Month: September 2008

Some homeowners opt to re-finance to consolidate their existing debts. With this type of option, the homeowner can consolidate higher interest debts such as credit card debts under a lower interest home loan. The interest rates associated with home loans are traditionally lower than the rates associated with credit cards by a considerable amount. Deciding whether or not to re-finance for the purpose of debt consolidation can be a rather tricky issue. There are a number of complex factors which enter into the equation including the amount of existing debt, the difference in interest rates as well as the difference in loan terms and the current financial situation of the homeowner.

This article will attempt to make this issue less complex by providing a function definition for debt consolidation and providing answer to two key questions homeowners should ask themselves before re-financing. These questions include whether the homeowner will pay more in the long run by consolidating their debt and will the homeowners financial situation improve if they re-finance.

What is Debt Consolidation?

The term debt consolidation can be somewhat confusing because the term itself is somewhat deceptive. When a homeowner re-finances his home for the purpose of debt consolidation, he is not actually consolidating the debt in the true sense of the word. By definition to consolidate means to unite or to combine into one system. However, this is not what actually happens when debts are consolidated. The existing debts are actually repaid by the debt consolidation loan. Although the total amount of debt remains constant the individual debts are repaid by the new loan.

Prior to the debt consolidation the homeowner may have been repaying a monthly debt to one or more credit card companies, an auto lender, a student loan lender or any number of other lenders but now the homeowner is repaying one debt to the mortgage lender who provided the debt consolidation loan. This new loan will be subject to the applicable loan terms including interest rates and repayment period. Any terms associated with the individual loans are no longer valid as each of these loans has been repaid in full.

Are You Paying More in the Long Run?

When considering debt consolidation it is important to determine whether lower monthly payments or an overall increase in savings is being sought. This is an important consideration because while debt consolidation can lead to lower monthly payments when a lower interest mortgage is obtained to repay higher interest debts there is not always an overall cost savings. This is because interest rate alone does not determine the amount which will be paid in interest. The amount of debt and the loan term, or length of the loan, figure prominently into the equation as well.

As an example consider a debt with a relatively short loan term of five years and an interest only slightly higher than the rate associated with the debt consolidation loan. In this case, if the term of the debt consolidation loan, is 30 years the repayment of the original loan would be stretched out over the course of 30 years at an interest rate which is only slightly lower than the original rate. In this case it is clear the homeowner might end up paying more in the long run. However, the monthly payments will probably be drastically reduced. This type of decision forces the homeowner to decide whether an overall savings or lower monthly payments is more important.

Does Re-Financing Improve Your Financial Situation?

Homeowners who are considering re-financing for the purpose of debt consolidation should carefully consider whether or not their financial situation will be improved by re-financing. This is important because some homeowners may opt to re-finance because it increases their monthly cash flow even if it does not result in an overall cost savings. There are many mortgage calculators available on the Internet which can be used for purposes such as determining whether or not monthly cash flow will increase. Using these calculators and consulting with industry experts will help the homeowner to make a well informed decision.

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Do you enjoy participating in illegal activities, such as drug use? Although you shouldn’t, it isn’t recommended for your heath and not to mention its illegal, there are a large number of individuals who do. When it comes to drug use, whether it be marijuana, cocaine, or some illegally obtained prescription pills, there are many individuals who are addicted. Aside from being addicted, some individuals just like to take them, even though they probably could stop at any time. If you are one of those individuals, there will likely come a point in time when you will need to travel, maybe even on airplane. If so, you are advised to proceed with caution.

In the recent years, airport security has drastically changed. Before September 11th, some airports only randomly screened baggage, but now they are always checked. Not only is baggage being checked for dangerous weapons, but it is also checked for illegal items, such as drugs. This means that the next time you plan on flying with a stash, you are advised against doing so. No matter how smart you are, there is a very good chance that you will get caught. Despite this chance, there are still many travelers who try.

The number one mistake that most individuals, make when flying with illegal drugs, is carry the drugs with them. New airport rules have been established. Those rules require that all passengers need to take off their shoes. Shoes will now be scanned with all other carryon bags. This means that if you plan on hiding something illegal in your shoes, whether it be drugs or not, you will be caught. It is also advised that you do not carry anything illegal in your carryon bags. In addition to being scanned though an x-ray machine, they may also be examined by airport security.

Since it is too risky to carry illegal items with them, many travelers make the decision to hide them in their checked baggage. While it may have been possible to successfully do this ten years ago, it is not anymore. Now, almost every airline searches through checked baggage. If your bags are locked, there is a good chance that you will be asked to remove those locks. When it comes to checking checked baggage, there are two main types of searches that are done. All bags will be thoroughly searched for anything out of the ordinary, but more intense searches are conducted randomly.

