European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - September 9, 1990, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Sunday september 9, 1990 the stars and stripes Page 13business news grim future predicted for Dollar the Dollar continued to lag on world markets last week and the longer the doldrums persist the tougher it will be for americans overseas to make ends meet. Unfortunately there does no to appear to be any Relief in sight. Economists quoted in this space Over the past several weeks have made pessimistic pronouncements about the Dollar and experts in other quarters seem to feel the same. One Case in Point is a Wall Street journal Survey of 10 economists and foreign Exchange dealers published last week. The financial gurus were asked to predict where the Dollar will stand in relation to several other currencies one month and three months Down the Road. The news Wasny to Good particularly for . Service members in West Germany. The average response was that the Dollar will fall to 1.53 Marks by the end of september and to 1.51 Marks by the end of november. One particularly sour prognosticator pegged the Dollar at 1.45 Marks three months from now. All the currency analysts pointed to a weakening economic picture in the United states to support their predictions of a lower Dollar. And the experts said . Interest rates will soon be heading Down As Well. That development will work against the Buck As foreign investors turn away from Dollar watch Randy Mcclain Dollar denominated investments in the weeks and months ahead to put their Money to work in countries with higher interest rates. The Prospect of lower . Interest rates comes at a Point when rates seem to be increasing elsewhere. The Bank of Japan raised its discount rate by 0.75 percentage Points to 6 percent last week. And West Germany will probably follow suit in the next several months As inflation heats up in the Wake of unification with East Germany. Higher crude Oil prices and hefty . Military spending in the persian Gulf Are also undermining Hopes that Congress and president Bush will be Able to Engineer a significant Cut in the budget deficit later this year. Confidence in the Bush administration May Wane As a result. A few weeks ago hiking Energy taxes in the states was considered by Many observers to be a partial solution to the budget deficit problem but that now seems unlikely due to the flare up in the Middle East. With Gas prices Back Home heading through the roof an increase in Energy taxes probably wont occur unless the politicians in Power want to commit electoral suicide. The Wall Street journals Survey also found that the majority of currency experts believe the Buck will weaken against the British Pound. The average View was that one Pound will be Worth $ 1.92 at the end of september and $1.91 three months from now. Both rates Are slightly worse than today a. Late Friday one Pound was Selling for $1.8965 on the Frankfurt West Germany currency Exchange. The military Exchange rate in England was set at $1.94 for a Pound for the weekend based on an official Price fixing by merchants National Bank. In West Germany the militant Exchange rate Tor the weekend was set at 1.53 Marks Friday afternoon. On the world Market the Dollar was trading at just under 1.56 Marks late Friday. Gunter Teich currency analyst with the Bank of Boston in Frankfurt said he expects the Federal Reserve to act soon to lower . Interest rates because of continued economic weakness in the  the most recent evidence of weakness was the . Labor departments report on Friday show Long that unemployment Rose to 5.6 percent in August the highest in two years. Most traders had expected the unemployment rate to remain steady at 5.5 percent Teich said. The Start and strip a planning ahead can help smooth financial crunches by Cynthia Foreman Denver apr a think of a budget As a forecast an estimate a projection or Cash flow management. Budgeting is a balancing act that requires planning and goal setting. In the simplest sense budgeting involves Matching your outflow with your income in timing and amounts. Successful Cash flow management is based on being aware of the unique pattern that makes up your financial life. For most people its relatively easy to list the sources amounts and timing of income. Because income usually does not fluctuate from month to month the main Challenge for salaried employees is to gather and Analyse information about the outflow categories. How do you do it step one is to refer to your Check Book registers receipts Bank statements tax returns and if you keep financial data on a Home computer your floppy disks. Unless you inadvertently hide the nature of All your transactions by writing checks to a a Cash and using automatic Teller machines for Cash advances you should have precise financial records. If the task of determining where your Money goes seems overwhelming at first paint the picture in Broad strokes. Develop amounts for wide categories like housing meals and automobile. If you find that you have to guess at most categories even after gathering All the records you have you la have to conduct an Experiment