Tips To Sell Your Home In Winter

Are you planning on selling your home?  Winter doesn't have to be a harsh, unappealing time of year

to sell your home. With 2016 about to rev up, it's especially important to make your home stand out if you want to sell in the New Year. Here are some essential tips for making your house #1 on the market as the year begins:

#1 Warmth is top priority.

Your home should always be warm when a realtor conducts a walk-through with buyers. Set a timer on your thermostat so it's warm when they arrive. Also make sure to check there are no leaks or problems with your ducts and vents, as this could make rooms cold during a walk-through.

#2 Keep the house bright.

It's also important to ensure that your home is adequately lit in each room. You want buyers to feel welcome and impressed with the kitchen, bathroom and bedrooms of your home. If a room has dim lighting or a burned-out bulb, it could take away from the overall appeal of the room. You should also consider spending a little extra money to upgrade your lighting fixtures -- installing recessed lighting in certain rooms will give your home a little extra "pop." Standing lamps are also a fantastic, affordable alternative to lighting additions

#3 Try to make your landscape appealing.

Although your yard will be mostly winterized during this time of year, there are several ways to spruce up your cold weather landscaping. Start by clearing your yard of any broken branches or large patches of fallen leaves. It's also important to ensure that any ice or snow on or near your home's walkway is removed. If needed, you can hire a weekly snow removal service to keep your home safe for buyer walkthroughs.

#4 Make the interior cozy.

In addition to keeping your house well-lit and warm, there are other ways to make your home cozy and welcoming to buyers. This includes:

Classical music (at a low volume)

Homemade treats (candy, cookies)

Holiday decorations (tinsel on the mantle, for example)

You want buyers to feel as though they already live in your home when they walk through the door. When you offer them a cozy setting, they will want to spend more time in your home and admire its features.

#5 Keep the fireplace lit.

While you should have the heat on during a walkthrough, another warm and cozy feature is the fireplace. If you've got a wood-burning model, this means you'll need to have coal or wood handy. You don't want to have multiple showings a day and a fireplace that roars for only half the visitors. This is especially important if the fireplace is close to the entrance (all of that cold air gets in!).

20 Tips To Get Your Credit In Check In 2016

Struggling to get your credit cards paid off? Juggling balances between several cards? Just plain tired of paying interest? Make this the year you get your credit in order. Whether your goal is to buy a new home, become debt free and raise your credit score, or just make your payments more manageable, these 25 tips for handling your credit can help get you there.

1. Talk to a lender - If you're planning to buy a home anytime soon, a call to a lender can clarify what you'll need to do in order to qualify (and qualify for the best rates).

2. Check your credit - You can pull your report once a year at AnnualCreditReport.com for free.

3. Dispute anything that's incorrect - It may take some time and effort, but removing incorrect items from your report can have a great impact on your score.

4. Don't waste your time trying to get collection accounts off your credit report - "Be aware that paying off a collection account will not remove it from your credit report," said myFICO. "It will stay on your report for seven years."

5. Set little goals - Paying off a large balance can seem overwhelming. Setting weekly or monthly goals to pay down your credit can make it feel for manageable, and also help keep you on track when that handbag is calling your name.

6. Pay off the smallest accounts first - It may seem smarter to attack the large balances first, but getting small balances paid off will lower your monthly output and allow you to redirect those funds to other balances once they're paid off.

7. Or, pay off the account with the highest rate first - Since this is the one that's costing you most every month.

8. Contact your creditors - It might be that they have a program to help you pay your debt.

9. Negotiate your rates - A call to your creditors may yield a lower rate.

10. Transfer balances - You can make it easier to pay your balances by taking advantage of an existing card with low or no interest?

11. Don't have a card with a low rate? Open a balance - transfer credit card - "This allows you to move expensive debt over to a new card, with a low - often 0% - APR for a set time period," said Bankrate.

12. Get a secured card - If you're trying to reestablish credit after a bankruptcy or after paying off old delinquent accounts, a secured card from a bank can help you build it back up.

13. Even if you can't wipe out all your debt now, pay down your balances - "One of the major factors in your credit score is how much revolving credit you have versus how much you're actually using," said Bankrate. "The smaller that percentage is, the better it is for your credit rating. The optimum: 30 percent or lower."

14. Pay your bills on time - It's the easiest and most effective way to keep your score good - or improve it.

15. If you're buying a home, don't apply for any more credit cards without your lender's approval - That Kohls card may save you 15% on your first purchase but it can also ding your credit score.

16. Set up payment reminders - If you're the type that forgets or overlooks payments, make sure you've got it covered. Setting a reminder from the creditor or putting a reminder in your phone can help.

17. Set your accounts on auto pay - You're less likely to miss a payment if you have it set up automatically to draw from your account. Just make sure you keep enough money in your account to cover the payments or you'll have to pay overdraft fees.

18. Use cash for everything - Financial experts often recommend this tactic to keep us in check about what we're actually spending. There aren't any surprises at the end of the month when you're only using the dollars and cents you have in your wallet.

19. Think about debt consolidation - Many experts consider this a last-ditch resort because its "quick fix" solution may actually cause more problems down the line. Be sure to read up to make sure this is the right step for you.

20. File for bankruptcy, but only if you have no other option - "While going this route allows you to wipe the slate clean, it also has a devastating impact on your credit," said Smart Asset. "Bankruptcy is meant to be a last-resort option but there are certain situations when filing may be your best bet:

You're being sued by debt collectors

Your wages are being garnished

You can't pay your bills (due to a job layoff or an unexpected illness)

You're in danger of losing your home"

How To Unclog A Toilet Without A Plunger Or Plumber

If you’re faced with a clogged toilet and you don’t have a plunger or don’t want to use a plunger because it’s too disgusting  try this trick .  Pouring some dish soap into the toilet bowl followed by some hot water may be all that's needed to get things flowing properly down the toilet's drain. In as little as 15 minutes, your toilet can be unclogged, and no one else in the household has to be the wiser.

Here are the steps:

1. Pour a healthy amount of liquid soap into your toilet bowl, about half a cup. The soap is denser and heavier than water and should drop to the bottom of the bowl.

2. Let the liquid dish soap sit in the bowl for 20-30 minutes. Over time the soap will seep into the clog lubricating the trap way.

3. After 20 minutes fill up a container with hot water and pour it into the bowl. Make sure not to overflow the toilet bowl. Slowly the clog should work it’s way free.

This does not work for all clogs but people have reported success by repeating steps 1-3 again if it doesn’t clear the clog the first time. Some said they did this at night and the clog was gone in the morning.