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4 Life Hacks That Make Everything Easier

Have you ever been overwhelmed by the tasks of adult life? It’s an easy thing to have happen and a common experience once you are out on your own. When you were young and lived at home under your parent’s roof (and authority), everything was taken care of for you. Once that life situation ended either after high school or college, all the responsibility shifted to you. 

Life is not easy. But there are some common practices that, if you do them, can make things easier along the way. At the least, they can reduce the stress that comes from being an adult and making decisions for yourself. Here are four life hacks that can make your life more enjoyable.

Declutter Daily

Unless you’re one of those people who genuinely loves to clean, chances are you often feel you’re drowning in stuff. It’s easy to feel overwhelmed at the thought of cleaning out the entire garage or the basement. However, most of the time, even those tasks can be accomplished with just a little bit of effort each day. A daily declutter habit helps prevent junk mail from piling up on the table you always drop it on.

This mindset can be further applied to other problems in your life. If you want to take control of your financial wellness, learning how to live with less can facilitate that habit. The more possession you have, the more you have to worry about.

So set aside 10 minutes daily to make a sweep through the house to see what you can declutter. It will keep you from having to spend a whole day doing it later. 

Related Content: I Love to Clean the Bathroom

Collect Life’s Secret Codes

Life is full of little secrets. Chances are, a parent, grandparent, older sibling, or someone else taught you some of these. These are the little life tricks that on their own, may not seem like much, but as you accumulate a lot of them, they make things so much easier.

These hacks can be found all over the Internet. Suggestions like washing and prepping all your fresh fruit and vegetables when you bring them home from the grocery store, putting a couple of tennis balls in the dryer to help clothes dry faster with fewer wrinkles and learning how to season an iron skillet so that it lasts and food does not stick. These may not seem like earthshattering suggestions. But you can streamline your life and save time by regularly doing these things.  

One hack that I learned years ago was learning what your vehicle identification number (VIN) means and where to find it on your car.  This can be handy if you’re buying a used car and want to find out if the car was involved in a recall, wreck, flood or had other issues. If you work in the industry (such as a fleet manager), being able to find this number can be especially helpful since you can also track things such as warranties, insurance, and registration. The numbers assigned are not random. You can learn to locate your VIN number and what each digit in it means.

Related Content: 7 Tips on How to Handle a Teenager’s Car Accident

Move in the Transitions

Everyone knows that exercise is important. It’s one of the fundamental things to living a healthy life. But your problem with exercise is everyone’s problem. How do you fit it into an already packed schedule?

A great way to do it is by grabbing the moments in between tasks when you are either waiting on something or transitioning from one thing to another.

Are you waiting on a pot of water to boil on the stove. Are you ending your workday? Will the laundry be dry and ready to fold in 30 minutes?

The temptation is to relax or get on your social media account during these times. However, these moments are great spaces to do a few stretches, squats or move in another way that works our your body. Even simply deep breathing exercises can be great way for you to reduce stress. The bonus of this hack is that it also helps break you of the habit of scrolling on your phone every time you have a free second.

Related Content: Barriers to Entry: The Ongoing Battle With Exercise

Talk to People

Everyone communicates but few really connect with other people. To connect, you actually have to talk to others. Even if you’re shy or an introvert, some interaction with other humans is important. You will almost certainly feel better for it.

You can set yourself a goal, such as three short conversations with strangers each day. You may end up building genuine connections, particularly by doing this in the places where you go regularly. 

The best places to find people to talk with are church, your job, a grocery or department store and your neighborhood. Start there with simple conversations and see how much better it makes you feel.

Leave a Comment or Answer a Question Below: What is your go-to life hack? What have you found out in adulthood that you didn’t know when you were younger? 

The Top 5 Tips To Selling Your House Fast For Cash

Whenever a person decides to sell a house, there are two things they want the most. One, they want to clear a good amount of cash so that they can meet some financial goal, like paying off debt or putting a down payment on another property. And two, they want the property to sell quickly, the faster the better (as long as number one is also true).

There are some things that you can do to help facilitate the sale of your property. If the house can attract more buyers, you stand a better chance of selling it fast and at a better price. Buyer competition over a property is a good thing. So, if you ever said I need to sell my house fast, you are going to have to spruce it up to make it attractive. 

