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___TheSaltLake Tribune BUSINESS Ask the Fool The Motley Fool Wedding Savings Qe you have any money-saving tips for weddings? — B.B., Columbia, S.C. Here are-a few: * Have your reception in a nontraditional place. Some public places, suchas parks, can be verynice. * Buya less-expensive wedding dress. You are only going to wear it once,after all, so why spend thousands onit? Consider borrowing evenrenting, one. Consider having bridesmaids wear inexpensive dresses, too. oH: moming wedding. Expenses for food, transportation and hall rentals tend to be lowerin the morning. Guests might guzzleless at an carlier wedding,too, reducing your liquortab, * Avoid Saturdays, and June: These popular timestend to be when couples are chargedthe most * Consider having an expensive wedding and inexpensive honeymoon, or vice versa. By notsplurging on both, you will save a lot of money, * Makethe most ofgift registries. Insteadofregistering for expensive luxuries, register for necessities such as everyday dishes and a bathroom scale. Ifyou receive themasgifts, you won't have to buy themlater. * Consider eloping. By saving Sunday, November 25, 2001 What Is This Thing Called The Motley Fool? Remeniber Shakespeare? Remember “As You Like it”? In Elizabethan days, Fools were the only people whocould get awaywith telling the truth to the King or Queen. Our Mission: To Inform, to Amuse, and to Help You Make Money The Motley Fooltells the truth about ‘and hopes you'll laugh all w BLO ay Turkey Reflections Take note of how many turkeys bate havesold. If you have gota big lock of them, you may have jumped into too many Stocks without doing sufficientresearchfirst. If most of your turkeys are actually still in your portfolio,yon have probably been iting off examining yourholdings, uch due diligence is time-consuming butnecessary. Thatis one reason ~whyit is best to not own more than 10 or 15 companies — it is hard to — up with them all. ith any turkeys in your current portfolio, you needtofigure out whether more atience is required orif the situation is peers CTALaces $12. For meto buy on such flimsy research was nothing short of UPIDSTAY! — Robert I. Nelson, Jr., Avonmone, Fe. The Fool Responds: You weresmart to sell once you realized your mistake Name That Cc left over that can be applied toinvest- ompany ; ments, ° : all, with most quoted experts, you will never knowtheir track records. Take responsibility for your investment homework. Dae Do you have an embarrass- : my products. There are enough to make . where Slim Jim can put : $ —_and improve the economy. However, many businesses have overspent to ing lesson learned the hard Think of Butterballs and you should. ¢ Rad way?Boil it down to 100 think of me. You don't have to Hunt for < words (or less) and send it Are there any good books on ocks and investing written for is? — MLR., Knoxville, Tenn, —_row to invest in capital expenditures build ony in the past few years and . are not clamoring to borrow more. * decisions and always do your own :e pay for money and what they can charge on loans to borrowers. The Fed hopes that by creating conditions to improve banks’profitability and encourage more lending, banks will be better able to deal with an increase in loan defaults and businesses will bor- recover your loss. Never makeinvesta shee Ommendation — even a Fool's. After and screw-ups. ‘The Federal Reserve Open Market Committee recentlyslashed half a percentage point off its target for the federal funds rate, the rate that banks charge eachother for overnightloans. Thisis the 10th cut this year, bringing the benchmark to 2 percent, the lowest level since 1961. By loweringthe target for the federal funds rate, the instead of hanging on, hoping to ments based solely on anyone's rec: ST oeeccececevevevcoseseserees spend more on anice honey. moon andstill have some savings to The Motley Fool clo My Dumbest Investment. Got one that worked? Sub- The rate cut can serve individual promebuyers and homeowners well. A —_jower federal funds rate maylead to lower mortgage rates if it coincides with lower long-term inflation tions. When mortgage rates decline, renters may find home-buying more affordable, and homeowners may be _ able to save moneybyrefinancingtheir , mortgages. Leam more about home-buying and refinancing at www-Fool.com/ homecenter/homecenter-htm ee www-hud.govi a Banquet, n din put down mit to My Smartest Investment. 