miclason's Personal Finance Blog

remember I said I didn't know how much my cash award was?...well, it was $500!!! (approved for $500, my bosses had asked for $1K!)...
This will go towards debt! -woo-hoo!
It should be included with my next payment, on June 13th, so I know that there will be deductions, but, still...
AND, you should see the note they wrote to justify it! WOW!

That´s the total for translation for this weekend. And I still have 3 pieces more, due on the 12th, 16th and 18th...they should be about $100 each! yay! - this helps make up both for the "lost" week and for the $$$ that was overbudget from the trip! yipee-yay!

:: happy dance::

I want $10,000 for downpayment on a house...someday...
I opened a new "future account" when I closed the Disney one...they will be taking $30 out of my salary each month...but I can add as much as I want to/can after that...the will take it directly out of my account (where my payment is deposited) starting next Friday... I'm hoping to see THIS ticker go down as I watch the other one (debt) go DOWN...
wish me luck!

I went to pay Ale's school tuition for June ($137, due June 10th) and also a cc so I can FINALLY close it! ($10...but i have to wait until tomorrow to close it)..then went to get my balance in the cc I used to pay for the car - just to cross check...then I went and printed our photos...we already put Ale's autograph/photo book together...it looks awesome!...I also had to buy some juice boxes and milk boxes for Ale's snacks and lunch at school...it has been a "spendy" day of sorts...but I'm hoping to have a NSD tomorrow!...

oh, and i also had to pay Nanny, because although it was sis' turn to pay her (we alternate every 2 weeks), but she didn't, and Nanny asked me if she could borrow $20 from me...I opted for giving her her full $83, as I know sis will give it to me later...I just don't like the thought of Nanny, who has to get by on so little, being paid late!)

I am still translating...these ones will bring about $100 each, so about $400...that will be enough to cover the additional money we spent and to pay $100 more towards debt ...

I also learned that I "lost" a translation job because they tried to drop it off on Wednesday, but they needed it for Thursday night, and, needless to say, with me ARRIVING Thursday night, they opted to take it to someone else!...oh, well, I really needed my rest yesterday!

long story, but our Miami to Orlando flight got cancelled (and that was THE flight for us...the only one that had space! add to that 100+ revenue passengers from that flight added to the other ones = RENTAL CAR!)...I ended up having to rent the car in Miami and driving to Orlando!!!...and they DIDN't have compacts, or economy, or mid-sized cars...I had to take a full-sized one!!! ...add to that the fact that dropping the car at a different location is more expensive, plus the gas to drive that monster from Miami to Orlando...well, between the car rental and the extra purchases, we spent ~$200 more than we had budgeted (fortunately, I did have a little extra I could use for just such a thing!...after all, don't they say when you travel you should pack your bags and take your money, then take out half of what you packed and add 30% more $$$??)
I got lost, too! (have I ever told you I have a "broken" compass?? I get disoriented VERY easily!...here, it's a joke...but, believe me, it was NOT funny!!!)...it took me 2 additional hours to find our hotel!!! ...
well, that was day 1.
But on day 2....we went to Animal Kingdom and loved it!!! - we didn't do many rides, but we DID see a lot of animals ...AND...as part of the Year of a Million Dreams, we got chosen to be on the Mickey Mouse float in the parade!!!!
We had to buy some clothes because our bag DID travel to Orlando without us, and Miami said our bag was in Orlando, but Orlando hadn't acknowledged receipt of the bag...and, NO, when you travel stand by you don't have the right to be reimbursed for purchase of clothes or toiletries if your flight gets cancelled (you do have a right to compensation if the airline loses your bag, though!)
On day 3 we went to Epcot and they gave us free "ears"! (I had already bought Ale's, but she kept insisting that I buy myself ones, so we could both have ears...and I kept saying "No").
We also went to get our bag from the airport...and I got lost again! both on the way TO the airport and back!
Day 4 we went to Magic Kingdom. Left early (10pm) because Ale didn't want to stay for the fireworks (the noise scared her!)...
Day 5...got up at 4am to go to the airport and drop off the car/get on the 6:15 flight! Got to Miami, checked in and went to the Miami SEaquarium and to the beach (but did not stay because Ale stepped on a rock at the beach and freaked out! - she didn't want to go near the water again and I didn't want to fry in the sun!)...went back to the hotel for some pool time and to change. Went out to hunt for a Barbie Girls MP3 player she wanted (with her own money)...had to go to 3 different places, to finally find 1 left at Toys R Us!...

Every day, when we came back to the hotel, we added up what we had spent to make sure we were more or less on track...
And every day Ale got to write down what SHE had spent out of her $75...so it was a good exercise for both of us!

