84-Lmcaster Fanning, Saturday, January 29, 2000
Cleaning Up Those Credit
Card Bills!
Are you starting to hyperven
tilate at the sight of your mail
carrier putting “bills” in your
mail box?
Do you break into a cold
sweat when you open credit card
bill envelopes?
Did you give up keeping track
of the amount of money you
spend over the holidays using
your credit card?
If you answered “Yes” to any
of these questions, then you
really need to come up with a
sensible credit card payment
plan. It’s time now to get your
self out of credit card debt!
First of all, make a list of all
your credit cards. Not all credit
cards are created equal. They
may all have different interest
rates. Rates of interest may
range from 9 percent to as much
as 24 percent. Do you know the
interest rate of your credit
cards? In a second column
beside each credit card name,
write the interest rate.
What’s the big deal about
having different interest rates?
Credit is not free money. If you
owe $l,OOO at 14 percent, your
monthly interest charge will be
$11.67. If you owe $l,OOO at 22
percent, your monthly interest
charge will be $18.33-that’s
$79.92 more you will be paying
by the end of the year.
In a third column, write down
the balance you owe for each
card Beside that amount in col
umn four, write the minimum
amount due. If you are only pay
ing the minimum monthly pay
ment each month, you may be
keeping yourself in debt for
years For example, if you are
paying $2O per month on a
$l,OOO balance, it will take you
approximately 2.7 years to pay
it off. Paying more than your
minimum balance is the only
way to get it paid off as soon as
possible. Of course, the best deal
is paying the full amount within
the first month’s grace period.
How do you decide which bill
to pay first, and how much do
you pay?
MILK
Where's your mustache? "
If you cannot pay the full bal
ance when the bill arrives, start
paying off the credit card which
has the highest interest rate. In
other words, this credit card will
most likely cost you the most
money. Next, try to pay off the
credit card which has the lowest
balance. Always pay more than
the minimum payment, even if it
is just an additional $lO.
When one credit card is paid
off, put that same payment
amount on the next card in addi
tion to the amount you have
been paying. For example, you
have been paying $5O per month
on credit card A and $75 per
month on credit card B. You pay
credit card A off this month with
a $5O payment. Next month pay
$5O plus the $75 ($125.00 total)
on credit card B. You’ll now pay
off credit card B much more
quickly which saves you money
in the long run.
As each credit card gets paid
off, continue to put those addi
tional funds into the cards with
which you still have a balance. It
will take a few months of watch
ing where all your money is
being spent as well as a person
al commitment to not get into
further credit card debt. The
important thing is to always pay
at least the minimum on each
card and preferable more than
the minimum.
Just because you’ve paid one
credit card off, don’t fool yourself
into thinking you can go out and
start charging all over again.
Rewarding yourself by accruing
new debt is not a good idea. You
will only get yourself in credit
debt trouble all ever again.
Setting financial goals is the
key to cleaning up your holiday
credit card spending. It will take
a full family commitment to
accomplish this task. Open com
munication about everyone’s
spending habits should also be
the topic at your next family
meeting. If you would like mate
rials or additional information
on setting up a family financial
budget, contact your local county
Cooperative Extension Office.
AD ADC Works To Sell Milk In Schools
SYRACUSE, NY.-School bev
erage choices were once limited
to milk and perhaps 100% fruit
juice. Now students can choose
among a variety of sodas, fla
vored iced teas, fancy waters,
and “juice drinks”; whose adver
tising and marketing budgets
far exceed those of milk. To keep
milk competitive, ADADC works
with school food service direc
tors to improve milk’s image as
well as its quality and variety.
This fall, the largest school
districts in ADADCs’ marketing
area-including New York City,
Long Island, Yonkers, Newark
and Jersey City, Syracuse City,
Rochester, Buffalo and
Greece-received special “got
milk?” menu marketing kits,
consisting of a “got milk?” menu
board with erasable markers,
“Cold Milk Served Here” inflat
able cow, milk temperature
charts, and a “got milk?” banner.
