BIG SPENDERS: Large cash expenditure*, like (ending your child to
college with i computer, make everyone a little nervous. You can spend
with more confidence if you research carefully and make the purchase
with your Gold MasterCard*. This card not only offers you purchase
protection for your items but also extends the original manufacturer’s
warranty for up to one year.
Doing homework eases trauma of big-ticket purchases
Life is full of times when you have
to bite the bullet and spend on those
big ticket items. Maybe you are
putting together a nursery for a new
addition to the family, sending a son or
daughter off to college with a
computer, or finally getting that new
sofa or refrigerator you’ve needed for
so long.
No matter what the reason, shelling
out the money will be a little easier to
take if you are confident that you will
get the best value for your money. This
means doing your homework, and it
includes researching and comparative
shopping for the purchase as well as
carefully considering how you will
finance it.
First, determine what you really
need. Then read everything you can
find about the item you want. Most
products are reviewed in Consumer
Reports magazine, and its objective
viewpoint is a great place to start. An
index of the reviews and back issues
are available at any library.
Next, talk to friends, neighbors,
colleagues...anyone who can give you
TAKE THE WRONG
■ LETTERS FROM THE TEN
TITLES AND PUT THEM
INTO THE SQUARES BELOW.
THEN RE ARRANGE THEM
TO FIND A WELL-KNOWN
FAIRY TALE PERSON.
1\ PICK _ l I JACK AND tucI 8
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I A brief history of money
Aitnougn you ouen see
mom and dad paying with
credit cards, you still see
them using one of the oldest
methods of payment, the
exchange of paper and
coins.
You may ask yourself:
Who used the first coins?
Coins were first issued by
King Gyges of Lydia
(Turkey) and the idea spread
through tradesmen around
the Mediterranean.
Lyatan coins were maae
from small lumps of metal
which were a mixture of
gold and silver. On one side
they were stamped with the
badge of the king.
The Chinese issued the
first paper money in the 6th
century A.D..
The first credit cards came
into being during the 1920’s
when they were issued by
American oil companies for
buying gasoline.
Whale watch
Whales have been around
for millions of years. They
are aquatic mammals and
they evolved from land
mammals; their nearest rel
atives are hoofed mammals.
Instead of hair, whales
have a thick layer of blub
ber beneath their skins to
keep them warm in cold
waters.
The whale’s “nostrils” are
on top of his head, where
they form a blow-hole.
After a dive, a whale spouts
to expel the used air from its
lungs before taking another
breath.
Because the water sup
ports their weight, whales
can grow far larger than any
living land animal. But the
largest whales eat only tiny
creatures about 5cm long,
called krill.
Saving the whales
But why are whales so
special? And why would any
one want to spend time and
money trying to save them?
Whales are extremely
intelligent. They may be even
smarter than we are! And
whales communicate with
each other in a language that
we are just beginning to
understand.
Whales are hunted
For hundreds of years,
whales have been killed for
their blubber, the layer of fat
underneath the skin which
provides oil, or in the case
of the sperm whale, the
large reserve of oil in the
head, which is used for
making candles, margarine
and soap.
Ambergris, an oil used in
the manufacture of perfume,
also comes from the
intestines of whales.
The number of whales
which may be killed in a
season is limited by interna
tional agreement but whales
are disappearing, making it
important for groups like
Greenpeace to pressure
countries into saving them.
DID VOU
KtlOUJ?
by AL ©
IN 1066 mu I AM
THE CONQUEROR
INVADED ENGLAND
EDOM FRANCE AND
IT IS EDOM THAT
DATE THAT THE
CHANNEL ISLANDS
HAVE BELONGED
TO BRITAIN.
CATFISH
HAVE BARBELS
I AROUND THEIR
MOUTHS LUCE A
OATS WHISKERS.
IT IS BELIEVED THAT
THEY HELP THEM TO
DETECT FOOD IN VERY
MUDDY WATER.
ITIS BELIEVED THAT IN
ANCIENT TIMES BOTH GREEKS
AND E6YFTIANS HAD PICTURES
OF PEOPLE'S FACES OH THE
SOLES OF THEIR SHOES.
THE GREEKS' WERE OF
PEOPLE THEY LIKED BUT
THE EGYPTIANS HAD
THEIR ENEMIES' FACES
ON THEM WHICH THEY
COULD THEN TREAD INTO
THE GROUND!
How to draw up annual financial plan
it nappens every year. Housenoids
all over America make up an annual
budget and a firm resolution to stick to
it. Unfortunately, by April, the next
time most of us give in to the pressure
to think seriously about financial
management, we've already strayed
hopelessly from the original plan and
don’t know how it happened.
The news here is that it's not you,
it’s the budget. Budgets can never be
realistic because they are dependent on
costs over which we hav? no control.
This does not mean, however, that
you should throw up your hands and
spend in a vacuum. Every household
should establish a reasonable, flexible
financial plan that they can adapt to
their changing financial situation. The
way to accomplish this goal is not to
plan what you will spend and what
you will save, but how you will spend
and save.
First, you need to chart your income
and expenses. Using the standard
categories — clothing, credit cards,
entertainment, food, household
maintenance, insurance, investments,
legal/medical, taxes, utilities, and
work/school — make a chart that
records the monthly income and
expenses for each. This will help you
keep track of cash flow and it is an
effective curb on overspending.
