PSA

 

 

 

AS THE NEW MONTH IS HERE BE SURE TO CHECK OUR JOB LISTINGS AND APPT LISTINGS LOCATED IN THE CLASSIFIEDS!!!!

INEXPENSIVE WAYS TO BOOST YOUR HOMES VALUE

 
     "A Good home must be Made not Bought"

-Joyce Maynard

 

 

 

 

 

According to Black Enterprise;  

In today’s shaky housing market, homeowners are becoming more circumspect, weighing the pros and cons of how the renovations they make will affect the bottom line, specifically if they’re trying to sell. This especially holds true with falling home prices. The average price of an existing home dropped about 13% between 2008 and 2010 to $172,900, NAR reports. The top-selling areas of a home are usually the kitchen and bathroom, which can be costly to upgrade. The national average cost of a minor kitchen remodel is $21,695, adding $15,790 to the value of a home at sale, while a bathroom remodel is $16,634, adding $10,668 to the value of a home, according to Remodeling magazine’s Cost vs. Value Report 2010-11.

 

So basically it isnt as easy as get a loan, buy a home, and just live!!  Homeowners have to continusely make adjustments in the home, for one, to keep their homes up to date but secondly to keep its value up for when time to sell.  Here is our top 5 ways to help boost the value!!!

 

 

 

GENERAL REPAIRS 

 

First and foremost you want to stop putting off and start repairing any and everything that needs repair!  That toilet thats just been getting by flushing on its own! 

 

 

 

LANDSCAPING

For all homeowners with landscaping surronding the home, we advise that you keep up the greenery. You can do this one of two ways. You could hire a professional landscaper to keep it up for you or you could learn to do it yourself. Check with HOMEDEPOT for their monthly Do-It-Yourself workshops!! You can learn all there is to gardening here!!

CALL AN INSPECTOR

Since you'll one day put your home up for sale, Forbes says why not hire an inspector.  This way you can be ahead of the game in knowing what need to be tuned, fixed, and or changed in your home.



FINAL TOUCHES


To add the final touches of a home's value Forbes recommends upgrades, as in all around the house.  Upgrade your light fixtures, your kitchen counter tops and even the cabinets if outdates.  Even the bathroom shower tiles if needing a change.  Little things like this will help in making the room itself look well polished!!

 





Budgeting for the season

Tis The Season.... Not to be broke- Trina 1CL

It comes around every year like clock work. The season of giving and holiday cheer. To shop to you drop just to see the smiles on the faces of those we care and love. While your shopping the holiday away remember that you want to come home and your lights are still on! Just like the hoilday comes around like clock work so does the bills! They don't go away nor can some of them be put on hold for later. 1stClassLadies want to give you ideas to help you budget so that you can enjoy the shopping season as well as be the responsible adult you are the other 10 months out of the year.

Pay the must bills first. There are some bills like we previous stated that can not be put off for another time and those are what need to be paid before ANYTHING. Rent is not something you want to put off unless you want to bring you christmas tree home and you light that bad boy up outside. Once you have paid the things that can not be delayed make note with the ones you can delay and set up a payment plan for them. Even if its only for two months, it lets the company in which your paying the bill to know you aren't neglecting them and you are making payments. Believe it or not more companies would rather you be up front with them and set up some type of payment plan then to just ignore them. Yo avoid a disconnect fee and whatever else concequences can come of you being a delequent customer.

Write it out and add a price tag. Befoe you do any shopping know how many people your shopping for and give each person a certain amount of money. People who are closer to heart (such immediate family) usually get a bigger budget then others (like co-workers or associates.) If its easier have an idea as to what you want to buy them in the frist place and price around for it. You might find it somewhere cheaper then you budget even consisted of. Knowing what your going to buy and how much its going to run you will make shopping and your spending less stressful.

Don't overspend this season. Yes you want to buy all your friends and family gifts but lets not spend every dime you have doing it. Before you start shopping know how much you want to spend and stick to it! One way of doing that is the way 1stClassLadies JennLo shops which is putting whatever money it is you would like to spend on a prepaid card. There is no overcharging or spending money that was not intended for the christmas shopping. Setting  a shopping budget and sticking to it is the easiest and smartest way to shop. You still want to have money for yourself once the shopping is over.

Only do what your funds allow you to do. Don't go broke trying to buy the world if your pockets don't forsee it happening. If you don't have it then you just don't have. Point. Blank. Period. It's the unfortunate truth for some and you just have to work with what you have. If you don't have a gift for someone it's okay. If they are a true friend or loved one that won't matter to them (to bad this doesn't work for children.)

