(This does not count as one of my sponsored posts, but is a follow-up to my last post about Bonita’s Adoptiversary).

“Our resources are stretched to the breaking point. Over the past 18 months during Covid, we have been overwhelmed and distressed by the daily calls for help and animals continue to be dumped outside our gates in ever-increasing numbers. We cannot stop doing our part so donations mean life to these beings in need – no amount is too small and will do so much good.

Ways to donate below, or Email patintheyucatan@gmail.com to make a cash or in kind donation and we will make it happen.

“Many of you are dealing with setbacks due to Covid but can you find it in your heart to fill a hungry tummy? 250 pesos/$12.50 USD/$15 CAD will feed 1 animal for a month with 50 pesos going towards medical care..

If you have responded to Evolucion’s Facebook appeal, thank you from the bottom of our 2, 3 and 4 legged hearts.

Patricia for Silvia and the Animals of Evolucion”

(Post 149 of 263)

Right about this very minutes marks the four-year anniversary of Bonita arriving and my house becoming a home.

As a reminder, this was the skinny, very ill, and terrified Bonita who arrived:

And this is healthy and happy Bonita this morning captured when we were playing:

Bonita has milestones almost daily. Just the other day, she did a really “dog thing” that I’ve never had to worry about her doing — she snatched some food out of my hand! She’s gone from a dog whom I could have a hamburger next to while sitting on the couch to her stealing my pan dulce as we’re watching a movie!

Other “dog things” she now does include digging up the yard, barking at trespassers, getting up on furniture she knows she’s not supposed to climb on, and begging for treats.

Bonita loves cheese (and she has expensive tastes, favouring smokey provolone), digging, supervising and “helping” my gardener, playing tag, giving me tongue baths, her blankie, being rubbed behind the ears, and any treat in the shape of a stick.

Bonita does not like loud noises and sudden movements, strange men (but it’s easy for good men to win her favour, as the renovation and painting crews learned), any fruits and vegetables, mommy leaving the property for insomuch as 10 minutes, and being cold (you should see her grab her blankie before bed on cold nights!).

Evolución, the refuge from which I adopted Bonita, has always kept tabs on her. They do such good work. I just saw a post that two of their dogs are headed to Canada. If you want to support a worthwhile cause, please consider donating to them through this PayPal link: https://www.paypal.com/paypalme/EVOANIMAL All the money goes to feeding and taking care of the dogs and paying staff salaries. I sent them $2,000 pesos (about $100USD) today and that is enough to feed 12 dogs for a full month, so, really, even a token donation can go far here.

I love this old girl so much and am rather glad the pandemic came and forced me to spend these golden years here with her.

(Post 148 of 263)

Last October, I opened a bank account with BBVA after losing all faith in ever having reliable service from HSBC. I was told that in about six months, I could apply for a credit card to finally start building a credit history here and that in a further six months, with some credit history behind me, we could look into getting the house mortgage refinanced in my name. So I made a reminder to check back in in April.

Last week, my account manager called to say that he’d had a look at my file and I was locally preapproved for a credit card! If I wanted to come into the office before March 1st, we could do all the paperwork to get the application sent off for head office approval because for a foreigner/resident, local approval wasn’t enough. I told him I’d be in this week.

Yesterday, he called again to check in! I knew that I’d be able to go this afternoon, so we made an appointment.

What felt like a couple dozen signatures and two hours later, I had my card!

I’ve had some technological hiccups and issues with BBVA, but knowing that there are actual humans who keep their promises working there is making me feel more secure than I did at HSBC.

My initial credit limit was surprisingly high, a full quarter of my average monthly income and about a third of the income BBVA sees.

Some of the benefits I now have with a credit card:

• I’m building a credit history to eventually get other loan products
• I can earn points on all my purchases to be spent on future purchases
• I can take advantage of “months without interest” promotions

The big caveat with Mexican credit cards is that, well, they’re not credit cards, at least not in the way Canadians and Americans (and possibly Europeans) think of them. They have insanely high interest rates. Mine is over 90% (!). Mexican credit cards are meant to be used like a charge card, think Amex, where you have to pay off your balance in full every month. They also work a bit like a line of credit in that you can finance purchases using the aforementioned “months without interest” promotions. Once the purchase is paid off, you still have access to that original credit amount, unlike if you’d had a personal loan. They can be a very powerful tool if used properly and I get frustrated when expats just scream about what a “rip-off” Mexican cards are without taking the time to educate themselves.

I’m very happy with this new development and hope that the mortgage plans will happen because that could decrease my current monthly payments while speeding up the timeline to the house being transferred in my name. And, who knows, maybe a car loan is in my future?

(Post 147 of 263.)

(Post 146 of 263.)