.39/ goodies at CREA

Monday- $43 - groceries at the supermarket
Tuesday- $12 - veggies, fruits, chicken and dog food at the market
Wednesday - $0.63/ soda + newspaper for lunch
Thursday- $1.70 / sodas (for our "movie night")
Friday- $120.00 / spare parts for car!! OUCH!
Saturday- $2.00/ invited my cousin for breakfast
Sunday- $3.00 / chips and soda to go with our home-made hot-dogs lunch

so...since my nephew crashed my cousin's car, I let her use mine in the meantime...Part of me said not to do it, maily because HE should have seen how difficult life can be here without a car...but, my cousin is self-employed...she has a small catering/ independent sales business....it is REALLY difficult for her (and dangerous!) to carry her food/merchandise in buses...Why would it have been important (for me) that my nephew had a hard time?? He's 15, and he took my cousin's car without permission...
So, this is another reason I was having second thoughts: I firmly believe he's starting to get involved in drugs...I firmly believe he took his mom's car to go out with some friends to get high...I certainly don't want him taking MY car...
Now, my cousin's car is supposed to be ready tomorrow, so I have insisted that I get it back today (no way I will let my car "sleep" at her house on a Friday!! he might want to "borrow" it...)...
Well, now my car is overheating!!! ...why? Well, I'm not blaming my cousin per se, it's just that she drives more in one day than I do in two weeks...since she has had my car the whole week....it's like saying my car has aged about 2 months in 4 days!!....I KNOW the car would eventually have had this problem...(it HAS happened before...I just don't know how to say it in English) but...probably not until June or so....
So, I KNOW I'm asking for my car back tonight...but, when will I REALLY get it back? (e.g I know it will "sleep" at home tonight, but, instead of driving DD to church and swim lessons tomorrow, I'll most probably end up taking the car to the workshop...and, I somehow don't think I'll get it back tomorrow!!...((sigh)) ....)

aaarghhh!!! ....so, this guy calls me today, and he says they are very worried about my payments (or, rather, lack therof!)...I explaiined to him: call me on the 15th, I don't know how much money I will have available...and he says: "don't you know how much you earn?, most of us have at least an idea..."....And I said: "Yeeees, but, I don't know how I will be using it, or if anything will be discounted directly from my account, so I don't know how much I will have available for your company...sorry if you don't like to hear that, but it is the truth!"...so, he says: "either way, we would like to get a committment from you as to how much you are going to pay!"...."I told you already: I don't know"..."still, you should make a committment..." "BYE!"...This is one of the main reasons why I want the apartment sold, so I can pay all overdue debt and be FREE of this phone calls!!...they are very draining!!....Hopefully, I will manage to have the money by the end of April/beginning of May....so that I will at least only have "current" debts by the start of June!!....I need more money!!!
Dear God, if you are listening: send me a nice fat translation work THAT PAYS!! (last month I had a huge translation, but it was for the office, so it was for "free" - meaning no extra money aside from my normal salary, for which I am grateful, eventhough it is less than what I was making at my previous job!!)

aaaarrrgh!! I could kick myself!!...DAY BEFORE YESTERDAY, when I was making sure all the lights were turned off before going to bed, I realized that a faucet was open...I went to close it and, oh, surprise, it didn't!!!...so, I have a leaky faucet!! $$$$$$$$....I made a mental note to call the plumber, but, I FORGOT!!! (how stupid can one get!!)...so, that thing has been leaking!! $$$$$$$$ (yes, I know how to turn the water off for the whole house; No, I didn't do it...mainly, because there are huge cockroaches there!!...yuck!!!....I don't have a problem turning it off during the day, when they just scurry away when I open the trap door because they hate the light, but....doing it at night!!...no way, I'm not THAT brave....((shuddder))....
Anyway, have called the plumber and let the nanny know they will be coming!!...Hopefully, by tonight, the leak will be gone!! $$$$$$$$$ (I have also asked them to check other things, but this is the main one!)