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Butterball Be Products for cataract, vitreoretinal and refractive surgeries generate has been America’stop selling brand of turkey for a quarter of ene while pramacaltica products accountfor roughly 16 Try Street Wise by Janet Bamford 16,95). Also good for beginningteens and adultsalike are Learnto Earn byPeter Lynch and John Rothchild (Fireside, $14) and The: Wall Street Journal Guideto Understanding MoneyandInvesting by Kenneth M. Morris and Virginia B. Morris (Fireside, $15.95). in — see Write to Us ter. Had I done any kind of decentresearch onit, instead of relying onthe limited numbers in the newsletter, I would haverealized it was on death’s door. Instead I boughtit, the bottom fell out, and I bailed at $2 per share rather than risk getting stuck with $0.It was eventually taken over, for muchless than to think aboutinvesting and to learn the cost ofthe wedding, you can Got a questionfor the Fool? Sendit MedPartners. I bought this turkey at $12 per share based on a recommendation by an adviser ina financial newslet- Successfulinvestors takethe time from their succ: Cut Rate . Upid-Stay If you are tired of thinking about alee leftovers, turkey sandwiches, turkey tetrazzini and turkey noodle soup, switch gears andreflect on yourinvesting turkeys. Some turkeys are companies you never should have invested in. Otherturkeysare investmentsin solid companiesthat you sold prematurely for a loss. A turkey retros)epoOnve will impart some valuable lessons. First examine your past Makea list ofall ¢ ‘ks you havesold and the —_ ices at ee you sold them. most turkeys, that reasoning doesn’t Use split-adjusted numbers such as fly. Imagine th:.: you bought $4,000 those you will find at worth presamated Chorus Girls www.bigcharts.co! Inc,(ticker: KICKS) andit is now historical.) Then check and see how worth $2,000. Yourealize the comthey are priced today.If mostofthe B00 eae little merit and you are out stocks have since recovered and are 2,000. Instead of hoping for a small doing well, you probably should rise in KICKS, you are probably bethavehungon. If they havefallen furter off putting that $2,000 to work in ther in price, then you did wellsellanother stock with better prospects. ing. Investors often jump ship premaRemember: You want your money turely, at the first inkling ofpossible sitting in the most promising investtrouble. Rememberthat many terrific ments you can find. stocks go po periodic slumps. to the : more than 40 years. Who am |? Knowthe answer? Sendit to us with Foolish Trivia on the top and you'll be enteredinto a drawingfora niftyprize! percentof revenue. am |? oneBausch & Lomb) Write to Us! Send questions for Ask the Fool, Dumbest (or Smartest) Investments (up to 100 words), and yourTrivia entries to Fool@fool.com of via regular mail c/o this newspaper, attn: The Motley Fool. Sorry, we can't provide individualfinancial advice. we eeccecccccescsscece eeevesevcccccccccecocececccsesesecceeeeseeeeeseeeeeeeeeenseee © 2001 Tuk Money FooU/Dist. BY UNIVERSAL Press SYNDICATE Montana Tree Farms Helena each year come from northwestern Montana. He buys 800-1,000 trees from commercial growers and cuts about as many wild Losing Market Share ones, usually on private land where owners @ Continued from E-1 grown in Montana, it hasn't frozen,” Murray plantations and another 50 people cut wild treesfor retail sale, he guessed. “It's an industry that hada lot of hope in one species [Scotch pine], and that kind offaded,” said Bob Logan of the Montana State University Extension Service. “We all wish someof these cottage industries could be more dominant in Montana, but becauseofour growing conditions,it’s not easy to compete,” Logan said. Growers Ray and Tressa Brandewieof Bigfork,in the business since 1971, augmenttheir Christmas tree operation with enterprises that include barbecuesauce sold in gift shops. They pulled out of Scotch pine and nowraise firs on about30 acres. “It's taken care ofus overthe years,” Tressa Brandewie said. But continuing drought has wanttheir trees thinned. “As a general rule, if you don’t get a tree said. An imported tree that freezes once it gets here is likely to lose needles, he said. That apparently isn’t a problem for Cornerstone Academy, a private Helena school that sells Oregon trees as a yearly fund-raiser and will charge $65 this season for Noble firs standing7-8 feet. “We have repeat customers who will pay that becausethetreesare so nice,” school secretary Jodi Therriault said. In Montana,the northwestern area of the state is the heart of the business. From there, trees often travel a long way. Some of the Hardy Plantation’s trees go to Colorado. Leeman,in the business for 22 years, sells to retailers in Utah and Wyoming as well as Montana, and even ships some‘trees to Oklahoma. “T got started when I had a Forest Service trees he sells at his lots in Great Falls and thinning contract and there was Christmastree salvage onit,” he said. “My partners and I and our wives salvaged the trees. At that time, wethoughtit was fun,” Recalled Products Pose Hazards for Children hot, presentinga risk of burn injuries