I've taken out goal #3, as it was achieved last month! 3 more to go!!!




1. keep better track of my spending- Ouch!...I’ve been good all this month, in that I HAVE tracked even the tiniest of expenses –YAY, me!...but, of course, this has uncovered a horror story…the result is that I have split all my expenses into several categories and have started tracking them separately …hope to be able to report improvement in actually meeting the budget! This is an on-going goal, so I will keep reporting on it!

4. continue to lower my overall debt - I started Jan 05 with ~$17K (out of which ~$4K were for a loan and the rest -~$13K!-pure cc debt) and, am starting Jan 06 with $~11K (with ~$8K for a loan and ~$3K in cc debt)... expect to be able to end Dec '06 with ~$7K, which I expect to be purely for the loan... to come partly from the English classes/$20 challenge. ...current situation is: $7.6K (refinanced) loan, $2.9K car loan, $1K personal loan, $1.4K cc's ...a work in progress...another one that won’t get taken off the list!Add the $1K of the phone call to the list! I just know my cousin won't pay for it!

5. Help Ale find a way to earn those $3 she's missing to open her account with HER OWN money...same as last month…!
...but now there is another loose tooth!

LOL! one of the managers was asking me to finish some travel arrangements for some visitors today, so he could put together all the info I have been sending him, and so I told him not to worry and that I had even consolidated the info by traveler already so all he would have to do was forward it...he got so excited, he just bent down and kissed me on the cheek! (no, that's not sexual harrasment here, plus, it WAS totally innocent, plus he has a girlfriend that works at our office..it was just a spontaneous gesture!)...I'm guessing it's just that I took the time to put this together in one user-friendly format, just one email per passenger, which saves HIM time, and allows him to look better in front of these potential customers...(it took a while for us, even involving our VP, to get the authorization for them to fly business, space confirmed, as there was a mix-up with the authorization levels in the system...after several emails back and forth, it finally got resolved!)...but, see, that's the thing...the other admin would have done the same thing...she probably wouldn't have consolidated ALL the info in just one email...but, compared to the rest, that's really minor!...he would have been grateful (he's one of our nicest managers, and always makes a point to show he's grateful for the work we do for him), but I don't think this would have been his reaction if it had been her!

$6 more-- final payment for translations

Today, there was a very important meeting and, one of the analysts was supposed to coordinate lunch...problem was, nobody bothered to tell him!...that is, until 11:30am, when somebody asked him what he had ordered for lunch!...He somehow got out of the meeting room and phoned for HELP!...of course, I helped him out and everything went OK (except for the food being served at 1:00pm instead of 12:30 as usual!=...he had ordered a couple of extra lasagnas and, gave me 2 to take home!! woo-hoo!!

Free dinner always tastes the best!

Of course, we did spend money on goodies (part of DD's full movie experience!)...but, the whole tab was $5.95, when, usually, we spend $10 when we go to the movies(we always go to the matinee, so prices are cheaper)...We've got 2 more tickets, which are valid through 28/June, so we are going again next weekend...

I had lent someone $187, and they gave me back $190...so the $3 go to my $20 challenge for June!

Oh! and the $1.75 for this week's free coffee goes there, too!

Well, I still have my debit card (haven't lost it!) -- already a month! -- I've charged 14 purchases and made 7 cash withdrawals...paid fees on 2 of those for not using the bank's own ATM...but, one was done late at night (security-wise that ATM made sense!) or when the bank's ATM was out of order, so I'm not that concerned about it...still, I need to plan better if I want to make sure to avoid fees...

Same deal as last time -- I placed and delivered the order, and got a frozen capuccino from the Coffe Cup...I also got to keep the stamps, which means ANOTHER free coffee!! yay!!

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!--will start quoting!!

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

4. Ale's birthday party!! - She wants to have it at the Children's Museum...Museum is available! will have the party next Friday!...depending on how many children/adults attend, it might be about the same that I would have paid for the cheapest party package at Pizza Hutt --if ALL attend, which is difficult, given that it's on a Friday!--and a much more interesting and unique experience...I'm already working on the invitations!!

Things I got during the trip to Vegas (Ross' Dress for Less!):
shoes (2 pairs)- 1 black school shoes and 1 white tennis shoes...found white Skechers at $11.99 + tax (12.95) and black Stride Rites at $12.99 + tax ($14.03), so I spent $26.98 -- woohoo!! (original prices were $36 and $42, respectively!!) that leaves $12.16...AND, I found alight sweater - navy, at $10.99 ($11.87 tax included) ....that leaves $0.29 from the money that was given to me...from now on, everything comes out of MY pocket!

Stuff I still need to get:

School supplies (need list, have stuff in stock -leftover from sale last year)

sweat pants for gym class (2) - navy blue... available at many stores, checking prices at the moment

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...


Stuff I'd like to get

coin bag - for Ale to bring her allowance to school...might knit THAT one! -- Ale had a wonderful idea...her pink tennis shoes (Converse-look-alikes) had small bags attached to the sides...we took them off because we knew she might lose them, she suggested she might use one of those as a coin purse!!

