miclason's Personal Finance Blog

LOL! Well, sister's ex hubby (SEH) and family are leaving to the US (or so they say... this would be their 3rd "attempt"...oh, they have the papers, they're not migrating illegally, but... SEH always seems to feel that the jobs he finds are somhow "beneath him"... perhaps he thinks his very first job in the US, without fluent English, should be top management?)...anyway... THIS time, they're selling everything (so, maybe he's really committed to the move this time!) ... and, he has given a lot of house stuff to my niece... she's already distributed most of it around the house, and even put some of our stuff away to make space... Most of it is nice...

Now, I'm going to spew my venom... (Obviously, I made this comment to sis, but would never mention it to my niece!)... maybe he thinks this would be free storage IF he decides to come back? (meaning> if he decides to come back, will he ask niece to return it all?) Knowing him, I know he's capable of it... (I really hope he DOES stay this time, and I really hope that, even if he comes back, he doesn't ask niece to return it, mostly, because it would break her heart!)

I bought a pizza dish today... Ale made her first pizza!... I had made a couple for her in the past, but, this time, all I did was measure the flour... oh, yeah, and I did heat up the sauce and added some garlic... everything else she did by herself... she was so proud!... she even asked her cousin (my nephew) to leave 2 pieces so that her other cousin (my niece) could taste it!

Next time, she wants to make the sauce herself... from scratch!

Really, that dish already paid for itself!

Yesterday, when I came back from the dentist's I thought I felt a weird smell on my car... I asked niece to come outside and check it...she didn't smell it...still, I told her to have her "antenitas de vinil" on while driving... yesterday night, when she was returning from work, she heard a PFFFT! in the engine, and opened the hood to find a rust-colored splat... this was about 1 Km from home...and the smell got stronger...since we had spoken about it, she told me as soon as she came in...
Today, I took the car to the workshop in the morning...turns out it was the main hose to the ...cooling system (?)...
they will replace that one, and the other 2, while they're at it... the guy said they didn't look so good, so I decided I don't want to go through this exercise again in the near future... and, they asked if I would OK probing the radiator, just because the "rust colored splat" is water from it, and it looks... well...rusty... so, better look at it NOW instead of later...

So far, the quote is $380, and I'll have my car back at 5pm... YAY! (from the "rubbery" smell, I was thinking engine seals... or worse... )

While it IS a lot of money, again, I must thank God that the time is past when I would have had to sit down and cry because there was NO WAY I could pay for it...now it just means I have to reshuffle/reprogam payments!

Well, the doctor started populating what my ex used to call "the teeth map", which is the little graph where they write down where you have cavities and where you've had work done...

It confirmed that the only teeth I have still "untouched" are my canines and my wisdom teeth...

I have at least 2 new cavities and a "?" ... and I will need a crown and I think I counted at least 5 "re-do"... OUCH!!

In the meantime, I'm $116 poorer, but my molar looks pretty again! (I had one molar where the filling on the side had broken off...and it looked terrible...the only reason it didn't hurt was because I already had endodoncy on that molar!)...

Oh, the $116 covers 2 sealants for Ale, the new filling for my molar and a "panoramic x-ray"... (to see just how rotten my teeth REALLY are! ugh!)

I hate going to the dentist!

But, this one is very good, I totally trust her, so, at least that makes it less painful... And, the great news is Ale only needs 1 filling and then I can go alone to my appointments without having to be ashamed in front of my daughter! (I AM a nervous wreck at the dentist... I AM a crybaby... the dentist knows this and lets me cry if I want to... but, we don't want to scare Ale!)

but... my molar looks pretty now!...

so, all in all...I'm still happy!

Well, this vacation seems to be all about cooking!

I made Ale some marmahon on Tuesday, pizza on Wednesday, which she loved....then I made some chicken/soy crepes...which were a huge success... yesterday I made split pea soup.... and today sis made a shrimp/crap soup for lunch, and I made carbonara spaghetti for dinner....
Tomorrow we might go out of town....and sis bought all ingredients needed so I can make my chicken/spinach casserole on Sunday!....

