miclason's Personal Finance Blog

really,that kid does.

Yesterday, we were lying in bed (it was cold, we were watching TV) and she said: You know what would be REALLY nice?...if we could get BIG a house, so all 5 of us could live together (she means the 2 of us + sis, niece and nephew)...I said: such a big house would be expensive..we'd have to save a lot to be able to do that...and she replied: could I help with the money I'm making from the business, even if it's just $1? It would help, wouldn't it?

As of yesterday night, she had $9.20 cash, 6 frozen bananas and 4 popsicles...she had already re-invested $1 to buy 20 bananas....

Today, I took her to buy the doll stroller she wanted...first they showed her one for $3.50 (as opposed to the $6 she had budgeted)...then the saleslady told her: "We have one with the Disney Princesses on it..."...they showed her that one, and it was smaller than the original one...I asked how much it cost, and the lady said $8...Ale's eyes went big and she shook her head "no"...she told the lady: No, I want the other one...then the lady set another "trap", she asked Ale if she wanted to pay right away or wait until she had finished looking around...(hey, I was just the chauffer today!)...Ale said she wanted to look around first....so, we went through the store and at one point we were standing in the aisle where they have the cookware, and Ale said: Mom, look, popsicle molds!...she chose a set that is the exact same size as the one we had...except this one holds 8 popsicles instead of 6...so now she has 2 molds!...one for chocolate and one for strawberry milk popsicles!!...It cost her $1.75...she paid for it all herself!...I then took her to the supermarket (1 block away) and she bought the strawberry flavor (Nesquick), 1 bag of powdered milk, 1 bag of chocolate coverage...that came out to $3.24....so, now we are back home, and we already have the strawberry milk popsicles in the freezer...so, now she has $0.71 left on hand, plus 6 frozen bananas ($3), 4 chocolate milk popsicles ($1.20) and 8 strawberry popsicles ($2.40)...

While at the store, she also eyed some other stuff she liked...I just told her: You could make enogh to buy that, too, if you really want it!

$7.20, actually, as she used $1 to buy a new batch of bananas...

She needs to buy more chocolate, too, and wants to buy flavoring to make strawberry milk popsicles...(in case her friends get tired of chocolate!)

...so, yesterday she was confronted with a tough decision: the doll stroller she wants (what started this whole thing) costs about $6....but, if she buys it NOW, that will be the end of the business, as she won´t have enough $$ to restock supplies....I reminded her she still has to pay me back the $5 I loaned her...but told her she can pay in installemnts (even if she quits once she's in school and doesn't finish paying me back, I want her to KNOW that this is DEBT and all debt should be repaid!!!)....

I´ll let you know what she decides!

In the meantime, she has 12 chocobananos and 6 new popsicles in the freezer!...and asked me if she could take some of our Nesquick to make strawberry milk popsicles...

yoo-hoo! I got a loan from the bank that handles our payroll at the office...10.5% annual interest (special rate, the average rate "in the market" is 11-13%)...I consolidated a loan I had at 11.5% and the Evil Card cc (which charges 28.99% annual interest!!)...
It's still NOT official, because I have the cheques with me and need to go make the payments (tomorrow noon, since I used my lunch hour today to go sign paperwork/get the cheques!)...and then I have to wait 3 working days before the cheques clear...so, I gues on Wednesday next week, I'll be officially cc debt free!!

The ticker won't move,though, because I still owe the same amount (that amount doesn't take interest into account!)...

Oh, and I still intend to pay it off before my 40th birthday!

now I have to make sure she understands she didn't MAKE $4.40...that she has to deduct her costs from that (we calculated them together) and that she can't just SPEND the $4.40 or the business is over!- wish me luck!

Not in order of importance, just as they come to mind!

Mind you, I guess I should list them as ways to improve your mastery of a Second of Foreign language, LOL!

1. cable TV! - don't laugh! back when we first got cable here in ES, there was ONE cable company, and they had SEVEN channels only...all in English and no subtitles!...Grandma had it installed in our house...if we wanted to watch the "cool" programs, we had to make an effort to understand them!...it certainly helps train your ear!

2. books - At school they gave us summarized versions of books geared towards ESL (English as a Second Language) or EFL (English as a Foreign Language) students...but I also had my father's book case replete with "real" books...and he let me choose whichever I wanted!

