Category Archives: Health

Setting reasonable, small financial goals will add up to an optimistic new year.

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What do you want to do in 2012? Lose 100 pounds, win the $43 million lottery, chuck it all, buy an RV and wander around the country?

All interesting goals, but most likely not attainable, and bound for failure. Frankly, we’d rather succeed with small goals that add up to big changes. Here are some financial tips that will help you be more comfortable in the new year.

Be realistic and set goals. You may have your eye on that $800,000 home, but is that realistic for you and your finances? Sit yourself down and analyze your past year’s financial health, then estimate you’re monetary health for the next year. This is a good exercise even if you are not considering buying property soon. Always keep tabs on yourself and your family so there will be no surprises.

Start small. Every day when our friend comes home, she empties her extra change in a beautiful handmade pot. In three months, she took $90 to the bank. Small change, yes. But she would have frittered that money away on stuff she wouldn’t remember two days later. Promise yourself to save $2,000 in the new year. Just to make sure, set up a direct deposit to your savings account. We know interest rates are next to nothing, but at least the money will be there at the end of the year.

Don’t waste money on quick hits. Stopping at the chain coffee shop every morning can add up. A basic cup of coffee at $2.15 three times a week sets you back $6.45. If you go three times a week for 45 weeks, that’s $290.25 per year. Instead, purchase a good coffee pot for around $80, set it for brew in the morning and fill up your reusable coffee mug for the ride to work. Treat yourself every once in a while at one of our wonderful coffee shops and keep your money in our community with a small businessperson.

The credit dilemma, plus credit cards. Credit is essential in our society, especially if you want to purchase property. You want good credit so you can get lower interest rates. At the beginning of every year, check your credit score with one of the three credit reporting agencies at AnnualCreditReport.com for free. Address any issues you feel are incorrect.

In order to get credit, you have to have credit. What a conundrum! Keep an eye on your credit cards, pay off every month if possible, but keep charging too. If you mothball your credit cards the company may consider your account inactive, which won’t help you when it’s time to look for a mortgage. Do charge, but use restraint.

Your goal for the next 12 months is to accomplish simple, reasonable resolutions you are optimistic about your financial health and all the possibilities that offers.

A home energy audit will save you money this winter. Energy saving incentives are still available.

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We’re headed into fall and hopefully we’ve seen the last of the 100 degree plus weather. However, considering how extreme our weather has been the past couple of years, we may have winter challenges to face in a few months.

As we settle into cooler temperatures, give some thought to being prepared with a home energy audit. Utility bills are increasing at an alarming rate; you can do your part to reduce your energy requirements.

First on the list is understanding your energy statements. These statements may seem rather boring, but they contain useful information (other than the bottom line of what you pay) to get your energy costs under control. Compare past years’ winter heating costs and look for wide variations of usage, month by month. This overview will give you an idea your financial outlay for this year’s energy use.

Check for air leaks and drafts, checklist and clipboard in hand. You’ll find leaks around ill-fitting doors and windows, gaps along baseboards and flooring, fireplaces and window mounted air conditioners. Some leaks, like window replacements, will have to be fixed by professionals, but you can purchase easy-to-use caulking kits to plug up leaks that will cost you a lot in energy bills.

Down in the basement, look at the insulation on your pipes and replace them if torn. Insulating pipes not only saves energy, but also helps prevent pipes freezing in the winter. Frozen pipes will drastically reduce your water flow and is costly to repair after the incident.

Heading up to the attic, check your insulation level and look for vapor barriers, which could include such material as tarpaper, Kraft paper or plastic sheeting. A vapor barrier reduces moisture and helps the insulation to work better. In older homes insulation was installed at the then current recommended amount. Because of higher energy usage now, you should consider increasing the amount of insulation.

There are many every day energy fixes, such as using compact fluorescent bulbs, turning off lights when you leave a room, fixing drippy faucets and unplugging appliances when you aren’t using them. These every day fixes will help lower your utility bills in addition to your yearly energy audit fixes.

For more information on how to do an energy audit, and additional energy saving tips, request or download an energy savers booklet at the U. S. Department of Energy website.

Federal and state energy incentives are also available. Check them out here.

Pet Cleaning

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Pets are great, but not when they decide your carpet is their bathroom.

We love our pets. According to the American Pet Products Manufacturers Association, 63 percent of American households have at least one pet and we spend more than $41 billion a year on our furry friends. Pets give unqualified love, reduce anxiety, depression and blood pressure, teach our children responsibility, increase exercise and even get us dates at the dog park.

And then it happens. Your pet decides your carpet is the perfect place to use as a bathroom. Pet stains can be extremely hard to remove from carpet. Not only does the urine wet the carpet, it seeps down into the backing, the pad and the sub flooring.

Cleaning the spot as soon as possible is imperative, especially with cats. The longer the urine stays in the carpet, the higher the chance there will be a repeat performance.

Because of the urine potency, you’ll want to call my friend Jeff with The Clean Carpet Company, especially when you discover old stains. Their dry extraction system is the best method to eliminate spots and odors. They can also address liquid on the backing and pad where the real problem lies.

Here are some immediate steps to take before they arrive. Using paper towels, blot up as much urine as you can, repeating the process until the towels no longer absorb it. Don’t rub the spot. Gentle blotting is the way to go.

Next, take additional paper towels and place them on the spot and cover them with a plastic bag or some other plastic covering. On top of the plastic and paper towels, place a large book or other heavy object and let it sit. This will help draw up any remaining liquid still in the carpet. The Clean Carpet Company can take care of the rest. Call them at 636-614-0173 if you have any questions on pet stains or any other spots.

Turn a Potentially Sick Home Into a Healthy One

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Americans spend 90 percent of their time indoors, making healthy living a challenge.

We’ve really taken a hit this winter and Missouri weather, being what it is–unpredictable–most likely the snow and ice will stick around for a while. This means more time than usual cooped up indoors, at home, at the office, at the mall, restaurants, anywhere to keep warm.

According to the National Safety Council, Americans spend about 90 percent of their time indoors, and 65 percent of that time at home. We’re willing to bet that percentage is much higher now. In which case, indoor air is going to impact our health far more than outdoor air.

Being stuck indoors for long periods of time isn’t a healthy, both mentally and physically, especially if the air quality is unhealthy. Here are a few ideas to consider now and when spring project time rolls around to avoid sick house syndrome.

Bring the green in. Plants are natural air filters. They exchange oxygen and carbon dioxide, cleaning the air fulltime. Recommended plants include the peace lily, English ivy, mums, gerbera daisies and Chinese evergreens. For rooms that have just been painted, work in a philodendron, a spider plant or a snake plant. Not only will plants help with air quality, they are emotionally soothing and promote a sense of wellbeing. We can use some of that around here lately.

Vacuuming a carpet does remove surface dirt and grim, but your vacuum also spews a fine mist of particulate. Use a vacuum with HEPA filters to avoid that problem and help make your home healthy.

Pillows should be replaced every six months. Dust mites love to snuggle down in your favorite pillows, but they do you no favor. Also, bedding should be washed every week in hot water. Bring a green plant into your bedroom and that’s a perfect recipe for a good night’s sleep–new pillows, clean sheets and soothing plants.

On a larger scale there are lots of projects that will help you avoid sick home syndrome, such as high efficiency furnaces that have built-in filters, waterproofing the basement, sealing all gaps around windows and doors, and removing paints, solvents, pesticides and fertilizers from inside storage.

If you are going to spend a lot of time indoors this winter, why not make it a healthier experience and tackle that sick home syndrome?