Homeowners urged to take Inventory
Doea baring a homeowners or ten
ants insurance policy give you peace
-of mind? I hope ao. But all that cover
age may Dot be enough If you forget
to make a houaehold Inventory.
? Trying to figure out what waa de
! strayed or stolen can be frustrating.
| ; Moat of ua have dozens at small, valu
able articles in each room? articles
? that aren't aa conspicuous as a chair,
; a television or home computer.
? Insurance agenta are familiar with
? policyholders who telephone in their
;laeaee for days and weeks after a
km. Why? Because they're doing
their inventory from memory.
So you'll do well to complete a
household Inventory before you need
It It's really a simple procedure.
Simply walk through each room and
list every article. Take photos and
file them along with the written de
scription. Or, if you have the capabil
ity make a video of your
Protect yourself even more by
keeping the original receipts for all
purchases. And be sure to have valu
able Jewelry and silverware and furs
appraised.
And be sure to update your Inven
tory, especially when you buy new
items.
Finally, store your Inventory, pho
tos and receipts where they'll be safe
and won't be destroyed by fire, flood
or other hazards. A safety deposit
box might be a good choice.
I hope you'll never need your
household inventory to back up an in
surance loss. But if you do, it's good
to know it'll be there.
Discovering the best food buy9
; Serious shoppers memorize the
- prices of the items they buy often.
They can recognize changes in prices
in food ads or on store shelves. Some
people always buy the same products
and same brands, regardless of cost.
- Other shoppers are more flexible and
- look for variety and savings when
! they shop.
Are you willing to try other
brands? Will you experiment with
different forms of food and try new
foods? Do you think about how you're
^ going to use a food product? How
9 much storage space do you have
available? Are you open to new ideas
and willing to invest a little extra
time in your food shopping decisions?
If so, you can save money. You can
figure which items represent the
"best price." Then, use that informa
tion to determine the "best buys" for
your family and you.
DISCOVER THE BEST BUY
Item Price and Item Pricing:
'Item price" means the cost of a par
^ ticular food item? the amount you
will be charged for it at the cash reg
ister. The item price might be
printed on or attached to the food,
and it should be included on the shelf
label.
"Item pricing" refers to whether a
store prints the item price or sticks a
price tag on each item. You may
have noticed that some stores no
longer provide item pricing. This
^ makes the shopper's task much more
^ difficult. The item price should be on
the shelf label, but the labels ae not
always in the correct position, or are
not easy to read. You may be unsure
;of the product to which they refer.
Sometimes the item price on the shelf
-label is not the same as the amount
you get charged at the cash register.
Because it is hard to remember the
item price listed on the label while
you are being checked out, you may
? want to write it down. If the shelf la
".bel is missing, you must ask for a
price check to make an informed
food purchasing decision.
I Unit Pricing: Most stores volun
tarily provide the "unit price" of a
food on the shelf label. What is a unit
price, and how do you use it? The unit
price is simply a "common denomi
nator"? a tool for making price com
parisons among items of different
sizes or forms of the food item.
Q Foods are measured in different
ways. If you want to compare their
prices, you must find out the usual
way each food is measured. Some are
measured by weight? such as pounds
and ounces of flour, cereal, etc.
Some are measured according to the
Ivolume or space which the food occu
pies?such as cups, pints and quarts
of milk or juices, or "fluid ounces" of
small amounts of liquids such as va
nilla. Still other foods are sold as sin
?gle items? one pineapple, bunch of
;celery? or in other common quanti
ties, such as a dozen eggs.
The way a food is commonly mea
sured is the "unit" in the term "unit
price." Depending upon the form in
Iwhich a food is sold, the unit could be
pounds, cups, or any of the other ex
amples given. To figure the "unit
price," divide the item price (the
cost of the specific food product) by
_ the number of units it contains: item
"price divided by number of units
equals unit price.
For example, you might want to
compare the unit price of frozen
orange juice in 6 fl.oz., 12 fl.oz., or 16
fl. oz. cans. You could use fluid
ounces for your unit, or you could use
the cups or quarts of juice you would
have after it has been reconstituted.