3. Magazines- if you finished your work fast, our teacher would give you either a National Geographic or Time Magazine to read quietly while the rest of the people finished theirs.

4. Friends/family - when you have friends/ family members that don't speak your mother tounge, you tend to learn pretty quickly!

5. Getting rid of the shame- NO ONE speaks perfectly...I consider myself well educated and, still, will sometimes say things like "imprimido" (instead of "impreso") or "morido" instead of "muerto) ...I generally recognize the horror the minute those words leave my mouth, turn beet red and correct myself, but, the point is I DON'T speak perfect Spanish (not to mention there are probably 100,000 mistakes I make that I don't catch!)...so, if I'm not perfect in my own language...how can I be expected to be in another one? We all make mistakes...live with it!(plus, as a foreigner, one should get some credit just for TRYING!)

6. Etymology and phonetics classes- which I took at the university...knowing where a word came from really helps!
those funny little markings next to the dictionary made sense after that!...

9. Composition lessons- one writes as one thinks, if you're thinking is disorganized, like mine, you really need this!

8. Practice, practice, practice! - I've been blessed that I've had the opportunity to practice my English on a daily basis for the past 20 years!! ...unfortunately, my German is almost "lost", since I HAVEN'T had this opportunity!

It doesn't fit anywhere on the list, but one of the things I find fascinating about learning/ practicing a foreign language is that it gives you wonderful insight into other cultures!

...or, she will, once we work the numbers...

I made her some iced popsicles yesterday...it seems Nanny had attempted this some times before, without success...

The popsicles came out perfect this time!
Ale wants to sell them to the neighborhood children for $1/each (I told her she really can't do that, since the store in our neighborhood has cheaper ones, but promise her we'll work on pricing and then she can start...I also told her she can make "chocobananos" - frozen chocolate-covered bananas)...This conversation took place at lunchtime...

At 3pm, she calls me to work, and wants to know who gets the money...meaning who gets to keep the profits....
she also wants to know where the "original" money will come from ...meaning the money to buy the supplies for the first batch....

I told her I'll loan her the seed money, and she gets to keep the profits, but she can't spend it, because she has to re-invest it...she got a little confused with the concept of profit, so I promised I'll explain to her when I get home...

Even if she doesn't make much, it'll be a good experience!

That's what Ale told me a couple of days ago. she then proceeded to tell me she hopes to get some new kids in her class next year that don't have cable, as well...I told her: Baby, the way things are going, some of your OLD class mates might become cable-less as well! (A lot of the parents complained at the Parent's assembly last year because the school was increasing tuition. While I didn't feel thrilled at the idea, I understand that teachers and staff face cost-of-living increases, too...plus, it's a PRIVATE school....that means it is OWNED by someone - the school principal- who actually sees it as a money-making venture...) I think at least 1 other student has had the cable disconnected, already!

I understand the need to "compete", believe me, I do...I went to a partially -subsidized private school and, while half the class was taking trips to the US and Europe every year, some of us couldn't even afford to go to the beach on Sundays!...I wore clothes bought from a door-to-door vendor, they wore designer clothes...you know what? I turned out just fine, and I don't see why Ale shouldn't!...and I keep telling her, if she had cable she probably wouldn't be out playing with her friends outside all afternoon!....
And I know cable is just 1 battlefront!...soon I'll get to fight other ones,like: cellphones and clothes! ugh! Wish me luck!

he said there's no indication of anything neurological wrong with me (yay!)...but, he said my blood pressure is high...he prescribed some blood tests to check for the usual (cholesterol, tryglicerids, etc)...gave me some gynko biloba (sp?) and some b-6 vitamins and told me to come see him again in 1 month...
he said I could be suffering from chronic fatigue...Yep, I'd say that's a possibility! LOL!..

I had a migraine again today, and slept most of the afternoon...

I'm going to try to have a more regular sleep schedule!

As I was saying, seeing all those numbers made my head swim, and it was actually kind of scary... so I went into Excel and tried to "map" it...here's what I came up with:

YEAR 1

This helped me realize, for example, that I cannot stop saving for taxes after the 2008 taxes are covered...because it's not like I won't have to pay taxes in the followin years! (if anything, I'd have to pay MORE!)

YEAR 2


YEAR 3


YEAR 4

Thanks for all that responded to my last post...it really was illuminating!

