How to Unlock the Hidden Value in Your Home

Posted on February 5, 2019 by Krissyar

These days it can be tough to make ends meet. While we all do our best to be frugal, 40% of Americans can’t cover a $400 emergency expense. But if you own your own home, you may be sitting on untapped potential income.


Photo by Sarah Jane from Pexels

Rent Out Room

Fewer homes are being built, relative to the US population, than at nearly any time in history largely due to the real estate market crash of the last decade. This has led to a lack of available housing in many US communities. If you have extra room in your home to create a rental suite, this could be a fantastic and reliable source of side income for your family.

If you live in an area that has a decent tourist population, or live close to a college or university, you might also have luck renting out extra rooms, or even your whole house on occasion, to visitors through sites like AirBnB. While possibly not as consistent as having a full time tenant, the per-night rate can be much higher and you’ll have more flexibility for how often you want to share your space.

Even if you don’t have space for anyone to reside in your house, you might consider leasing space on your property for off-season storage of large vehicles like RVs, boats, snowmobiles, or motorcycles. Depending on where you live, you may even be able to take advantage of opportunities to sell parking space during special events where overflow parking lots are in demand.

Leverage Your Equity

If you have owned your home for awhile and have accrued equity by paying down, or paying off, your mortgage, your house can be used as leverage for getting certain types of loans. A home equity loan is often a better option than higher interest credit cards or personal loans. Because your home is such a valuable asset, banks are willing to lend money at a much lower rate if you can offer your home as collateral.

Another option, available to those aged 62 and over, is working with the US Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) to obtain a reverse mortgage which allows you to access cash from the value of your home while still living in your home, rather than waiting until some distant date in the future when you sell the property. While reverse mortgages are insured by the government, the loan itself has to be obtained by a private company. That means if you live in Ohio, for example, you’ll want to find a local equity release originator who works with HUD.

Live Off the Land

If you’ve never tried vegetable gardening, you might find that it’s not only a relaxing and rewarding hobby, it’s a great way to save money on groceries. After a small initial investment in establishing your garden beds and purchasing seeds and other equipment, the benefits go up and up each year as seeds can be harvested and saved and used the next year while food scraps can be returned to the soil as nutrient rich compost.

But why stop at vegetables? If your community allows the keeping of animals, you might try raising chickens for fresh eggs and poultry. A prolific pair of rabbits takes up little space and can provide as much meat to a family as a single cow!

Or if you simply don’t have the itch to farm, but you would like to put your yard to use as arable land, open your front yard up to community gardening and share in the bounty of the harvest while meeting neighbors and enjoying having less lawn to manage. Just be sure to check that front yard vegetable gardening is allowed in your community first.

From starting a home business to upgrading your utilities to more efficient systems, there’s many more ways to tap into the money-making potential in your home. All it takes is a little creativity and patience to make the most of your property’s value.

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Homemade Sloppy Joes

Posted on February 4, 2019 by Krissyar

Sloppy joes reminds me of birthday parties when I was a kid. My Mom always threw a shindig for us, and on a limited budget, sloppy joes was the cheapest – and yummiest- way to serve a house full of people dinner.

I have used the can stuff in the past, but since I am trying to be a bit healthier, and cook more, I decided to try my hand at a homemade sloppy joe sauce – and it did not disappoint. You can also eat this if you are Keto, or low carb. Just leave out the brown sugar, and use a sugar-free/keto approved ketchup. I eat a bowl of this with pickles and mustard and it’s so filling! (sometimes I use the pickle slices as chips, and put the sloppy joes along with some mustard on top – delicious!)

INGREDIENTS

 

3 pounds ground beef
1 large green bell pepper (diced)
1 large onion (diced)
2 cups ketchup
6 cloves garlic (minced)
optional hot sauce (such as Tabasco)
optional worcestershire sauce
add to taste salt (and freshly ground black pepper)
10  rolls or buns
2½ tablespoons brown sugar (packed)
2½ teaspoons chili powder
1¼ teaspoon dry mustard (if you don’t have dry mustard , yellow mustard works too)
5 teaspoon red pepper flakes
2½ tablespoons butter (softened)

DIRECTIONS

  1. Brown the ground beef , adding salt and pepper for flavoring. Drain off the majority of the excess fat (or not if you are keto!)

