DIY Home Depot

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I was young and wanted some way to make extra money - something other than another fast food job. A friend of the family owned a small insurance agency. The owner decided to get into the business of process serving, and I applied for the job. Tracking people down and handing them their court subpoenas sounded like fun.

It was more interesting than most of the jobs I have had. I had to find two defendants in a lawsuit stemming from a school football injury (they worked for the school). Both had moved to the area, leaving no forwarding address. After using my best phone pretexts to get information from the family, and doing a little investigating locally, I found them both working in the same place.

I walked up to each, asked their name and handed them the papers. They were served. The problem was that the company was billing by the hour, and I had found these two quickly, meaning little profit. They dropped the idea for the new service, and dropped my job along with it. So much for getting ahead by doing a good job.

I had a wide variety of unusual jobs and other ways to make extra money when I was younger. Sitting here reminiscing at the keyboard might be considered an unusual way to make money too, but hey, it works. Here are some of the other ways.

Make Extra Money By…

Stealing cars: At twenty-one I was willing to try almost anything to make extra money. My brother’s towing business got a contract to repossess cars, and I became a “repo man.” Prowling the night with my brother, looking for and legally “stealing” cars - this was fun. Don’t expect to make too much money doing this though, unless you live in the right area. Oh, and it did involve getting chased, having a gun pulled on us, and other little adventures.

Making walking sticks: I sold hundreds of my own handmade walking stick alongside our other items at flea markets. I added handgrips made from recycled leather jackets, so they cost about 50 cents to make. I sold them for anywhere between $6 to $26. You may also want to make a hobby into a way to make money, but there isn’t too much money involved most of the time.

Financing other peoples plans. I put up the cash to buy cars for a couple friends. They knew cars, I had cash. A friend needed $3200 to buy and fix a corvette, for example, and two weeks later sold it for $4200, netting us $500 profit each. Letting your money do the work to make extra money - this is one of the best ways.

Rent rooms. At one point I had almost $10,000 per year coming in from renting the rooms in my home. I owed nothing on the home at this point, so this was a nice income. I had decent renters, and I had built a efficiency apartment on the back of the place for privacy for my wife and I. Easy ways like this are my favorite ways to make extra money.

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According to State Treasurer Sarah Steelman, Missouri unclaimed money has grown to the massive sum of $400 million. This pile of cash is likely to grow, as with most states, Missouri takes in more unclaimed property annual than they return to the citizens. Among the variety of reasons why these funds remain unclaimed, is the fact that most people are unaware of unclaimed property, and those that are don’t know the proper way to search.

With MO unclaimed money rolls approaching a half of a billion dollars, the “Show Me State” ought to change its name to the “Show Me The Money State”. So where does all that money come from? There are many dozens of different types of sources for unclaimed property, but some of the most common are abandoned bank accounts, safe deposit boxes, checks that have not been cashed, certificates of deposit, forgotten stocks, life insurance policies.

While there is no time limit on claiming missing money, Missouri only guarantees that they’ll hold items from safe deposit boxes for 1 year (though they do sometimes hold them for longer). According to the MO State Treasurer’s website, this is how they handle these items: Although State Treasurer Steelman would like to keep the contents of safe deposit boxes until an owner or heir is identified, the unclaimed property vault used to store non-monetary items of value (jewelry, coins, etc.) reaches capacity every couple of years. When the vault is full, the Unclaimed Property Division hosts an auction, and the proceeds generated from the sale of items from safe deposit boxes is recorded in the name of the safe deposit box owner. If owners or heirs are identified, they receive the entire proceeds from the sale of the items.

Obviously for those people who use (or have used) safe deposit boxes, it’s important to quickly get your search started if the items have a sentimental value to you, but at least you’ll get the money if they sell your items. Luckily for the rest of us, most of the money doesn’t come from unclaimed property auctions.

Whether you’re a current or former Missouri resident, or in some cases, have never lived in Missouri at all, the odds that lost money is owed to you, are in your favor. And the best part about money from unclaimed funds is that the money already belongs to people. There are no games or gambling involved. The only thing keeping missing money from becoming found money, for most people, is their knowledge about where to search, and how to search.