As a result of your answers, I sat down and thought about what I NEED/WANT to do, financially, to really be able to leave this job and start my own translation business; here's the list of what comes to mind, complete with the time frame I've allocated to achieve the goals: (I still need to work on them to see whether they are feasible, though!I also need to figure out the most logical way to set them up - which one to do first, etc., so the exercise is not really over yet!)

Step 1. be debt free! - I have about $8.5K in debt...about $6k is for a personal loan, and the rest is cc debt...Step 1 is to pay that off, so that I have the tremendous amount of money I'm currently using to pay off debt available to build up my financial situation...

timeframe: I want to be debt free before my 40th birthday (next year)...that gives me 12 months! ...I'd need about $800/ month to be able to do this...hmmmm..

what I'm doing about it: my debt level is finally low enough that I can get a loan through the bank that does our payroll without needing a co-debtor...I submitted the paperwork yesterday...I just hope my sketchy financial history in the past 5 years doesn't affect me...

Why did I do this?....well, the new loan would be at 10% annual interest; the current one is 11.5% and the cc is 28.99%! (YES, that's not a typo!)...this would significantly reduce the amount of interest I'd be paying, and would make it easier to actually pay off in 1 year...

Step 2- Taxes! ...more income will mean more taxes...based on estimations, I'd need about $5,000 to pay my taxes next year.

Timeframe, again, would be 1 year (a bit less, actually, since taxes are due April 30!)...I'd need about $555/month to achieve this...

How I'm going to do this: I've already spoken to the bank exec and I'm setting up a savings account next payperiod (July 11) so that I can start saving 1. part of my salary and 2. the corresponding amount whenever I get paid for translations

Step 3- Emergency Fund I currently have about $150 in my EF (that's almost nothing, I know!)...I need to have $5,000...but, for that, I'm giving myself 2 years (24 months)...that would take about $210/mont...

Are you still with me? If I add all this up, I'd need $1,565 AFTER TAX to fund all this...doable? difficult, yes, but not impossible...especially if I put money aggressively into debt repayment, then work on the tax thing and then "catch up" on the EF thing...

Step 4- "tie over" fund ($2,000)...this is not really urgent and could be left for my "last year" here...this would be my "revolving credit" with myself to cover normal expenses in case translation payments are late.

Step 5- house fund - I need at least $10K in here... that should be enough for a downpayment on a small house in a good (read: safe) neighborhood; a 3-bedroom would be nice, so I could leave 1 bedroom as a study...but, really, a 2 bedroom would be more than enough! (I can always set up in my room, in the dinining room or living room!)...this one, as you can see, is already started...it has $30 in it, and $30 will be automatically added on the 28th of each month...I don't plan to make any additional contributions to it until the debt is paid off/money for taxes is complete....If it turns out that not all $5K are needed for taxes, I'll transfer the remaining amount to this account. Once the debt is gone, I'll use part of that money to start increasing contributions to this fund...and once the EF is full, I'd add part of that, too (snowballing, in a way!)

Step 6- Ale's college fund- I still have 9 years, so I'm also counting this as "not urgent" (although, I know those years will pass quickly and I NEED to have at least some money in it...I will start the college fund in August of next year!- after I'm debt free!)

Step 7- health and life insurance- I already have a (very modest) personal life insurance policy, apart from the one given to me by my employer...if I go out on my own, I'll need to increase the amount and I'll need to add disability insurance...Medical insurance: I already know the one I want! It's like a pre-paid plan with one of the best hospitals in the country...If you are hospitalized for an emergency, for whatever reason, insurance covers 100% of it...if you go to emergency care, but are not admitted, you have to pay $11.45...for non-emergency care, insurance pays 80%, as long as you go to their doctors and providers...no problem with that!...they give you a thorough check up at the beginning to determine eligibility, so if they accept you, there are no "pre-existing" conditions!...I would also sign up as an "independent worker" with the social security institute (medical care)...I know I will need $$$ for this, but, again, it's not urgent and I'll look into it about 2 years before my "estimated date of departure - EDD"

Step 8- retirement Currently discounted from my salary are about $400/month...and the employer -by law- pays as much into the fund, too...so I need to think about putting at least $800/month after I leave...