Monday- $40/ Nanny
Tuesday - $5/ gas
Wednesday - $6.00/ security
Thursday - $60/ preschool
Friday- $8.00/swimcap
Saturday- $28/ spare part for car
Sunday- $1.50/ goodies at CREA

There are witnesses....the puppy CAN open the fridge door!! ...she can also open the front door (how freaky is THAT!)...Here are the tricks: 1. she nudges the seal on the bottom of the fridge door with her nose....2. the front door lock is not 100% ok (thanks to my nephew, back in our nightmarish era when he was doing drugs and used to sneak into the house at night to see what he could steal!)...and if you push the bottom of the door at a certain point, the door "bounces" back and the lock clicks open (unless the key is in the lock and the bolt is turned, which we only do at night, this is an enclosed neighborhood!)...
so, public apologies to my sis are in order!!

Of course, knowing that the puppy is THAT smart means that she CAN learn, only she REFUSES to learn what we want to teach her!! (As per my cousin, it also means she is a direct descentant of velociraptors!!)

my sis keeps leaving the fridge door open in the mornings!!...she just takes something out and throws it "close" while turning away from it...I've talked to her about it...she swears it isn't true... Apart from the normal trouble this would cause, add the presence of our puppy, and you have a recipe for disaster...yesterday, she got a pack of sausages!!...today, again the door was open when I came down...my sister claims the puppy has learned to open the fridge door...(it's a small fridge, you have to pull on a handle that is about 3.5 feet from the floor to open it...my puppy is a maltese/cocker mix...she'll never be big enough to reach it!!)...I tell her, if this were true, every Sunday, when we go out to CREA, we would find the fridge raided (the puppy stays on her own for 6+ hours!!)...plus, I SAW her (my sis) the other day...plus, she really is one of those people who don't function well in the mornings...I mean, she comes back from dropping off my niece at school and she looks like she can barely keep her eyes open!!
What can I do?? (you'd think it would be easier to condition the puppy NOT to take things out of the fridge??)
the joys of house-sharing!!!

Monday - supermarket (excluding fruits and vegetables) - $49.26
Tuesday - veggies, fruits, cereal + soy sauce and special veggies for chao mein - $23.50
Wednesday- $0.55 lunch
Thursday- $10 cell phone card
Friday - $5.00 gas
Saturday - $15 swim lessons for DD
Sunday - $3.00 goodies at CREA

went home at noon on Wednesday and just watched movies with DD...
Thursday: went to the beach - $12 ($4 were for sunblock!!)
Friday: stayed home, a friend of my sister's came to visit and she brought her 5 year old DD with her, so Ale had someone to play with!, made torrejas for CREA - $3.00
Saturday - went to the beach again - $5
Sunday - went to CREA - $1 / went to M's house and made pizza - $2.00
Total spent for the week: $23

Turns out there are "restrictions" for the use of the cards....they told us: you can only use them on Mondays, Tuesdays and Thursdays...that's the reason we went yesterday...otherwise, I would have waited until TODAY, which is 1/2 off ticket day!!...what they DIDN'T tell us was that they are only valid for some movies (those marked "promotion"...of course, neither Robots nor Son of Mask were "promotion" movies, and, having made DD all excited about it, I just couldn't turn back!...) ... I know I should have said something to the manager, but, honestly, I have no way of proving the guys didn't tell us over the phone, so I'll talk to J. instead, when he comes back from holidays (his family owns the movie theater chain, and he's always asking for feedback!...and I just know I can ask HIM for 2 free tickets for Disney's upcoming Hephelump movie and he'll give them to me to make up for the bad experience!)

So, that's $8.00 I spent yesterday! (movies, soda and a bag of popcorn and a bag of M&M's which I "smuggled" into the theater! - they cost me about $1.00 at the supermarket, whereas I would have paid almost $4 on them if bought at the movies!)

We'll see how the rest of the week goes!

Well, my sis got a friend to come over and fix our light switches and also our shower...he "charged" her two breakfasts: one for himself and one for his son, plus babysitting of the little boy while he was fixing things...A great bargain, I'd say! (the boy is a sweetie and well mannered!)...
The mechanic my cousin got me for my car only charged me $15, and now my car works (he said he still has to fix the carburator, so that the car is 100% well, but, in the meantime - he can't come until after Holy Week - it drives fine, only I have to let it run a while in the mornings) ....still, it is saving me a lot of gas!!...I still have 1/4 tank left!! the way it was woking before, I'd be running on empty by now! woo-hoo!!...he says the gas savings will be even better once he finishes with the car! ...I have to remember to fill my tank before Friday, as a $0.04/gallon increase has already been announced... At least, I think this increase will be offset by the car repairs!

