Space out your purchases

Many first-time home buyers are coming into home-ownership without all the things they need to fill their new home. Many new homeowners feel the pressure to buy everything at once. It is important to focus on the most necessary items first.

According to a study from the National Association of Home Builders, furnishings represent a substantial investment, with home buyers spending about $5,300 on furnishings during the first year after buying a home. Space out your home furnishing purchases and focus on the most necessary pieces first, such as a bed, living room sofa and dining room table.

Windows can also present a problem for new homeowners. Don’t feel pressured to choose window treatments for every window all at once. Make a priority list starting with the areas where privacy is a must and go from there.

You will also need to prioritize appliances. You may want to rush out and buy that huge flat screen TV but consider what other appliances need to take priority, such as a refrigerator, stove, or washer/dryer.

New Responsibilities

A new home comes with new responsibilities. This may be the first time you have to take care of a yard. Don’t go crazy, invest in a few key garden tools, such as hedge trimmers, a sprinkler, and a lawn mower. No need to invest big money in expensive landscaping services at first. Just focus on keeping your yard uncluttered and neat.

Another new responsibility is home maintenance. There is no landlord to call when an issue arises. You will want to make sure you are equipped to handle minor issues on your own. Many home improvement stores have tool sets you can purchase, but make sure it includes a hammer, screw drivers, pliers, wrenches, a tape measure and a staple gun.

This is a Townhouse style home and features 5 total rooms, 2 full baths, 1 half bath, 2 bedrooms, and is currently available for $319,000.

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1. Get vaccinated. Vaccination is the first step to flu prevention. In general, all healthy people should get vaccinated. The CDC now recommends that, in addition to other high risk groups, all healthy children get a flu vaccination. Find a local vaccination center here.

2. Wash your hands. Cold and flu viruses may be spread by indirect contact. Maybe someone sneezes onto their hand and then touches a doorknob, only to have the virus picked up by the next person who also touches it. Washing your hands is the best way to prevent getting sick.

3. Do the elbow cough. Since viruses cling to your bare hands, you can reduce the spread of viruses by perfecting the art of the elbow cough. When you cough, simply cover your face with your entire elbow. It’s also an easy technique to teach kids.

4. Disinfect common surfaces. Viruses that cause colds and flu can survive on common surfaces for up to 72 hours. Use disinfecting products on phone receivers, doorknobs, light switches, and remote controls.

5. Drink Water. Water can help strengthen your immune system, keeping the flu at bay. And if you do get sick, water flushes your system, re-hydrates you and washes out the toxins. An adult should drink eight 8-ounce glasses of fluids each day. If the color of your urine is close to clear, then you are getting enough. If it’s deep yellow, drink more water.

*Source: www.webmd.com

For more information on the flu go to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention website.

Track your neighborhood values
Find out what homes similar to yours are selling for in your neighborhood so you will have a good idea what your home is worth.

Buyer or seller market
You need to judge whether it’s a sellers’ market or a buyers’ market in your neighborhood. Remember that all real estate is local. You will want to research things like interest rates, home inventory, job forecasts, and even time of year.

Research inventory
How many homes are for sale? If you live in a desirable neighborhood and there aren’t many homes for sale, you will have a clear edge here. However, if you see lots of homes on the market and they’re not selling very quickly, you might have to reduce the price you had in mind.

Know the average days on the market
Review the homes in your neighborhood and their days on market sometimes referred to as DOM. Look at trends for the past year and assess whether homes were appreciating or depreciating.

Monitor the job market
Is a big company relocating workers to your area? Or are they moving out and shutting the doors? The job market has a lot to do with the real estate market.

Attend nearby open houses
Observe how other properties are showing and compare them to your home. At an open house you can often feel the “mood” of potential buyers.

Get a professional opinion
A real estate professional will be able to help you gather all of the above information and come up with a CMA or comparable market analysis to determine the best price range for you home.

1. Create a Budget

You need to know where your money is going. Once you have established where you spend your money you will be able to find places to make cuts. The first thing to do is figure out how much is being spent on housing, utilities, groceries, debt, and entertainment. Once you know where the money is going you will be able to set limits for problem areas. This is the money that you will apply to secret #2.

2. Pay Yourself First

This is a huge secret, pay yourself first. Yes, before you dole out money for bills as soon as your paycheck hits your account; deposit a specified amount into savings. It doesn’t matter how small the amount is, at least you are saving.

Even better , create an automatic savings plan that will automatically deposit money into your savings account before you even have a chance to spend it. This can be done right through your employer’s direct deposit or with a recurring transfer with your bank.

3. Spend Less Than You Earn

If you don’t learn to obey this rule you will never be able to save money. You simply have to spend less money than you earn and there’s no way around that. If you are spending more than you earn you are borrowing money and thus putting yourself into debt.