yo
The first
lab r
• Joint nd
. Separate Account
A ouple ould v id a lot of
probl m by d idin to k ep 1-
n n mpl t ly parat r
rnarri . But joint m ney mana -
m nt with open communication 0 -
f r a way t tr ngth n the
partnership.
Th re are way to combin inde
pendence and togethem and till
minimize money mana ment dif
f ren . K ep a joint account for
S vlng on Utll
You can tu By v money or
get re uoo from your utility corn
pany if you th right qu tio .
Big compani frequ ntly hire au'
ity auditi rvice when they
pect they re being 0 r cha d.
Ai cording t Utilitie Auditing
Servi in Pho nix Arizona, utility
comp ni wont t 11 you, but ther
may b a 1 wer g or lectri rat
you can be charged at if you k for
it. •
Rat chedule will vary from
tate to tat but th re are tandard
calcul nons used to determine if the
bill i correct. The three step auditing
proc includ making ure you're
on the correct chedule, checking
Step one of your road map t fi
n ial indep ndenc i inding ut
how much mon you v earned in
your whole lif .
If you'v b n a alaricd rn
ployee all of your working y ars, call
t Social Security Admini tration
ard requ t a Statement of Eami n
Form. After completin thi form
you will g t a report that will detail
youreamings since you tarted work
ing.
Why would you want to do thi ?
College Financial Aid Tips
CHARL S
ROS
YOUR
PERSONAL
FINANCE
oin to col
probably-
p nding tim prep rin fed 1
Financial d Form. Fill out the orm
c re ully you do your tax
cause it will determine how mu h
you r xpect d to c ntribut to
child' college co
h annual college expe e
equal to th price of a new medium
ize car, uou might want to inv ti
ate trat i to help trim the bill.
Conv rtin consumer debt into
hom -equity debt will increase t
amount of aid you'll be eligible for
Money in retirement programs lik
401- and and IRAs i not consid
ered available to cover college co ts.
Having more than one person in
hool will also reduce your expected
contribution. That person could be
you or your spouse, not nee arily
another child.
harles Ros is host of the nation
ally syndicated radio program,
"Your Personal Finance", and is
author of The Best of Your Personal
Finance.
ANTIQUES By Ralph & Terry Kovel
f
Wives wore similar squares by the
19th century. There is a special sym-
bQ\,ism � b Th .
bird, golden pheasant, egret, Im
perial drsg , crane, peacock, duck
. and other birds were Us d in the
a �.�ture, embroideri for the top ven ranks.
or. many _ '
award
cho/an hip
Q. Pie tell me th Ie or a
okin tand.
A. A smoking stand was mad of
wood or metal. It usually held an
ashtray, lighter, box of cigarettes or
a humidor for cig rs or pipe to ceo
plus some decorative fe tures.
Comic figures like Jiggs were used
to hold the platter of smoking acces
sories in the 1920s. Sleek chrome
and-glass stands wer popular in the
1930s; heavy met l-and-marble
stands with figural airplanes were
favored in the late 19305.
u d.
A. In the 17th nd 18th centuri ,
Chin officials wore cloth squ res
of embroid ry called b dg th t in
dicated their rank. Birds w re
favored by civil officials, nim 1 by
the military. A squ re about 12 in
ches to the side was worn in the b ck,
Another squ re was put on the front
of th jacket, then cut in half so the
jacket could be kept open.
- Lo your credit card pur-
bases like ch c . K p a reg
i t r for y ur charg 0 that
you can ke p tra k of e h
ch amount you m k .
- Clip up ns nd shop - Elive F. Likin , a
with them. eek out rocery nive ityo Detroit Mercy gradu-
t re which offer pecial ate tudent, as recently awarded a
"doub1e coupon" day. You'll , cholarship by th ational
urpri ed how'mu h money Bla kMBAAs ociation,attheir 14th
you can ave. annual nation I conference in St.
