European Stars And Stripes (Newspaper) - October 21, 1986, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Going for broke by Bob Hoyer staff writer Here did All Hal Money go when you got your overseas orders you Drew Advance pay to cover the expenses of moving. You were Sush Wil Cash now suddenly you Are broke. Surrounded by bounced checks unpaid Bills and Dunning tellers from credit companies the first sergeant is sending you to a financial Counselor Lor help. A review of the Way you handled Money in the past is revealing you had barely enough income to cover credit payments and Biu when you left the . You spent a Good chunk of your Advance pay on leave before arriving in Europe. Credit card Bills How much Spau monthly Consumers percent of those surveyed you underestimated costs of keeping the family in a hotel until finding housing on the Economy. Then you had to put up a rental Deposit. You failed to take into account the decreased purchasing Power of Tho Dollar when you bought an expensive foreign car and now living room furniture. You spent a Small Fortune telephoning family and friends in the . In Europe financial Counselor who help service la mimics dig Oul of debt report recurring patterns of spending produce recurring financial problems. They say inexperience ignorance and casual attitudes Are behind most serious Debl problems. Often families arrive in Europe with just enough Money to meet necessary expenses. When the spouse is unable to get a Job or finds Only Low paying employment there s no Money left alter Bills and debts Are paid. I be seen cases where soldiers draw Advance pay put up rental deposits for Economy housing Ihen Rush to get their families to Europe says Martie Carter army Community service Counselor in bad nauheim Germany. Once famines arrive service members and spouses take out cafes App deferred payment plan Loans to furnish Tho House. With the Debl they bring Wilh them they soon find that Bills and expenses exceed  unfurnished housing in Europe is often completely Barren extra Money must be spent or such necessities As Kitchen cabinets and tight fixtures. Advance pay can be a problem to results in smaller paychecks until the Advance is Mada up when a family fails to live within this lower income Money must be borrowed. Counselor report the vast majority of their clients face Large unpaid Telephone Bills. In Germany outstanding Bills must be paid or phones will be disconnected. Instalment payoffs become necessary when Bills reach 5,000 to 10,000 Marks $2,500 to �5,000. Carol Bachmann acs Counselor Al Robinson Barracks Stuttgart says that Over the past two quarters 7 percent of All the debt carried by her clients was owed to the German Bunde Spost for outstanding phone Bills. Impulse buying is another problem. Coupled with easy credit available Wilh the growing use of credit cards it leads to spending sprees. I be had cases where families carried 10 to is credit cards and had debt on Alt of them says Giessen Counselor Dee Murray. Credit cards Are issued freely to military members because it s easy for creditors to Gat to cardholders through the command  Many of those seeking counselling have run up extensive App debt at military exchanges. The automobile is another financial Burden. But for thousands who live on the Economy cars Are a necessity to travel to and from work. Bachmann Anayi Many of her clients Are hard pressed to make car payments and handle Auto insurance and maintenance Bills. Navy Counselor in Naples report that Many Servic members complain about the High costs of maintaining older cars. Overdrawn checking account Are a major problem. Community bad Check lists restrict the privileges of those who Bounce checks bad checks at military banking outlets in Europe Are running a record 37,000 a month in the current fiscal year an american express official reports. The problem persists despite efforts to instruct new arrivals on Check Book maintenance. Counselor report that bar Bills Slot machine losses and time payments Lor encyclopedias furniture and correspondence courses Are additional reasons for family Debl. In All services counselling is scheduled by command referral or self referral with tha former Given priority. Army counselling is available at army Community service centers. Air Force counselling is directed by accounting and finance offices Navy counselling May be handled by family services centers Navy Relief or the red Cross. Serious cases that involve threatened Law suits or bankruptcy Are referred to military Legal assistance offices if at All possible we like to steer people away Tram bankruptcy because of the implication it might have on the military career Murray said. When client have multiple debts Counselor try to stretch out the schedule of payments with creditors. When practical debts May be consolidated to simplify payoff a. At harm a Safe is testing a debt restructuring plan that provides the client Wilh an interest free loan from the air Force Aid society. This permits the member to wipe the slate clean of All debts in Exchange for a single loan that is paid off in monthly  says 50th tac fighter Wing comptroller i col. Mel Stinnett. From All indications it s going to be a helpful program Counselor prefer working with husbands and wives. We accomplish More if we get both members  Murray says. But that s not always  Counselor Linda Van doll in Friedberg Germany has met wives alone. They wanted help but they did t want their husbands to know about  Vandoli said counselling is available in most communities but heavy Case loads in some areas May result in wailing fists for sell referred clients. I have 36 on my waiting Lisl and i want to get to them As soon As possible says Murray in Giessen. But i must give priority to command referred debt liquidation  then by Mary Neth consumer editors ome service members overseas complain Hal slow mail is costing them Money. Because credit card payments mailed to the slates Don t arrive on time tale charges Are being tacked onto their monthly Bills. A mail delay is to excuse or not getting that payment in on time says Cape. Maria c. Fernandez Chiel of client services or the Usa eur Legal assistance office in Heidelberg. Credit card payment dates and interest charges or late payments Are not regulated by Federal or state agreements protecting Consumers. The uniform commercial code called the Mailbox Rule does not provide a loophole for mailed payments that Don t reach their Desu Nalum on Lime. It basically states that the postmark on the envelope not the Date of arrival is the deciding actor in business mailed to a financial institution however it does not apply to credit card payments says Fernandez. It is a Rule of contract not a Rule of commercial credit she explains. Her advice Flatt read your contract some companies provide a 10-Day Grace period. Most however have Standard contracts that slate that the payments must be received by a certain Dale or a Fine will be imposed. If Youra is of the latter kind make prepayments. For example say you have been extended credit Lor More than $1 ,200 and know your my Njuty payment will be no less than $75. Send in the s75 #1 Advance be sure you include the month what the payer Send is for and your account number v there is no reason to wait to be sided it Techy is your responsibility to see that the payments gel there on  spokesmen for visa and Mastercard said that cad holders contract with an individual Bank and not with the Cri Jii re com pan them Solvej it is in Bank that produces Hose Small print regulations covering use of the card the spokesmen said. Ninety nine percent of the time. Ine Pritt Jal Dall the rite payment Murf me Bank that i sovran by. A of  vow largest Banks and to holding Coli Stanlet in pegs 14 the stars and stripes