Be Ready In An Emergency

It’s always a good idea to have an emergency preparedness kit ready to grab at a moment’s notice. Some items are standard, regardless of who you are or where you live, such as a flashlight, first aid kit, and multi-purpose tool. Consider the specific needs of those in your family and geographical location as well. Find pre-made lists and help in building an emergency kit at ready.gov/kit and redcross.org.

Expert Painting Tips

Hiring a painter can be expensive when you want to refinish a whole room. It’s considerably cheaper to do it yourself. We’ve included a painter’s top tips if you tackle a painting job yourself: -Always use drop cloths on the floor and cover furniture with a plastic sheet or paint cloth to ensure paint doesn’t spray across your valuable furniture. -Wear a hat when painting the ceiling. It might seem that a roller won’t spray, but it does, which you’ll see on your hat and drop cloths. -Paint the outer edges first to achieve a smooth finish -Primer is your friend! It will make the paint stick and achieve a much better finish, even if the paint you buy is one of those “primer- and paint-in-one” products.

Add Curb Appeal

The first impression of your house is from the street. If you want to sell or just add some new style, try these ideas: Focus on your front door with a new color, updated light fixtures and easy-to-read house numbers. For more charm, add window flower boxes or shutters around the windows. Learn to build a window box on YouTube.com. Clean out the clutter, and trim the overgrown bushes and trees (this also makes your home safer). For quick color, add container gardens. You can buy them pre-planted. Add lighting accents to trees or to illuminate the pathway (another safety feature). You can go solar to eliminate wires. Pressure-wash the exterior. If it doesn’t look better, consider new paint or siding. Don’t forget the garage door. Repair it, paint it or replace it to make your house look like new.

Improve Your Credit Score

Obtaining a decent financing rate and snagging a good deal on big-ticket items like cars and a home often depends on the quality of your credit score. There are a lot of things you can do to keep yours high.  Get a copy of your credit report. You can review your credit report for free once a year through AnnualCreditReport.com, so take advantage! This is your opportunity to make sure your data hasn’t been compromised and inaccuracies haven’t slipped through since you last reviewed. Look for variations of your name, unfamiliar addresses, and accounts you didn’t open. Your information may have gotten mixed up with someone else’s, or you may have caught an identity thief in the act.  Dispute errors. If there is inaccurate information on your credit report, file disputes with the lender and bureau(s) reporting the error(s). If you have documentation proving your case but the creditor believes the notation is accurate, a credit bureau agent will review the documentation instead of simply siding with the creditor.  Pay more and charge less. Paying off debt is one of the best things you can do to improve your credit score. Keep any credit balances you have to a minimum. Don’t close unused accounts if you don’t need to (especially if you’ve had the credit account for more than 3 years).  Always pay the bills. Payment history makes up a significant amount of your score. Pay all of your bills on time and, even if you can’t pay something off completely, at least make the minimum payment.

Learn About History Online

Learning about history doesn’t have to stop when we finish school, and it can be utterly fascinating. Check out these sites to help make history come alive. missedinhistory.com – This entertaining podcast takes “deep dive” looks into historic events and personalities, many of which you probably never even heard about in history class. wondrium.com – Formerly known as The Great Courses, Wondrium is a one-stop destination for online classes on any topic you can imagine—including history. historyexplorer.si.edu – This site pulls from the enormous collections of the Smithsonian museums to help illustrate its history lessons.

Outdoor Kitchens

The sky's the limit with an outdoor kitchen, but before you dive into the deep end of choosing countertops, here are a few important things to think about to be sure an outdoor kitchen meets your particular needs.  What’s your goal? Be specific about what your dream outdoor cooking experience includes. Is it an expanded grilling setup or a brick pizza oven? Is it simply space to cook or seating for a crowd?  How complex do you want it to be? It can be as simple as a grill, or include high-tech electric fireplaces, sound systems, etc. Ideally, the outdoor kitchen should be close to the indoor kitchen, and sometimes that means you can skip things like an outdoor refrigerator if you’re budget-conscious.  Will you need a permit? Some design elements require permits, like plumbing any outdoor appliances for electricity or water. Find out about local requirements before getting too far into the planning process. Remember that whatever your outdoor kitchen looks like, you’ll need to think about safety measures just like you do when cooking indoors. Make sure electrical outlets are adequate for the appliances you’re using, any gas lines are leak-free, and there’s a fire extinguisher nearby just in case.

Frugal Friends

While you may have been taught that it’s impolite to talk about money, there are times when not having an open conversation is the problem. If you have experienced tension with a friend who’s more frugal than you are, here are some suggestions to help the friendship survive: • Be clear about expectations. When you invite the friend to brunch, say at the outset that you’d like to split the check evenly. When taking contributions for a group gift, mention a specific baseline amount. Your friend can then decide whether they can comfortably participate. • Vary activity expense levels. Rather than always meeting your friend for expensive dinners, mix it up so that it’s sometimes breakfast, a cheaper happy hour, or even a potluck dinner. Suggest fun and free adventures like hiking or a picnic mixed in among spa days and concert tickets. • Let them take the lead. Take turns planning so your friend has equal opportunities to suggest activities that fit within their budget. It’s never a good idea to assume you know all about your friend’s financial situation or judge whether they’re being frugal or simply “cheap.” Money is something many people have trouble talking about. And keeping score can turn a friendship into more of a business transaction, which is a pretty good way for everyone to be left with hurt feelings.