ADADC also worked with
their local advertising agency to
create colorful posters to hang in
school cafeterias. Designed by
Disney style illustrator Chris
Dellorco, the “School Breakfast
is Out of This World * posters are
a colorful, fresh adaptation of
the milk message for the upcom
ing millennium. These posters
were sent to more than 2,100 top
schools and districts throughout
the marketing area.
In its 6th year, the ADADC
annual milk temperature study
noncorrosive Delrin valve
is self cleaning A simple to operate!
• 12” in diameter & 8” deep.
• 3 gallon capacity* 6 times that
of other bowls I
• Fast recovery- 3 gallons per
minute at 40 psi.
• PVC construction- guaranteed
unbreakable, inhibits bacterial
growth.
• With nonrestrictive splash guard.
• Cleaner- water fill located at
bottom.
• Bottom drain- for easy cleaning.
• Adjustable water level.
Can or write for additional Information
& the name of your nearest dealer
continues to help identify and
correct barriers to storing and
serving milk cold. This year,
ADADC received data from 284
districts and 1,643 schools for
the total market area (a return
rate of 70% of registered
schools). Twenty-one-percent of
schools fell into the “problem"
temperature range: at or above
40.5*F. After working with those
schools to correct temperature
problems, retesting showed that
number declined to 13%.
ADADC worked with Milk-
PEP, the processor education
program, to test milk vending
machines in several Upstate
New York schools. Offering a
variety of flavors, like iced cap
puccino, strawberry and orange
creamsicle, and featuring color
ful milk mustache celebrities,
the machines were tested in key
high schools like Corcoran,
Liverpool, Oswego, Sweet Home,
and West Seneca High Schools.
Testing is still underway, but
early results show the machines
were most successful in the larg
er suburban districts, with
reported sales of 105 units daily.
WB9SPZ Zimmerman Water Bowl
Heavy duty steel damp A mounting
bracket totally supports bowl.
Added Value With Our 2 Coat Process!
1 Five step metal preparation, Including iron phosphate conversion coating,
to enhance adhesion & prevent undercoat corrosion.
2. Zinc nch epoxy powder undercoat
3 TGIC polyester powder top coat, baked at 400* to fuse costs, forming a
cross link molecular bond
Paul B. Zimmerman, Inc.
295 Woodcorner Rd. • Lititz, PA 17543 • 717/738-7365
1 mile West of Ephrata
Water Supply
Cows!
Now you can give your cows the water they need to
produce more milk. With the Zimmerman Water
Bowl, you can do it at no extra cost!
The bowls are designed to comply with known
federal and local requirements when installed
properly.*
Cows are not designed to push a paddle when they
need a drink. This unique watering system provides
a continuous supply of fresh water in the way
nature intended cows to drink. With a large capacity,
fast recovery and a guarantee against breakage,
the Zimmerman Water Bowl will revolutionize the
way you water your herd.
'All bottom fill bowls require that approved back flow prevention
devices be installed in potable water supply lines
Install in new or remodeled facilities or in
most existing barns on manger or stall
side)
the most popular flavor has
been chocolate.
Increasing participation in
the underutilized School
Breakfast Program boosts milk
sales to those schools. ADADC
placed Department of Agricul
ture Chairman, Art Brown, on
News 12 NJ, to discuss the
importance of school breakfast,
what programs current exist,
and how parents can find out
more. ADADC also arranged for
New Jersey School Food Service
Association President, Carolyn
DeCarbo, to appear in a public
service announcement on UPN 9
(a top-rated television station
reaching the tri-state area) to
encourage students to eat break
fast at school.
In addition, ADADC is target
ing New Jersey school districts,
which have some of the lowest
participation rates in the coun
try, by coordinating promotions
in schools in Jersey City,
Paterson, and Newark. Items
like “got milk?” T-shirts, book
marks, and rulers will be offered
as incentives for children to visit
their school breakfast programs.
Hours. Mon.-Fn • 7-5
Sat.: 7-11