So...that officially closes the "like to get" list for Ale's school stuff!

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Forgot to add that I also bought 3 X 3-packs of socks for Ale at $0.99 + tax ($1.07) each, so $3.21 total...$2.92 coming out of MY pocket...so, the total I've personally spent is now $103.42

...we came back yesterday, but I'm just now starting to be capable of some coherent thinking!...a mixture of exhaustion, sleep deprivation and dehydration...will blog at length some other day!...for the time being, as a friend so aptly said: Let's just put an end to this ceaseless spending! (I spent about $180 in total, of which about $40 are refundable...$10 were for a calling card...about $15 for non-refundable meals...$83 for clothes for Ale and myself - more for her than for me, but will write separately on this...some souvenirs for my family...the rest is mostly for water and non-alcoholic beverages!)

The trip was fun, and I don't regret going! It was definetely worth it!

I can have Ale's party at the Children's Museum...they are not really offering the service right now, so they'd rent me the space, but I have to bring the food (which works great for me,as my cousin and I can make things for much less than whatever they'd charge!... our cost is $0.17/piece for sandwiches and $0.25/piece for hot-dogs, for example!)...the children can play in the Museum, so there's no need to hire an entertainer ...I think we can make something quite grand at a reasonable budget!!

to look at sweat pants, shoes and sweaters/cardigans...I almost had a heart attack!...a pair of sweatpants for $24??...a cardigan for $24??...

At least, it gives me a reference point regarding prices...

I went to Hiper Europa and they don't have either...went to Hiper Paiz and they had some pants... some were $6 and some were $10...but neither looked like they could survive 2 trips in the washing machine without coming apart!!

I found Hush Puppies mary janes at $25 at the Hush Puppies store...I found the same style for $15 at the outlet....(didn't check for sizes, though...I really think my best bet is to wait at least until mid-July to get the shoes...unless I find a REALLY great bargain!...because Ale outgrows her shoes every 6 months!)

On Friday I was invited for lunch, and then, as I was going home, my sis, my daughter and I were invited for dinner! That's lucky! (plus, it allows me to go out without touching my "entertainment budget"!)

it's $1.75 for a frozen capuccino...
The Coffee Cup has a promotion of "buy 10, get 1 free!"...no, I don't buy enough to get 1 free...but, today, since some co-workers were having a meeting, they asked me to order it for them and, since they know "I don't serve coffee" (not that I've ever said that, I guess it's just an attitude thing! :P) ...they said they'd let me keep the stamps in exchange!! woo-hoo!!...they ordered 10 cups of coffee, so my next frozen capuccino will REALLY be free!!!

$1.75 to be added to my $20 challenge for this month!

1. New bed for Ale... Pending, not urgent yet

2. New bike for Ale...Has dropped even lower in priority

4. Ale's birthday party!! - She wants to have it at the Children's Museum...Same as last month!...if I don't get an answer by next week, will look into alternatives!! ((Events are suspended indefinetely at the Museum, as they are still trying to decide how they are going to revamp them...no info on prices or anything, so I have no way to make a comparison...))

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#3 and #5 were car and car registration card. Car is bought (and being paid off little by little!) and, registration card was issued and is valid through July 2007!!

Well, last year in June I was literally DROWNING in debt!... the apt still hadn't sold and my car was giving me very serious problems (this was the beginning of the end for that car!)...

It's good to see so much progress!

Thanks to all for your support in the process!!

Received partial payment $15 for translations done in April.

there was a special if you bought balance for your prepaid Digicel through electronic media here in ES...I took advantage of it and loaded $5 through netbanking...now I have $10 worth of minutes in my phone! woo-hoo!!!

I'd say June has started off well!

I'll add the $5 of free minutes to my $20 challenge for June!

I didn't even use up half the tank this week! HOwever, I'm not fueling today..I'm waiting until tomorrow, so that this goes on June's expenses...(that will make June a 5-week expense period for gas, and keep May at 4 weeks, but I'd rather do this, considering that in April I had to FILL the tank as the car was delivered to me with an empty tank!...also, because I had a lot of "set-up" or initial expenses on the car!)

Ok, I've been tracking expenses in several categories:

Car (gas, maintenance and others) - $126.37

Ale's (new) school - $100.00

Supermarket - $110.26

Others (source of shame!) - $120.89

This last one has to be split, as this includes regular lunches ($5/week), entertainment,unbudgeted expenses (necessary but not put on budget!) and "nothings"...I have to work on a set budget for entertainment and, cut the "nothings" as much as possible...wish me luck!

Total for May
Challenge statistics:
to discount from challenge this month:
-$3.00 tax on employee day payment

Earned in April: $339.80

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
Total ytd for 2006 (net):$1,269.35

TARGET: $4,000

$2,730.65/ 7 months to go!

I got a deposit for $20.06 - English lessons...need to update my $20 challenge numbers!