(The 6 fl. oz. can makes 3 cups or %
qt; the 12 fl. oz. can makes 6 cups or
1$4 qts. ; and the 16 fl. oz. can makes 8
0 caps or 2 qts.) The unit {nice of each
size of the same brand can be com
pared easily if the store provides that
information or you can figure the unit
prices yourself with a little mental
arithmetic or with a calculator.
- You could also compare the unit
price between different brands of
orange juice, or between bottled
juice, canned juice, and frozen juice.
V you are comparing prices among
? different forms of the product, be
sure to choose the same unit for each.
In buying meat, compare the cost
per serving rather than the cost per
pound. To do this, first determine
fcuiinbell Monument
(Eompang
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Markers
Mausoleums
Avoilablo in granite
(of various colon) or marl*
We Are Direct Factory
Representatives
Call Larry Swindell
^DobbiSt. 426-7311
your definition of a serving. This will
vary among different meats or ways
to use them.
Many people believe that the larg
est size container of a food is always
the best buy. If you take the time to
compare the unit price for the differ
ent sizes, you will find that prices
change often. The lowest unit price is
not always for the same size or same
form of a product.
Universal Product Code: The Uni
versal Product Code (UPC) is a
printed group of black and white
stripes or bars. They identify each of
the thousands of different products
on the market by type of product,
manufacturer, and specific product
identification number.
Many grocery stores have installed
the special equipment necessary to
use the UPC. Laser or electronic
scanners read the bar code to iden
tify the product being purchased.
They tell the computer which product
is being purchased. A computer
which is updated regularly with the
current prices for each product pro
vides the cash register the correct
item price, and the cash register
prints the name and current price of
each product.
The system has many advantages
for the supermarkets. It permits
rapid changes of prices, provides ac
curate inventory and re-order infor
mation, and reduces human error.
Because these tasks require less em
ployee time, store costs are reduced.
Many stores have cut their costs fur
ther by eliminating item pricing.
Each time the price of an item is
changed and entered into the com
puter, the shelf price label should be
changed so that the consumer infor
mation is accurate.
As a consumer you have a respon
sibility to keep track of prices and to
report differences between the shelf
price and the price charged at the
cash register. If the computer has
been programmed incorrectly, the
error should be corrected. If the
price on the shelf label is inaccurate,
it should be changed.
"Best Price" vs. "Best Buy": Do
not assume that the lowest or "best
price" will always represent the
"best buy" for you. Other factors
must also be considered in determin
ing the "best buy."
-The way you plan to use a food
should influence your choice. Peach
halves for a fancy salad for company
should be of a higher quality then you
would need if you were going to cook
the peaches in a cobbler. For fancy
peach halves, you would compare the
unit prices among acceptable quality
brands of the correct size for the
number of servings wanted. For the
cobbler, you could include unbranded
products and lower quality brands in
your comparison.
-The amount of storage space avail
able and the speed with which you
will use a food are important consid
erations. It is not wise to buy large
containers, even when they have the
lowest unit price, unless you have
enough space in your refrigerator,
freezer, or cabinets and would use
the item before it became stale or
spoiled.
Food prices change often for many
reasons, including the store's pricing
policy? "loss leaders," specials,
raised prices on some goods to bal
ance reduced prices on others. A
good manager is concerned about
time, energy and financial costs.
Each food shopper must decide how
much time to devote to comparing
prices and products. The "best buy"
for one person may be different from
the "best buy" for someone else.
Most of us could reduce our food
costs if we spent more time making
our food purchasing decisions.
Good News Department
A Real Success Story
"Troops" and "peace" usually
don't go too well together Yet. the
United Nations peacekeeping forces
can look back at a real success
story.
It all began in 1950 when the
Security Council urged member
States to put troops and supplies
for South Korea at the disposition
of an allied command under Amer
ican leadership. Today, at various
locations around the world. U.N.
troops interpose themselves between
warring armies or observe hotbeds
of conflict. They operate only with
the permission of the state on the
territory of which they are deployed
Among the countries contribut
ing troops to the U.N. peacekeeping
forces is Austria. Since 1964 our
20.000 Austrian soldiers have put
themselves into the service of inter
national peace and security.
