this is so great! After 15+ years of working at places where vacation time was according to law --15 days -- well, I totally forgot that here I get 17 days per year...which means that I still have 11 days left to use -- an not 5, like I thought I did!...so, I can take 9 vacation days for the contest workshop instead of taking 5 and asking for 4 without pay!--equivalent to $106-- (I agonized about this, but, had already decided it was worth it, so, now I'm extra happy!)

woo-hoo!

Forgot to post this one!!

Total for July
Challenge statistics:
to discount from challenge this month:
-$0.00

Earned in July: $210.00

net for January: $12.15
net for February: $318.40
net for March:$380.00
net for April: $222.00
net for May:$336.86
Net for June: $32.50
Net for July: $210.00
Total ytd for 2006 (net):$1,511.85

TARGET: $4,000

$2,488.15/ 5 months to go!

This is an email that our Director sent to our VP regarding the set-up of a new Project Manager...

*************************************
V,

Just wanted to let you know that Maria and Bea have done an outstanding job in setting up everything for A. After only one day in his job he is already fully equipped with absolutely everything he needs, just pending his business cards (this depended on the assignment of a cell phone number and fixed line, which has now also been completed).

I think we are now managing the introduction process a lot more effectively (when I started it took me many weeks to be at the same stage), and that is in large part attributable to the good organization that Maria and Bea have shown.

Saludos,

J

I got paid $100 more for services yesterday (still pending $1,900...this covers 4 months and, should have been paid month by month, but wasn't...at the moment, I feel like I'm doing "salvage" on collecting this money)...since this was work I took in replacement of the English lessons, these $100 go to my August challenge! ...

...I tallied up the translations done for my friend and, it comes out to $85!! woo-hoo!...to be added to my $20 challenge once it's paid! (which should be next Friday, as she's currently traveling!)

I just finished another article (3 pages)

2 people just came by to ask if I wanted a coffee, as they were getting ready to call The Coffe Cup....I said no, 3 times! ....
One of the guys actually understood, he said: "oh, it's August, it's a new budget, and it's clean...so, eventhough that means you 'have' the money for the coffee today, it's also a new opportunity to do better and keep the budget 'clean'for as long as possible!"

It is also a month with a 4-day weekend...and that tends to be expensive! (or, at least, tends to cost more than "regular" months!)

At one point, it seemed that my posts categorized under Progress and those categorized as Setbacks were "even"...72/71, or 72/73...a while back I was posting about how the balance seemed to be tipping in favor or Progress....well, looking at those 2 categories now, it's Progress 141 vs Setbacks 114!!!! (And I even get to categorize THIS ONE as Progress)

I’m doing much better, but there’s still room for improvement:

the only categories where I was at or below budget were:
SCHOOL
ENTERTAINMENT
CELLPHONE
CLOTHES

That leaves me overbudget in

GROCERIES (ALMOST made it!)

EVENTS
LUNCH
CAR

OTHER (no excuses, just plain stupidity!)

so, for July, the result is 4/9

The great news is that, OVERALL, I was on budget this time ($10 under, actually!!!)

Hoping to have better results for 060901!

((remember this covers variable expenses only))

I bought 3 eggplants on Saturday, just because they looked so nice...I had never cooked eggplant, but looked up some recipes and, decided on an eggplant lasagna...
it turned out YUMMY!...even my sister (who's no fan of eggplant) loved it...for $6 I made enough for 9 portions (but, with everyone having seconds, it is already gone!...it fed 3 people yesterday, and there was just enough left over so sis and I could each take 1 portion for lunch!)...this is definetely worth repeating!

since her church group wasn't meeting today, we went to open the account...counting some coins she's gotten here and there (from aunts, etc), she had $16.40!!

So, now Alejandra has her own saving's account!
And it's all her own money, too!
I'm so proud!!

I'm in!...I received a letter yesterday, and, my workshop is scheduled from the 15th through the 23rd of August!

HR's new thing is to give employees a present on the month of their birthday...today I finally made the time to go...it's a special pass to the movies for 2 people... I'll save it for our holidays and go watch Garfield 2 with Ale (or see what else is playing that she might like!)

A friend of mine has asked me to do some (paid) translations...I just sent her the first item (3 pages)...
I know she'll pay me when she comes back in about 2-3 weeks (is currently working on a special project and is traveling frequently)
woo-hoo! this will go towards my $20 Challenge!

I sold some tickets to the Museum, and got $10, rather than deduct them from our Entertainment budget, I'll put these towards my $20 challenge, since it's cash!...

Well, in the end it wasn't $1,000...it was $900 and they took out $160 for the current month's payment (which the office will pay for at the end of the month anyway, so it's like a double payment towards the loan this month!)... so I ended up with $740...Only $700 will go towards the cc...the other $40 I'll keep to help pay for this month's phone bill payment ($100 total!)...

Still, I'm happy...$700 going from 28% down to 9.50% MAKES a difference!

soooo, the bank exec came by today to give me my check (I was out on my lunch hour, having the tape player installed in my car!)...BUT, she's coming back tomorrow morning!! woo-hoo!!...Aval Card: here I come again!! (no, the cheque won't cover the whole amount, but, bringing even part of it from 28% to 9.5% is progress!!)

Ale's school stuff, that is...I really don't understand this...mainly because our school was subsidized, so what we bought was minimal (think pens, pencils and notebooks)...books had a stamp inside where you wrote your name and grade and, where to be bound in clear plastic if new when they were given to you (on loan)...