Everyday Relaxation

Even though modern life has countless benefits (most people these days aren’t churning their own butter, for instance), those benefits come with countless additional stressors. Everyone feels pressed for time, and self-care often takes a back seat. Next time you need a break from the everyday grind, here are some relaxing activities to try that don’t involve eating or drinking anything. • Meditating: Simply resting quietly for a few minutes while concentrating on your breathing helps relax the body and mind. • Reading: Put down all the electronics and get lost in a good book. • Working on a Puzzle: If you have the space, keep an in-progress puzzle available at all times for when you want even just 10 or 15 minutes of relaxation in the middle of a hectic day. • Organizing: Many people find cleaning and organizing their spaces extremely relaxing, both the process and the result. • Doing an Art Project: Grab a coloring book and a set of colored pens or pencils. Take a sketchbook on your next walk. Learn origami. Play your favorite instrument. • Playing a Game: Shuffle a deck of cards for a game or two of solitaire. Pick up the newspaper’s crossword puzzle. Or, if you have friends or family around, get everyone involved in a fun board game.

Teaching Life Skills

Teaching kids how to approach and solve life’s challenges is one of the biggest jobs parents face. Here are a few tips to help your children (or grandchildren) grow into self-sufficient and responsible adults: • Teach Kids To Look For Solutions. When kids are faced with a problem, have them identify several options and solutions. Then you can help them choose which solution works best. • Teach Kids Responsibility: Let kids know they are responsible for their actions. They have to do their homework, but you can offer them two “positive choice” options: Do you want to do it in 15 minutes or 30 minutes? Teach them how to organize, and give them the tools to stay organized (calendar, palm pilot, notebook). • Teach Kids How To Make Good Choices. Giving kids choices empowers them to make their own decisions. Have them weigh the pros and cons of their choice, and let them make the decisions. • Teach Kids How To Deal with Failure. Teach your children that failure is not personal, permanent, or pervasive (i.e. losing a soccer game doesn’t mean you’re bad at other things as well). Developing a positive explanatory style early in life will help your children live a happier, healthier and more successful adult life.

People Who Walk Live Longer

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention conducted an 11-year study of 2,896 adults in their late 50’s who had been diagnosed with diabetes. Researchers found those subjects who walked just two hours a week had a 39 percent lower death rate from all causes! They speculate that if every healthy person in the United States walked briskly just 30 minutes a day, the incidence of many chronic diseases would go down 30 to 40 percent. So grab your shoes and get walking…your body will be glad you did!

Walk Your Way To Weight Loss!

Would you like to get more exercise, but just can’t find the time? The America on the Move (AOM) program at the University of Colorado Health Sciences Center says there’s an easy way to get moving. You can lose weight, and increase your energy by wearing a pedometer. A pedometer helps you monitor how much exercise you’re getting each day. More exercise adds up to weight loss and an increase in your energy. Just by adding about 2,000 steps a day to your daily activities and eating 100 calories less, (about what’s in a slice of bread), you’ll begin to see results. Every step counts and you can see them adding up. You’ll be more likely to park farther away from work or the store in the parking lot. You could take a short walk after dinner in the evening. And it’s EASY...no trips to the gym, no exercise equipment to buy, and you can monitor how much exercise you’re getting during the day.

College Savings Plans

Saving for your kids’ college education can be confusing, but it doesn’t have to be a daunting task. Learning the best ways to save can help you avoid costly mistakes – and increase your yield. Mistake #1 – Choosing a plain old savings account When you’re concerned about losing money on an investment, a standard savings account might feel safer. The interest on that account, however, won’t even keep up with inflation, let alone the rapidly rising cost of college.  The Fix – If an aggressive investment isn’t right for you, at least choose a 529 plan, specifically designed for college expenses. Money in a 529 plan grows tax-free until your child uses it to pay for school. And if you’re lucky enough to get lots of grants and scholarships, you can transfer a 529 to another child. Mistake #2 – Believing savings count against you Some parents choose not to save for their children to go to college because they (erroneously) believe a robust savings will hinder their ability to get financial aid.  The Fix – The truth is that it’s primarily what you’re earning – not saving – that colleges take into consideration when granting financial aid, so save away. Mistake #3 – Setting and forgetting it Everyone’s financial situation changes over time, as do tax laws and investment options. But too many people set up savings plans once and never revisit them.  The Fix – It’s important to review your investments on a regular basis, and that’s especially true if your goals are in the shorter term. College investments that get more conservative over time are preferable, as they reduce risk as the child gets closer to college age.