European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - April 22, 2007, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Rind a april 22 2007 stars and stripes 29 your Money mall sacrifices could Mooth Rocky finances dear Liz pm having a terrible time pm 26 and have a Rocky history which includes flunking out of Law school just barely and filing for bankruptcy after these crushing blows i started working in the Legal Field part time the Only Job i could find with my relatively Small amount of experience while waiting tables and bar tending i made so Little Money that i  even afford a payment on one of my student debts a Perkins loan when i tried to put this loan into forbear Ance until i was in a better financial Posi Tion i was told i did not qualify because my payment amount was less than 10 per cent of my income but i really had nothing left Over after i paid my monthly expenses the Good news is that i finally have a full time Job that pays a decent but not great salary however the Perkins loan has gone into collections and the amount i owe has swelled by nearly 30 percent my Boyfriend and i Are talking about buying a House soon but it obviously cant be in my name due to this loan hanging out there what do i do answer experience is a Good teacher but apparently you we rent paying enough attention in class you need to fix this misconception that loan pay ments Are to be made with the Money that s left Over after you pay All your other expenses if you want de Liz Puliam Weston Money talk cent credit you trim your other expenses so that you can make your loan payments if your too High you move some where cheaper or get another Roommate if your heating Bill soars you turn Down the thermostat two degrees and Wear sweaters if your car costs top much to operate you sell it and take Public transportation if your food Bill As a single person is much Over a month you learn to shop better eat More meatless meals and choose genetics Over name brands Are these sacrifices fun or easy of course not but they would have saved you a ton of Money and credit trouble if youd taken them and made the nominal pay ments on your loan it May still be possible to redeem your credit but you need to move fast if you dont work out an agreement student loan collectors can Garnishee your wages and seize your tax refunds dont even think about buying a House until you get this loan problem cleared up and youve got some experience living within your Means Liz Puli am Weston is the author of the books your credit score and Deal with your debt both published by Prentice Hall questions for possible inclusion in her column May be sent to 3940 Laurel Canyon blvd no 238 studio City Ca 91604 or via the Contact Liz form at  distributed by no More red inc fridays Market summary indexes 52week High Low name last net chg Ltd chg chg 52wk chg 1283846 1068332 Dow Jones industrials 1296198 521142 413472 Dow Jones transportation 520586 51844 38031 Dow Jones utilities 52056 965825 770811 nose composite 969734 224247 180065 amex Index 221949 253142 201278 Nash a composite 252639 147657 121929 500 148435 87880 71053 88020 83171 66858 Russell 2000 82886 1494816 1224990 do Wilshire 5000 1500991 nose most Active name vol 00 m More last chg Pfizer Geneles and forum Exxon by of cup a Kosfara so map Kraft Motorola 594954 575479 502250 440069 401679 300814 289820 272583 256446 250009 2697 3513 1416 775 7976 1537 5104 5400 3309 1821 10 12 03 is most Active or More name vol 00 last chg Spur 1098461 ishr2k nya 482912 spongy 181569 up incl 170298 Prusha Rqn 131765 Semi her 125244 Djina diam oils vat on2tech Goldstro 97120 79913 71202 41916 14862 8231 6310 3712 4395 36j3 12957 15l54 228 471 50 k21 most Active of we name last chg Intel 1169675 push Sqq 1126052 Microsoft 488710 Cisco Yahoo Oracle level3 Sun Micro Avan Irp Al matl 412043 376964 362460 354194 277654 253148 244789 2216 4540 2902 2699 2746 1900 612 533 440 1948 05 11 defense stocks Armor computer Genera general Harris Allied signal 13 communications Lockheed 100 22 9252 Rockwell Seq a corp teas Tsitron inc United key Mutual Unis name Nav Ltd chg ret Fidelity invest Fidelity invest Fidelity spartan Putnam funds a Amer Century inv Fidelity invest Fidelity invest Fidelity invest aim investments a const fms pc aim investments a Fidelity advisor Fidelity advisor t Putnam funds a Gib qty Fidelity advisor t Dws Scudder cd s Putnam funds a Exchange rates military rates euro costs april 23 513961 Dollar buys april 23 British Pound april 23 japanese yen april 23 11500 South korean won april 23 90700 commercial rates Bahrain Dinar 03771 British Pound Canada