worse than just 'what can you do for us THIS year', it was "incremental savings", so I must run as fast as I can to stay on the same place.

Now I think my answer to be "my rough estimates are between $3K and $5K" just random but realistic and good-looking numbers ...

In all fairness, though, I would challenge your statement: "... because such savings are impossible to do."

that was last language translation in TROFF format, which I happen to made into translating XML files, so translators could use their known environments.
Without me, it made translators to do much more manual work (as they did earlier)
that was last time such translation was ordered
We migrated to other formats and that is why I do not have chances to do the same
:)