Yep, it´s a lot of food, but...there have been no leftovers so far, and, it has been a lot less expensive than it would have been if we had gone out to eat! (with the exception of the seafood soup...perhaps)

I feel like I´m channeling my mom!

well.... Ale has 3 cavities...one has to be worked, the other ones will be treated with sealant...
cleaning of her teeth cost me $30

cleaning of mine> $50....

We have another appointment on the 14th to assess MY teeth and fix Ale's cavity...

Well...we took care of the eye doctor last Saturday (I spent $22.60 to have the Dr. tell me Ale has 20/20 eyesight...and that, as far as he can tell, she has not "inherited" my tendency to myopia or astigmatism... Yay! those must be her father's genes!- he still has 20/20 eyesight at 35!)
She so desperately wanted glasses (and I sooooo desperately DIDN'T want her to need them! LOL!)....
And I already made an appointment for us both at the dentist's for Friday. This is just a "diagnostic" visit, so the Dr. can see what she needs to do... I'm hoping in Ale's case it'll be just a clean up and then maybe schedule a visit to the dentist's husband, who is an orthodoncist...yep, even I can tell she needs it!)... in my case... I KNOW there will be LOTS of work! I've always had terrible teeth...

I also have to start allocating some money to pending vaccines for Ale...

O U C H ! (in more ways than one!)

One of the new translators tempted me: asked me if I'd like to upgrade my computer, then went on to say a fried of his refurbishes used laptops and offered me a "new" one for $350....

I've been toying with the idea... but, at the same time...it's $350...wouldn't that $$$ be better invested in...say...me? and Ale? (our teeth, specifically... we haven't been to the dentist's for ever...)

so... that's been in my mind the past couple of weeks... and, when I was this [] close to calling the translator and tell him if his friend still has the laptot, I want it...I ran into my dentist at the drugstore around the corner from work!... hmmmm... I'll take that as a sign!...

For the time being, I'll take those $350 and allocate them to the "Teeth" fund (God knows it probably won't be enough!)...My old laptop works just fine...plus, if that guy's friend refurbishes laptops, he probaly WILL have others later on!

Well, yesterday we had the annual meeting of the coop at work. They gave each of the attendees $20...yay! ... originally, they were going to raffle 200 gifts of $20 each, but, since there were about 200 attendees... it was decided to just give each person $20!....
I also won a bottle of wine! (raffle of products donated by suppliers)

...I invested my $20 in buying a set of 1 small round table + 4 stools which I had seen advertised that same morning for $21.99... (plastic)

I set it up in a corner of our yard and now that's Ales "atelier"...she can craft, paint, draw, write...whatever she wants... she loves it because its her own little corner.... I love it because it should mean no more paint/glue-ruined bedcovers...MY bedcovers, as she never paints/crafts in HER room...only mine!

Oh, yes...we knew it would be tight... in fact, our boss made us write down who we thought would win, and by how much...he said he didn't want us to write how we were going to vote, just who we thought would win (he's an american, so it wouldn't have made any difference to him...plus, I think it's pretty obvious-from conversations in the past- where each of us stands, so...
anyway, we all said the margin was going to be 2% or less!
(and it was!) it is not a surprise, even the right-wing people were kind of fed up with our party, but, a leftist government in ES is just... well...unthinkable...(if that makes any sense!)

My personal worry is that the president elect will NOT be able to do whatever it is that he intends to do, but that the party allowed him some freedom while on campaign because that was one of his "conditions" to run with them, that they would not try to control him...but, what happens now? Will the party continue to allow him this... or will they demand that he does what they want? If this is the case, and he doesn't want to...is there really something he can do? The Vicepresident elect is the same man that has run for VP for that political party ever since they became a political party (it was ALWAYS the same two, the only reason the other one did not run is he died a couple years ago!...so, NO, HE hasn't lost his intent of ruling, nor has the party really changed...they only found a fresh face for the party, someone not "tainted" by a war history.... I know what I am going to say will seem horrid to some of you, but, during the campaign, there was a lot of mudslinging, and one of the things that was played up was the VP candidate´s guerrilla past…how he had killed hundreds of people (as per his own account in his autobiographical book), but, to me, that is not really the problem… (nobody can go through 10 years of war and come out clean)…to me, the main problem is that I do not feel he has changed his views… (all those deaths should at least have TAUGHT him something)…there´s absolutely no regrets, but, rather, some pride in what he has done…
Also, while it is true that the now president elect has met with Lula and not with Castro or Chavez….the VP is another matter, he´s always been buddy-buddy with these folks… Now, one might say the VP doesn´t matter, but, let´s face it, he DOES…. I might have read one too many conspiracy theory novels, but I fear that, if the president doesn´t do what the party wants, if he´s too resistant….”something” could happen to him…

