84-L«ncaster Farming, Saturday, October 3, 1998
Family Living
Focus
Patricia L. Powley
Dauphin Co. Extention
Planning for Holiday
Spending
The holiday shopping season
will soon begin. For may con
sumers, that means trouble.
Already overextended with
credit card borrowing and other
debt, too many consumers spend
way beyond their means during
the holidays. When January
rolls around, they're left with a
hangover of unpaid bills and
unhappy creditors.
Here are some common-sense
tips on avoiding post-holiday
financial blues.
•Make a budge and stick to
Figure out how much you can
reasonably afford to spend. One
way is by listing your income
from wages and investments,
and then subtracting your regu
lar minimum monthly expenses,
such as rent or mortgage pay
ments, food, auto loan pay-
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ments, insurance and utility
bills. What's left is discretionary
income that you could use for
holiday spending.
Once you figure out how
much you can afford, make a list
of those you will give to and the
amounts per person. Take the
list with you when you go shop
ping. If you spend less on one
person, you can spend more on
another.
Shop for bargains but resist
the temptation to spend more
than your total.
Don't go shopping at the last
minute; that causes impulse
buying.
• Recognize the warning
signs of too much debt.
You have no business increas
ing your borrowing at all if you
fit any of the following condi
tions: your payments are always
late and you are constantly
receiving collection notices from
creditors; you are constantly
taking cash advances on your
credit card; you are opening up
more credit cards just to pay off
debts on other cards; you are
using savings to pay basic mon
thy bills such as rent or utilities;
your savings totals less than
two-three months of take-home
pay; or you use more than 20-
percent of your take-home pay to
pay monthly non-mortgage
installment debts such as car
payments and credit card bills.
If you meet any of those con
ditions, it's time to cut back on
your debts - not add to them.
• Understand the costs of
credit card promotions and gim-
micks.
Many issuers offer "skip pay
ment" options where you don't
have to pay every month.
Sounds great. But finance
charges will generally continue
to accrue during the months you
don't pay. The same is often
true of deferred-payment offers
where you don't have to pay for
several months.
• Consider alternatives to
borrowing and spending.
Use cash. At least you can
only spend what you have or go
on a holiday savings program.
Figure out what you spend on
the holiday and make it a point
to save a one-twelfth of that
amount each month during the
year.
Also, the best gifts are not
necessarily the most expensive
or ones that you buy. Holiday
presents that you make, like
baked goods, show thoughtful
ness and can be just as appreci
ated as any you purchase.
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Holiday make wonderful
times for credit scam artists. You
should offer your credit card for
identification but refuse to allow
merchants to write your card
numbers down on checks;
destroy carbons; check billing
statements carefully for pur
chased you didn't make or that
were never delivered and write
your card issuer immediately to
dispute such charges; never give
your card number over the
phone unless you're certain that
the company is reputable; and
There are many pel removal
products on the market, usually
available in the cleaning supplies
section of your local grocery store.
Before using any cleaning prod
uct, it is important to test for
colorfastness by applying a small
amount on an unexposed area of
the carpet or upholstery. Let stand
for five minutes, then rinse. If the
color is affected, don’t use the
product Never over-wet the area,
and always use clean, white tow
els or paper towels. If the stgain
removal formula is unable to re-
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keep your card in view when you
give it to sales clerks to prevent
them from making extra
imprints.
•Know what to do if you get
in trouble. „
Contact your creditors. They
can often help you work out a
more manageable repayment
schedule.
Your county cooperative
extension office has "Take
Control of Your Money" booklets
that can be helpful in your plan
ning process and they're FRJEE.
move the slain, try mixing one tea
spoon of ammonia with 'A cup
water and blot Blot any remaining
stain removal agents or moisture
with a clean, white towel, and let
dry.
It is important to remember that
this process takes patience and
careful testing. If the stain persists
after this process, it may become
necessary to seek advice from a
carpet cleaning professional.
Source: International Fabric In
stitute.