Dollar 11218 China Yuan 77218 Denmark Krone 54772 Egypt Pound 5686 euro Hong Kong Dollar 78139 Hungary forint 18057 Israel shekel 40773 Japan yen 11874 Kuwait Dinar 02891 Norway Krone 59617 Philippines peso 4755 Poland zloty 278 saudi Arabia Riyal 37495 Singapore Dollar South Korea won Switzerland franc Thailand Bant Turkey new lira 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  and the euro which is dollars euro 92851 12072 3236 13416 metals new York merc dose silver513938 interest rates prime rate discount rate635 Federal funds Market rate525 3month 30year bond485 sources the associated press Bank of America Kent and stripes Tom Snyder a personal financial Counselor who works at the family support Center at Aviano air base Italy has collected a fish bowl full of credit cards from clients the bundle of cards wrapped in a rubber band at the top left came from a single family savings troops should invest in All they can savings from Page 28 As for saving Money he uses a private broker that he says helps him earn a double digit return higher than any rate Hes seen from any government affiliated program until they can Promise me that i like what in he said what would experts like Miller and Snyder recommend i would go into the Thrift Sav Ings plan right away or if there deployed the savings Deposit program Miller said the tsp offers service members and most department of defense civilians an array of investment opportunities with varying returns and risks the sep gives servicemen Bers a 10 percent return on up to they can put in after there deployed for a month Snyder said hed add Roth individual retirement accounts to theist especially for the younger peo ple that s really going to pay off in the end he said he might advise using online savings accounts to establish emergency accounts or funds for specific projects or occasions such As Christmas in any Case the advisers say that saving Money is better than spending it a lesson that Tho Mas said he Learned the hard Way when i came Back from Iraq in i had a Bunch of Cash and i spent it All in about a six mourn period he said i dont Ever want that to happen again pm married and have two kids i cant afford to do that email Kent Harris at Banks Are you ready to change Banks from Page 28 usaa offers rates of about 3 percent for savings accounts less than according to its site compare that to a Trust direct a Clevelan based online Bank that advertises savings account rates of 52 percent Accord ing to banknote com people Are starting to catch on to the deals according to statistics provided by online banking report in a Christian science Monitor article earlier this month the number of virtual banking households jumped 61 percent from 23 Mil lion in 2004 to 37 million in 2006 according to the article Ameri cans Are now stashing Between billion and billion in Virtu Al accounts despite the allure of these higher rates Jones said on line banking int for everyone theres no tangible building where a customer can Cash in a Jug of coins or Chat with Esther the kindly Teller transactions Are largely paperless having less infrastructure can mean less service Jones said when you have a question you cant drive Down and talk to a Bank manager internet familiarity is another Factor to consider she said it depends on their Comfort with the technology frankly she said some folks Are of dealing with just a computer it becomes a style question and dont be Quick to close out those traditional accounts Baras said in email Money that you wont need for a while is Best suited for these online options there will always be a place in the Market for traditional Banks at least for a Long time to Baras wrote Many of the online Banks require you to have a traditional checking account for transfers in and out of your internet account a traditional banking relation ship also comes in Handy when Money is needed in a Pinch Jones said always have a local banker who knows you she said its important to have that Leshan blood relationship you just cant predict when youre going to need that service quickly and in a customized Way part of the reluctance of people to go online with their Money May have to do with its new nature and Security questions said 1st it a Psia Taylor of Milde halts 100th air refuelling Wing who gets an interest rate of 525 percent with an online capital one account i dont think people know about these other options Tay Lor said some Banks can also be seen As untrustworthy my grand Mother kept Money in her mat Tress until she died email Geoff Ziezulewicz at discover Why so Many people Are saying 1 command a Mancial Hanning  sip