European Stars And Stripes (Newspaper) - October 22, 1986, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Is photo by Ken George e4 Danny Rake has taken a second lob and works part time at Burger King to help make ends meet. Pam does t. She quite simply deducts the expenses from the pay and what is left Over is what they live on. Most goes for groceries next comes items Tor the baby. Entertainment takes Low priority. We visit friends. We watch  it a $7.50 cassette tape is purchased that strikes out a dinner at Burger King. Are they enjoying their tour of Germany Danny says yes. Pam says no. They left their respective towns not even Marks on the map he says to set up their own household in Lar tech. Sgt. Jim Hunt stationed at in Ciurlik a describes it As one of the last Good deals  there instead of dropping the Dollar is at a six month High. Hunt reports that you can eat out in a Quality restaurant for very Little. A Good dinner of fresh seafood Lor example will Only run around $5." in Greece where the Dollar has dropped dramatically in the last six months from 141 drachmas to the Dollar in april to 133 this Mont dining out has remained reasonable. According to capt Donald Traud chief of Public affairs at hell Nikon a outside of Athens tents and clothing have become much More expensive. He says a sweater will Cost about $40. Parents Tell him that the Price of children s clothing has gone Way up. They say you can t buy anything for under $15." without suffering the influence of either set of parents. Now Pam very much wonders Why. I used to detest Canning and now i look Forward to it to having a Garden and most of All being near the family. I Don t like All the crowds in the cafes and commissary stores Here. I was t prepared for it. I Don t like the fact that everything opens so late not until 11  she does t like the fast traffic on the autobahn the fact that people let her struggle with the language before speaking to her in English. She does t like German food or that the German stores close on sundays. Somehow she says Germany in t at All like i expected it to  travel at first Danny was so tired from being on the Road As a truck Driver the last thing he wanted was to drive on the weekends. I guess we have gotten into a rut says Pam. We d like to go to Spain before we leave but we spent our last vacation going Home. Our parents had t seen the baby says Danny. We be gone to Heidelberg and seen some castles. The problem is we Don t want to leave the baby with anyone and she does t like being in the  Danny s not worried about finding a Job on their return. My father is the head Foreman for a construction company. I can work for  during the Winter months there is a Layoff with Only unemployment pay but Danny says Money is not what is important to him. My wife and children that s All i  is photo by Lynda w Sparks the Joss children help Load groceries alter a trip to the commissary near amp new Amsterdam. Coping with theorising Guilder by Wendy Bourland staff writer he dropping Dollar is prompting military families living in the Netherlands to spend their Money in commissary and Exchange facilities instead of in local stores and markets. I can save Money at the commissary now said Amy Joss wife of staff sgt. John Joss who works at Camp new Amsterdam. The couple live in utrecht. We used to to a lot of shopping in utrecht until the Dollar dropped below three guilders in  the Exchange rate Asol oct 20 is 2 25 guilders to the Dollar Joss who has been in Holland four years said she used to enjoy buying vegetables and fruit at the Market while her Friend Linda Ballard wife of staff sgt. Will Ballard who also works at Cna purchased poultry nuts and cheese there canned goods were cheaper on the Economy but not now Joss said. Even dutch Beer is cheaper on  the losses have furniture and clothing bought in dutch stores but Amy said if the couple were looking for these items now they would come from the Exchange. Clothing that used to Cost $15 now costs $25," she said. My Sears and other credit cards Are used up. I buy clothes through the  she sighed. Our rent has gone from $200 a month to $450 a month because of the Guilder rising against the  the losses and the ballads have taken their dollars irom the Economy to the military facilities but sgt. Jim Lake of the 7362nd munitions support so in Volkel still shops in the Village. He s lived in the Netherlands for 3 a years and said you just have to know where to go and what to buy. He and his wife Kathy and their two children make a 70-mile trip from Volkel to the Camp new Amsterdam commissary to buy meats and other foods but shop the farms and the Market in Volkel for produce. There Are no commissary or Exchange facilities in Volkel. It depends on the Guilder rate which combination of cafes and the Economy is cheaper he said. Military families who have lived in the Netherlands Long enough to watch the Dollar decline miss the shopping Power they feel they be lost but those just arriving Don t see a big difference in prices at cafes facilities and in dutch cities and towns. We be Market shopped some and we be been to the commissary said Lisa Merck wife of a.1.c. Timothy Merck who works at Camp new Amsterdam. The couple arrived in Early August. At first it seemed higher on the Economy but i was thinking in dollars not guilders. It s about the same she said. Our " where the Money goes " series concludes Friday with stories on budgeting and saving the stars and stripes Page 15