I finished my income tax declaration and, according to me, the government owes me $274!!...I will submit it right after the holidays, so I should be getting my money in 2 months or so!...the $274 will go towards paying my Kismet (local dept store) acct...while it won't cover the whole amount I owe, it will make a significant difference...and this is one of the highest interest rate cards!!

Yet another advantage to the new cellphone company: they have alliances with a chain of movie theaters, so for each $10 in cards that you buy, afterwards, just by presenting the cards at the movie theather, you get a 2X1 offer (so I can take DD to the movies and only pay for my ticket!) and you can also redeem them for goodies (popcorn and soda!)...so, that'll be one thing, DD wants to go see Robots...instead of $10 that our trip to the movies usually costs, I can do it for about $5.00!
On Thursday, my cousin and I want to go to the beach...that'll cost about $20 ($10 each, including gas and food)...
Then, either on Friday or Saturday we (DD and I) will go to my best friend's house, to cook a pizza for the 4 of us (best friend + DS)...my cousin got me a crust directly from the factory, at $0.40. We have to add the sauce and the cheese!
And, basically, that will be it, as I only have Wednesday afternoon (movies) and then Thu (beach) , Fri (M's house)and the weekend (Saturday to rest and Sunday going to CREA, as usual!)

It will be an expensive week (around $30 more than our "usual" weeks, but, we get to do this sort of thing only about 3 or 4 times a year! - how sad is that?!)

Monday - supermarket $53.24
Tuesday - $40.00 nanny's pay
Wednesday - $2.15 -lunch
Thursday - $1.15 - lunch
Friday - $0.25 - soda for lunch
Saturday - $5.00 - various (went downtown, bought 1 electric toothbrush for me, 1 electric toothbrush for DD, 2 sodas, 1 pair of sunglasses, paid for parking)
Sunday - $5.00 - lunch and goodies at CREA ( we had to arrive at 10:30 and left at 7:15pm...)

first off, thanks to all for your kind messages.
We are adjusting.
As I wrote, money-wise Mom's passing means that the money she was getting will come to us (the deal was arranged in such a way that we do not have to receive inheritance or anything, so there won't be any delays in the payments she was receiving), so that will help in two ways: 1. the obvious, we'll be able to use it to pay debts and 2. we will not have to figure out what to do (how to get more money) to support Mom after Jan 2006, which is when the payments will stop.
I really have to thank God that Mom did not have to suffer financially again (Dad was already worried about the money issue, Mom lived in the "now" and it was from her that we got the "spend it while you have it" attitude...she had already lived through phases of not being able to buy everything she wanted, and it was very hard on her...)
I know this sounds hard, and I apologize if anyone feels offended...it was certainly not my intention. But, this is a new framework for me, and i feel that I need to state it...maybe to make it more "real"...
In 2-3 months I will finally be up-do-date with all my creditors (even without selling the apartment, which is still in the works), and I won't have to choose which bills to pay...in the remaining 9-10 months, I will be able to reduce my debt, so that, hopefully, by the time the payments stop, I will be able to handle debt reduction on my own...Life will be a lot easier, although I plan continue living just as if nothing had happened, the extra stress of choosing which bills to pay and of fielding creditor calls will be gone...

it still seems sort of unreal...I'm an orphan now!...I guess what they say is true: couples that have stayed together for so long cannot bear to live apart, so once one of the partners goes, the other one soon follows...
we couldn't even have a wake for mom, because, since the last "event" had been so recent (68 days), we hadn't paid enough money to cover for it, and would have had to pay $800 to have a wake...it just seems so wrong...
We had to pay $4oo+ as it was...luckily, the company I work for offers aid for these cases, and I got $400, so what we had to pay was really not much...
Another cause for grief was that the cementary wanted to charge $170 for a plaque...for dad's we paid $60!!...less than 3 months before!!!...leeches!...my unit will pay for it... my boss was just appalled!

