European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - April 1, 2007, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Sunday stars and stripes Pace 31 your Money vets some return from War ready for self employment vets from Page 30 Luna got help from the service corps of retired executives a division of the Small business administration that also oversees the veterans business develop ment office along with score other groups helping veterans include the veterans business out reach Center the California department of veterans affairs and the International fran Chise association As part of that franchise associations vet fran program participating companies offer financial incentives to veterans to be come franchisees last year it enabled 612 veterans to acquire Small business franchises up from 385 a year ago Terry Hill spokesman for the franchise association in Washington said Compa Nies find a receptive audience among Veter ans who appear to adapt Well to the Struc tured format of franchises these Are people who have been trained in one of the biggest systems in the world the Hill said companies Are also realizing veterans have a Strong work ethic and they Are very Mission oriented these Are All things that Mirror franchise Hill said he sees momentum building for veterans interested in starting their own Busi Nesses it is very empowering for a lot of Veter Hill said being House poor not advisable dear Liz i am retiring i can sell my House and pay Cash for a retirement Home in the area where i want to live does this make sense i cant see any Benefit in taking out a mortgage and pay ing interest answer there Are financial pundits who believe that you should never pay off a mortgage Early or tie up too much Cash in a Home the idea is that you would be Able to make More in the Stock Market or with other investments than you would pay in interest on a Loprate taxed ductile mortgage its definitely True that most working people have better things to do with their Money than pay off a cheap Home loan they should be maximizing their contributions to retire ment accounts and paying off High rate consumer debt such As credit cards be fore they even think of making extra pay ments on a mortgage but Many folks want the peace of mind of a paid off Home by the time they hit retirement and theres typically nothing wrong with that if youve got your other financial bases covered youll want to make sure though that you dont leave yourself House with All your Money tied up in real estate and not enough in other investments a Money talk Liz Puliam Western review with a fee Only financial planner before you retire can help you determine whether your plan makes sense dear Liz my daughters name is on one of my credit cards and on my Check ing account in the event of my death is she responsible for the debt on that card answer that depends on whether Shes listed on the cred it card As a joint account Holder or an authorized user if Shes an authorized user she wont be held personally responsible for any debt on the card the Bill would be paid out of your estate if Shes consid ered a joint account Holder though she would be responsible personally for paying the Bill you should Contact the credit card company to find out How Shes listed if its As a joint account Holder you typically cant have her name removed if you didst want her to be responsible for the debt you would need to close the account and Transfer the balance to an other card held in your name Only dear Liz in a recent column you an swered someone who had More Money than he or she knew what to do with your advice to pay off any consumer debt and increase retirement savings if necessary was logical that said i found myself wondering about a rather different and perhaps Radi Cal approach give some of that extra dough away How about suggesting that the Reader increase donations to his or her Church local school District or charities or per haps he or she could set up a scholarship even More Radical Stop working so much and commit a Little time to the Community through volunteering  it be interesting if the few among us who Are swimming in extra Cash returned some to the society that gave them the Opportunity to earn it answer you we rent the Only Reader to notice the glaring omission in my advice but you were one of the most Elo quent although making sure we take care of ourselves financially is important so too is taking care of others through charitable donations and you dont have to be swimming in Money to give some away people who want to give to Charity do so regardless of How meager or generous their in comes Are As another Reader put it Char Itable donations can be and Are an indispensable part of Many financial plans Liz Pulliam Weston is the author of the books your credit score and Deal with your both published by Prentice Hall questions for possible inclusion in her column May be sent to 3940 Laurel Canyon no 238 studio City Ca 91604 or via the Contact Liz form at wow distributed by no More red inc thursdays Market summary 1 indexes 52week net Ltd 52wk High Low name last chg Dow Jones industrials Dow Jones transportation Dow Jones utilities 50337 ny5e composite amex Index Nash a composite 71033 66838 Russell 2000 do Wilshire 5000 i if Nash a most Active name last Active of name last m More name last chg forum 489544 Motorola 417615 Hal Libens 378795 and 283089 30 Pfizer 280005 Geneles 256568  262742 Micron 225060 Tai Semi 224855 we Stem 222184 1290364 ishr2knya 480625 spongy 221553 Semi her 177007 Crystal log 144766 spa Sci 139746 3553 Prusha Rqn 138193 oils vat 98338 do Madiam 89364 123 to soil fun 67983 1152025 Sun Micro 699361 Intel 695396 of mind 592166 Cisco 553495 21 Microsoft 409359 Oracle 279925 level3 278280 Apple inc 249038 arc dec 242704 key defense stocks  Armor holdings computer sciences general general Harris Allied l3 Lockheed Rockwell Seq a Texas text Ron United key Mutual funds name Nav Ltd chg ret Fidelity invest Greco 6957 0 Fidelity invest Granc 2 Fidelity spartan  5055 Putnam funds a Grin a p Amer Century inv Ultra Fidelity invest Amorso Fidelity invest Oversea 4631 Fidelity invest us i 1031 aim investments a const p fms a Sec Para aim investments a Charta p Fidelity advisor tree let Fidelity advisor Putnam funds a Globe qty 1137 Fidelity advisor 23 to  Dws Scudder cd s corp sinc Putnam funds a gig vap Exchange rates military rates japanese yen april South korean won april euro costs april Dollar buys april British Pound april commercial rates Bahrain British Canada China Denmark Egypt Hong Kong Hungary Israel Japan Kuwait Norway Philippines Poland saudi Arabia Riyal Singapore Dollar South Korea Switzerland Thailand Turkey new military Exchange rates Are those available to customers at military Bank ing facilities in the country of issuance for Japan South Korea Germany the Netherlands and the United kingdom for no local currency Exchange rates purchasing British pounds in Germa Check with your local military Bank ing facility commercial rates Are inter Bank rates provided for reference when buying currency All figures Are foreign currencies to one Dollar except for the British Pound which is represented in dollars Pound and the euro which is precious metals new York merc close Gold Silver interest rates prime discount Federal funds Market rate 3month 30year sources the associated press Bank of America and sensibility Money tip of the Day a loan among mends by Marshall Loeb Market watch new York lending friends Money whether its or usually does not work in fact Shakespeare penned the problems of such Loans in the merchant of yet As with Shakespeare plays the practice of borrowing and lending Money among friends Hast gone away yet the bards of quoted neither a Borrower nor a Lender be is the same advice countless experts offer when it comes to the subject but what if its too late you already spotted your pal the Cash to cover lunch or a Small loan for car repairs getting it Back int always easy especially if time passes and your Friend Hast said a word Money Maga Zine offers these suggestions for making sure you get paid dont wait to ask for it Back obviously youre not going to re quest repayment after a few hours but dont wait longer than a few Days you want to do it when its still fresh in both your minds youll actually avoid awkwardness that Way dont apologize or make it a big Deal ask for your Money in a straightforward manner and dont act As though youre sorry to be asking you Are dealing with a Friend after All you can even try humor to lighten the tone Send an email asking in person or Over the phone can make both parties a Little in easy so Send a Short email As a reminder that Way if you dont get the Money Back quickly or if theres confusion Over when you asked for it you have a written backup As Well give your Friend some options to pay you Back Tell her you can pick up the Money or you can even set up a Paypal account if youre inclined but if youve reminded your Friend a number of times and still Haven been paid it May be a sign that your buddy just Doest have the Money consider ask ing for Small payments on a monthly basis or ask him or her to pick up the Check when you eat out together next discover Why v so Many people Are sire