...I've estimated what level of income I need to have to make all this possible...
I'd need to make $13K the first year (July 08 to July 09) to be used exclusively for The Plan...this is definetely feasible!(I know it doesn't add up, that $1,650 X12 i $18,780, not $13,000!...what I mean is $13,000 would come from the translation business)...then I'd need to increase that amount by about $2K every year for the next 3 years...the other advantage of waiting until Dec 2012 is that, if my position is terminated, I'm entitled to full severance payment: 1 monthly salary per year worked! (under Salvadoran law, if I leave, I don't have a right to severance payment...I believe the Embassy does give you something according to your bosses' request...up to 50%, I think- need to look for the latest update to the policy!)

I also need to keep really good track of what I'm doing and where the money is going...and make sure I keep focused on what I really want!

I was commenting on my $1,000 weekend translation, and a friend from work asked me that question...she then answered herself: "oh, because that's not every month!"...
The more I think about it, the more I like the idea of leaving my "job" and become an entrepreneur and do the translation thing full time...I mean, I could drop Ale off at school and go back home and work until lunch time, then work for another hour or two then go pick her up...I could take her to dance lessons, stay there and work while she has her class (I have a laptop and a spare battery...and I generally connect to the internet when I finish the translation, just to "clean" it- a.k.a look for words or expressions I don't know/I'm uncertain of or unhappy with, and then to send it after I clean it...)
....the problem, as my friend pointed out, is that I don't get $1,000 translations EVERY month...then again, if I were doing this full time, I'd have more time to promote myself/make more contacts to make sure I DO get $1,000 worth of translations every month...
HOWEVER...at the moment, I NEED about $1,500/month....(to cover living and other expenses PLUS debt repayment plan PLUS savings- however little- PLUS taxes, etc)...once my debt is gone, this would go down significantly (as, currently, about 43% of my income goes towards debt...still an improvement over the 47% that I was allocating last year!)...
My job here is "secure" for 4 more years (the life of the program!)...notice the quotation marks, because, really, NO ONE's job is ever secure, is it?...
anyway...my goal is to be debt free, and then save for the dowpayment for a house (notice how my ticker is now showing the amazing amount of $30? It's a start!...once I finish with the debt, I'll be beefing that up!)...I then want to get my own house (easier to do if you are "employed"...but now banks are starting to also grant loans for "independent" people - to use their own words!)...SO, I guess my strategy would be to get the loan with the bank while I'm still employed here (before sept 2012), THEN make the jump!...does that sound like a plan??

98 pages and about 28,000 words...all I remember is that I'll get $1,014 (or was it $1,016?) after taxes...this money will come in in August, so I already updated my excel spreadsheet...my current monthly average is $956...not bad....but my target is $1,000....still, it's the 1st of the month, so I can still "catch up"!

Well, July will be a 'dry' month...I got paid for all my translations last week (and the $$$ is all gone already!- some spent, some paid)...and the next payments aren't due until AUGUST! ....((GASP!))...AND, I have to renew my drivers license and the car registration...so in July I won't be able to make payments above the minimum payments...I hate it!...((sigh))...at least, I have the $$ for both the minimum payments and the license and registration!...PATIENCE!!!...
oh, but August will be a great month!...I already have $300 worth of translations that are due in August...and I just got a new 96-page job!...of course, that means I should be translating, not blogging!!!...oops! gotta go!

Found a great deal on tires! woo-hoo!

we just received an announcement that we will get a 2.5% salary adjustment starting next payperiod (o, due on 7/11) yay!

In my case, it's about $27/month...hey, that's $27/month I don't have, currently...I'll probably use the first $27 to open a savings account to start putting money away to pay my taxes next year (as I estimate I'll have to pay about $4,500!)

I noticed yesterday that we will soon need new tires for the car...and today there was an ad stating that tire prices will go up starting July 1st...I guess I HAVE to go tire shopping this weekend! (or, rather, that I need to have niece sit down with the yellow pages this week so that I can go buy tires on the weekend!)...you know what is great?
1) I DO have available credit, so I COULD put it on my cc...
You know what is greater?
2) I DO have enough cash available that I won't need to do that!!!
Such an amazing feeling! (of course, there are things I was planning to buy with that money, but they are not urgent, so they'll just have to wait!)

