Uncategorized

In your home or in your vacation cabin, a handsome stone hearth is often the gathering
place for comfy family evenings. But accumulations of dirt, soot and ash can make your
fireplace less efficient and ruin the lovely patina of natural stone.

You can help maintain its beauty and safety with this once-yearly facelift routine:

Clean the firebox. At least 12 hours after extinguishing the last fire, or preferably
before lighting the first fire of the year, lay drop cloths around the fireplace area to
protect against airborne particles. Put on gloves and a dust mask and use a small
shovel to scoop any remaining ash from the firebox. Place the ashes in a metal
container with a tight-fitting lid and store it outside, away from flammable materials,
until youre ready to discard it. Run a small vacuum cleaner in and around the firebox
and surrounding area.

Scrub the stone. Dilute a quarter cup of dish soap with hot water in a bucket and
use a small scrub brush dipped in the solution to clean the stone surface from
top to bottom. You may be surprised at how much trapped dirt and grit you can scrub out.

Gauge the need for deeper cleaning. If the fireplace has not been used for a long
time, you may find that soapy water is not enough to remove old smoke stains. In that
case, dissolve a half-cup of TSP cleaning powder in three-quarts of hot water and try again
with a stiff brush. TSP is both a de-greaser and a heavy-duty cleaner, making it more
effective than soap alone for eliminating stubborn stains and creosote.

Rinse it down. Empty the soapy water and refill the bucket with cold water. Use a
clean rag to make one or two passes over the entire stone surface, wiping away any
soap suds and loosened dirt. Go over it again with a dry rag, then let the surface air-
dry before lighting a fire.

Published with permission from RISMedia.

How medical debt and other collection items are tallied in a credit score is changing, potentially increasing the credit scores of millions of people.

Called the FICO 9, the new credit score changes how medical collections are treated from non-medical changes, such as credit cards. A medical debt will now damage a credit score less than paying a credit card bill on time, for example.

FICO 9 came out in 2014, but the improved credit scores could just now be coming to fruition for many consumers because it can take a few years for banks and other lenders to implement the new system.

The new FICO 9 score should give responsible borrowers better access to credit and lower rates on existing credit once the changes are accepted by the industry.

Part of the thinking behind the changes is that for many people facing medical debt collections, it isnt something they have a lot of control over. People get sick or are in an accident and cant control how high their medical bills are, and may not even know that their medical debt is in collections.

More than 64 million Americans have some kind of medical collection record on their credit reports, according to Experian, a credit bureau. Almost all medical debts are reported to credit bureaus by collection agencies.

The FICO score is the most widely used credit score in the country, and is used by companies selling mortgages, credit cards, personal loans and more.

Another change with FICO 9 is that older collection items will have less impact on a credit score. Other types of debt that are sold to a collection agency”such as an unpaid utility bill or phone bill, school loan or rent”can still be reported to a credit bureau, but older collections will have less impact on a credit score. If the collection item is paid back, the score will improve.

I hope you found this real estate information helpful. Please contact me for all your real estate needs today!

Published with permission from RISMedia.

Raising your kids to be adults who can successfully navigate through life is the end goal of parenting, and a big part of that responsibility centers around teaching them about money so that they’re financially independent as they transition from childhood to adulthood.

Here are some of the best money skills to teach your children:

Explain that everything costs money. This basic concept is one that some people forget. Everything you buy costs money, whether you pay for it now with cash or later with a credit card or loan.

Thirty-eight percent of U.S. households had revolving credit card debt in 2018, according to the National Foundation for Credit Counseling. Revolving credit is debt that’s moved from month to month and paid off over time with interest and possibly even late fees. This is in direct opposition to credit card users who pay off their purchases each month and avoid interest charges.

Take your children shopping with you”for groceries, clothes, furniture and everything else”and show them that things cost money.

Teach them to save. A clear jar for spare change can be a simple way to show children how to save money as they can physically see the money increase daily.

When they get money for birthdays or earn an allowance, open a savings account in their name and show them how to deposit money in it regularly. If they’re old enough to understand it, teach them how compound interest works and how regular deposits and interest paid on their account can increase their savings.

You don’t have to go over the numbers with them but explain how you save money each month for retirement, emergency expenses, vacations and other long-term goals.

Give them the opportunity to work for an allowance. Set up an allowance”usually equal to their age”for weekly chores. This will help show children that they can get paid for working, then use that money to buy things or save for something later.

If you don’t think an allowance is a good way to get your child to do chores, take the time to explain the importance of everyone contributing to how the house is taken care of and how important it is that everyone work together to get chores done.

Teaching them some responsibility, whether with an allowance or not, can help them learn skills they will undoubtedly need as adults.

Show them the importance of a sound budget. If you don’t have a household budget, having kids may be a good incentive to start one. You can show them your monthly expenses, as well as income, and explain how both should be equal to make your finances work well.

Make sure your children understand that not having a sound budget that can be adhered to may cause them to go into debt in order to pay some bills, or having to cut costs because they can’t afford everything they want. If you don’t want to show your children your income, at least explain how your bills work.

Published with permission from RISMedia.

A credit card’s mobile app can give you immediate access to your account, making it easier to track purchases, make payments, review monthly statements, report a lost card and view rewards, among other things.

But not all mobile apps are the same, and knowing what’s available can make it easier to choose a credit card and find the features you want in an app. Of course, that’s after you’ve found the card with the best interest rate and rewards you want.

A 2018 satisfaction study by J.D. Power ranked the best apps on five factors: ease of navigation, appearance, clarity of information, range of services and availability of key information. Here are the top five credit card apps based on the results:

American Express
This was the only app to receive a rating of five out of five. The American Express mobile app allows users to track transactions, check monthly statements, redeem rewards and explore card benefits. Fraud notifications can also be set.

Chase
This app rated three out of five in J.D. Power’s satisfaction survey. It can be used to review and pay Chase credit card bills, access rewards information and set up notifications. The app also allows you to view your VantageScore credit score, as well as secure messages from Chase’s customer service team.

Citi
Citi also scored three out of five, with an app that allows users to view a summary of their main account information before signing in. Your credit card can be locked if your card is lost or stolen, and you can request a replacement card through the app, as well. You can also view transactions and pay your bill, as most other credit card apps allow. Citi also allows users to dispute unauthorized transactions, view and redeem rewards, and check their FICO credit score.

Bank of America
Allowing common services such as paying your credit card bill, viewing transactions, accessing your FICO score, getting account alerts and redeeming rewards, the Bank of America app scored a three out of five.

Capital One
This app received a rating of four out of five. Along with allowing users to review transactions and statements, view and redeem rewards, pay their credit card bill, and set up purchase notifications, the Capital One app has two top features that users say they want: the ability to instantly lock a card if it’s lost or stolen, as well as the ability to unlock the card and continue using it if it’s found.

Capital One also allows users to sign in using a pattern traced with a finger instead of typing in a password. Additionally, the app provides access to the company’s credit monitoring service and VantageScore credit score.

Published with permission from RISMedia.