Do you know what the difference is between a traditional search and an intensive search? Instead of just shifting your items around, airport security will actually look through your entire bag. This may mean having every single one of your luggage compartments checked, the pockets of your clothing checked, as well all bags, including makeup bags. In the event that you are randomly selected for one of these checks, there is virtually no way that you will make it to the next point, your airplane seat.

One of the many reasons why a traveler brings banned items, not to mention illegal items, on a flight is because they think that nothing would happen to them. Now, if you are caught trying to bring a banned item onboard, such as a cigarette lighter, you may just have your item confiscated. Additional actions may be taken, but for the most part, you will just receive a warning. However, there is a difference between just a banned item and a banned item, which is also illegal. That difference may mean more than having to miss your flight. In fact, it could mean jail time.

In addition to illegal drugs, alcohol, which is considered legal if not consumed at the correct age, is prohibited on some airplanes. Most airlines have restrictions on alcohol, including checked baggage. In most cases, alcohol cannot be brought on the plane if it is more than 140 proof. When it doubt, it is best to verify the rules and restrictions with the airline you plan on flying with.

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You are finally in your dream home. You have the perfect layout of the house, you have everything you need in the right place, and you even have a sign on your wall saying welcome home. However, after a few months of moving in, you may have noticed that something wasn’t quite right or you wanted to change something. If you don’t know exactly how to do this, why not find a good contractor?

A good contractor will have several qualities that they can use in order to help you with home improvement. The first is that they will listen to what you need. Initially, you will want to set up a time to meet with the contractor, than tell them what you are thinking in order to design, improve or change your home. You should make sure that they understand this and are able to meet your needs. While any practical contractor will simply give you a bid based on the area you are fixing and what you are fixing, a good contractor will also relate to these needs and see your overall vision.

The next set of qualities you will want to build on before finding a contractor is in relation to how they relate to outside sources. Before beginning to find a contractor, you will want to see what their reputation is and find some past work that they have done. The most important way to get the best quality in things is by finding the references and going by word of mouth. You will also want to make sure that other outside sources, such as the relative prices from other contractors are met by the standards of the contractor that you are considering for your work.

Home improvement is always important for those who want to invest in a property properly. Before you jump into knocking down the walls, make sure that you have the right people to see why you want to change the outlook and are able to meet your expectations. This will help when you are working towards turning your house into a home.

We’ve all seen how stuffed our mailboxes are each day with junk mail. Advertisements, coupon books, postcards, brochures and the like break the backs of our local postal delivery people each day across the nation. Each year, junk mail costs the environment approximately 80 million trees and 28 billion gallons of water. It also costs about $450 million each year to have it hauled off, incinerated or recycled. On average that means that about 34 pounds of junk mail is produced each year for every man, woman, and child in the United States. And if you factor into this equation that each person will spend approximately eight months out of our lives dealing with junk mail, and you have a huge sum of wasted time, money, and valuable resources. But you shouldn’t feel powerless to stop it. There are steps you can take to tame the junk mail beast.

The Direct Marketing Association (DMA), the largest list broker in the US, sells your name and address to those wanting to target you for their product. Contact them directly with a postcard that contains the date, your name and address, and sign it. Be sure to include all variations of your name, and your maiden name if you’ve recently married. Instruct them to remove your name from their mailing lists. Send the postcard to:

Direct Marketing Association
Mail Preference Service
P.O. Box 643
Carmel, NY 10512
Tel: 1- 212-768-7277
www.dmaconsumers.org

Be careful when you do submit your name and address to anyone, as you can become part of their mailing list which might be sold at a later date, putting you right back at square one. If you’re filling out a form such as a warranty, subscription, raffle, customer info card, credit card application, membership for an organization, be sure to instruct them not to sell, rent or trade your name or address. Remember to do this every time you’re giving your contact information to a sales representative or customer service associate when you purchase something.

And when you receive an unwanted publication in the mail, immediately contact the toll-free number listed on the publication and request to be removed from their mailing list. Businesses and organizations are glad to hear from you if you’re not interested in receiving their materials because it saves them advertising revenue.

Accidents in the home are the primary cause of death in U.S. children. By taking a few simple precautions, these injuries can be avoided, making your home safe for your child and the children who visit it.