To do this, for starters you will need to source the right real estate agent to help manage the selling process. A good real estate agent is worth his or her weight in gold. They see things that you as the seller don’t see. They are also less emotional about the process because they have experience doing deals well. So that will help keep you from making a mistake in the selling process. 

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Tips to Hiring Payroll Services for Your Small Business

Small businesses are the heartbeat of an economy. Done well, they can meet a needed service in a community and create significant wealth for the entrepreneur who started it. Done poorly, the small business dream can turn into a nightmare.

There are many things that go into making a small business work. Good leadership, quality employees and proper systems all with help contribute to small business success. And one of those systems that must operate well is the payroll system.

One option for a small business with several employees is to secure a payroll service instead of doing it themselves. This could be really crucial in the early days of the business. It would allow the owners to spend more time focusing on the day to day operations. 

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Here’s What a 529 College Savings Plan Covers

It’s no secret the cost of college has and continues to skyrocket. It makes it very difficult to go to college debt free. This is especially true if you do not start saving early enough. If you can start saving though, you have some options. A 529 college savings plan is one of the smartest investments you can make for your child’s future success.

college savings planA 529 college savings plan is a state-administered plan. The IRS does not tax withdrawals, as long as they are made for qualifying educational expenses. As an added bonus, a 529 plan can be used for a beneficiary’s tuition expenses for elementary through high school, in addition to college, graduate school or trade school.

The rules change however, when a withdrawal is made that the IRS doesn’t consider a qualifying expense. 529 college saving plans are federally taxed, even though they are administered at the state level. If you want to use the plan to pay for a non-qualifying expense, the withdrawal will incur a 10% penalty and receive the federal tax.

That’s why you should be absolutely sure which withdrawals qualify. So here is a brief guide to assist in your decision-making on whether this type of plan is right for you. 

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6 Money Management Tips For Seniors

There may be no other group more valuable to our society than the elderly. They have so much wisdom and life experience to share with the younger generation. They need to be respected, honored and taken care of as best as possible. 

There is something else though that seniors have over the younger generations. Generally speaking, they have more money. Good old-fashioned saving, budgeting and spending discipline has led many of them to accumulating a sizeable nest egg. 

Despite this, many seniors lack knowledge regarding financial decisions, despite managing their spending habits for years. Retirement is the phase of life that requires careful planning so that one can remain self-sufficient and live independently. It’s not the time for debts to continue piling up or for wild, spur-of-the moment spending to begin happening. If those were to begin and continue, it may damage their ability to care for themselves financially. 

Additionally, health concerns are a major factor in retirement, including the loss of some cognitive abilities. It’s reasonable to conclude that this is why scammers so frequently target this demographic. That’s all the more reason to be vigilant with managing money as one grows older. 

Other vital factors tied with retirement can take up a lot of a senior’s time. Managing money may be tricky for some, especially when juggling it alongside other responsibilities. However, it doesn’t have to be that way. Here are a few money management tips to help seniors.

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4 Steps To Getting A Social Security Number

All US citizens, permanent residents, and even those only temporarily residing in the United States can get a social security number (SSN). You may not have known that. As it turns out, social security numbers are open to more people than you think.social security number

My family has hosted international high school students for the last several years. We just helped one of them get a social security number so that she could obtain her driver’s license. She’s going to college in the states next year, so being able to drive is very important to her. Having that social security number helped expedite the process.

Social security numbers are of course very useful in business transactions with both federal and state government agencies. Even those who aren’t working would find it very convenient to have their own SSN. But there are some steps to go through to get one though. If you weren’t granted one at birth for some reason or are a foreigner to the United States, it will take a little bit of time.

For starters, you’ll have to submit an application to the Social Security Administration (SSA). Your number, once issued, usually comes with a corresponding social security card. So, if you want to know more information about getting and laminating a social security card, you might want to read on. 

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What You Should Know Before Putting Your Money on a Crypto Exchange?

