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Page THE H ALTON HILLS HOMESTYLE Saturday August 18 Higher interest rates can be bane or boon By JOHN G SAVERS CA Higher interest rates can be either a bane or a boon It all depends on where youre coming from Theres not much doubt that to days high rates are hitting rowers where it hurts At the same time investors the lenders are reaping substantial benefits So if you happen to have any spare cash you have the distinct prospect of increased interest income Already the rates on Canada Sav mgs Bonds have been increased from to 11 per cent Even so thats still about one per cent below competing rates So if youre holding any CSBs then you just might want to shop around for a better paying invest ment In many cases higher interest rates can be a golden opportunity At 5 per cent for example a dollar deposited in your Registered Retire ment Savings Plan will more than double by the end of six years In 20 years it will have increased by more than 10 times If youre already retired theres the probability that you re ding on interest earnings for at least part of your income So nows the time to review your investments to see whether you can trade up on some of them to higher interest situations For instance if you have any bonds term deposits or Guaranteed Investment Certificates maturing your new investments will most likely carry a higher in terest rate But for how long a term should you renew First consider your needs and your objectives rates are relatively high so if youre content with the income you 11 receive from current rates you may want to renew for a longer term say five years so that your income levels are guaranteed But if youre something of a gambler and want to bet on still higher rates in the future you should renew for a shorter period Remember one thing though what goes up can also come down One percentage point may not seem like much but it can mean a lot On it amounts to 50 a year no big sum But if you have a 100000 retire ment nestegg then a per cent in crease gives you an extra a year And that a very welcome little bonus for your budgetmg For advice on TV see Your Wealth available on broadcast channels in Ontario and on satellite across Canada or see Money the Bank on your cable channel is general financial ad vice by Canadas chartered accoun tants John Sayers is President of John Sayers and Associates Limited Patch concrete cracks chips yourself Don I despair concrete Mips sidewalks or look a beating this winter Patch or with a fast drying adhesive such as Flmcr Con trite Bonder that resists freezethaw image Here s him Remove loose and stone then wet surian thoroughly Brush or roll undiluted Bondc on area be pan hid and allow to become to minutes Mix equal parts Elmer Concrete Bonder and water and add to ready mix or Portland cement Add water as needed for proper consistency Fill cavity with foriified mix then smooth surface Feather edges with brush Cover patch with plastic to pre vent too fast drying and protect area from traffic for hours Replacing glass is no easy task If the neighbourhood baseball league has just left a hole in one of windows don worry It is not difficult to replace the glass However there is more to the job than just inserting a new pane and adding a little putty First of all you should remember that the same rules applv no matter what the size of the pane are replacing larger pane should probable not be replaced while the window is in place It should be removed and placed on the for safe If the pane is picture window size it is a twoperson job The first part of the job is to remove the old and broken glass Wear work gloves and take Problem petunias can be helped Generally midsummer petunias in w boxes or garden beds begin looking rather leggy and forlorn There are still plenty of flowers but they are only from the tips of long stickv branches with not great looking foliage This is not an unusual problem and there is a very quick fix But you must be ruthless The Canadian Garden Council urges you to take a pair of sharp pruning shears or secateurs and cut back all of the flower stems to about onethird of their present length or even less In other words give all of your petunia plants a brush cut Now this will remove all of the flowers so youll have just green foilage for about a week or so But the action of cut ting back the plants will encourage them to bush out again in a much more compact form with many many more flowers There is one other part to this cuttingback operation that is likewise important That is tilization of the plants Regardless of whether or not you have tilzied your petunia plants recent ly when you cut them back as described give them a good feeding with a soluable plant food applied both to the foliage and generously to the soil The action of cutting the plants back together with additional instantly available and the established root systems of the mature plants will mean youll have substantial new growth and many flower buds likely within just ten days depen ding on the weather conditions hen you do this little chore Now remember you have to be with this operation cut back all petunia plants to one third or less of their present size and then fertilize them well The Canadian Garden Council vou be amazed at the results Other plants in the garden will also benefit from a trimming back of old flower heads for example the and Goldflame shrubs having completed their flow ring may well have a few more flowers this autumn if cut back the dead flowers as soon as the colour has gone The same applies to herbaceous perennials general I v As the flowers fade cut them off plants such as delphiniums astilbe and phlox will often rebloom later if the old lowers are removed before they have the opportunity to form seed pods Applying a soluble fertilzier to plants from which you have removed old flowers is also a good idea The cutting back operation itself causes new growth and if there is additional nutrition available the new growth will be stronger and faster Some groups of plants should not be fertilized after the end of August or even mid August in the colder regions of the country cording to the Canadian Garden Council Evergreens particularly cedar hedges and rose bushes are examples of such plants New growth on these plants may not mature harden fast enough in the autumn and thus will be more vulnerable to frost damage in the winter months Pruning cedar hedges is likewise now best left un til next spring in case the pruning should cause new soft growth that might be vulnerable to winter frosts the pieces out one at a time Take great care while pulling out the broken pieces so vou don t get cut The next step is to remove the old puttv This can sometimes be a ficult process and some heat may be required to soften the puttv for easier removal The heat source can be a soldering iron or a propane torch but great care should be taken when using either of these tools All the old puttv be removed The glaziers points must also be taken out at this time When all the is removed give the frame a good soaking with linseed oil which will help to prevent the new from out 1STII ASS Now that hae the old removed and the frame is readv for the glass take the measurements to local hardware dealer and have him cut the glass to fit It is far easier to have a sional do the job for you than to try and cut glass vourself Some doit prefer to salvage larger pieces of broken panes and cut their own but with the low cost of glass it is worth the effort Make sure the glass is a fraction smaller than the opening so you don have to force the glass into the opening Before inserting the glass a bedding layer of putty is placed around the frame then the glass is placed into the bedding layer of put ty Holding a new pane in position in a glaziers point in each side to keep it firmlv in place The glazier points can be inserted with very light pressure Once the pane is held in place take the remaining glazier points and insert them at regular in tervals around the frame This can best be done with a chisel slid along the glass Thib does the job with little chance of breakage When the glazier points are in place it is time to use the Get an old piece of glass to use as a kneading board for working the put in the right shape and The putty is then rolled into pen like strips and wedged into the edge of the frame When you have it in place all around the frame smooth it out with a putty knife You will find the putty knife works better if you dip it into linseed oil just before using Use long corner strokes with the putty knife Do not let the putty get far enough out on the new window so it s visible from the other side OSBORNE DECOR LTD GUELPH STREET ONTARIO HOME OF THE WEEK BOB MORROW S0N CARPENTRY LTD KITCHENS BATHROOMS Decks Ceramics Onwall Additions Doors and Windows CUSTOM CARPENTRY Lie No 1031 ARMSTRONG AVE GEORGETOWN Bus Res KINGSWAY CONTRACTING Commercial Industrial Residential New Consfrucffon Additions 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