Mom had to be admitted to the hospital last week. It shows how broke we are that we put her in a public hospital...so awful...visiting hours are 12-2 and 5-7 only....this is the worst news of the week, of course, but, to top it off, my car wouldn't start this morning...the battery is new, and the lights, blinker, windshield wipers, alarm and horn were working, so it might be the starter...or some other bug in the electrical system....I have friends that are mechanics, but none is a specialist in electrical systems, so I'd rather not risk frying in my car...I have to get a pro!...
the hotel did not want our tamales...
AND, the lesser of all evils plaguing me, our shower broke (we can use the children's bathroom), and the light in the children's bathroom went off (the lightbulb "died", but then, it is STUCK in there...we can't remove it to install a new one!...)
I want a new life!

Monday - supermarket - $71.92
Tuesday - lunch - $2.35
Wednesday - Ale's psychologis - $60
Thursday - Ale's preschool - $60
Friday - gas for Mom's ambulance ride to the hospital - $15
Saturday - lunch - $4.94
Sunday - lunch - $6.94

So, my cousin took a sample of our tamales to a Hotel on Friday...they said to call on Sunday to find out whether they'll want to buy from us or not...but they were in meetings all morning on Saturday, and today, when she called, we were asked to call tomorrow, as they are having inventory...I hate waiting!
I hope this deal comes through, though, as it would mean at least 2 orders per week (for ~200 each!, ~$64 for each of us per month....still not a fortune, but considerably more than what we are getting right now...)

I hope they pay before 5:00pm today (they do it electronically), because, otherwise, I won't be able to go to the supermarket until tomorrow...I also won't be able to pay the nanny today (I pay her once a week, every Monday)...that would really mortify me, as I know she NEEDS the money...((sigh))
Will keep my fingers crossed!

I took my boss' shopping list down to the supermarket (due to the structure of our unit, you can say I have 9 bosses: 1 VP, 2 Directors and 9 Project Managers....besides the normal admin assist stuff, I am also in charge of the houses)....this is my latest effort to NOT have to deal with the maid!! (meaning, I don't want to have to call her twice a week to get a grocery list, I do not want to have to translate said list and I do not have to keep getting calls from the maid explaining that she can't cook/clean because she hasn't received the groceries yet!...which is what happens when I give them the list so they go to the store!)...I made a super-duper list, with quantities and brands and everything...I made 20 copies and sent it to the maid...now all she has to do is tick off what she needs...then send it to me, then I will take it down to the supermarket (there's a supermarket on the first floor of the building) and they will fill out the order, call me when it's ready, one of the PM's will go pay for it, then the supermarket will make the delivery...end of my involvement! ...anyway, getting to the pictures, it is a special promotion the supermarket has, that if you spend more than X amount, you get a coupon for a picture...they got 4 coupons, and, since they buy so much, they got 4 coupons...and, since they really don't have any use for them, my boss let me have them!! I gave 2 to the other admin and kept 2 for myself!!
Will go this weekend for a picture of DD and one of DD and myself!
How fun!!

Monday - gas $10
Tuesday - food for DD's lunch box - $5.49
Wednesday - cell phone card - $5
Thursday - lunch -$ 2.14
Friday - will have to buy lunch again! ~$2.00
Saturday - $45 at the department store ($25 shoes for DD and $20 in contact lens solutions for myself!)
Sunday - $0.30 cupcake at CREA

well, we couldn't get one on loan...we checked with various churches and charities and, also with friends...my sister found one at $80....she's on her way to get it now...
I had to give her the last $60 for that, so now we don't even have enough for groceries this weekend...It'll have to wait until Monday (which is payday)...and I know Mom is going to give me grief over not bringing her anything this weekend (no juices, no sodas, no candy...) It is so hard, sometimes...this doesn't make things any easier when trying to explain to DD that WE have no money for sodas, and juices and candy....and then she sees me take money out of my pocket to pay for this stuff for Mom...I have told her many times, this is HER money...but, does DD really understand??
I hope so!

