Service For Life! ^®

• 7 Major Financial Mistakes & How To Avoid Them…
• Save Money On These Simple Home Repairs…
• Fun Facts and Laughs: What To Do If Your E-mail Is Hacked, Great Travel-Planning Websites, And More…
• Real Estate Q&A: My Home Didn’t Sell The First Time. What Should I Do Now To Get It Sold?…

Jack Edwards, REALTOR^®
California BRE#01331087

P.S.  When you notice people talking about real estate in the next few weeks, can you tell them about the free consumer information I provide?

They may be people wanting to move this year, and you can tell them about my Free Consumer Report: “How To Avoid 7 Costly Mistakes When Selling Your Home”. You’ll give them a huge boost in confidence because this guide shows how to net the most money from a home sale in the least amount of time. To request a copy for a friend, simply email me by clicking here.

Watch out for these seven mistakes that could cost you big time:

1. Not having an emergency fund. Keep at least three months’ worth of your expenses in an account so you’re not using credit cards to pay for unexpected events, such as a job loss or medical expense.

1. Not having a budget. Take your income minus your fixed expenses, and the difference is what you can spend each month. Track your spending using tools like www.mint.com.

1. Not saving for retirement. Be sure to take advantage of your employer’s retirement savings plan, and open your own retirement savings account.

1. Not paying bills on time. Late payments affect your credit score. Sign up for a free service such as www.manilla.com, which lets you organize your bills in one place and sends you bill pay reminders.

1. Not planning for your children’s education. Consider investing in a 529 education savings plan or look at a program such as www.Upromise.com, which lets you save money for college by purchasing from major online retailers. Also, research scholarship opportunities for your student at www.fastweb.com.

1. Not monitoring your credit history. Get a free credit report every year from the three credit reporting companies by going to www.annualcreditreport.com. Check it for accuracy to ensure you’re not a victim of ID theft or fraud.

1. Not paying down credit card debt before everything else. If your credit card interest is 20% and your mortgage interest is 5%, pay off the credit card debt to avoid paying more in interest over the long term. To learn how long it will take to pay off your credit card, use the www.bankrate.com under “credit card”.

Sometimes you can just do-it-yourself. Here are three simple home repairs almost anyone can do:

Caulking. Save energy costs by using caulk to seal air and water leaks. Use 100% silicone caulk (available at a hardware store), because it’s waterproof and shrink-resistant. Remove old caulk with a razor blade, outline the area with masking tape, and use a caulk gun to apply new caulk. Smooth it with your finger and remove the tape.

Cleaning grout. If you’re tired of scrubbing, buy a grout color restorer at Home Depot or Lowes. Stone Care International’s Grout Ink, for example, comes in white, earth tone, or gray for about $8 a tube. Clean the surface, apply a coat and let dry. Do a second coat.

Fixing squeaky doors. Shut the door and pull out the center pin from one hinge. Clean the pin with a scrubbing pad and coat it with petroleum jelly. Put the pin back in and open and close the door a few times. Repeat with other hinges if necessary.

Great Travel-Planning Websites . . .

• www.tripit.com – Create a detailed itinerary of car rentals, restaurants & hotels, and even keep up with the weather.

• www.lonelyplanet.com – Follow the discussions of those who have just come back from your travel destinations.

• www.plnnr.com – Create free automatic travel itineraries for major cities in the U.S. and Europe.

What To Do If Your E-mail Is Hacked . . .

If your friends and family say they got a spam message from you, your email may have been hacked. Try these fixes:

• Change your e-mail account password. Use phrases, upper/lower case letters, numbers, and symbols. Don’t use your birthday!

• E-mail your contacts immediately. Tell them your account was hacked and they shouldn’t open your e-mails containing suspicious links or requests for money.

• Check your security levels. Firewalls usually block hackers. Do an anti-virus update and run a scan on your system.

• Don’t click on anything in suspicious e-mails. That’s probably how your e-mail got hacked in the first place.

Remember These Classic Candies? . . .

• Bit-O-Honey — Honey-flavored taffy guaranteed to remove your fillings.

• Bubble-gum cigars & cigarettes — Yes, they sold these to kids!

• Little Wax Bottles filled with a sugary liquid — you can still find them out there!

• Clark’s Teaberry Gum — It even had its own song called The Teaberry Shuffle.

Have A Laugh . . .