Star-Gazette from Elmira, New York • 13

14 Star-Gazette, March 18, 1980 There are ways to improve your savings recordL Look at immediate needs things like furni for a supermarket product, put it in the tank By LOUISE COOK remove the- ceiling on interest rates on savings accounts. Consumers, meanwhile, indicate they would like to save if they had the money. In a recent survey, the market research firm of H.R. Bruskin Associates asked people what they would do if they suddenly were given $10,000 to spend or invest. Thirty percent of the respondents said they would put the money in the bank and 24 percent said they would buy a certificate of deposit.

For most people, of course, saving is a day-today, dbllar-by-dollar activity and Citibank economists have some advice to make it easier. Establish goals. Figure out how much you need on hand in case of an emergency. "Experts suggest that in today's economic climate, an emergency fund should, with the help of unemployment insurance, be large enough to carry you for six months if you should lose your job," says a recent Citibank newsletter for Decide how much you can realistically expect to set aside on a regular basis and set a target date for bringing your emergency fund up to par. ture, clothing, etc.

and long-term objectives like a house, college education or major investment. Again, set a dollars-and-cents goal and a target date. Keep track of your progress on a simple chart so you can see what you're accomplishing. Once you develop a master plan, you'll have to find the money to make it work. Here are some suggestions from Citibank: Pay yourself first.

When you get your paycheck, put part of it even if it is only a few dollars into a savings account before you do anything else. If you wait to see what you have left after paying the bills, the chances are you won't have anything. Collect coins. Put loose change into a jar or jars. When you have enough, get coin wrappers from the bank and deposit the money in a savings account.

Families can make a game of saving coins. A husband and wife might race each other, for example, to see who can save fastest. Or each youngster can be assigned a different coin. Put refunds to work. When you get a refund Associated Press Writer Battered by bills and double-digit inflation, U.S.

families are spending more and saving less these days. "Traditionally, Americans on average, save only about 5 percent of their disposable income," notes Citibank, the nation's second largest commercial bank. "In the current inflation, even that low percentage has dropped." The U.S. League of Savings Association says that in the last quarter of 1979, savings totaled only 3.3 percent of disposable income the lowest rate of any time since World War II. In January, the Consumer Price Index increased at an annual rate of 18 percent.

Even the high-interest certificates of deposit pay less than 18 percent a year. An ordinary savings account pays less than 6 percent annually. There is less incentive to save when your dollars are not even earning enough to keep up with inflation. Efforts are under way in Congress to encourage savings by providing a tax deduction for part of the interest earned. There also are proposals to instead of in your wallet.

If you have business expenses for which you are reimbursed, put' the company payments into a special savings account. Force yourself to save. When you fill out the Internal Revenue Service form telling your employer how many personal exemptions you have, claim fewer than you are entitled to. The extra withholding you pay during the year should add up to a tax refund which can be diverted to savings. Take advantage of a debt repayment.

Suppose you've been paying off a bill the rate of $25 a month. You're used to setting asle the $25. When the bill is paid, continue to set aside the $25, but put it into savings instead. Break one habit to start another: Do you -really need that Danish pastry you eat every day? Are you trying to stop smoking? Put the money you normally would spend oiF'habits like these in a piggy bank and periodically -trans-, fer the contents to a savings account. 1 Flag flap turns critics red iLsf I EVANSVILLE, Ind.

(AP) Organizers of a project billed as "the world's greatest display of patriotism" say 'their brainchild was designed to prompt three cheers for the red, white and blue. But now that it's finished, some critics are seeing nothing but red, and the only cheers they're offering are of the Bronx variety. At center stage in the controversy is the American flag. It's a two-acre, 21 -story extravaganza of a flag. A seven-ton, $1 million whopper of a flag, to be unfurled July 4 on New York's Verrazano-Narrows Bridge.

The bridge connects Staten Island with Brooklyn. in. It took eight people six weeks just to sew the flag together. It took one critic mere minutes to tear it apart. "A simple-minded, vainglorious proposal," pronounced Ada Louise Huxtable, architecture critic for the New York Times.