- Don't Loui, o.
be._"yo�.CJlIIt."_.e4lb1"--+- e ipten were se cted
it, and don't urne an item i hu red of applican worldwide.
a bar ain just because it' on They were chosen based on a cumu-
ale. lative score including grade poinrav-
- Compare brand for the rage extr urricular activitie and
low t price of red for the their r pons to an ay question.
arne item. Items are to Likm wrote on the topic "Empow-
mpare, just ch ck the 11 t of ering the Black community -Ieverag- .
ingredients if you'r not ure. ing the capital invested in Black
- Consider: tryi ng generic leadership."
paper prod uct , toiletrie , Likin earned his Bachelor of Sci-
canned good ,etc -, If you don't ence d gree in management informa-
like them you Can alway go tion y terns and Master of Business
ack to your regular brand. Adrnini tration at University D troit
-M e urethecreditcard Me y.
y u carry b t UI your needs. Currently,h i afull-timeUofD
If you pay of your balan Mercy instructor of computer and in-
each billing cycle, look for a formation y terns 10 the College 0
card with a grace period and no Busin Ad mi !!i tration.ln addition,
annual fee. If you roll over part he i pursuing hi Master of Science
of your balance due from degree in oftware management.
month to month make ure to Likine resides in Ferndale.
a-card with a low annual
percents e rate. It' worth not
ing that credit unions maintain
low credit card interest rates.
- VVhen you hand over
your card when charging item
watch your card a ter giving it
to a clerk. T c your card back
.prornptly a t r the clerk i fin-
I h d With th transacti n nd
m ke ure It I your rd.
- Tear up th
'When you take our
reccrpt.
•••
H
I IATIVE
ND.YOU AN
OWN YOUR
o 0
Minoritie noutd
ek tax' r Ii f to
count r co t-of. livin
Ho tax ould change
Ith Clinton plan
How much _your tax •• wouid change� und r
. Pr . nt Clinton's n w tax plan:
H hu"u� h( m or r in n ing lh on �()1I
om thm out 0
u (' )f lr)ing?'
\V ·11 here n 1<1(:' \ ou 11 Ilk '.
I h • lruu U\ MOrlgag ,1\1 from
fir t ol \m 'ri � n. I
With n . ihl term nd omp t iuv
r l ,It \\a; to h lp P sople buy a home in
'lroil, Ilighian J P rk, H mtr m k or
Ponl I (.
\Vh -n pur ha 109 a hom ','.our do\\ n
P vrn 'nl c an h • ,t I III I 5'X, for fi. d r ate
0\\ n 1\\ ,
vour re h ;
Av
tax
chan
) in , Wh t' th
n In n v ou
�o 0
1\ the pc mt on
-73 5-11 6.
from, )U I a little miuauv .
Taxcl\ange
Income
(%ofpre-tax
group
Income)_.
10,000 Of
32.2
�.2%
$10,000-20,000
25.6
0.0%
,()()()..3(),OOO
17.7
-o, ttY.
$30,000-50,000
'21.5
+0.5%
$50,000-75,000
11.4 .
+0.7%
$75,000-100,000
3.6
+0.7%
$100,000·200,000
2.6
.0.7%
$200,000 and up
0.8
+2.9%
SOURCE. Oftc. 01
I and Budget. CItIzens lot Tax JustlCt
only boo t inc me, but help r duce
your taxable in me, as well." The
reason behind this i that if a person
uses a room in their home as an office
to conduct busines , that room and
the home' utili tie and other home
expens can e written ot! as a co t
of doing busines . Running a mall
businc al 0 allow taxpayers to
writ ff other expense, for u h
thing travel entertainment, rent
paymen , etc.
Just how profitable can running a
ide busines bc? -Of ou �,the an
wer to that qu . ion will vary with
h indrvidual b in owner,
however, I t xpayer i committed
to 0 tin hi r her In me, run-
rung a bu me' n the ide can
worthwhile v nture.
a