Lilac City Momma

Life Hacks

What To Look For When Buying A House

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You need to take your due diligence when buying a house for your family or as an investment to ensure that you get value for your money and that the home you buy is suitable for the needs of your family now and in future.

Take your time to several houses in the market before making a decision lest you fall you fall for the sales pitch of a charming real estate only to later realize that you sold yourself short by buying an overvalued house or one that doesn’t fit your long-term plans.

So, before you commit pen to paper, here’s what you need to look for when buying a house.

Your budget

Your budget should act as a guidance into the kind of property you can acquire in the prevailing market conditions so you don’t waste a lot of time checking houses above what you can afford.

While budgeting for a house, also factor in legal fees and other transaction costs that may be involved in addition to the cost of the house.

More importantly, have your finances ready so you can complete the transaction as soon as you find a suitable house to buy. These saves you the agony of losing a prime property because the mortgage application was taking forever and the agent found someone else to take it up.

House design

Always have practicality in mind when buying a house. Of course, the structural integrity of the house shouldn’t be questionable. Don’t even spend any more time looking at a house that has cracks on the walls and fixtures falling off unless your plan is to renovate it and sell it. Even then you should have an experience professional give you the correct value of the house.

The way a house is designed could save you a lot of money when you move in. For instance, houses with large windows save you a fortune in electricity bills since they let in enough air and light that you don’t have to turn on your lights and air conditioners as you would do with a house squeezed between others.

Features

Ideally, the house you buy should have the features you want so you don’t have to call the home improvement services immediately you move in. However, you should assess the value you get for extra features because sometimes developers use them to inflate the price of a property.

A good house should have basic features like a Garage Door Opener System, water heating and safety features like a fire alarm system.

Location

The location of the house is quite important since it also determines the cost of the property and the security of your neighborhood. Obviously, houses in affluent neighborhoods cost more so it all comes down to what you want and how much you can afford.

The house should be surrounded by good roads and social amenities like schools and hospitals so your kids can easily get an education without enduring a long commute or lacking a place to attend to your medical emergencies.

7 Style Hacks For Summer

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Summer is the perfect time to revive your summer closet and get excited about the festival season and outdoor soirées. For some, it can also bring the feeling of being hot and bothered if you don’t get your styling right. As the temperature rises, lightweight clothing, ample splashes of sunscreen and comfortable footwear will be your go-to staples for the season. By sticking to some basics, this will help you stay cool, calm and ultimately stylish to rock days on the beach or evenings by the BBQ. If you’re looking for some handy hints to make your summer stress-free, take a look at these style hacks to see you through the season.

Don’t wear black

Black is the go-to color for many people as it perceived to be slimming. But in the summer it not only makes you look like you’d rather it was winter, but it also makes you hot and bothered faster. Black and darker materials absorb the heat so opting for light colors is the best option when the temperature rises.

Try a non-wired bra instead

Most women can’t get away with not wearing a bra but during the summer choosing a lighter option will offer tons more comfort. Try a pretty non-wired bra if you can get away with it, and this way you’ll stop any irritation or unnecessary sweat.

Choose nature fibers

It’s the perfect time of year to wear beautiful clothes but just check the label first to see what they are made from. Flimsy synthetic materials will make you sweat more quickly and often stick to the body. By choosing natural fibers that breathe, such as cotton, you’ll feel cool and stylish all day long. 

Don’t forget your wide-brimmed hat

Take some shade wherever you go with a handy yet fashionable wide-brimmed hat. This go-to accessory is perfect for days at the beach and keeps the sun off your head and neck to keep you cool and prevent sunstroke.

Leave the skinnies at home

Denim is an on-trend look throughout the year, but skinnies in the summer can feel tight and uncomfortable on hot summer days. For a laid-back look that oozes tons of style, try mom or boyfriend jeans to mix it up a little.

Get organized

It can be easy to just throw all your jewelry into a box and hope for the best when you come to untangle everything, so using transparent mini tubs helps to keep everything separated. You can even update your jewelry collection to find some key pieces that are perfect for summer. Visit Blomdahl USA for some inspiration.

Keep your silver jewelry shiny

Accessories are perfect for complementing your summer closet so keeping them looking in tiptop condition is essential. For silver and brass items, dab a touch of ketchup on a cloth and rub the surface, then wipe clean with a damp cloth and buff. Voila!

When you’re bearing a little more skin this season, don’t forget your sunscreen too to keep you safe and healthy under the hot summer sun.

Getting Serious About Freebies And Coupons To Save Your Household Big Money

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It’s hard to watch news programs and entire TV shows dedicated to couponing and not get excited. How is it that some families can spend less than $20 a month on household goods and groceries? Well, the answer is that they coupon like their lives depend on it – and they’re consistent. Dedicated couponers don’t leave home without their coupon books, and they don’t buy anything unless it is on sale. Going to Myfreedeals.Com yields both money saving coupons as well as free samples on products that your family can use and enjoy. If you want to get serious about reducing your grocery bill, then follow along closely.

Set Up Your Couponing Organization System

Even if you are going to stick to digital coupons in the beginning so you don’t have to create binders and cut out a bunch of coupons, you have to be well organized before you shop. The better your coupon organization system, the less time you’ll need to spend browsing the aisles at grocery stores. You might find that a spreadsheet is really helpful to have printed out and at your disposal before you go to shop. Otherwise, a digital grocery store list with items that you can cross out on your tablet might be the option that helps you to stay best organized.

