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Man caves and she sheds have been hot trends for years, but one of the best things to do with an extra room is to create a special place the whole family can enjoy. This is especially true as kids spend more and more time on their phones, and lets face it, kids arent the only ones who are addicted to their screens.

Creating a gadget- and TV-free room results in a space where family members talk and interact together. Here are some tips to create this special room:

Decorate with comfort: This isnt a fancy room, so pick furniture thats comfortable and fun. A nice couch and bean bag chairs are a good start. Make sure the room is well lit and has lots of shelves. Hang up fun posters and family photos.

Add reading material: A spare room is a great place to encourage reading. Get a bookshelf and start with picture books and chapter books for the youngest members of your family. Set aside a time where you read to your kids and make it special by including cookies or a healthy snack. Also add graphic novels and young adult books for older kids.

Set the scene with music: The idea is to keep gadgets out of this room, so that includes music streaming, too. You probably have a box of CDs somewhere, so put them to use by buying a CD player. And vinyl records are growing in popularity, even with young people. Buying a turntable isnt just hip, it creates opportunities for the family to buy records together, either online or at a record shop, if theres one near you.

Games and puzzles: If your family doesnt play board games, you might be surprised at how much fun they are. Set up a table for games, and find options for people of all ages ” Candy Land and Chutes and Ladders for little kids, Monopoly, Clue, Life, and Sorry! for the whole family. Aside from those classics, there are all sorts of fun games to try like Ticket to Ride, where players establish railroad lines across the board, Wingspan, a hot new game thats easy to learn, and Sherriff of Nottingham, a fun social game with lots of bluffing. Puzzles are another great option for fun family time, especially since you can find puzzles for people of all ages in all sorts of themes.

Bottom line, the family that plays together, stays together.

Published with permission from RISMedia.

Your family and guests will probably spend a lot of time in the living room, so you want to create a space thats warm, inviting and functional. The furniture you choose will depend on how you plan to utilize the room and the feelings you want to evoke. Some general guidelines can help you make the right choices for your home.

How Will You Use Your Living Room?
When choosing furniture, think about how your family and guests will use it and what kinds of conditions are typical in your home. If you like to entertain large groups of people, make sure you have plenty of seating. Choose a sofa and loveseat or a sectional based on the size and layout of the room. Dont choose a hard-to-clean fabric for your couch if you have young kids who frequently spill things or pets that like to sleep on the furniture.

Where Do You Want People to Focus Their Attention?
Choose a focal point and then plan the rest of the living room decor based on that. If you want peoples eyes to be drawn to a fireplace or picture window, choose furniture that can be arranged around it. If you want a couch or a colorful rug to be the focus, figure out which other pieces you can use to complement it.

Whats Your Style?
Decide whether you want a traditional, modern or minimalist vibe. Choose colors thatll work together to create the atmosphere you want. If you include some bright colors, balance them out with neutrals. Feel free to mix and match patterns. Itll work if theres at least one common color tying everything together.

Which Furniture Should You Choose?
Start with the essentials, such as a sofa, loveseat or armchairs, coffee table, and end tables. Then choose accent pieces, such as lamps, ottomans and bookcases. Invest in quality furniture thatll last a long time.

Think about where youll store books, DVDs, video games, toys, and other things that you plan to keep in your living room or that may wind up there. Tables and ottomans with built-in storage can help you keep the room organized and allow you to tidy up quickly if guests drop by unexpectedly.

How Should You Lay out the Room?
Measure the living room and the furniture, and experiment with floor plans on paper so you can try different arrangements without having to move heavy furniture around several times. Avoid having too much empty space, but dont fill the room with so much furniture that it looks and feels cramped.

Design Your Ideal Living Space
The living room is the heart of your home. Make it comfortable, attractive and functional based on the way your family will use it and the styles you prefer. Look at magazines and websites and visit some furniture stores to explore a wide range of ideas and choose the ones that are best for your lifestyle.

Published with permission from RISMedia.

Pests can really detract from your enjoyment of your home. And if you have pets or kids, you might not want to treat them with traditional methods”aka poisons that can be harmful, not only to the critters youre trying to eliminate, but also to your loved ones. Here are a few ways to say goodbye to ants, mice and more in your home in a safe way. The best part? You might have everything you need in your pantry already.

Ants

• Use vinegar: Ants hate this pungent smell, so spraying it where they are entering your house, or in the areas where you see them, will get them to avoid the area in the future.
• Try citrus: On a similar note, ants arent big fans of citrus, so saving your peels from oranges and grapefruits, and leaving them near entry points, can deter ants. This also works well with citrus essential oils.
• Outline your domain in chalk: Draw a line in the proverbial sand with ants! They dont like to cross chalk, so if you outline where you want them to stay (aka outside your home), they just might heed the warning. This also works well with used coffee grounds.
• Mix borax or baking soda with sugar: Mix equal parts of these with powdered sugar and make a mini trap out of a lid or plate (keep out of reach of pets and kids). The ants will be attracted to the sugar, eat the borax and baking soda (which is fatal to them) and bring it back to their colony so they can ingest it, too.