As I said in my previous entry, there really isn´t much that we (the people who didn´t vote for him) can do now, other than wait and see….and demand that he proves we were wrong, as a friend says! (and, quite frankly, I think we would all welcome being proved wrong!) ---prove that we were wrong in thinking he doesn´t have the freedom/will to do what he promised to do…

Now, many of you may not understand this “fear” we feel (I know my boss doesn´t!)….
Well, this is not the US, where differences between 1 party and the other one might be huge, but the basic views are the same …

Don´t think our elections were like choosing between Obama and Bush…this was more like…. (Fidel) Castro or Bush… hmmm...or maybe Chavez vs someone, as we say "to the right" of Bush...and, yes, it IS a very polarized society… you can´t “sort of agree” here, you´re either for or against… (foolish, I know!)….

The reason I haven´t blogged about this before is I´m still trying to digest it… not to mention that nothing has changed/will change/can change before June, when the new president comes into power!...

Oh, and, for the time being, at least, the right wing party has promised they will be a “constructive” opposition….(not voting NO on something just because it wasn´t their idea, or leaving theirs seats so that there is no quorum for a vote, for example…the sort of thing the now-ruling party used to do!)

…so, I´ll be writing more once I see what REALLY happens!

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DISCLAIMER: This is my personal view, I'm not a political analyst nor do I pretend to be knowledgeable enough about politics ...but, hey, it's how I FEEL, so it's valid! LOL!

I haven't been blogging lately... too much going on!
ELECTIONS IN ES>
Well, the leftist guerilla turned political party won the elections... 48.X% to 51.X%...67,000 votes difference!... some people are celebrating... some others (like myself) are still holding our breath and wondering what this will REALLY mean for the country...nothing to do now but wait and see, and give them the benefit of the doubt I guess...
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TRANSLATIONS>
I haven't had as many translations, but the studio added 2 new translators, and they asked me to train them, help review their first 3 scripts BEFORE they got sent for review, just to help them get acquainted with the whole system (as well as avoid embarrassment if any turned out not to have a suitable level, they are not professional translators) ... they've done well, and the improvement from translation #1 to #3 is noticeable... from now on, they'll be pretty much on their own!
Oh, and I accidentally erased the WRONG file from my USB drive... did you know files deleted from your USB drive don't go to the recycle bin?? I had to use a special software and was able to recover PART of it! (about 9 pages out of 22!) so that set me back a whole day!!...
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went to the Dr. yesterday for a check up and turns out some seemingly insignificant things, added up, means she has strept!...well, the Dr. prescribed us another drugstore...er, several medicines, but he gave us enough medical samples that I didn't have to buy anything! YAY!
They also gave me a list of "pending" vaccines...her 8 year booster shots... OUCH! ...well, obviously we did NOT give her any yesterday (not for at least 15 days!)...Part of me is considering taking her to a public clinic to get the shots...then part of me feels guilty because supplies there are limited and they should really be for people who REALLY can't afford them... (like me, 4 years ago!)....Plus, they DID bruise her there last time!
Ahhh, what to do, what to do?
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WORK
Sometimes I go crazy, sometimes I could fall asleep on my face...what else is new?!
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HEALTH
I started going to the gym and lost about 2 Kg...but I think my body is too comfortable in its current weight, because then I gained 1 back! (at least 1 and not the 2, or, worse yet: 3!)
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PETS
Sis took Antonio to the vet and he prescribed some cod-smelling medicine for his coat... the label said: palatable for cats and dogs...well, Antonio certainly didn't find it palatable... the first time I tried giving it to him, he ignored me for 2 full days!
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NESTING
Yep, still at it...still fighting the urge! To give in a bit, I bought a small house facade today (you know, the little ornamets that LOOK like a small house facade)... I already hung it on my wall... (it's sooooo pretty!)... I bought that and a couple indigo-dyed ponytail scrunchies for Ale and myself... resisted the urge to buy a bag, a necklace (oh, so pretty) and a metal thingy with pegs... which was beautiful, but that I really wouldn't even know WHERE to put! LOL!
Oh, and I'm almost done with the rug (about 90% done!)