Came back home to find 4 pieces of translation waiting for me...all due next Monday, so I gotta get to work early tomorrow.

Gotta go! that's my report for today!!!

a quick one-pager! woo-hoo!

Diesel is $4.95 ... I fully expect it to be AT LEAST $5 when I come back from the trip. EEK!

When I came home, there was a new package of translations waiting...a lease agreement amendment- joy! (not!)...
still, I've gotten quite used by now...but, I swear, thinking about the difference between a lessor and a lessee (or arrendante and arrendatario in Spanish) makes my head ache...it's one of those things I've never quite gotten...so I just repeat like a parrot: lessor is arrendante...lessee is arrendatario, and keep going!)

I had until Thursday night to turn it in, but I want to be FREE tomorrow and Thursday to pack and make sure I'm not forgetting anything! (yes, I have a list...but unless I have ENOUGH time to pack, I feell like I'll forget something!)

my monthly average "fell" to $867...but because I had to divide by 7 now, since all/any work gotten on the last week of a month will most probably NOT be paid the following month, but the one after that (so, this translation $$$ will probably be paid in early July, rather than late June!)

We were assigned new, larger office space- yay!
we moved today- not yay!
My workstation did not fit the way it did in the other space (it's a combination reception desk/workstation/file cabinet)...so...we had another piece of it in storage...had to get it out of storage...had to change the orientation of the whole thing (my drawers used to be on my left, now they are on my right hand side!)...making that change took a lot longer than anticipated...as a result, half my furniture is still NOT in....hopefully tomorrow.
This also delayed the setting up of IT equipment, so I have my computers (yes, I use 2!), but I only have 1 (out of 3) printers...
Because the furniture is not in its proper place yet, I haven't been able to unpack my files, paper supplies and other knick-knacks!
I haven't been able to set up the coffemaker, either!

At least, my boss#1 office is set up and I was able to unpack all his stuff already. All that is needed is his conference room table (which we had in storage due lack of space at the other offices)...

Boss#2's furniture is set up, and he is only pending unpacking his files...

our DAS' (development assistance specialist) office had not been painted, so that his office is less than 50% ready!...and I'm leaving on FRIDAY!!!! ((breathe in, breathe out))
Hopefully, this will be all set up by tomorrow!!!
++++
oh, yes, and I'm leaving at 5:00pm today, since there's not much else I CAN do!

we opened the "Disney Money" piggy bank today...Ale had $15.03
I told her as soon as we come back we have to start another piggy bank (they sell them here at the marketplace...any shape and size imaginable!)...and she said: what would that be for? ...I told her I wasn't sure...could be for another trip, maybe...and she said: or for a medical emergency, Mom, so we can pay in real money and not credit card money!

My baby!!

Our offices are relocating...All my stuff/ general office stuff is already packed. I also had to pack boss#1's stuff, since we were told on Wednesday that we will move on Tuesday and, he had requested the day off today so he could travel...which means he should have packed yesterday, but he had a lot of meetings and a lot of work that had to be done by COB today (which meant he had to finish COB YESTERDAY if he wanted to go on vacation)....good thing is, since our office is fairly new (1 year) and we are paperless (as much as possible, anyway), all HIS stuff fit in 3 boxes! yay!
My stuff took about 7 (but then, I have the paper/office supplies, equipment and, even the coffeemaker is considered "mine"!)....Everything is boxed and labeled, even the furniture! (so movers know which desk goes in which space!)... this should speed up things on Tuesday!I get a much larger space, and 1 window!!!...boss#1 and #2 get almost twice the space, boss#1 gets 5 windows!!!- boss#2 only 1 window...IT has promised we wil only be off-line/without phones for 2-4 hours...we'll see...

Had to leave the office at 1pm, though, since I got a migraine (duh: packed my "emergency" aspirin yesterday, and was too lazy to dig it up today while I still had a normal headache!)...it's ok, since boss#2 had decreed that, since all our stuff is boxed up anyway, we'd get early dismissal at 2:30 (provided we had finished with the packing!)....

I estimated $70 pre-tax on the new translation job, and it actually came out $67.68.
Done and delivered! (well, sent!)

+++++++++++++++++++++
Next week is going to be crazy at the office!...
5/26 we get off due holiday in the US
5/27 they are moving us from our current offices to newer, larger ones one floor down!
5/28 I'd guess we'll be unpacking!
5/29 am- webinar pm- cash award ceremony (from 3pm to 5pm!)
5/30 - I'M OFF TO DISNEY!!!