Austria even increased its U.N -
contingent in Cyprus at a moment
when the U.N. is able to reimburse
the costs of troop contributing coun
tries only slowly and belatedly
"Peacekeeping operations have
proved to be an effective instru
ment for the stabilization of
dangerous conflicts, a service to
which Austria contributes in the in
terest of the international commu
nity as a whole." the Austrian
Foreign Minister told the 42nd
General Assembly.
"Troops" and "peace" may go to
gether after all
ARE YOU TIRED OF PAYING
10.5%, 10.75% OR EVEN 11%
ON A NEW AUTO LOAN?
Recently six students in the Perquimans County Band were selected for the district band. The
students are pictured left to right: front - Sean Vail, and Matt Matthews, rear: Renee' Turner,
Machele Davis, Traci Brown, and Kacee Keyser.
Students selected for district band
Six Perquimans County Band stu
dents have been selected for the
North Carolina Bandmasters All
Eastern District Bands. Locally the
district is made up of all Junior and
Senior High Schools in Eastern North
Carolina.
Selected for the Senior High School
Concert Band were Machele Davis as
first snare drum and Tracie Brown
as frist keyboard percussion. Ma
chele is a senior and Tracie a junior
at Perqumans High School.
Selected for the Junior High School
Symphonic Band was Matt Matthews
on the trombone. Matt is a freshman
at Perquimans High School.
Selected for the Junior High School
Concert Band was Renee' Turner on
clarinet, Sean Vail on french horn,
and Kacee Keyser on keyboard per
cussion. All of these students are also
freshmen at Perquimans High.
All of these students will take part
in a band clinic in Greenville at the
East Carolina University School of
Music on February 5th and 6th. A
Ask USDA
The U.S. Department of Agricul
ture operates a Meat and Poultry
Hotline to answer food safety ques
tions. The number is 1-800-535-4555.
QUALITY NEW &
USED FURNITURE
ALBEMARLE FURNITURE CENTER
US 17 Hertford 426-5843
r
concert will be given on Saturday
night before returning home.
Matt Matthews placed third on his
instrument in the District try out and
w<H go on to try for the North Caro
lina Honors Band in March.
A pure and simple method for
improving water quality is the AM
WAY? Water Treatment System.
Effectively removes: Pesticides,
Herbicides, Industrial Chemicals,
Chlorine and THMs, Giardia
lamblia, and a host of other con
taminants.
For Information Call:
919-335-7986
Ask For Mrs. Wilson
NOTICE
The deadline for candidates seeking
Party Nomination in the First primary,
Mary 3rd, 1988 Primary Election is Feb
ruary 1st, 1988, at 12:00 Noon. Anyone
having questions, please call the Board
of Election's Office, 426-5545.
William L. Tilley, Chairman
Perquimans County Board of Elections
W?Ai
PURE GOLD
560 AM
AND THE FOLLOWING COMMUNITY
BUSINESSES PRESENT TO YOU THE
8th Annual
CHEERLEADING COMPETITION
Saturday, January 30 at 10:00 a.m.
at the
Elizabeth city state university
VAUGHN CENTER
FREE TO THE PUBLIC
Participating Schools:
NORTHEASTERN HIGH SCHOOL PERQUIMANS HIGH SCHOOL
DH CONLEY HIGH SCHOOL MANTEO HIGH SCHOOL
CAMDEN HIGH SCHOOL CURRITUCK HIGH SCHOOL
CHOCOWINITY HIGH SCHOOL CAPE HATTERAS HIGH SCHOOL
SCORING WILL BE BASED ON.. .Uniforms ? Voice ? Precision and Tim
ing ? Stunts ? Enthusiasm ? Personality and Smiles ? Crowd Appeal
CITY MOTOR
PARTS, INC.
?WUMUWTIWmt PUTS
MTNNTIK MMMK MP
211 S. Hughes Blvd.
Elizabeth City, N.C.
4V4 Mile Post
Kitty Hawk, N.C.
Hwy. 64 East
Manteo, N.C.
Kentucky
Fried
Chicken.
116 S. Hughes Blvd.
Elizabeth City, N.C.
335-5050
TROPHY
DISTRIBUTORS,
INC.
East Fearing St.
Elizabeth City
338-2108
TELEPHONE 335-0379
Route 3, Box 679
Elizabeth City