We hope these ideas help you to shop smart and get all those people on your list what their hearts desire. So make your list check it twice and get the things you want while doing it right!!

OCTOBER IS NATIONAL CYBER SECURITY MONTH...

"STAY SAFE"

 

 

 

 

WITH THE ADVANCEMENT OF TECHNOLOGY OVER THE LAST TWO DECADES WE'VE GOT A WHOLE NEW WORLD!  FROM THE INVENTION OF THE MICROWAVE TO COMPUTERS AND SMART PHONES DOING EVERYTHING FROM GIVING DIRECTIONS TO TALKING BACK.  THE MONTH OF OCTOBER MARKS NATIONAL CYBER SECURITY AWARENESS MONTH.  WHAT DOES THIS MEAN, MIGHT YOU ASK??  ITS A REMINDER TO DOUBLE, TRIPLE CHECK YOUR SECURITY MEASURES WHEN USING THE INTERNET WHEN IT PERTAINS TO YOUR FINANCIAL MATTERS AND PURCHASING MERCHANDISE.  HERE ARE SOME TIPS TO FOLLOW!!

 

 

Don’t overshare. Social media is a great way to connect with friends and loved ones, but it’s best not to publicly post personal information. Limit what you post on social media sites or online forums and activate your privacy settings. You never know who might be lurking online.
Lock your computer. Lock your computer whenever you step away from your desk at work. I can’t stress this one enough. A few years ago, I stepped away from my desk, and when I came back, an intern was reading my email. Ever since that incident, I always lock my computer and make sure that a password is needed to open my screen.

Set strong passwords. Using a combination of upper and lowercase letters and numbers can make it harder to guess your password. But the work doesn’t stop there. Once you’ve made up a cyber-criminal-proof password, don’t give it out to anyone.
Install updates. Don’t ignore those messages urging you to update your software. This simple step can save you a world of trouble.





Use firewalls and anti-virus software. Firewalls and anti-virus protection are crucial to shielding your computer from threats. There are even some great products available that are free of charge. One free anti-virus software of note is Zone Alarm.

Beware of emails requesting financial information. If you get an email requesting you to verify financial account information online, beware. Even if the communication appears to be from your bank, there’s still a chance it could be from a cyber criminal, seeking to steal your financial information. Always call your bank directly, and make sure it’s the same number you usually use.

Be sure to check out our CLASSIFIED section for updated job listings and exams!!

SCARY FINANCIAL SCAMS

"Stay on TOP of your finances, dont leave that up to others"

-Leif Garrett

You dont want to end up looking like this come holiday season!!!  Check out these financial scams that were reported by Black Enterprise!!!

Foreign Lottery Scam: Here’s one straight from Transylvania. You get a letter telling you that you’ve won a million dollars. All you have to do is sacrifice your personal identification and you are on your way to riches. Don’t let some financial blood-sucker take a bite out of your bank account with the foriegn lottery scams. Just say no.

Mystery Shopper Scam: Some invisible man wants to mail you a check to deposit into your bank. Once the check has cleared (which it never will) he says you will get to go on a shopping spree or you’ll qualify for a job as a mystery shopper. Of course there is no real job. This is totally fictitious. The only mystery here is the identity of the financial predator you’ve just turned your bank account information over to. Do yourself a favor and make this phantom disappear by telling him “thanks, but no thanks.”




Debt Collection Scam: You killed that ancient evil department store credit card balance over a decade ago. But alas, long after the statue of limitations has expired, some zombie debt collector is demanding payment — with interest and penalties too! Shoot this one in the head with a debt verification letter.



Home Repair Scam: After a recent storm or just normal wear-and-tear, your driveway or front yard looks like hell. But here comes an “angel” who just happened to be in your neighborhood (you know, right after that latest storm or natural disaster has occurred). And oh blessed day, he wants to “save” you with some left over concrete to fix up your driveway.
Either that or you can pay him an upfront deposit and at a much later date, he promises to magically re-appear to fix your broken windows or cut down those trees that are now hanging perilously. Beware of the driveway/ home repair scam, and send this fallen angel back to whence he came.

Work from home scam: You’ve heard the pitch: Make a thousand dollars a day stuffing envelopes. That means you will earn up to $365,000 per year! Sounds like a tempting deal, which isn’t surprising because in this case you’d be making a deal with the devil.

CHECK OUT THE CLASSIFIEDS!!