the new income tax forms are here...time to start looking for my envelope where I store all the receipts for the year (at the beginning of each year, I take a manila envelope and label it with the year in big bold letters "2005" Then, whenever I make a purchase/payment that qualifies as a "deductible" I just put it in the envelope (saves me the time to go digging for stuff later!)...
I was looking at the taxable income table and, just with what I make agains what has been retained, I would have to pay $2.73...that is good, because, once I apply the deductibles...it won't be a lot, but I might have some money coming my way!! (plus, honest, as long as I don't have to pay, I really don't mind if I get a refund or not!!)....one year I had to pay $46...

a friend of my niece's was selling caps at $20 each...we found them downtown at $7 each...my niece saw an opportunity...we managed to get 5 hats for $6 each, and, she sold them to her friend at $13 each, so he can still make a profit (she didn't tell him we got them downtown, she told them they had been sent to her as a gift from someone in the US and that she didn't quite like them....she bought 2 for herself, so she told him she only kept those 2...)My niece let my cousin and I keep the profit and, was content with saving on her hats and, with the promise that we can take her downtown any time she wants (where she can get a lot more value from her money, and still astonish her friends!...a lot of what's sold there is trash, but, you get the occasional treasure, and she has a great eye for fashion!)
So, my cousin and I both got $17.50 that we didn't anticipate!! woo-hoo!...It'll go to one of my credit cards (there's one where minimum payment is $50....)
I have also managed to reduce my cell phone usage to the point where I can make a $5 card last 2 weeks!...that means $10 a month, when before I was using $35-$39!!! the $25 "saved" will also go to this cc, so I now have $42 out of the $50!!!...I feel rich!!
Of course, there's always something to burst your bubble!...I just got a call from a cc company...(not the one with the $42...ANOTHER one!...) ((sigh))
Let's make a few phone calls and see who'll want tamales for this weekend! - hope I get a lot more orders than last week!!

this last week I did not really have the time on Wed to call people to remind them about the tamales, so we only had orders for 36!!..plus what we sold on the weekend, about 80 for the whole week!...tough!
this week, though, my cousin is meeting with the chef at a hotel, to see if they would consider buying from us...I have a good contact at another hotel and will try that...

The weekend turned out to be a 'no spend' weekend, but only because I forgot to go to the bank on Saturday, so we had no money....only $3, which, of course, I had to use for gas!!...I don't know whether to be happy or unhappy about that!

we'll see what this week brings!

Talk about feeling rotten!...a while ago I was envying my best friend for her luck in having a higher-paying job, and having finished paying off her loan...well, turns out she's losing her job in 2 months (they couldn't secure any new donors for the ONG she works for, so they have to close!)...she's sending out resumes like crazy, trying to find something else....and, sending letters like crazy to try to find donors that might make a miracle happen and keep them open!...it's tough, though...been there, done that!...she's soooo stressed! (kind of like me a year ago!!)...my financial problems are far from over, but, sadly, I went past the point of desperation (where I would stay up all night because I couldn't meet minimum payments on the cards, etc) to the point of acceptance (I just CAN'T, so I juggle the payments and live with the fact that I'm ruining my credit!...and with the fact that it will take me 5 years to rebuild it!...what else can I do?? I already sell my mind when I do translations, I have traded my rest/family time so I may make a few extra dollars...unless they take blood for payment, I have nothing to offer!)...
Anyway...back to my friend. She's a single mom, just like me, except she lives with her mom and dad...until very recently (this week) she always thought if things got really bad, she would ask her parents for help while she found a job...but, turns out her dad has had problems lately and is broke!...so, her parents actually would need their support! (she has 3 sisters)....my friend has her son enrolled in one of the top 5 schools in the country (also one of the 3 most expensive ones!)...with the school year ending in June, she would have to switch him to another school if she can't find a high-paying job...it's difficult for her to even consider this, because a) she went there and b) he's on the shy side, and it took him almost 1.5 years to adapt and finally like the school!...Again, been there, done that!...I, too, went to one of those top 5 schools (different one!)...but, I accepted the fact that I cannot enroll DD there, so I just swallowed hard and went to look for what I would consider an "acceptable" one...
More and more people are falling into hard times...I hate it! Life is becoming dreary!

I have applied to 2 jobs in the past 2 weeks...not necessarily that I want a change, I'm actually happy where I am, but, these might bring more money (plus, they were very attractive, right the kind of work that I like!)...worst-case-scenario nothing will happen!