Collecting Circulars, Coupons, and Newspapers

Finding one money saving coupon will hopefully get you more motivated to keep on couponing, but you might also feel disappointed when you see your limitations. Grocery stores can have restrictions on the number of items that you can get on sale but remember that transactions can be split up. What’s more important is that you have the coupons you need on hand to get excellent savings. Bigger families might need to buy three or four jars of spaghetti sauce to make one dinner, so a single coupon isn’t going to do very much. Get as many newspapers as you can so that you can collect additional coupons, then use them when you’re ready to go major shopping.

Building Your Stockpile

The same items aren’t going to be on sale every week, so if your objective is to save the most money, you have to start stockpiling. Basically, stockpiling is just buying and then collecting products that you know your family uses regularly. You can stockpile toilet paper and bottled water, or diapers and baby products if you are expecting. It would probably take a few months for a family to run through a big stockpile, but that’s pretty much the purpose of buying it for cheap when it’s on sale.

If you avoid going shopping and making impulse purchases, you can track every single dollar that you spend. Additionally, using coupons to shop for necessities will teach you that you don’t have to pay full price for the staples. You might end up trying out different brands and find that generic brands aren’t all that bad either. For the difference in price you’ll pay with couponing versus not couponing, the work will be worth it.

3 Smart Tips To Take Care For Your Reusable Waste Items

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We all know how big of a deal that it can be to try and deal with waste in our daily lives. The problem is, we need to find some ways in order to keep up with all that we need to accomplish to reduce waste. Buying reusable items is a great way to ensure that you’re playing a significant role in helping that to be a reality.

How can you make sure that the reusable items that you have purchased will be in the best condition possible? Are there ways to sort out what makes the most sense for taking care of these items? Here are 3 big tips that you can use to keep your reusable waste items in tip-top shape!

  1. Store Your Reusable Items in a Safe Place. Storage is one of the biggest things that you need to consider when it comes to dealing with your reusable items. Store them in a safe, cool space so that they don’t end up getting damage, mold, or other issues that could occur otherwise. By taking that time to see what can happen and to ensure that your items are in a safe place, you’ll have those items for much longer than you may have otherwise.
  2. Wipe Down or Wash Items Regularly. Places like Custom Earth Promos have a number of different products that they offer to customers, allowing you to have a wide array of options when it comes to reusable items. If you want to make sure that they last a lot longer than they may have otherwise, then you want to be sure that you check out the ways that you can wash or wipe them down. You can find all sorts of tutorials online so that you can keep things looking and smelling good for as long as you can.
  3. Keep Food Bags and Other Item Bags Separate When Possible. If you want to keep your bags clean and in good shape, keep your food bags separate from the bags that you’re using for clothing or other items. This allows you to prevent cross contamination and it will make it easier for you to clean bags as needed. Knowing what you need to do to prevent issues with your bags is vital as you try to make sure that everything stays as neat as possible.

Take a look at what you can do and be sure to keep reusable items as clean as you can. That extra bit of effort can go a long way toward helping you to be as environmentally conscious and friendly as possible. Seek out solutions that make sense for your purposes and see why it’s such a big deal to go ahead and get what it is that you may need in reusable items. Do your research and find the ones that are going to be best for your particular needs and what you’re doing with them on a regular basis.

Important Tips For People Including Real Estate In Their Will

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There is a lot of untrue information out there about estate planning. From thinking estate planning is only for rich people to thinking it’s only for old people reaching the end of their life, there are plenty of myths that need correcting.

It can also be confusing when deciding what and how to include your assets in your will, especially when it comes to tangible real estate.

Here are a few important tips that will help you understand the why and how of including real estate in your will.

Why You Should Include Real Estate in Your Will

If you have investment properties, it is a lot more obvious why you should include these properties in your will, but what if it’s just your current home? It’s just going to get passed down to the immediate member of your family anyway, so why include it in your will?

  • It will prevent your home from getting stuck in probate
  • You can decide exactly who to leave your home to
  • It can prevent squabbling between family members when you’re gone

Have the Value of Your Property Assessed

Once you’ve decided to include your home in your will, you have to have it assessed. It’s a fairly simple process.

A professional assessor will come out to your property and compare it to similar properties in the area. The value they come up with will be a fair market value of your home.

If you don’t agree with the assessment, you can contest the value. It is important to get this assessment right so that it is listed in your will accurately, especially when it comes to this next tip.

Consider Who You Will Be Leaving the Estate To

Next, you have to think about who you will be leaving the estate to. This is a fairly easy decision if you have a living spouse or a single child, but things can get complicated fast if there are many people you might consider leaving your home to.

You can name multiple beneficiaries, as long as you understand that the property will be divided and potentially even sold after your passing by those people.

Tax Considerations

People make a lot of mistakes when it comes to planning a will. One of the biggest is taxes.

There are strategies you can use to reduce the tax burden on your beneficiaries. You can name a joint owner before your passing, so the property simply passes to them without tax considerations. A death deed is also an option.

To make sure you plan for the taxes that will result from your property passing into someone else’s hands, it’s always a good idea to speak with a professional.

Planning a will is a big job. It’s one that deserves to be taken seriously, especially where your home and other properties are concerned. With these tips, you can have greater peace of mind knowing you included your real estate in your will the right way.