European Stars And Stripes (Newspaper) - November 30, 1987, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Aga inc Check to see if you Are headed for disaster  stories by Mary Neth consumer editor managing your Money no matter the Type of Budge breakdown you use. The first slops Aro generally the same to gel started you should figure your standing Bills and Doduck them from your income. What remains is what you will have to budget Lor daily living and savings. Pul away Money 1o have ready for Bills that tall due quarterly. Most people receive two monthly paychecks. Army Community service acs financial Counselor advise arranging to pay about half of your standing monthly Bills Oul of each paycheck. That Way you won t be spending one Check on Bills atone Shirlene Harvey financial Counselor for the acs in Babenhausen Germany notes that your budget should include both Long term goals a new car Freezer children education and Short term goals monthly food rent recreation. She advises avoiding instalment purchases like Lite plague and Cooling off impulse buying. K you take time to think before purchasing you May decide you really Don need the item after All she says. Financial Counselor emphasize that a budget will succeed Only if it is realistic if you j a j pop Jilin attn in it  fun Fol  have underestimated or voc slim Ald in a Cal gory. You will need to re evaluate your up i 1st. Tiv i he la Joel Yuu i Lave pal it Ltd. Ii it does nol prove Lobo Pallical. Change it. Don 1 gel so bogged Down in recording that the whole thing becomes a Complete bore. Once however you have established a comfortable method of budget my. Slick to it remember to budget Lor special needs birthdays holidays Csc. Everyone needs a budget. Signs of financial difficulty indicate you can be headed for disaster if you Don l Slart a budget quickly. Hare s a checklist Hal can show it you Are headed for the Brink. 1, you worry about Money a Greal Deal. 2, you have no Reserve Cash to meet emergencies 3. You find it harder and harder to save. Your passbook shows Moio withdrawals than deposits you Cash in savings Bonds Long Bolo re they mature. 4. You can t figure out where your Money goes. There is nothing much to show for in. G. You use your checking account s overdraft loan feature frequently. 6. You depend heavily on extra income bonuses overtime moonlighting to got you Over the rough spots. 7, you use credit a Purchase in incas Ito clothing that you once bought Wilh Cash. 8. Bills once paid promptly arc now sri Meu in Iii Juii Dinul them Uili wait longer and longer to pay them. 9. You Only pay the minimum amount due on monthly charge accounts. 10. You lend Lobo Lato in paying Bills you pay some creditors one month others Iho next. 11. You take out a new loan to pay Oil old ones. 12. You arc spending More than 20 percent of your take Homo pay to pay Oil debts. 13. You Don t have enough Reserve to Lido you Over a major Upsel like a pay Cul you Aren t prepared to replace big items like household equipment. 14. You Rob Peler to pay Paul. For example you dip into funds accumulated Lor insurance premiums to pay the water Bill 15. You Havelos Ofack of the Lota amount of your debts. You have to scrounge for Money tomake monthly payments and because you Usea lol of credit the balances owe Don t seem Lodi Crosse. 16 you Are beginning to receive reminders about overdue payments. 17 both you and another family member write checks and have not developed a system to show the Correct balance avoiding a financial crisis  a financial crisis can Lead to months of worry and hardship belter to avoid one before i happens. Here Are some suggestions from army Community service acs financial Counselor on How to do so. You May not be Able to accomplish what they Cail for All at once but they can be goals for the future. First have three months base pay available in savings for emergencies such As unexpected Bills and family illness Sand six months base pay in savings if you Are about to make a move to another assignment. Learn to read your pay voucher. If your pay seems wrong find out Why. Under no circumstances spend an overpayment. Put it in a savings account you can keep the interest earned. Borrow Only fora car of a Home. Try to use Cash to buy everything else. Shop Lor credit. Don t Settle for the first or the most willing tender. Overseas credit companies Are charging High rates some up to 35 percent. Often instalment payments that go through the allotment system Are open ended. The consumer does not get statements saying How much there is left to pay. Allotments can continue to go into these accounts after the contract has been paid. The Soldier has no Way of knowing that the allotment should be slopped unless he has kept track of the payment schedule himself. Destroy All credit cards their Worth in establishing a credit rating is a myth. Use your Bank to establish a credit Raling. Acs notes that according to a report put out by the Consumers Union a nonprofit corporation credit references other than Banks and major department stores May or May not add Points to your credit profile. Travel entertainment and Oil company cards Are generally not predictive of Good payment according to Many lenders. If you list such a card on a credit application it May not even be scored. If it is. It May be lumped with other kinds of cards. Refute All door to door sales. These salesmen prey on the fact thai americans Are courteous to guests in their Homes. Many have attended Chat schools that would make a Recruiter drool. They know More about you than you do. Allow yourself a Cooling Oil period before sending a mail order. Make sure you Are not ordering something just to cure a bout of depression. Be wary about ordering from firms using Only a postal Box number. It there Are problems Wilh delivery or Quality. Such firms can to hard to Irace know How much car ownership really costs maybe bus. Streetcar or Iran service would be better for you. Figure $1.000 car depreciation just to drive the car of the lot figure Iho costs of maintenance insurance Gas and Oil. Beware of schemes thai could be scams. They often include land come on and cemetery plots. The military still does provide burial space Don i sign your name to any kind of contract without first taking it to a military lawyer for interpretation. Back away from the Salesman who refuses to let you study a contract overnight. Be careful of school schemes. Check Oul any statements made by salesmen about accreditation. Be sure you will have the skill you desire when you finish the course. Use military facilities to save Money the Exchange commissary Legal office Etc. Have a family financial Cheek up every six months or so. You often can spot trouble before in becomes big trouble. Include your children in financial discussions and decision making ii you Are making time payments of Over 20 percent of your Tako Home pay you Are headed for trouble. Gel help immediately. Where to turn for help fire. Theft or in some cases Adeath in the family Are situation that can cause a budget to fall apart. Unless you have savings put aside such unexpected events can mean real Money trouble. Members of the military do have places to turn the first Slop should be the company commander he May be ate to work out casual pay. An Advance of pay not yet due you May also seek help through army emergency Reisiel Are or the american red Cross arc. Bolh organizations can provide Loans under certain circumstances. Problems Are handled on a Case by Case basis but a military person generally qualifies Tor Aid if his financial difficulty involves one of the following stolen or lost Money funeral expenses travel expenses for Vald emergency leave and emergency travel emergency car repairs fire or other disaster the need to Havo i Lal information sent or received from family members or Lack of funds for rent Ood or clothing that Pul a family in need. The Are Loans must be repaid but on occasion the organization can offer Grants the offices also can ten you where to go for further help. The red Cross works with Are to offer Sot dim much of the same Type of support. The arc helps gel information about your family when there is an emergency it can Check in a Short time to see if a lamely member is in the Hospital or has died and relay thai information to your commander so emergency leave can be approved the arc also can help with travel Money. Monday november 30, 1987 the stars and stripes Page 13