So, yesterday I stayed up until 11:00pm labeling stuff (didn't finish, though!)...I just have to say: I'm happy we have computers and can print the same label 11,000 in 10 different sizes if needed, without having to type it more than once! (or I'd be even crazier!!)

my goal this week is to finish labeling EVERYTHING and, put everything in its plastic box as required by the school, then put it in the highest tier of my closet where Ale cannot get to it! -- that way I'll be ready for my next challenge: binding books in clear plastic! (books haven't arrived yet...have I mentioned I was so spoiled that my nanny would bind my books/notebooks for me when I was at school??...it's difficult to do it right!...I guess I have to learn now...better late than never!)

1. New bed for Ale... Pending, not urgent yet, but increasing in priority as she grows...she'll soon be too big for her bed!--Have started quoting...the dept store to which I have a card has a set of twin bed with drawers (nice!) with headrest, night stand (not needed) and chest of 4 drawers (not needed) at $399.00 --waay to expensive for so many un-needed things!! I'll use this as my "base" though (or, rather, as my "top", considering this the most expensive alternative!)...still looking into having it custom-made (which, ironically,would probably be less expensive here in ES!)...Ale has started asking when we will buy her new bed!

2. New bike for Ale...Has dropped even lower in priority...depending on how things go, maybe Santa can bring it!

5. Dresses and shoes for friend's wedding! (she's getting married in Jan 2007, so that gives me time to save!...and to lose some weight, too!)

Remember the charge I disputed with the CC??..It appears credited on my latest account statment (finally!)...woo-hoo!!!...

my grocery bill was $76...my goal is $70 or less...if you take into account that I didn't NEED the hair dye, which I bought 2 of because they were $2.75 (vs normal price $4.76!) and, that my niece also included 2 boxes, which she has vowed to repay next week (she's going to be in an ad, and will get $100 for it), then my "normal" total would have been $11 less ($65!!! -- on budget!!)...and, if niece DOES pay (and I'll make sure she does!), I get $5.50 back!...so that the actual price for my groceries will be $70.50....$0.50 above budget...I can live with that!

I can send Ale in with her Air France 2006 agenda! The school ok'd it!...so...officially, I'm only missing the books (arriving at the school in the first week of August) and, the labeling of all her stuff!

I feel sooooo liberated!

Stuff that was pending:

School supplies --nearly done!

sweat pants for gym class (2) - navy blue... found them downtown, $6 each!...very nice quality, too!

Book bag - need to check if the school has restrictions on these (can they have characters or do they need to be solid colors only?...) Size will depend on school supply list!...we also have some left over from the sale...

We're almost done!

I'm missing 5 items, which we didn't have in stock...

All I need is to label everyting!

Will do the numbers once I have everything and, will post about it!

1st price vs shop around

notebook (blank, no lines, 200 pages)
$0.60 vs $0.50

plastic placemat
$1.25 vs 3X $0.99

toothbrush & toothpaste **she has to stay until 3pm and has lunch there**
$3.00 vs $1.94 (buy a children's toothpaste, get the toothbrush free package)

Wetwipes
$1.80/ 80 wipes vs $1.00/ 100 wipes

So far, so good! I've lowered the estimate from $38 to $36!...I've also decided to calculate what it would cost to buy everything retail (based on the prices we gave the parents back in January, which were average market prices...just to see the difference!)

I finally have the school supply list!
Out of 35 items, I need to find 11! (and they are not expensive/difficult to find, either!)
I need a construction (cover) paper and a luster paper booklet...I'm drowing in plies of it, so I'll just have it cut down to Legal size and use fasteners (of which I ALSO have tons!) to make the booklets...that will leave me with a total of 9 items to get...of which at least 4 are Dollar store items! -- woo-hoo!!
I'll post total paid for all these once I have the stuff!

I got paid a portion of my services. Since this is additional income, I'll add it to my challenge for July: $200

The Trollmobile and I are still in our honeymoon phase --which means it hasn't given me any problems! :: knock on wood ::
I have to change the oil and do a preventive maintenance...I'll do this at the end of the month, because we have national holidays during the first week of August, a lot of people travel outside the city and, workshops tend to have specials for oil changes and free inspections for brakes (they don't charge you unless something needs to be replaced) and stuff like that...

As far as gas goes, the car performs exactly as I predicted...not as economic as my old car (that would have been impossible, the engine on this one is 1500, the one I had was an 800!, and, this one has a/c...which I don't use all the time, but, still!)...also, taking into account the difference in gas prices from the time I had the old car (Feb 2006) to the prices now, I'm below budget for gas expenses! woo-hoo!

AND, on Thursday I actually parallel parked it with only 3 motions!!! (hey, it's MUCH bigger than my old one!)

for the loan that my boss gave me...he never gave me an amount, but we had spoken of $75-$100, for 12-18 months...but, he said he'd have to make an excel spreadsheet to track it...he never got back to me, so I deposited $75 in his account (I have the numbers for all their accounts, as I gave them to payroll/accounting for deposits of salaries and reimbursements)...I didn't want to risk applying that money to something else and then being left without money to pay HIM!

Well, last year I was trying to sell the apartment, drowining in debt and worrying about my sister's illness...on top of that, my niece had just been returned from the US by her aunt and her dad...by the way: that promise he made to my sis to pay my niece's tuition?? ...guess what?? ...yep, he has faaaaar too many expenses to help with that (you gotta understand, the membership to the country club, tennis lessons for himself and the new Mitsubishi Nativa ARE expensive! --CREEP!)...There were also BIG problems with the old car!

This year my economic situation is not desperate (despite the "new" debt thanks to my nephew/cousin!), sis is just pending her last (we hope!) MRI, niece is at school and getting satisfactorily good grades (honor roll student she's not, but, at least she's not failing any subjects this last trimester!), the new car and I are still in our honeymoon phase (it has to go for an oil change at the end of the month)...and Ale is going to a "real" school in August!

Things are definetely looking up!