84-Lancaster Farming, Saturday, March 23, 1996
Avoid Spur-of-the-Moment
Decisions
If individuals could limit spur
of-the-moment spending and cut
down on the number of unin
formed consumer decisions they
make, families could make signi
ficant progress toward becoming
“debt-free.”
“For most families, debt is not
built out of necessity. Rather, it is
built on impulse,” according to
Dahlstrom & Company. Some sta
tistics suggest that impulse shop
ping causes consumers to spend
nearly three times more money
than they had originally planned.
For businesses, that’s good
news. For families who are having
trouble making ends meet, that
pattern can be disastrous. One out
of every six families has a credit
card problem. One out of ten fami
lies can only afford to make mini
mum monthly payments. For
families to become debt-free, they
need to increase income, reduce
spending or a combination of the
two. Then they need to apply the
additional funds to their accumu
lated bills.
Dahlstrom & Company reports
that the average American has
nine credit cards and carries an
outstanding balance of $1,850.
Twenty-eight percent of house
holds pay their balance in full
every month. That means that
some families carry significantly
higher balances than $1,850. If
your family does this, make a plan
now to reduce your debt
Start by hiding or freezing your
credit cards. Better yet, cut them
up and return them to the company
with a letter closing your account
Eliminate as many trips to the mall
as possible, and don’t keep mail
order catalogs in your house. Each
time you reduce your spending,
take the cash and put it in a money
jar. Apply the money saved
monthly to the credit card bill with
the smallest balance. Remember,
you will need to pay at least the
minimum on each card or negoti
ate an affordable minimum with
each creditor. Otherwise, debt col
lectors may begin legal actions
against you.
When buying groceries, shop
from a list. Don’t buy pre-pack
aged/single-serving foods. Instead
make your own single-servings
when you get home. Save the ad
ditional money. Shop once each
week at the most The more times
you enter a store, the more you'll
spend impulsively. Compare
prices of prodcuts using the unit
labels. When you approach the
check-out line, review what you
have selected, and put at least ten
percent of it back. Start with des
serts, snackfoods, pastries, frozen
dinners. Even cold cereals can be
expensive. Select hot cereal in
gredients or store brand cold cer
eals and save.
Eat at home when possible.
Pack foods for road trips, family
outings, and work. If you must eat
out, plan to pay cash. You will eat
less extravagantly. Limit the num
ber of drinks to one per person.
Restaurants have high charges for
beverages and desserts. After a
meal order coffee, but skip des
sert Meet a friend or colleague for
lunch or dessert rather than dinner.
Each of these decisions saves
money. This could save you at
least $5 per person. Put that cash
in the money jar. Each time you
spend less in a budget category,
apply the savings to your debt.
More Than One Use For This Bag
Silage bags are used for more than holding silage on the George Hurst farm In Lftftz.
Spray-painted congratulations is emblazoned across the front. The message aroused
the curiosity of motorists who drive pass the bag located In a field across from Landis
Homes, a retirement village. Hurst said the message congratulated John 801 l and
Grace Wltmer, retirement home residents, who married on March 2.
Chester County Offers Spring Parks Program
WEST CHESTER (Chester
Co.) Summer is coming and
there are plenty of opportunities to
explore both the Chester County
You can use this same strategy
with home utilities. Reduce your
electricity or water bill through
family conservation efforts. Post
the company statement on your re
frigerator. Each time it drops, take
the savings and pay extra on your
Master Card.
Cancel magazine and newspa
per subscriptions. Read your fa
vorite publication! at the local li
brary instead. Raise your deducti
ble on your auto and homeowner’s
insurance. Each of these ideas will
help you redirect money from un
necessary purchases to paying off
your debt.
Always ask yourself questions
that will curb impulsive spending.
Do I really need it? What will hap
pen if I don’t buy it today? Why
have I gotten along without it until
now? Can I rent or borrow the
item for a one-time/limited use
and save?
If a family found $5O extra each
month to apply to a $3,000 credit
card balance (in addition to the
minimum payment of $6O), they
could reduce the time it would
take to pay off the entire bill from
eight years to three years. They
would also save $l,BOO in interest
payments.