in which you observe your spending habits. That Means keeping a spending journal. For three to four months keep track of All the Money you spend. Yes that Means tallying up amounts for Coffee and doughnuts magazines new Windshield wipers and gadgets from the electronics store. Before you throw your hands up in dismay realize that you Are not alone. Very few people can accurately quote the amounts they spend on clothing lunches pet care hobbies household supplies and other items. Your goal is to develop a list of monthly expenses. You will discover some expenditures occur every month and Are relatively fixed. Others will vary in amount and or timing. Budgeting involves Matching your income with your outflow. When there is a mismatch a when the outflows Are projected to exceed the inflows options you have several a build an emergency Reserve. It is important to build up a Cash Cushion of at least six months Worth of expenses. As with every Rule of thumb there Are exceptions. For example if you Are Able to cover the critical monthly living expenses from another income source you might consider a smaller Reserve. However the Best preparation for a financial Pinch is an adequate Reserve. When outflow requirements exceed inflow available All you la need to do is dip into the Reserve. A modify the timing of inflows or outflows. Keep Money in an interest bearing account and pay Bills close to due dates. If Money is particularly tight one month Contact your creditors and try to space out paying your Bills. Judicious use of credit cards can help you delay certain payments but done to abuse this privilege. If you can to handle credit wisely consider making All your payments by Cash or Check. Its a Good idea to pay for existing purchases before going into debt for new items. And instead of making Only the minimum payments required by a credit card company make a payment Large enough to reduce the principal you owe. A increase inflows. To do this you can liquidate assets or borrow Money. Depending on your mindset borrowing May be a workable option. Some financial planners say you should always try to borrow against assets before Selling off those assets. Disrupting your investment program by Selling valuable assets May not be in your Best interest. The Down Side is that borrowing will add one More Bill you have to pay. A reduce outflows. Whenever an outflow is variable determine How you can reduce it until the financial crunch subsides. Cut Back on Magazine subscriptions or decrease spending on gifts. Modify plans for wardrobe purchases. Finally if necessary set your survival Standard of living and stick to it. When the financial crisis passes done to automatically return to your previous lifestyle. Instead increase your emergency Reserve first. Even when your income increases resist the urge to immediately upgrade your Standard of living. As the motto says a plan  Start today so you la be Able to take control of your financial life through Cash flow management. Editors note a Cynthia Foi the College Tor financial planning. Credit card numbers on checks being banned in some states by Scripps Howard news service state lawmakers Are responding to vocal american Consumers who want to pay for their purchases by Check without using credit cards As identification. Delaware and new York enacted Laws in july that prohibit merchants from recording customers credit card numbers on checks and a similar Bill approved by the California legislature in August is awaiting signature by gov. George Deukmejian. Six other states have such Laws on the books Florida Iowa Kansas Maryland Virginia and Washington. Supporters of the prohibition say the practice is an invasion of privacy and can allow dishonest people to use the information written on the Check to make purchases with somebody else a credit. New York assemblyman Daniel Feldman a Democrat who introduced his states Bill said a Consumers and consumer groups expressed concern Over this practice. Their concerns made a lot of sense and the Bill passed quite  new Yorkus Law allows merchants to ask for a credit card As a form of id and to record the card name on the Check but not the number or the expiration Date. Opponents say the Laws Are unnecessary and make it More difficult for store owners to catch people who write hot checks. Mastercard and visa Are not choosing sides on the Issue. Nationwide Consumers Are using credit cards More than Ever. As of june 1990, americans owned just Over 1 billion credit cards and used them to buy $469.5 billion Worth of goods Over the previous year. Figures for the army and air Force Exchange service in Europe also show a trend toward increased use of credit. For the fiscal year ended Jan. 22, cafes customers wild about credit credit card spending by . Consumers has been increasing rapidly. During the next decade spending is expected to double. 110 million 118.3 million 1990 2000 1990 2000 . Credit cardholders number of cards 1990 2000 credit card spending a amps Susan Harris made credit card purchases totalling $ 111.7 million an increase in credit card sales of almost 11 percent when compared with sales of $100.6 million in fiscal 1988.