2 Add the chopped green peppers and onions, stir let sit for a minute, and then add 2 cups water, the ketchup and garlic., Stir it around to combine, and then add the brown sugar, chili powder, dry mustard, red pepper flakes, and hot sauce, Worcestershire, salt and pepper to taste. Stir to combine, and then cover and simmer over medium-low heat, about 20 minutes.

3. To serve, spread the rolls with the butter and brown them on a griddle or in a skillet. Spoon a good amount of the meat mixture onto the bottom roll, and then top with the other half. Add toppings as desired (again, pickles and yellow mustard are AMAZING with sloppy joes!)

 

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Tips For Gaining Your Independence As A Young Adult

Posted on January 23, 2019 by Krissyar

Being more independent is a great goal to have and a wonderful feeling once you achieve it. As a young adult who’s just discovering yourself and the world this process can be truly challenging and frustrating at times.

The following tips are going to help you learn how to gain your independence so you can start living life according to your rules. It may feel a bit uncomfortable and like an uphill battle at first, but soon enough you’ll find yourself in a better place and feeling more in control of your destiny than ever before. Accept that it may not be an easy journey but that the rewards will be well worth your efforts.

Support Yourself

Your first order of business in gaining your independence as a young adult is to learn how to support yourself. This means getting a well paying job, securing a car so you can get around and even buying and moving into a home you can call yours. Make note that you’re going to want to hire a conveyancing solicitor to help you with the home buying process so there are no hidden surprises. These types of commitments are going to teach you responsibility and have you understanding what it takes to live on your own.

Problem Solve

You can also feel more independent at a young age by taking the time to problem solve your way through issues. This is instead of turning to your parents or others for answers right away. Learn to think through dilemmas using your own knowledge and work on coming to a conclusion that you feel comfortable and confident about.

Avoid Looking for Approval from Others

Always turning to others to get their approval about how you should be living and what you should be doing isn’t going to help you become more independent. What you need to do is make decisions on your own and look in the mirror to figure out if that’s what’s best for you. While it’s okay to get input from other people or to hear their opinion, ultimately you should rely on yourself and your own thought processes to figure out what you want to do.

Find A Role Model

Another useful idea is to find a role model who you view as independent and someone who can teach you a few life lessons. Observe and talk to this person often to get a better idea as to how they got to where they are today and what advice they have for you. As a young adult, it’s good to have older people who you can trust and look up to as you find your own way.

Seek out Healthy Relationships

Being in co-dependent relationships is unhealthy and will hinder any progress you’re making trying to become independent yourself. Seek out healthy relationships and hang around others who lift you up and encourage you to branch off on your own. Find people who respect your individuality and don’t bring you down or have a desire to control you.

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Healthy Strawberry Lemonade Salad

Posted on January 23, 2019 by Krissyar

Ingredients:
7 cups Baby Spinach
1/2 Red onion
2-3 Grilled chicken
10 Strawberries
1/4 cup Feta Cheese
6 slices Bacon
1/4 cup dried cranberries
Lemon pepper seasoning 

Ingredients
1 cup olive oil
3 tbsp. apple cider vinegar
1 tsp salt
1 tsp dried basil
½ cup frozen (or fresh) strawberries
1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
¼ cup water

Instructions
Place all the the ingredients, in the order listed, into a blender.
Secure lid.
Blend for about 30 seconds or until smooth.