In your kitchen, you should be sure to install safety latches on cabinets and drawers. This helps keep them out of the everyday household chemicals you use to clean your home and dishware with, and also keeps them from grabbing sharp objects like scissors or knives from inside the drawers. Use the back burners when cooking on the stovetop, and keep the handles of your pots and pans turned out of a curious child’s reach while cooking.

Safety latches should be installed on cabinets and drawers in your bathrooms as well to keep them out of unsafe household cleaning products and medicines. Be sure to unplug any electrical appliance such as a blow dryer or curling iron directly after use and put out of a child’s reach. Teach them early that electricity and water do not mix and that no electrical appliances of any kind should ever be immersed in or placed under running water. Toilet locks should also be used in homes that have small children to keep lids down. Young children are ‘top heavy’ and can easily fall into a toilet if they lean in to play in it. Since a young child can drown in less than just an inch of water, it is imperative to closely supervise them in the bathroom at all times.

Around your house, be sure to secure furniture such as bookshelves and heavy furniture that could tip easily to the wall using brackets. Use doorknob covers to keep them out of rooms with potential hazards and to keep them from leaving the house unsupervised. Make sure your window blinds do not have looped cords on them as they can present a strangulation hazard to a young child. And always cover your electrical outlets with protective covers to keep small fingers from them and small objects from being inserted into them.

Check your house over carefully for other potential hazards and address them immediately. With these precautions and some common sense, your household will be your child’s haven.

When you have something, you want to make sure that you keep it. By investing in the right types of protection and insuring your real estate property and the things that you hold inside of it, you will have the ability to keep the things that are valuable or have the ability to replace them. One of the ways that you can ensure protection of your property is by asset protection.

Asset protection is a plan that is designed to protect your real estate and the things that you own inside of the real estate. If any type of financial disaster occurs, you will have replacements and ways to ensure that the value of your property isn’t lost, even if something unexpected happens.

If you are just looking into asset protection, you will want to look at possible options through your own investigation or through talking to a lawyer. An analysis will be taken of the amount of money that you can protect as well as how your valuables are linked to the demographics of the area. Once the assessments have been made, you will be given an estimate of how much money you can receive in protection as well as the programs that may be best for you.

The asset protection that will be defined when you have this analysis done will vary according to the state law. Retirement and disability benefits are usually not considered a part of asset protection. Personal items may also not be included on asset protection. Things such as furniture, clothing, jewelry and other personal assets will most likely not be covered. Some states will allow a certain percentage of these assets to be covered instead of providing full coverage.

If you want to make sure that what you have receives the most in case of an accident, then your real estate investment shouldn’t just include finding the right loan. It should also include looking at the assets and finding the best ways to get the most out of them. By protecting what you own, you will be more likely to keep what you love.

In our effort to balance very full and hectic lives with our families and our jobs, we may have been neglecting an all-important facet of our child’s life: their emotional well-being. The first three years of a child’s life is a critical time for a child, and the trauma of changing child care providers or having a ‘part-time’ parent float in and out of their life can be very traumatic and destabilizing for them. It’s imperative that parents, educators, involved adults and care providers make a concerted joint effort to ensure that a child’s emotional needs are met on a daily basis, just as their physical needs are. The effects of not meeting a child’s emotional needs, especially during the first three years of life, can have devastating consequences. Violent, disruptive or defiant behaviors can result.

The first three years of life are critical in a number of ways. This is when bonding and emotional separation takes place. If there are interruptions in either of these processes, misbehaviors from the child can result. This can later have an affect on their relationships later in life and hinder them in developing their own healthy relationships as adolescents or adults.

During the first three years of life, the brain goes through its most rapid development ever, the likes of which will never been experienced again. By the time they are three years old, a child’s brain is already ‘hardwired’ from the experiences they’ve had to that point. It’s imperative that these be loving, supportive, safe, positive experiences so the brain will be conditioned to expect positive things. If they’ve been frightening, hurtful, abusive, or dangerous, then the brain is conditioned to expect negative occurrences.

Therefore it’s critical that parents, caregivers and other involved adults make a concerted effort to make sure the child’s emotional needs are met in a positive, constructive and healthy manner. Parents should ensure that the child’s care providers are stable and consistent, and don’t move them around to different childcare providers during this important phase. Ensure a child feels safe and secure with structured and consistent schedules and routines. Be sure to spend as much quality time with your child at this time as possible, regardless of your otherwise busy and hectic lifestyle. A child can sense that such a schedule is stressful to you and it can become a frightening or confusing element for them. Therefore it’s important to take time out to reassure them that you’re never too busy for them.

Remember that your child’s emotional well-being is just as important as their physical, so do your part to ensure your child knows he’s growing up safe, secure, treasured and loved.