The guys have been going out to the field a lot lately...I don't get to go. I stay and "hold the fort", LOL!...
but, since we bought a camera last year, I make them take it and, aside from the pictures of the events that they are attending, they occasionally take pictures of the scenery...

Here are a couple of places I've never been to (and not likely to visit anytime soon, as it is difficult getting there even with a 4X4!!- in fact, there are places where they had to leave the cars behind and walk for about 1 or 2 hours to get to the communities!)





As you can see, transportation IS an issue (and this was during dry season!!)

The day was soooo beautiful, we decided to go to the beach, to a nice little surf lodge someone had recommended to us...
We spent $50 for 3 people...not bad, considering sis had an entree and lunch (Ale just lunch)...and sis had a couple of beers...
As for those things that money can't buy...

This was the view from our table:



And this is us, enjoying the afternoon!

Ale thought I had 7 days vacation from work, just as she will have 7 days vacation from school.... I wish!
...I explained work vacations aren't the same as school vacations...she was disappointed, but, I promised her I would try to take the day off on the 26th (her b-day)...
I already asked and my boss said I can take it....

Well, the chicken pate probably cost about $3.15 to make...but I didn't even use up half of it!...so, let's say $1.50 ...and $1.35 for the bread...the 12 sandwiches cost us $1.85...or about $0.15 each!...
When we made them for sale, they were even cheaper, because I would buy the bread at the factory on sale for $0.60...yesterday I opted for buying it in the little corner store (which is always more expensive than supermarkets, even! that same bread would have cost me $1.25 at the supermarket) ...but I saved the cost of gas- going to the factory or even to the supermarket for 1 loaf of bread would have been crazy!

Ale was so very happy!...even happier because there was leftover chicken pate...which means we get to have sandwiches for dinner! ...since this is the pate Mom would make for our "pinata" sandwiches, they are extra special for us!

this is what my daughter told the teacher after she (my daughter) offered to be in charge of bringing 12 chicken sandwiches to their "last day of school" party...
the teacher had originally asked her to bring in paper plates and chips...and when Ale offered to bring the sandwiches as well, the teacher worried it would be too much of an expense...
oh, well, they WILL be home-made, so obviously not as expensive as buying chicken sandwiches...or even buying the chicken pate to make sandwiches, since we cook from scratch!...(Ale has a good idea how much they cost, because she knows we used to sell them at 3 for $1...and this left us a profit, so...)

shhhh....don't tell anybody just yet... niece was in an ad for Cellphone company #1, which has MUCH better signal coverage than any of the other ones...the reason I stay with my current cell phone company is that their prepaid card balance doesn't expire ....with other companies, you buy a $2 card, once you load it to your cell phone, you have 5 days to use it, or it expire...$5 cards last 7 days; $10 last 12; $20 last 15 days and the $50 card lasts a month...
with my company, I can use a $2 and, as long as I receive at least 1 incoming call in a 60- day period, it NEVER expires...since I've been trying to CUT on cellphone use (I'm currently spending $2- $5 per month!) this makes a lot more sense than switching to company #1...
HOWEVER...the ad niece made is to announce that company#1 is going to go to "non-expiring" cards, too! woo-hoo!
I get the convenience of a pre-paid cell phone (contracts here are for a fixed amount, starting at $15, you get a "free" phone, but the contract is for 18 months...if the phone is damaged within those 18 months, you have to either buy a new one, or sign an extension of the contract (for ANOTHER 18 months!)...and, since I really don't care about having the "latest and greatest" cell phone, I can buy one of the cheap $10- $15 phones and get both the convenience of the no-expiration card AND the best signal coverage!!! It'll even help me LOWER my cellphone budget, because sis and niece (the people I call the most) AND the people at my office are already on THAT network, so calls will be cheaper thatn they are now, with me calling from company #2 to a company #1 line!
woo-hoo!
(I'll just have to wait until they announce it officially!- oh, and I'll have to carry 2 phones while I make sure everyone on my address book has the new number!)

I had to explain to Ale this morning that the fact that the school is allowing them NOT to wear their uniforms the last 3 days of school does NOT mean students can wear whatever they want... she wasn't too happy about it, but, I know she now probably thanks me (as it seems some of her schoolmates had to be told this AT SCHOOL, BY THE TEACHERS!!)