Total for May
Challenge statistics:
to discount from challenge this month:
-$3.00 tax on employee day payment

Earned in April: $319.80

net for January: $12.15
net for February: $318.40
net for March:$380.00
net for April: $222.00
net for May:$316.80
Total ytd for 2006 (net):$1,249.35

TARGET: $4,000

$26.67 for employee day (given every year on the company's anniversary...equal to one day payment)

I am trying to de-clutter my desk...right now, my goal is to handle everything new as it arrives and process it...for the backlogged stuff, I'm aiming at a minimum of 10 documents per day to be either filed, processed or destroyed (if I haven't used it in 1+ year and it's not legal requirement to keep it, it goes out!)...I figure I have about 65,000 documents on my desk, so it should take me about 18 years to have a clean desk!! LOL!...no, seriously, I DO NOT have 65,000 documents ...at least, I don't think I do...but, while it's looking a lot better, I still have a lot of work to do!!...wish me luck!

I've taken out goal #2, as it was achieved last month! Goal #3 will not be included in next month's update!! woo-hoo!!



1. keep better track of my spending- I need DISCIPLINE!! I've been tracking everything since 060511 though...so I'm hoping this time I stick to it...It HAS been an eye opener!...this is more an on-going goal for all 2006, so I guess this will remain througout the year!

Car expenses so far = $109.37
School expenses (from MY pocket!) so far = $100.00
"other" expenses =$119.39 (I need DISCIPLINE!!)


3. FINALLY decide on a school for Alejandra, AND save money for her enrollment fee, uniforms and school supplies Enrollment, books and uniforms paid for!!...still have ~$39 for her shoes...tracking expenses and saving, still...I think I might be able to pay the Technokids for the year ($54) and still pay for at least 1 month in advance (so, pay August and Sept at the beginning of August...that way I have some breathing room during the school year/ have time to save for next year's enrollment fee during the vacation months!) This goal should hereon be considered "achieved"...

4. continue to lower my overall debt - I started Jan 05 with ~$17K (out of which ~$4K were for a loan and the rest -~$13K!-pure cc debt) and, am starting Jan 06 with $~11K (with ~$8K for a loan and ~$3K in cc debt)... expect to be able to end Dec '06 with ~$7K, which I expect to be purely for the loan... to come partly from the English classes/$20 challenge. ...current situation is: $7.7K (refinanced) loan, $3K car loan, $1K personal loan, $1.5K cc's ...a work in progress...

5. Help Ale find a way to earn those $3 she's missing to open her account with HER OWN money...Nature is helping: she lost 2 teeth and the Raton Perez brought her $0.90 for each one, so she's only $1.20 short now!

**2005** 2006
level of satisfaction with my life, on a scale 5-10, with 5 being "sucks" and 10 being "perfect", looks like this:

Family : **6 (DD "boosts" the score! so you can imagine!) With my sister sick, I'm chauffer, messenger, administrator, cook, maid and even provide moral support (who's giving ME moral support??)** We're doing much better, I'd give it an 8 now
Spiritual: 6 - **have not had a prayer meeting/attended my praying workshop in ages!!** The praying workshop ended and, the prayer meetings sort of got cancelled - the others didn't come anymore!...so, I'm going to church to pray every Thursday, to thank God for all his mercies and ask for some more blessings! I'd give that a 9!
Work: **-3....right now, I like my job, I just hate everyone around me!!** LOL! I definetely don't hate the people around me anymore...hmmm, I'm still overloaded, though, but, still retaining my sanity...mainly due to the fact that I HAVEN'T got a raise - nor will I get one! - I'd give this a 7...financial considerations aside, it would be more like an 8+
Physical: **6 - I'm not exercising, I'm not eating too well, I'm always tired...I try to get 3 meals a day, though, and remind myself to breathe often!** er...no progress here!...except, I'm less stressed!
Financial: ** do I REALLY need to score it?? or can you guess? -4 Creditors keep calling and things seem to be looking down, rather than up, lately!** I'd give it a 5...I'm less than happy, but, it's a HUGE improvement from last year...no creditor calls, no late payment fees, several cc's paid off...there's still a lot to be done, though!

As you see, all areas show significant improvement! Yay!

Took Ale today for her evaluation...they LOVED her!...she integrated with her class very easily and even participated in the rehearsals for the end-of-shool-year pageant! LOL! ..."unfortunately", because of the rehearsal, they couldn't fully evaluate her in math and motor skills (she's inverting her numbers and is having difficulty distinguishing left and right...we are working on that!)...so, she didn't get evaluated on her "weak" issues! ...
Anyway, I paid for the following today:
$230.00 - complement of enrollment fee
$160.00 - English books
$25.00 - Spanish books
$45.86- set of uniforms (3 daily, 3 PE)
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$460.86 total

(to be discounted from the $500 my boss gave me for Ale's school!) =)

which means the total cost to me is $100 (that I had previously paid) ...The remaining $39.14 will go towards shoes! (she needs black shoes for daily and white tennis shoes for PE...will get those end-of June or beginning of August, as Ale's feet DO grow much faster than the rest of her! LOL!)

$319.56 has been "converted" from 37% annual to 5% annual via the loan...woo-hoo!!... $1.5K in cc to go!!!