Review your investments. You are
looking to see that the mix among cash
savings, stocks & bonds, real estate
(nol including your home) and
collectibles continues to reflect your
short- and long-tcrrti savings goals.
Check up on your insurance As
your family/household situation
changes, so do your insurance needs.
T his is especially true of disability
insurance us you arc more likely to
become temporarily disabled rather
•ban die durum vour wort me \r,«
Most people need coverage that will
pay 60 to 70 percent of their pretax
earnings.
Contribute to a tax deferred
retirement plan. Whether it’s an
individual or matched savings plan
through your employer, everyone
should have a retirement plan. If
possible, make your maximum con
tribution at the beginning of the year so
that it can reap the most interest.
Get the highest rate on your savings.
Check around. Why should you let your
savings sit in a 6.25 percent passbook
account when some guaranteed funds
are paying 9.2 percent?
Review your credit situation. Check
your loan and credit card rates and fees
for re-financing. Remember to look for
the most value from your credit cards.
Many come with enhancements that
increase vour buying power, especially
the prestige cards like Gold
MasterCard'. It offers by comparison
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some ot the best value-added packages,
including Purchase Assurance™ and
Extended Warranty on items bought
personally and on gifts you give to
others, plus legal and medical
protection when you are away from
home, as well as emergency roadside
assistance almost anywhere in the U.S.
Check your estate plan. This means
update your will. If, like almost twc
thirds of American adults, you don'l
have one. make one. Even if you are
single, this will guarantee that youi
finances don’t become someone else’s
problem.
If you review ihese guidelines
annually, you won't be a slave to an
annual budget with figures that are
quickly outdated. Instead, you’ll have a
flexible plan that allows you to make
your own decisions.
mmmit ran whit
1009 Coleman Street. Do you have a
HAPP certificate which n up lor
renewal? Do you won* •*> live in an
olmost now ivo bedro. apartment
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832 S?J? -
a first hand opinion from their own
experience. For example, if you are
purchasing a crib for the nursery,
you’ll discover that there are basically
two types — the crib with the
removable sides that turns into an
European bed or the standard crib that
lasts throueh the toddler sta&e. The_
crib/bed version is twice as expensive,
and maxes too small a bed once the
ehild is several years old.
Married with children?
The same guidelines hold true for
computer equipment. You start by
evaluating the kind of work vou plan to
do on it. While there are two major
kinds of computers — IBM
compatibles and Apple compatibles —
different memory capacities, add-on
features and software acceptance plus
changing technology mean you'll need
all the advice vou can get.
now 10 improve your imanciai prome
i nere nave oeen mousanas oi books,
articles and talk shows aimed at
helping married people improve their
financial profile. Still, many live
dangerously from paycheck to
paycheck, paying only lip service to
long-term financial planning.
The excuses are varied but
predictable: the ever-increasing
expenses of day care, a night at the
movies, new little league uniforms, and
so on. Spiraling insurance premiums
and balloon mortgages don’t help.
The trick to successful financial
planning is to start with the basics and
then work toward a total plan. As the
old saying goes, the longest journey
starts with a single step.
Here then are some of the easiest
single steps that married couples can
take to start their journey toward
upward financial mobility:
•Try to eliminate double insurance
coverage if both the husband and wife
work. With companies becoming more
creative in managing costly health care
packages, you may stand to benefit.
See which of your employee health
insurance packages is more compre
hensive in its coverage, and then look
.. 1 .
to wnittie tne otner. ociect me least
expensive employee package, and even
check into whether you can refuse
medical coverage entirely, which can
save as much as an extra $1,000 a year.
•Don’t overpay for your child care —
nothing frustrates married wage
earners more than when they feel the
second family income is virtually
devastated by day care expenses.
The annual bill for such services
typically ranges from $5,000 to
$10,000 a year depending on whether
you have live-in, live-out, or day care
help.
And, of course, take full advantage
of tax credits for daycare spending.
You may be entitled to an even bigger
tax break if your company offers a
dependent-care flexible spending
account (FSA). This allows you to use
pretajt dollars for daycare costs,
usually to a limi* of $5,000 per year.
•Pay yourself first — with a tidal
wave of bills each month, saving often
becomes the last thing on your mind.
Experts advise putting aside 10 percent
of your net income for savings.
1
Dr. Charles V. Holland
Takes Pride In Announcing
The Association Of
Dr. Michael V. Holland
And
A Name Change To...
Holland & Holland
EYE CARE CENTER
OPTOMETRY
003 N«w Barn Avo. Ph. (010) 828*9085
OFFICE HOURS
MON. thru FRI. 9:00 A.M. • 8:30 P.M.
INO mailer wnai me ncm vuy uuve
lo select it carefully, anti /ou'should
select your payment method jur-t as
carefully. Although you may be
tempted to consider store credit or
even cash, there ate viral good
reasons why a credit ; ird w ould be a
better choice. In fat t. recent statistics
show there has S een a i >ih decline
in the use of store credit in the last lew
years while the use of bank cards is
thriving.
These changes 'art due in part to the
uncertain finances of many department
and chain stores and a so due to the
many services now attached to credit
card use, especially -.old -.ards. It
you are a G