Cryptocurrency as a medium of exchange or as an investment has certainly caught everyone’s attention in the past few years. You can’t turn to any financial news outlet without seeing news reports about who is and who is not accepting cryptocurrency as a form of payment. And some of the currencies have caught people’s attention as their values have soared to astronomical heights.

Cryptocurrency may be the future. It is also leading many to think about investing in it. In order to do so, you have to understand about the exchanges where these can be found. 

Crypto exchanges are the first step into the crypto world for many newbies who wish to trade or buy digital currencies. Also, if you want to utilize any token issued through an ICO (Initial Coin Offering), you should eventually exchange your other cryptocurrencies for them. So, it’s essential to choose a proper exchange service and know what you are doing there.

Here you will find some things to think about in the cryptocurrency exchange world.

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The Benefits to Hiring a Higher Education Marketing Company

Going to a college or a university whether in-person or online has become a competitive endeavor for high school students. However, within the world of higher education, it’s just as competitive. The marketplace for students is opening up, especially due to advances in information and communications technology. Colleges and universities are competing with one another now more than ever to draw in the best and brightest to their institution. 

It is therefore important to stand out in this industry. An institution that doesn’t won’t be successful. Many of the higher education businesses that are able to stand out do so because they have hired the services of a higher education marketing company. So, if you manage or own a business in this industry, this should be a consideration. If you don’t, your business may be left behind. 

Why so? Because these companies have insights about what is going on in the broader industry that you may not have. They exist to study the trends in the marketplace and relay those on to their clients. So, put simply, if you are not working with an agency trained for this, you are falling behind.

Here are several ways they can help you reach your goals.

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7 Benefits Of Hiring Millennial Workers For Your Business

It’s almost natural for any society to have stereotypes about the different generations that exist in their culture. For example, Baby Boomers, generally considered to be born between 1964 and 1964, were known to be mentally focused, resourceful, competitive, and disciplined.  Gen-Xers on the other hand, born between 1965 – 1980, were known for being independent and focused on maintaining work-life balance. millennials

Millennials, on the other hand, were frequently stereotyped as entitled, apathetic, and addicted to technology. This is the group born between 1981 and 1996. They grew up in an era that saw some of the greatest technological change the world has ever seen, mainly the creation and mass consumption of the personal computer. Oh, and let’s not forget the introduction of the Internet to the masses occurred at the later part of this timeframe. 

Despite some of negative stereotypes Millennials have, they also possess many positive characteristics that are surprisingly beneficial for any company or industry.

While Baby Boomers have already retired, both Gen Xers and Millennials dominate most workplaces today. And Millennials are in great supply. So, if you’re thinking of hiring more Millennials in your workspace and want to dive deeper into the research, you can check it here to learn more about what they can offer your organization. 

Here are some of the highlights.

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Home Insurance vs. Mortgage Insurance: Which Is The Better Option?  

Being a homeowner comes with many costs. Some you know are coming like repairs and maintenance. Others are less obvious. One of those is insurance.

If you are going to own a home, you need to have insurance. Most people have simple homeowner’s insurance that covers their dwelling and belongings if something happens. You may never have heard of another kind of insurance called mortgage insurance. This article will discuss the difference between the two.

In the case of financed homes, you would be required to have homeowner’s insurance. Also, you may have to shell out extra money for mortgage insurance, depending on the down payment size.

Often, property owners get confused between private mortgage insurance, homeowners’ insurance, and mortgage protection insurance. At the outset, you need to understand the provisions of each of these types. This will help you save money in the long run in that you won’t be spending money on something you don’t need.

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5 Ways To Build Wealth While You’re Still Young 

These days, a lot of young people don’t plan for their retirement as well as they should. There are many reasons for this. Some simply don’t know where to start. Others face challenges such as wealthunemployment, student loan repayments, or low salaries. And to many, the thought of planning for retirement seems so overwhelming, they just lock up and don’t move forward with any kind of plan.

Whatever the case may be, everyone needs to prepare for their future while they still have the ability to work, save and invest. It may sound a bit daunting, but building wealth is something anyone can do once they’re provided with the right information about it.

So if you want to ensure a good future for yourself, keep reading. Below you’ll find some simple yet effective strategies for creating wealth.

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