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Decking the halls ducking those bills CHRISTMAS GIFT CATALOGUE Wednesday December IMS Page If decking the halls has you duck ing the bills until April Its time to take a hard look at Christmas spen ding habits say consumer experts Unless you look great In red velvet and make a living working with elves Christmas costs you money soys Roberto Allan of the Ontario Ministry of Consumer and Commercial Relations But it real ly Isnt necessary to amortize Christmas expenses through till Easter every year Two key things can help keep coats under control a simple budget and a few lists Make that three things forgot deter mination A household budget is indispen sable any time of year At Christmas it can be a lifeline Ms Allan says Unless you know how much money you can afford lo spend its a simple matter to slip in to serious debt Budgets are basically lists of ex penses summaries of how much It costs to live every month First set out all the necessary expenses such as the cost of rent or mortgages in food and anything else that refuse to give up should be listed Finally include costs for extras such as dining out entertainment personal allowances or anything thot could be cut down or deleted en if necessary Add up the total monthly expen diture and compare it to your net in- will give a good picture of your financial situation Ms Allan says If youre already spending more than you make Christmas could cause serious problems Some people who go Into the holidays in this kind or financial situation end up with debt collectors the door or Christmas discount postage Canada Posts new cent special discount stamp for the Christmas season was officially unveiled Oct at the Toronto Harbour Hilton Convention Center The special stamp along with the regular 39 and cent Christmas Issues was unveiled by John Aiken VicePresident Field Operations for the Corporation and Ron Smith General Manager York Division The Canada Post officials were assisted by Toronto artist Theo Dim- son who designed this years stamps The special 2ccnl rate is or cards sent within Canada only Other stamps in he 1966 Christmas series now available at all postal outlets ore the regular cent overseas issue Canada Post Is urging all Its customers to check the Christmas mailing deadlines for North American and overseas destinations now In order to get those Important cards and parcels on their way In plenty of time Credit Counselling Bureaus located across the province offer free help lo consumers facing serious difficulties with debts Counsellors can help set up prac tical realistic budgets and debt management programs When necessary they can try lo arrange loan consolidations and negotiate manageable payment plans with creditors If you really need help get it now Instead of waiting for Christmas lo put you over the edge Ms Allan says The number for the nearest bureau will be listed In your phone book under Credit Counsel tag will Fortunately be able to deal with Christmas penses on their own she says Using jour budget figure out now much you can afford to spend on Christmas without stretching Ihe payments on for months DISTINCTIVE CHRISTMAS GIFTS BOOKS FROM OXBOW BOOKS DOWNTOWN GEORGETOWN Culjlrte Fiction Politics Humour Coffee Table Nature Childrens Biography ft Alice Robert Munich Knowltan Nash Tlmolhy Flndley Diane Clement Gordon Kooiman Maureen Forrester t Robert Balcman And Many More ALSO- GIFT STA DIA GIFT STA ubje DONE HIES TONE and Authors AND CALENDARS RDS HOURS Mon through am pm Sat Christmas Eve 9 am 530 pm ID OXBOW BOOKS 1 02 Main St S DOWNTOWN GEORGETOWN That figure is the bottom line this is where the determination comes in Commit yourself to holding that line on spending or youll be in debt until March again Ihis year Youll be back on the merry goround always playing catch up and never able to save for the coming Christmas Take 10 per cent of the total Christmas budget and set it aside for unexpected or forgotten ex Next list all necessary purchases such a tree decorations wrapp ing paper cards and any other items come lo mind along with approximate prices Add up these costs and subtract the total from the Christmas budget The final list should include the names of everyone who will get gifts from you Divide up the remainder of the Christmas budget for the gifts You might be looking at spending only per cent of your usual Christmas costs so you 11 have some tough decisions to make Ms Allan says Some people may have to fall off the gift list or maybe you could make few presents this year But ask yourself who is really going lo suffer because youve hud to cut back youre probably taking it harder than anyone Other friends and relatives may well be trying to cut costs too Perhaps this everyone would be happy lo set a limit on how much can cost Some large families and each person buys Credit and You is available from Ihe ministry Con sumer Information Centre at MS St Toronto Ontario M7A 2MB 41fl or toll free Ontario residents with an area code may call the 116 number collect Storewide Savings Everything at From Dec 10th to 25 Excluding Early Crulsewaar STORE HOURS- MondayFriday Saturday 006