Well...I have to go finish translating now!

I'm always lurking, even if I don't post...so..."see" you around!

her boss told her yesterday that, given the low sales in Central America, they might be closing down offices starting in June...
Right now, most of their large customers are not buying anything...some have said they are awaiting the results of the election (to be held March 15) to decide what to do...others simply have less orders from the US, so they are not producing as much, so they are not buying as much...
It's tough, because sis is already 44, and, here in ES, a woman might as well consider herself unemployable at 35!
Not only that, she's worked sales, but, in a field that is so specialized...
Well, there's not much to do but wait and see, I guess...
For the time being, she'll try to lower her debt as much as she can (she's got at least $12K- $15K...and I don't know how much of that is cc!!)
Don't know if she's already told her children...at least they're both working now, so it'll be easier than it would have been, say, this same time last year!

I was looking at my blog and it seems I was nesting last January (2008)...now I'm nesting again!
Like momsents, I'm craving spending...
My obsession right now is Ale's room.
To curve the spending, I decided to MAKE the stuff rather than buy...that way, I get to buy the materials (so, about 35 skeins of yarn + burlap + other stuff as opposed to 1 rug... cost is about the same as a brand new one + labor...BUT, it keeps me busy so I don't go out and keep buying, so it's worth it!)...
I think I'll be done with the rug in about 2 weeks (I've been working on it for 3 weeks now, so the rug has effectively kept me out of the shops for 5 weeks... yay!)...
NEXT, I want to order her books on top of the headboard (it's one of those with little spaces for storing things), so I offered to make her some bookends...we settled on elephant bookends... soft ones (saw the idea somplace)... the great news is I have most of the materials I need already (except for the sand to fill them....) I could either use the fabric left over from the ballet bag, or I could use another fabric I bought at the same time (which I really love,and was hoping to use to make something for myself, maybe a bag...) I can always ask my sis for the right color thread (she sells industrial thread, and she has oodles and oodles of samples...)
which would mean I would achieve my "nesting" goal (something NEW nice and very special for Ale's room)without spending any money! (yay!) ... I have even been working on my pattern...
Now, mind you, this is a project to be stared once the rug is finished! I'll post pictures! (this is what it WILL look like, but the pompons aren't sewn in place yet!)


Oh, ref> the fabrics....
As you can see, the rug is very colorful (one might say technicolor! LOL!), so if I use the hot pink fabric, I'll be "picking up" the pink from the rug...If I use the other fabric... it's bright red (also on the rug) with multicolor mandalas... so...either could work... I'll let Ale decide once I have given her the rug

I would also like to go to the dollar store for some cheap picture frames to build a nice display on her wall... but that IS money...
Oh, and I also saw this wonderful idea
for displaying children's art in their room....they put a "clothesline" against a wall (so, a piece of yarn suspended from 2 nails), with wooden clothespins, and the drawings were hung with the clothepins! so clever... and it looked great, too!)...another NEW thing for Ale's room that wouldn't cost me any additional $$$$ (I do have all the materials!)

HELP! ...oh, and, no, I haven't been watching HGTV, we don't have cable! LOL!

I've been going crazy looking for all my tax letters (the ones from the people I've worked for, stating how much I made, and how much of that they gave to the govmnt)... and I thought I had lost 1 of the letters...so I sheepishly wrote to the company requesting a copy...their answer? They have the original, I haven't picked it up yet!

Oh, well, I'll pick it up when I pick up my next check - which should be ready this week/next, at the latest!