and the risk offire if the bulb touches combustibles. There have beenfive injuries and 12 ‘reports of property damage. To geta free repair kit, call 800-366-2579. been a hardship andthere are plans for an irrigation system nextyear, she said. Ted Murray of Boulder said nearly all the @ Continued from E-1 8S baby to fall to the ground and suffer serious injuries. There have been 2,700 reports of problems and 200 injuries. To get a free replacementhandle call Century at 800-865-1419. @Evenflo Joyride Car Seats/Carriers: 3.4 million distributed by Evenflo Co. Inc. Asan infantcarrier, the models 203,205, 210, 435, 493 have handles tha' child to fall and be injured. There were 32 re- aE ie where the seat halves separated and7 inracten, tans8 One ears eee ere 888-579-1730. Zapper Toys: 940,000 distributed by nine g zee. § firms. These animal-shaped toys have ball Sassy Rattles: 455,000 distributed by Sassy Inc. The rattles have sewn-on fabric eyes that can detach, posing a choking hazard. The companyreceived 129 reports ofeyes detaching min one incident ofa child starting to choke. from ae children andre return to them Sassy for a free replacement. Call Sassy at 800-781-1080. @ Little Tikes Swings; 250,000 distributed by Little Tikes oaar ‘The buckles on the swing can break and the shoulder restraint straps can pull out of the back of the seat, causing young childrento fall, There have been. 14 reports of problems and 5 injuries, To receive a free repair kit, call Little Tikes at 800-815-4820. Cosco Playpens: 102,000 distributed by Dorel Juvenile Group. The “Zip n Go,” “Okie Dokie” and “Carters” models haveplastic tabs thatlock therails into the corners, The tabs can break or loosen over time, allowingthe rails to collapse, There were 421 reports of rails not locking. One baby died when his chest was caughtin the collapsed sides ofhis playpen. For a replacement or refund, consumers can call Dorel Juvenile Group at 800-314-9927, School Revives Skill of Watchmaking BY GEORGE STRAWLEY THE ASSOCIATED PRESS LITITZ, Pa. — The daughter of an auto mechanic, Brigitte Keesey has a combination of interests that make her a good candidate for working with inean and beautiful timePeauused to work in a woodshop, and I was in school for art,” Keeseysaid. “If you combine the two of them, somewhere youfind watch repair.” Keesey, 23, is in the first class of students at the Lititz Watch Technicum — Swiss manufacturer Rolex’s answer to the dearth of skilled watchmakers that has occurred amid the popularity of electronic quartz timepieces. The school is run by a foundation created by Rolex andis operated underthe guidance of a Swiss institution.It opened in September in this Pennsylvania Dutchregion that has long ties to clock and watch craftsmanship. The tuition-free school, which plans to take in 12 artisans a year, is a step toward filling a growing void— only 10 watchmaking schools remain in the United States, compared to 44 in the mid-"70s, according to, the American Watchmakers-Clockmakers Institute. An overabundance k and the growing contractors, ke ity to work with intricate mechanics was in demand. But sales of mechanical watches,especially high-grade ones, have made a comeback, said Charles na director of the school, The improvementin business created ademandbe people erieknow Paull Vathis/The Associated Press Brigitte Keesey, a student atthe Lititz Watch Technicum instis tution in Lititz, Pa., makes a tiny part fora watch inclass. : students sit quietly at workbenches fashioning pieces of machinery less than an inch in length. The school starts its * students with a course in micromechanics, which involves theeee oftiny long andlaborious. Ron Landberg spent a day making a small, pinlike part only to discover he had erred by thousandths of a centimeter and had to start all over again. He wrote off the experience as _ an exercise in patience. ‘The same patience is needed when a spinning lathe sends a part shooting from the grasp of tweezers across the room, with only a tiny ping disclosing where it landed. 5 2 i wlz i j skills and electronic, said. Ideally, students will find work beside a more experi enced watchmaker, where they can continue their education, he said. When they graduate,all indications are that they will bé in demand in an industry hue gry for young talent. “We have 100 percent lace Daniel Nied, direc: graduates earn be can collapse and entrap infants. There haye been ve deaths and three reports oftae found not breathing who were revived.To 800-328-7363, the Lititz Sar iia k tector coer @Baby Trend Portable Cribs/Play Yards: 100,000 distributed by Baby Trend Inc. free new play yard, call Baby By the end of the second years make those parts,” James Lubic, executive director of the American Watch: ' makers-Clockmakers Institute. I j |