Rodents

• Seal up food: All your food (from the dry goods in the pantry to the dog food) should be properly sealed”this obvious but important step can make your home a lot less appealing for a hungry mouse.
• Restrict access: Tools like caulk or steel wool, poked into cracks or holes in your home, can keep rodents out”another early step that is essential yet often overlooked.
• Stink them out: Like ants, mice have sensitive noses and dislike oil scented with peppermint, cayenne, and cloves (which, incidentally, will make your home smell lovely!). Soak cotton balls with the essential oils and stick them where mice (used to) like to hang out.
• Try a humane trap: There are several good types of humane traps on the market. Some literally trap the unwelcome visitor. The downside is that you have to check the trap and get up close and personal when you release it. If you forget to check it, the mouse can die because of lack of food. There are also repeller devices that work by sending out sound waves.

Still have a problem? Consult an expert. A good pest control company should be able to help you win your war against bugs or rodents”sans dangerous chemicals.

Published with permission from RISMedia.

Most Americans need a car to travel to and from work, run errands and take their kids to after-school activities. People also need a place to live. If you want to purchase a house in the near future, splurging on a brand-new vehicle could make it difficult or impossible to qualify for a large enough mortgage to buy the home you want.

How a New Car Loan Could Affect Your Ability to Get a Mortgage
When you apply for a mortgage, a lender will consider your debt-to-income (DTI) ratio, which is the total cost of car, student and other loans, as well as credit card bills and other debts. Most lenders dont want a borrower to have a DTI ratio above 35 percent of gross income. If you buy a new car with a high monthly payment and have other debt, your DTI ratio might be too high to qualify for a mortgage, or a lender might approve you for an amount thats too low to buy a house in your area, unless you come up with a huge down payment.

To qualify for a mortgage at a low interest rate, youll need your credit to be in the best shape it can be. A new car loan would lower your credit score temporarily because of a hard inquiry when the lender checked your credit report, as well as the increased debt load. Making auto loan payments on time each month could raise your score, but that could be a long process.

Consider a Used Car
If your car is on its last legs and you need to replace it, consider purchasing a used vehicle. Since cars depreciate quickly, a car thats one or two years old would cost significantly less than a new one, but it would likely have low miles, be in excellent condition and still be covered by a warranty. You could get a reliable vehicle with a much lower payment than you would with a new one, and you would pay less for car insurance. Your debt-to-income ratio would be lower than it would be if you bought a new car, and youd be able to qualify for a bigger mortgage and buy the house you wanted.

Prioritize Large Purchases
If you want to replace your car and buy a home, youd be better off focusing on a house first. Since a home is probably the largest purchase youll ever make, you want to be sure that your credit score is as high as possible and that a lender will be confident in your ability to pay a mortgage. If you cant put off replacing your vehicle, buy one used to keep your debt obligations down so you can qualify for a mortgage to purchase your dream home.

This article is intended for informational purposes only and should not be construed as professional or legal advice.

Published with permission from RISMedia.

When a lender processes your mortgage application, one of the most important factors itll consider is your debt-to-income ratio. If your ratio is too high, you may get approved for a mortgage with a high interest rate, which could add tens of thousands of dollars to your payments over the term of the loan”or your application may be denied, even if you have a good credit score and a steady job with a substantial income.

What Is Debt-to-Income Ratio?
DTI is calculated by adding up monthly debts and dividing by gross monthly income to arrive at a percentage. Some lenders factor in utilities, food, health insurance, transportation and other costs, while others dont. Most dont factor in student or car loans if theyre almost paid off.

Lenders generally want a borrower to have a debt-to-income ratio of 36 percent or below. They use an applicants DTI to figure out whether to approve a mortgage application, how much an individual can afford in mortgage payments and what interest rate to offer.

What to Do If Your DTI Is Too High
If your DTI ratio is above a lenders guidelines, you should focus on lowering it before you apply for a mortgage. If you have a lot of debt, work on paying it down and avoid making large purchases with credit cards before you apply for a mortgage. You might also want to ask your boss for a raise or take on a second job or a part-time gig to earn extra money to put toward debt.

Dont Automatically Borrow the Amount a Lender Approves
If a lender doesnt consider all monthly expenses, it may approve a borrower for a larger mortgage than the person can reasonably afford. If your lender didnt factor in all your expenses when calculating your DTI, you shouldnt borrow the full amount the lender will allow because doing so could leave you unable to afford all your bills.

DTI is based on gross income. Depending on your income, where you live, your tax bracket and other circumstances, your actual disposable income may not be enough to cover all your bills if your lender approves you for a large mortgage.

Focus on Your DTI
Your DTI ratio is a key factor that a lender will use when assessing your mortgage application. If its high, work on lowering it and getting yourself on solid financial footing before you apply for a mortgage. If a lender approves your loan application, be sure to look at your after-tax income and all your debts and expenses to figure out how much you can afford so you dont take on a larger mortgage than you can repay.

This article is intended for informational purposes only and should not be construed as professional or legal advice.

Published with permission from RISMedia.