"Within clear sight of the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge stands the greatest monument to freedom in our history, the symbol of this nation as an open and compassionate society with the highest democratic ideals an image that dominates New York Harbor and the American dream," she wrote. "Does anyone really want to spend $850,000 to upstage the Statue of Liberty?" Eric Soelter of Anchor Industries the company that sewed the flag together, takes exception to that interpretation. "The perception of one person sitting on the East Coast, in the Big Apple, differs drastically from that of the guy on the cutting table in Evansville, 53 sewed together to form the; Great American Flag, a two-acre, 21 story flag scheduled to be unveiled 'in New York Saturday. (AP Laserpn'oto) STAR OF THE SHOW Eric Soelter of Anchor Industries stands in the middle of a copy of one of 50 star the Evansville, company HELP! for you Do you have com prehensi ve in ra 11 ce? Court refuses to postpone census Soelter says. "We're getting hundreds of phone calls of support from people who rarely come out of the woodwork to voice opinions on anything." Soelter represents the Evansville connection in a project that has involved an estimated 1,000 people from scores of American corporations.

Among the biggest companies helping to hoist the colors are Revlon Allied Chemical Time and U.S. Steel Corp. Anchor Industries, a custom canvas fabricating company that employs 250 people, is among the smallest. Soelter says Anchor agreed to its share of the task because of the challenge it posed. "I can honestly say the publicity was of no consideration," said Soelter, who did see fit to add a few pamphlets about "The Anchor Tradition" to the press kit he assembled to help boost the project.

The project, as Soelter explains it, was conceived in the aftermath of a great disaster that occurred during the nation's Bicentennial. A huge American flag was raised on the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge in preparation for the 'Tall Ships" parade. "Unfortunately, the Bicentennial flag had more spirit than engineering," as one news release gently put it, "and it failed in its trial run, June 28, 1976." This time, the flag fliers are determined to succeed. They spent months searching for the fabric, dye and design tough enough to withstand New York Harbor's blustery winds. The non-profit project has been funded through donations from corporations, organizations and just plain folks.

Once the flag reaches New York, it will be up to that state's Metropolitan Transportation Authority to hoist and lower it on appropriate holidays, and to store it in its special casing on the bridge in between. And therein lies another rub. "I'm for the flag," says Carol Bellamy, president of the New York City Council. "But I believe as an MTA board member that we should use our personnel for transportation purposes." Soelter won't touch that one. "She's in New York and I'm in Evansville.

I don't know if she's right or not," he said with a shrug. He does have more to say to Ada Louise Huxtable, however. "I've seen the Statue of Liberty. I know where it is. We're not upstaging it, we're paying a compliment to it." WASHINGTON (AP) The Supreme Court Monday refused to postpone the April 1 start of the 1980 census.

The justices turned down an emergency request by 26 members of Congress and two organizations who want to force census workers to keep separate tallies for illegal aliens. The request, headed by the Federation of American Immigration Reform, challenges the constitutconality of a census that" includes illegal aliens. -j; Census figures, compiled every -10: are used to apportion voter representation in Congress and in state legislatures. Q. I'm writing to ask you if you can HELP! me with my problem.

On Dec. ,19, 1979, I was on my way home to Johnstown, from Mansfield Slate College. A truck passed me, eight miles south of Mansfield, and cracked my window with debris it picked up from the snow-covered roads. I pursued the truck and finally got it to pull over. The man gave me the compa- ny's insurance card but said he didn't have a driver's license with him.

I turned the information into my insurance company. The insurance company stated they wrote a couple of times. I received no response from the truck company. My insurer tried to call but the firm was not listed in the phone book. They did all they could.

You are my last stop before going to court. The company is Harrison Brothers of Willi-amsport, and their insurance company is Pennsylvania Manufacturers. I'm sure you'll be able to get a response out of them. My insurance company and I couldn't. Diahann G.

Claghorn Elmira A. HELP! first spoke with one of the owners. He referred us to his insurance company. The insurer hadn't heard a thing from anyone. No report had been filed.

It soon came to light' that you don't have any recourse, because the debris came from the road. Your insurance company should have told you this, we were told, plus the fact your comprehensive insurance may cover the damage. HELP! didn't have any trouble securing the trucking company's number through information. Q. Could you please tell me where to find out how much an Edison cabinet floor model victrola, over 50 years old, is worth? It has an oak finish.

What is the worth of disc records? Mrs. G.S. Kane Westfield A. The best thing for you to do is check the antique magazines for the worth of your victrola. These can be found at your favorite newsstand, as well as value books listing records.

Q. Can any of your readers HELP! an elderly friend of mine, who now resides in the state of Washington? She is trying to recall the words to an old song commemorating the death of Floyd Collins, mainly because her son sang it.If anyone can recall the song, I'd appreciate their sending a copy of it to, Mrs. Bertha Currier, 10008 17th S.W., Seattle, 98146. CD. Horseheads A.

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