Show NT LET II A BUDGET liE GET YOU VOU DO One of the great fables of our time is that every well- well managed household operates on a neat orderly itemized itemized itemized item item- budget Most women who say they follow a budget really mean they do a certain amount of scrimping and corner corner- cutting to keep from going over each months month's paycheck There are people of course who can and do keep tab on each and every type of expenditure They designate designate designate nate a percent of income or so many dollars and cents for everything from heating bills to haircuts and from savings to snacks Such a budget takes a lot of bookkeeping bookkeeping bookkeeping book book- keeping and for or most people it can take all the fun out of spending One family finance expert gives the following percentages percentages percentages per per- as guides to various expenditures for families with annual incomes from to FOOD Including lunches and eating ealing out 23 CLOTHING 8 MEDICAL DENTAL 5 50 0 PERSONAL CARE AND WORK EXPENSE 5 Rules of thumb on how much to spend in different categories do not work too well because families and incomes come in widely varying sizes A family with children on a income would need considerably more in each of these categories So would a family with a working mother or one that had a siege of illness or needed a great deal of dental work Instead of an itemized budget most people these days follow a more flexible spending plan in keeping with the way families actually live If however your spending pattern and life style is one that you just gradually drifted into rather than one your family actually actually actually ac ac- chose or if you find youre you're living from paycheck to paycheck its it's a good idea to spend a weekend examining examining examining ex ex- every a aspect of your family's spending in order to get back in financial control Good Tips for Sound Money Management Give yourself a regular financial health checkup to spot the early warning signs of overspending or misdirected misdirected misdirected mis mis- directed spending Whether you call it a budget or spending guide do set down all the expenditures that recur e each ch month like like house and car payments utilities debt reduction insurance Also divide into 12 monthly segments all annual or variable seasonal expenses such as taxes yearly or quarterly quarterly quarterly terly insurance payments fuel bills Christmas shopping and next years year's vacation This will help to keep you from the financial pinch of extra high expenses in any anyone anyone anyone one month Set up your categories to cover broad areas of spending spend spend- ing rather ing-rather rather than trying to itemize everything For example example example ex ex- ample car expenses could cover payments insurance gas oil maintenance licenses etc This will give you a better fix on what auto costs really are Double up on variable categories For example lump Medical and Vacation Fund together If you have little or no medical expenses you take a wing ding of a vacation If you have large medical expenses you have a stay-at-home stay vacation Also keep spending at your old level for a few months after you get a raise Or if you have two Incomes in incomes incomes in- in comes try to live within one Establish priorities for things on your want list Does the new living room carpet come com before the stereo tape player Try y to buy all non-essentials-and non as many essentials as possible with possible with cash out of current income or borrowed borrowed borrowed bor bor- rowed against your savings Remember that the easy 1 2 1 per month on the revolving charge account or easy credit card plan really amounts to 18 a year 2 per month on the unpaid balance is a true interest rate of 24 a year or 24 per dollar I J can still t t cavities We hate to shatter your illusions about whitening toothpastes but if it doesn't say fluoride on the tube theres there's no fluoride 1 in the toothpaste 2 on your teeth and 3 helping to protect them from decay Gleem II is different It has an excellent brightening system system even even better than the leading whitener And to fight cavities Gleem II has a fluoride that protects your 1 teeth as well as the leading fluoride toothpaste sold in America If your whitener doesn't have fluoride in it switch to Gleem II with green sparkles It makes your teeth attractive to people and unattractive to cavities cavities es cY fIO sf fJ r Nl s G I. I D I L- L Gleem II with green sparkles Brightener for looks Fluoride for cavities 7 |