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14 economist sunsun7ribune consumer news saturday april 22 2006 york catholic district school board u public input into 200607 budget process presentations or written submissions are welcomed 11 osnacs when tuesday may 9 7 pm tuesday may 23 7 pm where catholic education centre 320 bloomington road west aurora how register to speak or arrange to submit your comments call 7162215051 or 90571 32711 ext 3006 or email francessmithycdsbca by may 1 for may 9 session or by may 1 5 for may 23 session complete budget information is available on our website at wwwycdsbca susan larosa director of education elizabeth crowe chair of the board saturday may27tk markham faifgifoynds wwwmarlaariuodeocom seniors students on wednesday andjmraa group rates availam0 good seats still available box office 905305show 7469 produced by special arrangement with samuel french canada inc community home assistance to seniors ctffwq for caregivers are you a caregiver for an aging parent spouse relative or friend celebrate the launch of our new caregiver support education services open house sat may 6 2006 10 am to 4 pm at the ghats wellness centre for seniors and caregivers 126 wellington street west aurora suite 103 seminars displays presentations and more call to sign up 9057133373 or 18666779048 ext 7240 by april 28 walkins also welcome iive itfm new prepaid credit cards help fight personal debt cards help create credit history by linda johnson staff writer two credit card companies have programs to help you reduce on your credit card debt home trust visa and the pre- payedge mastercard have been designed to help those who spend too muchthose who have bad credit or those too new to canada to get a regular credit card apart from limitations imposed on shopping excur sions the absence of credit cards means you have no chance to build a credit history the visa and mastercard work in different ways with the socalled secured card you put down a security deposit in the case of home trust visa card any amount from 1000 to 10000 that amount is your credit limit if you are approved and 95 per cent of applicants are you receive a credit card that works in the usual way as you shop or make cash advances you create a balance owing that you have to payoff its a revolving credit so you will have to make monthly pay ments how you make the monthly payments on the account is what we report to the credit bureau said jocelyn bernardino a customer service representative at home trust secured visa which launched its card five years ago as with any credit card the amount of credit you have left at any point depends on your out standing balance if you over spend or cancel the card the amount owing is deducted from your deposit and as long as your credit card is in good standing your security deposit earns 1 per cent interest its an excellent way to re establish credit rating said robert tramov a counsellor with community credit counselling services of york region because the cards are secured they dont promote debt he added when you put aside 1000 into that card youre going to be very careful when you spend that money youll be thinking this is like real money because if i dont pay it back they will go into the secured deposit and take it out he said to apply you must be a cana dian resident and 18 years old as well you must have a min imum income of 500 a month or 6000 a year chequing account and social insurance number anyone who filed for bank ruptcy must be fully discharged and new immigrants must have lived in canada least 6 months there are also fees with home trust visa for example you pay a onetime setup fee of 39 plus 750 per month the interest rate is 195 per cent on purchases and 215 per cent on cash advances with the mastercard you front load the card and spend whatever balance you put on it these do not require a securi ty deposit instead you apply money to the card and as you shop you deplete the sum at any time you can add more money like the secured card it gives many people who are jow- income or had past credit prob lems the chance to make pur chases they otherwise could not have mr tramov said for more information on the pre- payedge mastercard visit www tnsprepaidnet for more information on the home trust visa visit wwwhome- tnistcavisa rmuh m houston r v houstcjim ford i1fou 5786 main st stouffville 3bsb4b4541 wwwbillhoustonfordcom