How to Plan for Potential Disasters That Can Happen in Your Home

As a homeowner, you need to take full responsibility for whatever happens in your home. This means planning for any disasters that could occur. Without planning for disasters, you can end up with a home in an unlivable situation. Make sure you plan for these disasters.

Fires

Fires can scare homeowners a lot. Homeowners should be scared, as fires can end up quickly burning down your home before you have time to react. To prevent harm from fire, you'll have to take a couple of measures. First, make sure all of your fire detectors in your home are working. These make it so that you're alerted of any fire happening, allowing you to sleep and walk around your home without having to worry about a fire. You'll also want to make sure that you purchase a fire extinguisher for your home. With a fire extinguisher, you can take care of small fires around your home without having to wait for the fire department to come by. Make sure you take both of these measures to ensure that your house doesn't burn down from a fire.

Water

Whether it be from a regular storm in the summer or a hurricane, you need to worry about water getting in your home. To do this, get an inspection on your home to see if you have any spots where water could get in from the outside. Without doing this, your home can end up having mold through the walls, costing you a lot more money than if you just paid attention to your home more.

If you have water damage, you need to make sure that you take care of it soon as possible. That means going through a company like Servpro of Beaufort County to fix your water damage, assuring that you aren't racking up bills over time. Ensure that you prevent water from getting into your home if you want to prevent disasters.

By knowing how to take care of disasters, you can ensure that you have a home to live in for the rest of your life. Just make sure that all of your equipment is up-to-date all of the time, otherwise, that equipment could be useless in times of emergency. 

You'll also want to make sure that everyone living in your home knows how to stop disasters as they occur. This ensures that your home will be safe, regardless if you're home at the time or not.

How to Buy a House with Student Loans

For many college graduates, graduating with student debt is fairly common. However, this is a great time to start investing your money early, such as investing in a starter home. Buying a home with student loan debt is not impossible, but there are financial factors you should consider when applying for a mortgage.

Here are a few steps you should take that will improve your chances of qualifying for a home loan as a college student, even with loan debt. 

• Pay off as much debt as possible: The most important step to take when working to qualify for a mortgage is lowering your debt-to-income ratio. The earlier you can start paying off your student loan debt, the better. If you have another source of debt, such as a credit card bill, this is a good time to pay it off if you can.

• Improve your credit score: A healthy credit score is one of the more important factors lenders will look at when determining if you are qualified enough for a home loan. Be sure to make your student loan debt payments on time to avoid dragging down your credit score. Set a reminder on your phone or calendar to submit your payment even before the due date. 

• Increase your income: Increasing your income will help lower your DTI ratio and look better when lenders view your income history. Look for a new side hustle or two to bring additional income in, or ask for extra hours at your current job. 

If you aren’t too sure if post-graduation is the best time to invest in a new home, you can always start by renting a home first to get your feet wet in the homeowner’s pond. This can also be a good time to pay off as much student loan debt you can, and then start searching for your ideal home in your price range!

Guest Post - 9 Small Changes to Improve Your Daily Routine

Improving your daily routine is something many people find difficult. Between housework, a full-time job, and other responsibilities, there never seems to be enough time in the day. While everyone gets the same 24 hours in a day, some people are much more productive than others, thanks to their daily routines. 

Your daily routine doesn't have to be daunting, but it can improve how you use your time to make you more productive and fulfilled throughout the day. It does take some willpower, but with these small changes, you can improve your daily routine starting right now. 

1. Become More Efficient At Work

This one is easier said than done, especially if your work tasks are determined by someone else. However, if you're someone who struggles to determine which tasks should take priority and easily get distracted switching from task to task, you could benefit from becoming more organized to help you become more productive. You can use an online tool like Trello or a notebook to write down your work tasks for the day in order of priority and importance. 

You may also want to consider working on the tasks or projects that you want to do the least first. While it's never fun starting your day off with something you don't want to do, you can improve the rest of your day by getting the boring or irritating tasks out of the way. 

2. Stick to a Schedule

Whether you wake up at the same time every day or have a more flexible routine, it's important that you stick to the same schedule even when you have nowhere to go. Yes, even on weekends. For example:

• 8 am - Wake up (don’t snooze you alarm

• 8:15 am - Get ready for work (brush your teeth, wash your face, use your acne treatment or other skin care routine, and get dressed)

• 8:45 am - Leave for work

• 12 pm - Lunch

• 5 pm - Leave work 

• 5:30 pm - Go to the gym 

• 7:00 pm - Eat dinner 

• 10:00 pm - Get into bed (Note that maintaining a healthy sleep cycle can help you jumpstart your day and make you feel more awake.)

Your schedule might also include certain times when you don't use your electronics. For example, if you're working from 9-5, you may tell yourself not to check your texts unless it's an emergency so that you can focus on the tasks at hand. You may also want to stop using your cell phone before bed so that you can fall asleep easier. 

3. Get More Exercise 

Once you begin sticking to a schedule, making time for fitness will be easier as you get used to it. Set aside at least 30 minutes to one hour every single day to get in some exercise so that you can maintain your schedule and stay healthy. 

Simply put, physical exercise is good for you, but your workouts should be regular, if not daily. If you want to improve your mood and overall health, you should aim to exercise for 30 minutes to an hour every single day. 

4. Maintain Your Productivity

Whether you work in an office or at home, something as simple as a defined workspace can help you improve and maintain your productivity. Establish an area where you do your work and nothing else. Working from bed every day may trick you into thinking it's time to sleep, not time to work, which can negatively impact your overall productivity.