Oh, and my boss leaves tomorrow for a long weekend, so I'll be packing HIS stuff, too!

a PACKAGE arrived yesterday. It's one of those training evaluation packagess, which pay $0.03/word, and which generally bring in anywhere between $6 and $20 for each session evaluation. This one had 5 session evaluations. I've already finished 2 and they were about 1,000 words (so, $30 pre-tax). I'm finishing tonight, and I'm hoping this one will bring in about $70 in total.
(see? I told you God would send work along!)

Just finished another translation. That brings my YTD average to $1,015!!! yay!
and if I get anything else this week, it still counts towards June...
Week after starts counting towards July, and then there'll be a "lost" week...

We'll see...I know God will send me enough work to make up for that week!

Who is this woman, and what did she do with my daughter??

Today I preferred to make myself a veggie sandwich instead of eating spaghetti and meatballs (which were already cooked when I arrived home, so it wasn't only pasta vs. veggies, but convenience vs. work)...this, from the kid who declared all veggies were "yuckie"- except carrots, peas and tomatoes and potatoes!

Either that, or he's laughing like crazy!

I made the payments I wanted to towards debt and, with the reduced airfare (had budgeted $700, turned out to be $435) and the gift from ex-hubby (of paying for Ale's park tickets), this trip has become a reality (almost!)

Now, all that is left is praying for space to be available on all flights so that we can proceed as planned with our "space-available" tickets! (wish us luck!, although, ex-hubby says the flights "look good"- meaning they are not full!)

We are leaving on the 30th, so my goal is to have EVERYTHING ready by the 26th (including luggage!)...

12 days until take off!!! - and I'm guessing we won't get to sleep on the 29th!!

Took Fiona to the vet's for her anti-rabies and anti-parasite vaccines...I was feeling lazy and decided to spend additional $$$ on a bath for her, as opposed to bathing her myself tomorrow...I don't know what they put in that bath, but she looks amazing and smells clean (hmmm, my doggie shampoo is anti-flea, have never wanted to splurge on the one that smells good...I also don't buy a doggie rinse) ...the total cost for the visit was $22, so it wasn't bad at all. The vet pronounced her in good health and even gave her a treat for being such a good doggie!
You know what felt amazing? Being able to just say: Fi needs to go to the vet's, let's take her! and not having to check first to see whether I could afford it, simply because I KNEW I could afford it!...and it was included in my budget for the month!!

I made a translation yesterday for $30, and the people from the translation agency said they'll send another document tonight! - my monthly average is at $994 at the moment!!
Did you notice the ticker?? I'm past the $9.5K; $9.0K; and even the $8.5K mark!- woo-hoo!! ::chugging along::

tomorrow, I have to take Fiona to the vet's (rabies vaccine), Ale to church... go grocery shopping...pay my personal loan at the bank...

I'm thinking of dropping Fiona at the vet's, the Ale at church, go to the bank, pick up Ale, then Fiona...

and going to the grocery store in the afternoon instead of in the morning (I like to go with Ale after church because church is about halfway between our house and the supermarket with the lowest prices...if I go drop Fiona off at home, then it's a lot of extra gas...and I can't go with Fiona to the supermarket...and I'm afraid if I go to the supermarket after church I won't be back at the vet's on time to pick up Fi!)

((sigh))

another 2 small translation jobs!

we are supposed to eat for nourishment, but, for some of us, there are a host of other things associated with food.

Mom alternated between anorexia and bulimia. She was obsessive about food and would also go years (YEARS) on end eating the same food (egg-salad sandwiches for dinner, for example. She also went through a fried egg and a tamale phase).

Food was important in our house.Food was an indicator of love. Mom cooked to show she loved us, but, if we didn't eat the food (you HAD to have seconds) it meant you were rejecting her love!... we learned to "trick" her by using mini-servings, so you could have seconds...or even a third helping!

There was always excess food at the house. Mom liked to have "extra" in case we decided to invite a friend or two...we were a family of 4, and always sat at a table for 10...and, believe me, there was enough food for 10 at the table! (food for the maids- yes maidS, there were at least 3 of them- was separated before the food got to the table...contrary to local custom, maids didn't get to eat what was left over from the table, nor did they get beans and rice only: they got whatever we got, and a full portion was separated before sending the food to the table. If, additionally to this, they wanted something more, there were always beans and rice and tortillas). Any leftovers were packed in individual bags and given to poor people who (knowing there were ALWAYS leftovers at the house) would come by once or twice a week to collect them for their families.

So...yes, we could spend a lot less in food (mind you, we DON'T cook for 10 nowadays!)but...food is important EMOTIONALLY for us...

And, it's funny, sis stops eating when nervous, while I eat non-stop! oy!

***
chose this image because my friends all say one of the things that impressed them the most when they came to visit was that our pantry looked like this!


