organize my finances

change to a new current account (with same bank). can’t be that difficult, surely? just need to work out which one suits.

and with any luck i won’t be overwhelmed with work. i was kind of considering going to frankfurt, but really want to take alb with me to meet the infanta eeeesabella (must set up a date later in the month). this morning i had the brainwave of using the “free” time to get my effing taxes done and have a good old sort-out in my home office. there’s no doubt that it would be a huge weight off my mind. oh, and i can get the blimming database finished too. right, that’s decided then.

i really must get back to this. i’m just so crap with money investments. everything i touch turns to … rubber. or is rubber actually worth something? seems i owe the tax people over 4000 euros in backpayments. the joys of self-employment. argh!

well, i didn’t sort out everything on the list, but i made a very good start and got the most urgent things done, plus have improved my attitude hugely. so this goal is staying on the list, will keep hacking away at it, and don’t feel it necessary to hand the reins over to hard-nosed Snowleopard and Moose. phew.

edit: very strange, the number of minutes i have to complete this goal is increasing.

a new monthly savings plan in a green investment fund thingy. YAY!

my sensible organise-your-finances-for-ladies book. it’s very down to earth and systematic—and written in language i can understand. it makes things seem relatively straightforward and is inspiring me to sit down and get on with things. the difficult part remains knowing what my real goals are. everything would make so much more sense if i was committed to something…

i received a letter from the german pensions people many moons ago asking me to check the data they had on me and to provide them with any necessary additional information/proof. at a glance, my employment dates looked correct, so i put it to one side and thought i’d get round to it later. now it’s a good job i have. seems you can get some kind of credit for the time you spent in education after the age of 17, which was quite a few years, and maybe i also paid into the system when i was doing my internship here in 91. cunningly, because they don’t want any extra work, or to have to pay out any extra money, they’ve hidden a deadline in the middle of a load of text (if you don’t reply within six months we’ll take it as accepted). that deadline is november 2. so i spent an hour or two this afternoon compiling certificates, photocopies of the same, my pay slips from 1991(!!!), correspondence with the pensions people in the uk from 1995(!!!!), and anything else i can think might get me a credit or two, stuck post-its on anything i wasn’t sure of, and researched the opening hours for the help center place. will make sure i go this week. really hope i don’t have to get certified translations of everything. whatever, i need to go and show my face so that i don’t miss the deadline and kick myself.

yay, zanna, queen of filing!

• open US$ accountDONE!
• bank 2 US$ chequesDONE! well, they’re in the post!
• monitor US$ account to check that cheques arrive (otherwise known as cheque checking) [bollox, seems i was supposed to sign one of the cheques, it’s on the way back!]DONE! money has arrived!
• reply to RV mail thingDONE!
• Badenia thing
• -tax 2006 -
• tax 2007 (when is MwSt due?)
• read book [in Arbeit!]
• savings account money
• jpr invoice! [have stuff ready, waiting for HB]
• other open invoices (incl. HF job!)
• change bank account?
• how to monitor spending?
• what else in filing tray?
• VBL thing 1
• VBL thing 2
• ring bank: diff tg/tg plus? tax/freibetrag?[ooh, what a very nice and helpful lady!]
• check out fb thing at sparkasse, increase at comdirekt
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(more to come…)

There are certain things that need doing. Like cashing those bloody US$ cheques, doing my 2006 taxes, and responding to various official letters. Never mind removing the Book money from my 0.2% savings account and doing something sensible with it.

October will be the month to get all this stuff done. (Will write a detailed list as soon as I get back from Espana por favor.)

Otherwise I will give Snowleopard the hard-nosed spreadsheet wonk and Moose the nearly CAT full access to all matters financial and allow them to spend any money they find on BMs in Berlin. Now that really is scary.

• mail djh shop about crap courier bag [yes! replacement has arrived!]
• strange ai invoice [waiting for reply]
• get fedex invoice, send to j! [yes! cheque has arrived!]
• 2 USD cheques
• reply to RV mail thing
• Badenia thing
• change bank account?
• how to monitor spending?
• make spare money work rather than farting around in the Sparkasse
• jpr invoice!