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Some days, keeping a smile on your face can be a struggle. Whether youre dealing with a stressful career, medical issues or just feeling weighed down by your daily routine, repeating positive mantras can help shift your mood”if youre open to it.

Below are four helpful happy mantras to lift your mood.

You can do it. Whether youre under a huge deadline for work or trying to finish that last mile on the treadmill, telling yourself that you can do it will make your success more likely. Be your own cheerleader!

Just breathe. Feeling overwhelmed? Remind yourself to breathe. Pair this mantra with big, deep inhalations to feel calmer and happier.

Thank you. Gratitude goes a long way, and can shift your perception of things (and the way people perceive you) if integrated into daily life. Be thankful for getting to work safely, even if you had a longer-than-usual commute. Be thankful you have the funds to buy groceries, even when your list of errands seems endless. Thank you, thank you, thank you.

No judgements. This is easier said than done, especially in a world where other peoples lives are constantly popping into our news feeds. Annoyed at your co-workers cheesy engagement photos? Irritated that your college roommate seems to be traveling constantly, when you cant even afford a staycation? Remind yourself to pay attention to your own life, and dont judge or envy others for their choices.

Published with permission from RISMedia.

Starting college is full of all kinds of new experiences. Students are left on their own for probably the first time in their lives, and it can be daunting.

Using a credit card can be one of those “firsts,” and parents can help by explaining how credit cards work and instilling good financial habits in them. Here are some credit card habits students should learn before they get to college:

Have a Job
To get a credit card in their name, students will often have to have a job and a credit history. Both of those may be hard to establish; some credit card issuers will only require an income. Either way, it’s important to have an income for the basic reason that they’ll need money to pay for what they buy with credit.

If not, and they still want a credit card, they can either be added to your credit card as an authorized user or apply for a secured credit card where they put down a deposit and can only charge up to that amount.

Track Spending
Students should keep a written total of everything they’ve bought with a credit card during each payment period. Credit card statements, as well as apps, will ultimately do this for them, but keeping a written record of every expense will let them know exactly where their money is going and can help them check the statement for errors. It can also help with budgeting.

Pay Off the Balance
To avoid fees and interest charges, pay the credit card balance in full each month. On-time payments will build a credit score, which will help them get the best rates on auto and home loans later in life, among other things.

Don’t Chase Rewards
Travel rewards, cash back and other credit card benefits can seem like a gift with their first credit card. They’re not. Tell your kids that they can be incentives to spend and should be seen as a reward for using their credit card wisely for what they’d buy anyway. Buying something just so they can reach a rewards level can lead to debt.

Published with permission from RISMedia.

Smart home technology is advancing beyond telling your phone or internet-enabled device to play music and look up sports scores.

Smart thermostats, lightbulbs, plugs, locks and doorbells are available to homeowners, and the list of things technology can connect to within a home is growing every year.

Here are some smart devices you may want to consider integrating into your home:

Thermostat
With a variety of options to choose from, one of the most popular smart thermostats among today’s homeowners is the Nest Learning Thermostat, which is owned by Google.

The Nest thermostat uses an algorithm to adapt to your preferences, as well as when you leave and arrive home. When you’re away at work, it uses your phone’s location to determine that you’ve left and enters eco mode to save money and energy, reducing bills by up to 15 percent, according to the company.

Floodlight
The Sengled Smart LED Floodlight is an inexpensive way to monitor your home as a motion sensor, while providing light without having to turn the light switch on and off.

Unlike some motion detector lights that require installing new fixtures and possibly wiring, the Sengled Smart LED bulb connects to existing fixtures. Built-in motion and daylight sensors turn the light on automatically for 90 seconds when motion is detected within 30 feet. The light can also be controlled through voice control on Alexa or Google Assistant.

With the Sengled app, you can even receive mobile notifications when motion is sensed.

Smart Lock
The August Smart Lock Pro + Connect attaches to the existing deadbolt and features keyless access. With your phone in your pocket, you can open the door without fumbling for your keys. It automatically locks the door behind you after you leave.

The lock can also be voice activated through Siri, Amazon Alexa or Google Assistant.

Smart Doorbell
Want to see who’s ringing the doorbell? With continuous streaming and video recording, the Nest Hello gives you a 160-degree view and visitor detection alerts. It also has a speaker and microphone so that you can communicate with visitors knocking on your front door whether you’re inside the house”or away from home.

Published with permission from RISMedia.

Leasing can be a smart way to test out a car for a few years without buying it. A lease can give you all of the latest technology and some time to determine if you like the car enough to buy it.

If you want to buy it before the lease expires, read the terms of the lease agreement to see if an early buyout costs extra, typically charged in finance fees. It may be worthwhile to wait until the lease ends.

To make sure you’re getting a good deal, research the different ways the car is valued. The first is retail value, which is how much you’d pay to buy it from a dealer. The second is wholesale value, or how much the car would cost at auction. Pricing is available at various websites such as Kelley Blue Book and Edmunds. Be sure to compare the same make, model and mileage.

Compare these numbers with the residual value”that’s an estimate of the car’s value at the end of the lease and will be stated in the lease agreement. A purchase-option fee may be added. Your research will help you compare your car’s value to the residual value to see if it’s close to what you’ve estimated it to be.

Don’t contact the leasing company first if you’re thinking of buying. They’ll come to you, usually 90 days before the lease expires. If they already know you’re interested in buying, you lose an advantage when negotiating.

Start the negotiations by finding financing elsewhere, since that is where the leasing company is likely to start as a way to make more money off you. Check with your bank and other lenders for lease-buyout loans.

Some leasing companies may have a policy against negotiating a buyout price, but it doesn’t hurt to ask. Request that they waive the purchase-option fee and offer financing discounts and other incentives to buy.

Remember that you have some leverage when offering to buy a leased car. You can walk away and find another car, leaving the leasing company the work of finding another buyer for the car when they already have a ready and willing buyer in front of them. Remind them of this opportunity and how much higher their price is than what you’ve found elsewhere, and you hopefully can move them toward a deal.

Published with permission from RISMedia.