Salad:
Season your chicken with lemon pepper seasoning evenly on all sides
Place your chicken on a grill, gorge foreman or a pan and cook until done.
Slice your chicken into small slices approx. 1-2 inches thick
Cook your bacon until crispy
Then rough chop your bacon into small bits
Remove the hulls and slice your strawberries wash and pat dry
Remove the skin and slice your onion into small slices
In a large bowl add all of your ingredients and toss to combine
once place on plates drizzle with your dressing and top with feta cheese and dried cranberries

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Why You Should Take Dance Lessons When Traveling

Posted on January 22, 2019 by Krissyar

                                                     Photo credit: Rainer Ridao

We live in a global society. The ease of travel, smartphones, and international commerce makes traveling for business more productive and traveling for pleasure more enjoyable. However, traveling can be stressful. Your body gets used to a particular routine. Even if it is a hectic routine, it is still a routine. Traveling can throw a wrench into your routine. That affects your eating, sleeping, and anxiety levels. But, these problems are easily corrected.

When a person is at home, they usually participate in some form of exercise. If you need to blow off some steam or unwind for a better nights sleep, you may run or jog for a few miles. You may hit the gym, or take your mountain bike to some trails. The exercise will help you get a better nights sleep. You will probably take inventory of the foods you are consuming. In a busy lifestyle, it is easy to consume excess sugar, salt, and fats from foods that are processed for convenience. These food types make your body sluggish and edgy. Finally, we drink more water to keep the body hydrated and to avoid the symptoms that come with dehydration. But how does this work when you are traveling?

                                                   Photo credit: Pavan Gupta

Dance

Every culture has their own type of dance. Dancing is a global activity defined by a country’s  custom instruments and way of life. You can learn a lot about a country by participating in their dances. But, dance does a lot more than that.

Benefits of dancing while travel

Traveling can be lonely. Even in a room full of people, you can feel all alone. If there is no one you can connect to on a personal level they are nothing but props. When you participate in a couples dances, you glow returns. You are part of the team. Human interaction pushed back stress and ignites unity.

                                                      Photo credit: David Hoffmann

Destinations and Favorites
As we explained, every culture has their own dances, music, and sometimes instruments. Consequently, over time, countries have come to be known for dances that originated with their culture. As you travel, diversity is unavoidable. So, why not get to know some of the people who live in the land? You get to meet locals and other travelers. You break the monotony of your business trip by experiencing the true culture of the land.
Portugal
Portugal is a land of beauty. It is the oldest country in Europe. The favorite dance in this country is the Vira. This folk dance is somewhat similar to the Waltz but it is much faster. A second dance that is very popular and much like the Vira is the Chula. This dance is like the Vira with the addition of stomping feet and clicking hands. These dances are not difficult to learn and they are very fun. If you’re planning to travel to Portugal, make sure you prepare for your trip in advance – there are lots of beautiful sights to be seen!
Spain
No matter what country you live in, chances are when someone speaks of dancing in Spain you will think of the Flamenco. In its truest sense, it is a dance with exact and clean moves which originated in the South of Spain. This dance is said to be a dance of passion which hails gypsies.

Spain is most famous for the Fandango. This is a lively and fun dance which is performed to folkloric music. You are missing a lot if you do not embrace these two dances while traveling in Spain.
Italy
Most people in Italy perform Latin dances. It is difficult to find dances that are original to Italy. If you are partial to Puglia, you will find a unique dance called the Tarantella. This folk dance is face-paced. In fact, many say the moves are frantic.
Germany (Bavaria)
You cannot think of Germany without thinking of festivals and original dances. The Schuhplattler is the dance where the dancers are wearing Lederhosen and stand in a line or circle. Throughout the dance, the dancers continually slap the soles of their shoes, their thighs, and their knees. The Schuhplattler is perhaps the oldest dance to the region. It dates back to 3000 B.C.

                                                  Photo credit: Ardian Lumi

United States
The United States is home to many cultures and a diverse population. For that reason, many of the dances performed in the United States come from other countries. However, the United States can take credit for the Charleston, the Foxtrot (ballroom dance), and the Country & Western Two-Step. If you are traveling to the United States, you will find any kind of dance you want to try.

As you can see, everyone loves dance. There is no better way to connect, exercise, and learn something new to show your family and friends at home. Before you get on a plane and head for a city far away, turn on your computer and see what types of dances are taught in that location. Check out this link for beautiful costumes for any region, https://www.alexandracostumes.com/

Don’t be afraid to try something new. After all, dancing is supposed to be fun.

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