Well, generally it's relatively quiet and peaceful at my office... enough work to keep me from falling asleep, but not enough to stress me out... GENERALLY... this past 2 weeks have been crazy!
I'm taking a break right now, but I have to put together a binder with info, contract an interprter, make logistical arrangementes for a trip (in country), translate 2 presentations and get at least 4 docs signed ... one of which I accidentally tore! (yikes! I glued it and now it looks as if it had been jammed in the automatic feeder of the photocopy machine and then smoothed out!)...I'm getting calls as to what I'm going to do with some (office) money allocated to cair repairs, which hasn't been used... it SHOULD have been used, I HAVE been sending the car to the workshop... but, since that vendor handles maintenance for all cars, they are SO messed up with documentation, I was told 3 different things yesterday: 1. Office owes 2 installments of $700 each, 2. No, office owes 1 bill for 2 cars totalling $25K...oh, no, no, no...3. Office car has never been serviced...
Er... NO, no alternative is valid. Which basically means they have no idea of what they're invoicing!
Told the girl to try to get things straightened out and I'll call her today... (I will!) Otherwise it looks as if I can't manage the $$$! (as in> why did you require that $900 be allocated and then not use it!) AAAAAAAAARGH!
Oh, translations have subsided a bit (thankfully, I could not survive another week of 8-5 then 6-12, weekends included!)

well, those 2 extra translation jobs left me with a lot of catching up to do in my "regular" translations...I'm still behind with 2...
will post once I'm not racing against the clock anymore! (which SHOULD be next week!)

Yet, in my exhaustion, I translated kidney (riñon) as higado (liver)...
At least, that was the only SUBSTANTIAL mistake in a 34-page translation!

I got another BIG translation job... $135 pages...I cannot do it, but it's from my oldest/most faithful customer... so I'll do part of it and subcontract the rest!...I'll make no money on the subcontracted part, but I WILL on "my" part, plus, I keep my customer happy! YAY!... March will be a great month, financially (as I will get paid late Feb/early March for all this!)

I am teaching her how to crochet...so far, I've taught her to do chains...
she figured a small chain would look good as a bracelet, so she started making them in many colors... she figured a longer chain would make a necklace...
she made a bunch, put them in a basket and went out to sell them around the neighborhood...she made $0.60 (so far)...Now, she's figured if you take 3 strands of different-colored yarn, you get a much thicker bracelet in a funky pattern...
next weekend I'll teach her a new stitch, and see what happens!!

WOW... I paid my (share of the) rent today, and realized one thing:

If it weren't for the translations, I'd barely get by on my own salary....

Having said that... I also should be taking better care of where my translation money is going...

Why?...well, my monthly expeses are ~$1,036...my salary is $1,077...that is, of course, if I stay on budget with groceries and utilities (I tend to go over with groceries) AND, if I stopped paying Nanny every 15 days out of my salary, and paying her 1 "quincena" when I get paid and the other one just let her wait until sis actually gives me her share of the money (which would mean up to 10 days wait for Nanny!! -- can you imagine??)

Also, looked at it THAT way, I'm not doing as much as I should with the translation money...not as much is going towards debt as it should...

Hmmmm... I guess I found Goal #1 for 2009!
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looking at it on the bright side....at least now I'm NOT at -$200 on paper!!!- even with just my salary! YAY!

264 slides/ 11681 words translated....
311 slides/ 19256 words to go!!!

I think I can, I think I can...

Spoke to the guy with the 29 presentations and told him I could only commit to doing 17 by Jan 5... he said he doesn't need them until the 12th, and that, if I am available, he'd much rather wait and have me translate them all!

WOOO-HOOO-HOOO-HOOO!!!

(had to share! back to work!)

Friends, I'll be MIA for at least a week! Not even reading, probably...I've got 16 hours worth of scripts for Feb...(Thank God for the work, and Thank God that they are sending them early this time!...sometimes I don't get them until the 10th of the previous month!)... AND, I've got tons of work from a government entity in charge of promoting investments here in ES... 29 presentations!!....I think I can, I think I can.... I think I can...

You didn't think I'd forget to send you a super special, just- for-you-on- your-birthday collage this year, did you??

