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Show THE SENTINEL Pag Thmdij.JinMfy 22,1511 10 rid Marriage future? How much do you expect to earn next year? In five years? In ten? Part one of even the most meager financial plan looks to the future and works to provide some financial security. Your first financial goal should be an emergency cash fund large enough to cover all of your living expenses for anywhere from three to six months. You're not planning on it, but accidents and illness do keep people from their jobs for prolonged periods of time. Sometimes temporarily or jobs just disappear permanently. You have to survive ' financially until another comes along. So, start saving a nest egg today. Don't stop until it covers your expenses for at least three to six months. Do keep it in a secured savings. account or certificates of deposit or an- "Living on love" really is little more than a charming cliche. Sometime after the honeymoon (and hopefully long before the first anniversary!) fis-- ; cal reality sets in. Most married couples begin with a vague plan for paying the rent, utilities and the like. Unfortunately, just as many don't have a plan for much more than that. Unexpected auto repairs or forgotten other safe but accessible g account. Remember that this is an emergency fund. If you need it you don't want to have to sell stocks, real estate or the like to get your cash. Save those investments for the future, after your emergency fund is secure. Now, how do you get that nest annual insurance premiums can make their appearance and throw an otherwise orderly budget into a new state of complete disarray! Or, Christmas arrives without the money for gifts. Your vacation is finally at hand but you have no funds to finance it. You'd like to buy a home of your own but the down payment eludes you. How do you avoid these unpleasant moments of monetary truth? Budget. But wait don't run away from that term. Forget your timeworn definition of a budget as a straitjacket on your spending habits. In fact, a budget is any reasonable fiscal plan you devise to account for your money. It I egg? Experts and common sense agree that saving is crucial to any should include regular expenses (rent, food, utilities, etc.), occasional expenses (car maintenance, insurance, doctor and dentist bills), personal expenses (clothing, hobbies, entertainment) as well as a fund for your financial future (savings and investments). Setting up a budget is really just a matter of watching where the money goes for a few weeks and writing down those regular expenses plus a monthly contribution to cover occasional expenses and some regular of amount of savings (at least your paycheck). Sometimes you can't make the monthly income stretch over all of your obligations. Look for reasonable areas to trim. Perhaps you'll have to skip a few movies, or forego a new wardrobe to make ends meet. You may have to postpone buying a new car or taking that winter vacation. But, by all means, do not skip saving some small sum of money each month. Your savings will be the foundation of the rest of your financial plan. "What financial plan?" you may well ask. Actually your plan can be any set of financial goals you would like to work toward. You may have dreams of anything from a winter vacation to a new home to your. own business. The idea here, of course, is to plan a financial future for yourselves. You may alter it or throw it out completely in favor of other fiscal goals later. But without a plan you're likely to bump along for years and still not have the cash you'd like for Christmas much less for that new house, etc. So, start talking now about the future: What are your goals? Will you both work? Will there be children? How will that affect your finances? Will you have to care for a dependent parent or sibling in the interest-bearin- stroy your financial plan. Whenever you use credit, keep in mind that you will have to pay for the goods or services purchased. A special note to brides of any age: if you already have credit, keep it in your own name. If you don't have credit on vour own, establish some now. Protect your credit by using it wisely. Credit is also easily abused. Charging $10 here, $35 there and $20 somewhere else is not necessarily extravagant, but when it becomes a habit combined with other credit expenses like monthly furniture and appliance payments, trouble is sure to follow. Mounting credit payments and their high finance costs can quickly de 5-- financial plan. People who make saveven in small ing a monthly habit amounts gain quickly. Experts point out that it is the regularity rather than the amount that makes saving profitable.' Learning to save "found money" is also worthwhile for newlyweds trying to save a nest egg or anyone trying to save during these inflationary times. Make a pact (and stick to it!) to save bonuses, cash gifts, tax returns and the like. Include in this pool of funds the new spendable cash you regularly have when you finish paying for a car or other monthly bill. Resist the temptation to expand on your spendable income. Here's where your budget helps by encouraging you to spend only within its limits and save the rest. If you have budgeted carefully to meet other needs, you can easily save this "found" money. Phase two of your financial plan should certainly begin as soon as your budget permits. This means acquiring life insurance for both spouses. (Hopefully you already have health insurance, usually in a group plan with your employer.) It's important to protect both husband and wife. Most families do not realize the financial contribution of a working wife or the high cost of replacing a wife's housekeeping and child care responsibilities. Keep in mind that the younger you are, the less insurance premiums will cost. But, of course, don't buy more than your budget permits. Your insurance agent will be happy to help you choose a plan appropriate to your needs. Along with your efforts to budget daily expenses and save a nest egg for the future, you may be encouraged to establish and use credit to help purchase the goods and services a young household needs. Or you may already have credit in the form of an auto loan, department store or gas company credit card. Never underestimate the power of your credit. It can help you establish a financial . identity. Everyone relies on credit for buying a house and car as well as to cover cash emergencies. With credit you can stretch payments on furniture or appliances or even finance sudden, expensive auto repairs. Used this way, credit can be a financial lifesaver. . . c m J iiiiiiiiiiip 7 ' lLiW A I t ....:! -- r f Save 3 mm ii IS) Minnie Alt wraifiinmi n r RECEPTION 70 VS 774 E. 9400 S. 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