GOOD FOOD OUTLET STORES
See Our Original Line Of Golden Barrel Products Plus All Kinds
Of Beans, Candies, Dried Fruit, Snack Mixes, Etc. At Reduced Prices
* BAKING MOLASSES * MAPLE SYRUP
. *■, v , * BARBADOS MOLASSES * PANCAKE it WAFFLE
f* '->■%*« * BLACKSTRAP SYRUPS
MOLASSES * SORGHUM SYRUP
(■ _*Bl m Rr>» * CORN SYRUPS * LIQUID A DRY SUGAR
SR-W 1 * T*\ * HIGH FRUCTOSE * PANCAKE * WAFFLE*
' SYRUPS SYRUPS
. ~ , * CANOLA OIL
If your local store I COCONUT OIL
/]j 1 doet not hive it, * CORN OIL
SEND FOR * COTTONSEED OIL
BROCHURE , * PEANUT OIL
* shoo-fly pie mdc
Processors Of Syrups. Molasses,
Cooking Oils, Funnel Cake Mix,
Pancake ft Waffle Mix ft Shoofly Pie Mix
GOOD FOOD OUTLET
Located At Good Food, Inc.
W. Main St, Box 160, Honey Brook, PA 19344
610-273-3776 1-800-327-4406
Located At L & S Sweeteners
388 E. Main St., Leola, PA 17540
717-656-3486 1-800-633-2676
- WE UPS DAILY -
m m m
Parks and other nearby natural re
sources through two unique pro
grams, now accepting applications
for 1996 participation.
Junior Ranger
Boys and girls ages 7-12 are in
vited to participate in Junior
Ranger Programs at both Warwick
and Hibernia County Paries, July
13 - August 9.
This will be the third year for
Warwick’s summer program and
the first for Hibernia. On four
Saturday mornings and a Friday
evening in July and August, Junior
Rangers will explore natural and
cultural history topics as well as
some basic outdoor recreation
skills, using the county parks as
outdoor classrooms.
Activities for the 1996 session
may include orienteering, basic
fishing skills, hiking, forest eco
logy, insects, wildlife investiga
tions, stream studies, wilderness
survival, and one night time pro
gram. Each park offers similar
programs with special features
unique to that park.
Junior Rangers will receive
journals at the beginning of the
program, a variety of reference
handouts for each session and a T
shirt at the conclusion of the pro
gram. Registration is open to
youngsters ages 7-12, with a limit
of 25 children. Participants must
attend all five sessions.
Registration deadline for both
s ’ *v
programs is June 28.
For more information, contact
Warwick County Park. (610)
469-9461, Hibernia County Park
(610) 384-0290 or the department
administrative office at (610)
344-6415.
The school is cosponsored by
the Chester County Federation of
Sportsmen’s Clubs, the Chester
County Conservation District and
the Pa. Department Conservation
and Natural Resources - French
Creek State Park.
Conservation School
The Chester County Conserva
tion School is still looking for ap
plicants for its 1996 season.
The seven-day residential
school focuses on the rich natural
resources of Chester County and
surrounding areas with site visits
and field studies.
Dates for this year’s program
are July 14 - 20. Cost is $lOO for
county residents and $125 for out
of-county residents.
The Chester County Conserva
tion School will enroll 2S boys
and birls ages 14 -17. Application
deadline is Friday. July S, or until
enrollment is filled.
For information and registra
tion information, contact the
Federation of Sportsmen’s Clubs
at (610) 696-5468.
SPECIALS FOR
MARCH
SHOOFLY FIB WITHOUT SYRUP
now $.99
LIGHT CORN SYRUP
16 os.
SPECIAL PRICE $1.09
GOLDEN BARREL SOYBEAN OIL
I Gallon
SALE PRICE $4.39
V •• ASSORTMENT OP
EASTER CANDIES ** V
-L
* FUNNEL CAKE MIX
★ PANCAKE A WAFFLE
Vox
* ASSORTMENT OF
CANDIES
* DRIED FRUIT
* SNACK MIXES
•k BEANS
* HONEY
* PEANUT BUTIER
* BAUMAN APPLE
BUTTERS
* KAUFFMAf" PRESERVES
★ SPRING GLEN REUSHES