Well, I have mentioned that nephew is now living with us... he's been with us since the end of October, after being released from his evaluation at the psychiatric hospital. The psychiatrist adviced against putting him back in rehab, said he's reached a point where what he truly needs is a home environment.
Needless to say, we have all been kind of on the edge about this...
Sis gave him 15 days to find a job... he started working at a warehouse about 2 blocks from home... the night shift...was there for a 15 day trial, but they didn't hire him because he "couldn't work as well after 2 am" (shift was 8pm - 5am)... they didn't pay him, either...since it was just a trial (he agreed to those terms prior to starting, so...)
Anyway...he had already applied (twice!) to a call center, and went and tried a third time (same call center)... the HR person noticed him and said: "you ARE persistent, aren't you?" and signed him up for a 2-week initial training... he passed the final exam and was offered a permanent position starting Dec 15 (sister's b-day... her best present ever!)... he was paid his first salary yesterday, and gave my sister $50 for house expenses... ANOTHER first!...plus, her best Xmas gift ever, too!...
Yes, we still have twin heart attacks when he goes out with friends... yes, our hearts still stand still whenever something goes "missing"...then resume beating when the items are found!... He's been behaving really well...having the occasional spat with my sister, of course... he's still not very good at following rules...particularly rules he finds useless...and sis is still trying to controll so many things, it's difficult...
The other day, for example, he went out with friends... he returned at around 12, and asked sis for money to pay for a cab ($7) because his friends had started drinking and since he wasn't drinking he decided it was no fun and took a cab to come back home... sis started scolding him for going out with these friends in the first place, knowing full well they were most probably going to start drinking... from where I'm standing, though, he made a responsible decision... 2, actually...not drinking and not riding with someone that was drunk... yes, it would perhaps have been preferrable (and cheaper!) if he had stayed home...but... he's 24, we can't put him on a leash or keep him locked up!... he HAS to learn to deal with this type of thing!
So, anyway... as stressful as this has been, so far, it seems like things will work out right!

Well, we went off frugal mode in November- with the Xmas bonus at the office...
while a lot of the $$$ has been going to things that were needed/not urgent (like painting the outside of the house and the living room) some has also gone to mindless spending (not bringing food for lunch... useless trinkets for Ale, etc)... I wouldn't say it's BAD, but it certainly could have been better used (yes, you do need to have some fun once in a while)... anyway.. I've already warned Ale that, come January, we will NOT be going to the malls anymore, unless it's for school-related items (like shoes...she desperately NEEDS new school shoes, hers look like she took them out of a dumpster already! I noticed it early December, but decided that, since her last day of school was the 17th, they'd HAVE to last until then!...and, I will wait until the last possible moment to buy, given the way she's growing!)...
I also told her we will not be eating out as much or entertaining as much, unless we find free/almost free fun!
Wish me luck!

a billion, "in English" is one thousand millions... "in Spanish" a billon is a milliion millions...
quite a difference, huh?

I get really confused when I have to translate this (numbers really elude me, to say the least)... I have more problems when I have to translate things like> 4 and a half billion... I really have no clue how much that is... and, oh, yes, I did mess that up on a recent script! (Thank God, they DO review them!)

he,he,he...this is what I told Ale when she showed me- again- the dream doll house...little does she know an identical one is sittin in my sister's closet...
I have almost all my presents...including my nephew's!!!...
the one I'm missing is tricky...it's Santa's "family" present... a big box containing 1 present for each one of us... in past years it has been easy, as there were only 4 women/girls in the house...now with nephew things get complicated... I'm thinking perhaps towels... (in the past, the 4 presents were identical, or "related", only different sizes and/or color)
Oh, I also have to shop for Nanny's Xmas dinner and present...but that one is easy!

we got a request for 4 "urgent" programs... and then 1 more, "super urgent"...
2 of them have already been reviewed and are ready to be recorded... I just had to share this two comments!!!

"Fue una buena traduccion - verficamos ciertos terminos que nos tomo tiempo,pero todo está bien."
(it was a good translation. We verified certain terms, which took some time, but everything is fine) -- this was a very complicated translation for me, as it dealt with astronomy... lots and lots of technical terms and names!

the other one dealt with fixing some high voltage power lines...

"Una excelente traduccion - casi nada de cambios solo typos."

An excellent transnation, next to no changes, only typos.

(at the rate I've been translating, I can live with a few typos!...after all, the saying is: Translations- fast, accurate, cheap...pick 2!)

1. Track spending -- terrible, as usual

2. Make at least $1,000 per month average from translations. Save at least 10% of that! -- well, managed to do the $1k/month, but all my savings are gone (car repairs)... oh, well, at least it's no new debt!

3. Take better care of myself...hmmm... so-so....

So, in conclusion... did not do that well in 2008, although there was progress, that's for sure!

Have to start thinking about 2009!