What bothered me about Ale's clothes this morning:

1. mini-skirt: she was wearing what used to be a mini skirt 2 years ago...it barely covered her while sitting down, even with shorts underneath it!
2. shoes: black ballerina flats that were pretty when bought, but after almost 1 year of abuse look like she rescued them from the city dump...it's a miracle they don't have holes in them, but look very worn and ratty...AND, they make her feet smell if worn without socks!!!
3. shoes: she changed into crocks...definetely not a choice of footwear my grandmother would have thought appropriate for school! - it's as if she had worn sandals: too casual!

So I sent her to change again and she found a skirt that was about 3 inches above her knees and she decided to wear her Hush-puppy sandals...

She gave me an evil look...and I explained to her...I asked her if she had noticed that I never wore my work-clothes on the weekends, or viceversa...

I told her that is because eventhough I don't wear a uniform, there are certain rules we are required to follow when at certain places (no bare shoulders at church, no jeans at certain offices, etc)...

She seemed to have accepted it by the time we left for school and, coming back from lunch I got a message in my voicemail that said: "Mom, we can wear our normal clothes to school today, but we cannot wear 'ycras'...do you know what 'lycras' are?" (they mean short biking pants)...I'm guessing there's a long list of other stuff as well!

They called her to tell her they will give her the $23K she needs to consolidate her debts...of course, she's complaining: Oh, I needed 23K three months ago, now it won't cover 100% ...
I know, I know, she's a brat!

Anyway, she is supposed to sign next week and, she has asked me to help her in drafting a plan to get rid of the remaining debt (VERY high interest incurred in these 3 months...probably about $1K in total) and how to try to 1) pay off the new loan as soon as possible and 2) maybe even try to save a bit!

woo-hoo! this is so exciting!

A while back,boss#1 got a copy of then-unreleased (?) book, called The Lempa River, Flow of Life... I admired the book, but said nothing.
Today, the book was officially released and, boss#2 got a copy...which he just gave to me! YAY!

It has pictures and information about the Lempa River, which is our most important river in ES! - In turn, I'm giving it to Ale (but, I'll be the guardian for now!)

Well, I had secretly hoped to be able to pay off ALL my debt by 12/31/08...and starting Jan 09 debtfree...but, with the tax calculations I made a few days ago, I know I need to "save" about $300/month to pay for that...that means I can NOT pay all proceeds from the translations toward debt...that means I have to delay my plans by 4-6 months...
my NEW dream will be to be debt free before my b-day next year (that means 7/15/09, as my b-day is 7/16)

..not wanting to be caught off guard next year, I modified the excel sheet my co-worker gave me to calculate my taxes for next year...I've input the salary info (old salary for the first 9 pay periods, new salary going forward) and linked it to my translation business sheet for translation income/ taxes...
Just with that info, I've already jumped into a higher tax bracket...and my estimated taxes for next year are at $4,000....If I reach my goal of $1,000/ month average, I'd have to pay $5,000...
this year I had to pay about $2,600...

OUCH! ...I guess I need to start a fund for that, too!

Thing is, the Embassy - by law- cannot withhold income tax from our salaries (although we do have to pay income tax) ...AND, for services, the translation companies withhold 10% of my income as income tax (which they have to deliver to the Ministry of Treasury)...BUT, given the (estimated) level of income, I'd have to pay 30% income tax ...
and, given that I don't need a car to do my job, and that the laptop was a gift...well, I don't have business-related deductions...

I had to go to the supermarket today...didn't intend to, but none of the corner stores had powdered milk, and we ran out...I went there on an empty stomach- bad, I know!...but, the one thing I craved was a salad with yogurt dressing...so I bought a lettuce and some tomatoes (no salmonella here!- or maybe we are just inmume already! LOL!), a cup of plain yogurt and a bottle of nutmeg (not used in this recipe, just one of those "basic" spices that we didn't have at home!...)

The dressing: yogurt, mustard, ground pepper, salt, vinegar (tiny amount) and basil leaves...simply divine!

yum!...and Nanny had cooked some chicken with a red sauce that was delicious, and some rice w/veggies...so I had a VERY nice dinner!

I got a 3-part document yesterday...managed to finish it and send it in (now that I know the piece I'm working on is due on the 12th)...that should be about $65...my monthly average is slowly climbing again towards the $1,000 mark- currently at $950....and I still have 2 weeks in June that would go towards the July total...Great!