5. Eat Well

Just like exercise, food impacts your mood and overall feeling of wellness. A balanced diet can improve your brain function and memory, helping you remain productive throughout the day and elevating your mood. If you're someone who doesn't have time to eat breakfast every morning, try making a breakfast smoothie to jumpstart your day and provide you with an extra boost of energy and nutrients. 

6. Start Relaxing

We live in a fast-paced world, which may make you feel like you're constantly on the go. Taking a break to relax can help improve your daily routine by providing you with time for yourself. Whether you take an hour at lunch to eat a healthy meal or meditate, you won't regret it. Making time for yourself can help you feel refreshed so that you can get back to your day in a better mood. 

7. Reward Yourself

When you finish a big project or simply get through an especially stressful day, make sure to reward yourself. Rewarding yourself gives you something to always look forward to. You can even plan your rewards so that you know exactly what you need to do to achieve your goals. Your rewards don't have to be lavish; Instead, try treating yourself with a good meal or buying something small you’ve been wanting.

Make sure the rewards fit the achievements. If you finished a large project, you might want to reward yourself with a spa day during the weekend so that you can focus on yourself after working so hard for so long. 

8. Drink More Water

Most of us drink caffeinated beverages to help us get through the day. Whether it's starting your day with an espresso or using soda as a pick-me-up after lunch, we typically replace our water with caffeinated and dehydrating beverages. If you've ever experienced brain fog, you likely haven't had enough water, or you haven't been eating balanced meals. 

Drinking water in the morning before work, throughout the day, and at night can help you feel more awake and alert, no matter how busy you are. 

9. Learn How To Multitask

By multitasking, we don't mean that you have to take care of three children while working a full-time job and cleaning your house. Instead, learn which tasks that you can do all at once so that you can save yourself some time. 

Multitasking doesn't have to be complicated; Start with simple tasks throughout the day until you get the hang of it. For example, you can eat breakfast at your desk while reading your emails every morning. The more often you multitask, the better you'll get at it, allowing you to save more time throughout the day. 

Final Thoughts

Your daily routine should lift you up so that you wake up feeling refreshed and can keep a positive attitude all day long. There’s no standard daily routine that works for everyone, but you can craft one that works for your circumstances. No matter what your daily routine, make sure that you stick with a schedule and make healthy choices morning, noon, and night. Once you get into the swing of it, you’ll see just how worthwhile the commitment is!

Matt Casadona

Matt Casadona has a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration, with a concentration in Marketing and a minor in Psychology. He is currently a contributing editor for 365 Business Tips. Matt is passionate about marketing and business strategy and enjoys the San Diego life, traveling and music. 

Tips for Home Improvements That Will Make Your House More Marketable

The real estate market is competitive. Millions of homes hit the market every year, and on top of that, new properties are constantly being built. When you’re selling a house, you want to take every step to beat the competition. Before you list your house, check out the following home improvement steps to enhance its appeal. 

Upgrade Your Kitchen

There are two rooms in the house considered most important to buyers: the kitchen and the master bathroom. Make these your priority. Easy fixes for the kitchen include replacing old appliances, installing new cabinets, and revamping the countertops. Since countertops take up a large amount of the surface area in the room, modifying them can enhance its aesthetic appeal. According to Realtor.com, possible materials include granite, laminate, and marble. Quartz is a popular option; it's nonporous, making it very resistant to stains, and can be easily cleaned with mild dish soap and water. 

Add Luxury to the Bathroom

The master bathroom is the second most important room of the house when it comes to winning over buyers. Adding a feeling of luxury to this space can be a great selling point. You don't have to tear apart the entire room — small touches will do! For example, fresh tiles can quickly spruce up the space. Other tricks include letting in more natural light, switching to a barrier-free shower to create more room, and adding stone elements (for instance, with a stylish stone sink). Finally, once any improvements are complete, the staging of this bathroom can make a difference. Add a lavender bouquet to the counter, put a basket of pretty soaps in place, and hang some fluffy white towels to give the feeling of a luxury hotel.

Declutter and Deep Clean the Entire Home

Every room in the house should be decluttered before you show the property to buyers. Messy homes have been shown to cause feelings of stress, which is not the emotion you want to create. Additionally, removing clutter can help make rooms look more spacious.

To keep your items safe and the house tidy, put objects into storage while you are showing the home. A temporary storage unit can safely house your possessions, and you can then move these items directly to your new home from the unit when you're ready. To truly create a clutter-free sanctuary in your home, work with the pros at House to Home Organizing! Once clutter is cleared away, you can hire a professional cleaning service to get your house sparkling.

Once you’ve addressed clutter and cleaning, it’s time to stage your home. Now is the time to depersonalize and remove bold pieces or art or furniture. Try to find a balance between warmth and minimalism. Change up the decor, move around furniture or add enhancements that showcase certain parts of the home. 

Don’t Neglect the Exterior

Making a house marketable starts with the outside. It takes mere seconds to make a first impression on people — and their first impression of a piece of real estate is the exterior. Curb appeal refers to the view people have of a home from a street, and enhancing it can help you sell a property faster. Start by power washing the exterior of the home to get rid of dirt, grime, and pollen. Then, mow the lawn, prune hedges, and trim trees for an orderly appearance. You can further amp up the aesthetic appeal by adding some color; for example, fill planters with vibrant flowers and place them near the front door. 

Beef up your curb appeal by repainting your home’s exterior. This is a large job, and costs will depend on how many stories you have, the region you live in, material type, and other factors. Another way to improve your home’s exterior is to install a new fence. The cost of adding a fence to your property will depend on the materials you use, size of the fence, and where you’re located. Avoid working with uninsured or unlicensed contractors and always insist on a detailed written estimate.  

Following the above steps will make your house more appealing to potential buyers. The added effort may even mean you can command a higher price. You will then have more money to put towards your new house.