Personal Finance Blog, Your Guide to Financial Fitness
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Heather Levin
Heather Levin
Think about how much time you spend each day sitting down. You may sit down throughout the entire working day at a desk in front of a computer. You sit during your commute to and from work. And you sit when you’re watching TV in the evening, or surfing the web.
ABC News reports that many of us spend up to 15 and a half hours sitting down every day. Furthermore, research suggests that even if you exercise regularly, this much sitting could have a major impact on your health.
Heather Levin
The average child comes down with 6 to 10 colds per year, while the average adult gets 2 to 3 colds each year. Of course, if you have school-aged children, you likely get more than this. These numbers, however, only reflect how often we get the “common cold” – other illnesses, such as the flu, are a different story.
The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) tracks flu cases and flu strains similarly to how meteorologists watch weather patterns. Wintertime is when the flu most often rears its ugly head, so for this reason, it’s vital that you do what you can to protect yourself and your family during cold weather months.
Heather Levin
Since the recession hit, many adults bemoan the tough job market, and with good reason: The Bureau of Labor Statistics reports that the current unemployment rate hovers around 8.3% – and that doesn’t count those who are underemployed.
What many people do not consider, however, are teenagers. Today’s teens now have to compete for entry-level jobs with out-of-work adults, many of whom will take anything in order to keep the bills paid until something better comes along. Teen unemployment is steadily rising: NPR reports it sits at 25%. And some cities, such as Washington, D.C., have a teen unemployment rate of 50%.
Heather Levin
We’ve all had it: an aching body, a sore throat, nausea, a fever, and chills. The dreaded flu season is upon us! Yuck.
Getting the flu is awful. Not only do you feel terrible, but it can cost a lot of money too. You might have to miss work or school and go to the doctor. Plus, if you don’t have health insurance, or have an emergency-only healthcare plan, it can mean hefty out-of-pocket expenses.
Heather Levin
Imagine walking through your front door into a room the size of a cathedral. Tall, gorgeously designed stained glass windows allow endless rays of light to enter. The ceiling soars overhead. The ancient stone walls could tell you stories of the thousands of people who walked, laughed, and prayed within.
This is just a small taste of what it could be like to live in a church. Some people might think it’s a crazy idea, but plenty of others have purchased churches and renovated them into homes.
Heather Levin
Autumn is one of my favorite times of year, rivaled only by early summer. I’m not alone – many people feel happy and invigorated during the fall season.
Yet as much as I would love to spend every afternoon basking in the last of the year’s sunny warmth, I can’t. I have plenty to do to get the house ready for the cold winter season. No matter where you live, winter probably brings a fairly significant change in climate, and homeowners have a long list of tasks to complete to winterize their homes.
Heather Levin
With real estate prices at rock-bottom in many places around the country, some people are buying homes as investment properties, hoping that eventually home values will appreciate. If you want to buy a home, either to live in or as an investment property, consider buying a duplex. A duplex is essentially a house or building with separate entrances for two families. The units can either be on separate floors (i.e. two-story house) or side by side.
Duplexes can be great investments for homeowners and landlords. However, owning a duplex has a number of unique advantages and disadvantages, and you should carefully consider them before purchasing one of these two-family homes.
Heather Levin
Finding the house of your dreams is often a stressful affair. Searching, haggling, and qualifying for a loan will take a toll on any buyer, no matter how experienced. Once the appraisal comes in and contracts are signed, most buyers are tempted to kick back and wait with excitement for closing day so they can move in.
But there is one final, extremely important thing to do before closing. You need to do a final walk-through.
Many buyers mistakenly use the final walk-through as a means to get one last-look at their dream home before they move in. They start planning how furniture will be arranged and which room will be used for which purpose.
Heather Levin
With the real estate market still in a slump, more and more people have decided not to sell their home. Instead, they have chosen to stay put, until things get better. I count myself in this group; I had my own home on the market for two years. My house sold, and the sale fell through, on two separate occasions. As a result, I’ve resolved to stay put until the real estate market improves.
However, now that I’ve decided to stay in this home instead of moving, I plan to make several home improvements to make my home more comfortable (e.g. building a sunroom to combat the dreary Michigan winters, and building a backyard deck).
Heather Levin
Can you imagine staying in an Italian villa for $67 per night? What about staying in Paris, within walking distance of the Eiffel Tower, for $75 a night? What about sleeping aboard a houseboat in Amsterdam for $150 a night?
With these prices, you might think the accommodations would be questionable. However, you might find yourself in a garret apartment or cozy room that’s clean, well-decorated, often luxurious, and incredibly comfortable.
Heather Levin
In the middle of the afternoon or late in the evening, you find yourself roaming around the kitchen looking for something to eat. So, what do you do? You grab a bag of potato chips and a soda to hold you until dinner. Unfortunately, the snack you chose to eat could top 400 calories or more, in addition to pumping you full of sugar that makes you tired an hour after eating.
Heather Levin
Without a doubt, weddings can be expensive. I’m not talking about throwing a wedding, which can cost a small fortune in and of itself. I’m talking about attending a wedding. You need something nice to wear, there’s the flight and/or car expense, you often have to stay in a hotel, and you absolutely must bring a gift. If you’re on a budget, all of this can derail it very quickly!
However, despite the costs, you likely want to see your friends tie the knot and start a future with someone they love. Plus, you probably want to commemorate the occasion with a special gift. But how do you find a gift that’s unique, valuable, and frugal at the same time? Here are a few creative ideas you can use.
Heather Levin
Tough economic times can inspire a lot of creativity when it comes to new business ideas. For example, though a recession was in full-swing, 2010 saw the highest rate of entrepreneurial activity in decades, according to the Kaufman Foundation.
But it seems counter-intuitive. After all, starting a new business is incredibly risky. According to the Small Business Administration (SBA), over 50% of small businesses fail within the first five years, and of those that make it, another 50% fail in the next few years.
Heather Levin
According to a 2010 government report, over 45 million Americans don’t have dental insurance. Many health insurance plans charge so much for dental insurance that people just reject the coverage.
I’m one of them. Every time I go to the dentist’s office, I worry about how much the visit will cost. You may share my concerns about the high cost of dental care. Although you must take care of your teeth to avoid paying for dentures or expensive dental procedures, it can get expensive.
Heather Levin
If you buy name brand laundry detergent, it probably contains toxic chemicals. According to an article in Science Daily, researchers from the University of Washington tested all top-selling laundry detergents and found that every single one of them contained at least one chemical regulated as “toxic or hazardous.” However, the ingredients did not list the hazardous chemicals.
The Environmental Protection Agency provides a breakdown of the common chemicals found in most detergents. Many of these chemicals may cause cancer, reproductive abnormalities, and disruptions in endocrine, which controls the metabolism, reproduction, and growth.