Mom also HAD to have food available in large quantities... know that '@' symbol? In Spanish, it is called an "arroba", and it is the symbol for 25lb!...we bought our potatos and onions by the arroba!!

from urgent translations....just finished the 2nd one! ...time to go to bed!

Ale woke me up at 7 am to give me a note that stated she didn't want to wake me up, so she'd be downstairs playing....and to please look for her once I was awake so she could give me my presents
I went down at about 7:30...Remember that conversation about not BUYING presents? like the little mice in Cinderella, she went about looking for discarded stuff she could recycle. She got my niece to give her an old bead (BIG BEAD) from a broken bracelet and she turned it into a necklace!...she also used bits of construction paper to make me 3 different cards! ...oh, and she has taken to going around saying I'm her "favorite parent"!

She also told me she had wanted to bring me breakfast in bed, but that we were out of cereal and she doesn't know how to use the stove! :P

****
on a funny/ kind of sad note, my sister's ex stroke again and left HIS daughter stranded downtown, where she takes an advanced math course on Saturdays, so Niece and Nephew went to get her and she had lunch at OUR house...how can he expose her to what could be a potentially hostile environment?? -- perhaps he was counting on us being civilized enough to 1)let the siblings go get her and 2)be nice to her and ask her to lunch!...we've seen this girl (she's 15) probably 4 times in her entire life. I think she's nice; sis is rather indifferent towards her (let's not forget this poor kid is "living proof" that her ex was cheating on her!- plus, the kid is very introverted, and sis is extroverted...), but, in the spirit of it all not being the girl's fault, sis tries to be nice and make her feel welcome (both times she's been to our house, anyway!)...this guy is really something!

There's a program at work whereby your boss can nominate you for a cash award. The nomination is then reviewed by a committee...well, my bosses nominated me and I got it! ...I still don't know how much it is, but, hey, any (legally obtained) unexpected income is welcome in my house!!

Nephew came this weekend (he comes every 2 weeks) and he had asked sis to buy some stuff to fix our front door... sis did buy the things, but was very skeptical that he'd be able to fix the door...she thought that he'd make it worse and that we'd end up having to call a carpenter...or having to sleep without a front door!
Well, Nephew DID fix the door, and he did a very good job, too!...it cost us only $20 + the stress of having to hear sis yell at him for dismounting the door! - seems he learned some carpentry at one of the last re-hab centers...

It's a first because he's finally taking care of us (at least in some respects), as opposed to us having to take care of him! (I know that sounds awful, but, it's true!)

ugh! I was looking at the office's travel budget (we need to send an update on projected vs. budget) and, we had "left over" money ....we KNEW there had to be a problem, and thought maybe I had left out some trips or something...I went over the trip allocation twice....and then proceeded to re-check the other numbers...ah-ha! turns out the "remaining available funds" figure I used were NOT ours, but another country's!!

I had one set up 5 years ago to help with the Disney Trip (should have had $1k by now, but I had to get $$$ out to pay for debt a while back!)...soooo, now that I'm closing this account (to get the $285 that I currently have there), I've already spoken to the Bank's exec to set up a new one! Yay, me!- she'll be dropping by later to pick up my docs (we have a mini-branch inside the compound, with a cashier, and the account exec comes 2x a week!)

I've been trying to NOT buy soda for lunch for ages...I do well a couple of days and then go back (just so you can imagine how ingrained the soda habit is: my Mom bought our sodas directly from the soda truck...and they gave her the wholesaler price!)...

so, today I decided to face the fact that I lack self discipline: I put $0.30 in my pocket (I needed to buy a tortilla for my lunch, didn't know that they cost $0.05!) to make sure there wasn't enough money for the soda (they are $0.50 each!)...

It worked!!...so, all I have to do is NOT bring any money to the cafeteria!!! - wish me luck!

Ok, I just finished one translation work. It was a 2 hour job, and it will bring in $40! yay!

As is the case with many Catholic rites in Latin America, this originally was an indian rite adopted/adapted by the Catholic Church: at the beginning of the rainy season, to ask the gods for a bountiful harvest, the pipiles used to make offerings of fruit. Now those offerings are made on May 3rd (Day of the Cross in the Catholic calendar) and placed at the feet of a cross. People put up these little crosses in their yards, with garlands and fruit. We put ours in the living room (to guard the fruit against Tonio and Fiona)

The cross in El Salvador is made of a special wood called "palo de jiote" (don't ask! I don't know!)... the peculiarity is that the bark peels off and leaves behind a very smooth surface. It is believed that the indians saw in this wood a representation of the Xipe Totec - an important Mayan god who wore the skin of the dead

There's some information here: http://espanol.groups.yahoo.com/group/sanromero/message/39

The top of the page is in Spanish, but if you scroll down, you'll find the info in English.