Did You Know?

The fifty-two playing cards in a typical deck represent The fifty-two weeks in a year; The four suits, the four seasons.  Read More →

Did you know this?

Play-Doh was originally formulated as a compound to clean wallpaper.  Read More →

Costs Then and Now:

Interesting Trivia: In 1970 Home Cost: $23,450 Ave. Household Income: $9400 New Car: $3450 Gallon of Gas: $.36/gal Postage Stamp: $.06 In 2010 Home Cost: $214,000 Ave. household Income: $50,303 (2008) New Car: $28,400 Gallon of Gas: $2.86/gal Postage Stamp: $.44 Interesting Trivia:  Read More →

Did you know…..

That one can of oil can contaminate 2 million gallons of drinking water! Please recycle your used oil:  Take your used oil, antifreeze, and other household chemical waste to a service station or recycling center.  Go to www.swalco.org to find out where a drop off location is, or when they will be having a local mobile facility drop off day near... [Read more...]

How to Permanently delete private data on your computer

If you are donating an old computer to a charity or just want to make sure that sensitive information is deleted forever, there are a few things you can do. For PCs, try file shredder (www.fileshredder.org ) or KillDisc ( www.killdisk.com ).Both free programs can permanently remove files. On a Mac, just put the files in the Trash and select “Secure... [Read more...]

Recipe Search Engine

Since people are always on the run, here is a way to put something together  at the “last minute” without eating at the usual killer fast food chain. It finds dishes you can make with ingredients you have on hand. At  www.supercook.com   enter an ingredient, and the site generates a list of recipes that use the ingredient. Click on the recipe... [Read more...]

BETTER CREDIT SCORE, CHEAPER HOUSE PAYMENT

A family put a 3.5% down payment on a $172,900 house with a resulting loan of $166,850.  Here is what their bottom line would look like… Score Rate Monthly Payment Total Cost 760+ 4.981% $893.75 $326,900 700-759 5.203% $916.50 $335,090 680-699 5.380% $934.83 $341,689 660-679 5.594% $957.22 $349,749 640-659 6.024% $1002.93 $366,205 620-639 6.570% $1062.30 $387,578 Less... [Read more...]

How is your FICO Score Calculated? And how can you Improve it?

Payment History (35%) How often you are late and by how many days, set up automatic payments to guarantee you’re  never late. Pay your bills on time and you will improve your score within months. Total Debt (30%) Higher debt loads work against you; “Usage Ratio” is the difference between what you owe on credit cards and your available... [Read more...]

FICO Scores and your Credit Report

 The Fair Credit Reporting Act guarantees you access to a free credit report from each of the 3 nationwide reporting agencies – Experian, Equifax and TransUnion – every 12 months. For a safe and secure way to obtain your free credit report start by going to www.ftc.gov. on “Free Credit Reports” and that will take you to another... [Read more...]

The Basics: Extended Home Buyer Tax Credit 2009/2010

As part of its plan to stimulate the U.S. housing market and address the economic challenges facing our nation, Congress has passed new legislation that: Extends the First-Time Home Buyer Tax Credit of up to $8,000 to first-time home buyers until April 30, 2010. Expands the credit to grant up to $6,500 credit to current home owners purchasing a new... [Read more...]

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