Countless myths exist about unclaimed property. The most common is that performing a simple online search on any old website constitutes a full search. Sadly most of these “official” searches, are anything but, and their data is often very outdate if not completely false, and only there as a sales hook. The other myth is that the state records are up to date and accurate.

There is no uniform rule that dictates when the states, including Missouri, must update their unclaimed money records. For this reason, one of the best things you can do is search regularly. If your money has only been classified “unclaimed” recently, it likely won’t show up in Missouri’s system until it’s first been turned over by the account holder, and then whenever the state treasurer’s office adds the record.

To learn more about these unclaimed property search obstacles, and many more, and it is important to seek expert assistance in your search for lost assets, to ensure that you reclaim all possible money owed to you.

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As a single mom, you face unique financial challenges that women with supportive husbands do not face. As such, you need to be aware of programs that you can use to help your family financially. The government and many private organizations have options available to help single moms with their financial needs.

One common need that single moms face is health insurance. Your employer may not offer health insurance, or the premiums may be too high for you to afford. The government has programs that you can use to get insurance for your children. The most common government program is Medicaid. While Medicaid is for those on limited incomes, the income guidelines are determined based on family size, so you should see if you qualify. If you do not qualify for Medicaid, consider the State Children’s Health Insurance Program (SCHIP). The income guidelines for SCHIP will be set by your state, and they are higher than Medicaid. You may be able to get health insurance for yourself through this program, depending on your state.

If you are looking for utility assistance, child care assistance, food banks, and other types of assistance programs and don’t know where to look, try dialing 2-1-1 on your phone. You can use this free service to find the programs you need. With one phone call, you can find out about assistance programs you qualify for in your area. Not all areas have the 2-1-1 program, but you can find out if yours does by simply trying the number.

If you are ready to buy a home, there are programs for single moms to help with the home buying process. To start, talk to your local housing authority. This organization may be able to point you towards assistants programs in your area. You can also talk to a Housing and Urban Development (HUD) counselor. You may be able to buy a house through HUD, and HUD has several mortgage assistance programs for you to consider. The organization will also help you find a house that qualifies for the assistance program. Your counselor will be able to help you work through the process.

Single moms may face a rough road, but the good news is that there is help available. Take advantage of the programs you qualify for, because you are, after all, doing the job of two people. With financial assistance programs like these, you can ease up some of the strain on your monthly household budget or get some of the things you need for your family but simply cannot afford on your own.

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The main purpose that banks have been serving since their inception is keeping our money safe for us. While keeping our money safe, they also let us earn a certain amount of interest on the money deposited with them. Traditional banks have been doing this, and internet banks continue the same function. The only difference is in the way the transactions are made.

Online banking has been around for quite a few years. In fact, it was introduced in the 1980s and has come a long way since then. The last decade has seen a profuse growth in internet banking transactions. Several pieces of legislation have also been introduced in this area.

Though it began in the 1980s, it was only in the mid nineties that internet banking really caught on. What attracts customers to internet banking is the round the clock availability and ease of transactions. Studies estimate that internet banking still has a long way to go. There are several banks that have customers who prefer banking in the traditional ways. Statistics released by the FDIC show that only 40% of the banks in the U.S. offer internet banking facilities worth mentioning. All the others may have an online presence but do not have enough online transactions to justify their presence on the internet.

Some customers have been known to turn to internet banking due to dissatisfaction with standard procedures and practices. The total absence of human interaction appeals to some people. Some customers turn to internet banking facilities for security reasons. This is mainly because of customers being assured of banks’ ability to keep transactions safe and secured.

Most online transactions are made using the Internet Explorer interface. The Internet Explorer has been around for more than ten years now.

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To the non-fan, NASCAR stands for “Non Athletic Sport Centered Around Rednecks”….it’s real meaning is “National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing”. To corporate America it stands for “Big Business”

NASCAR and their premier division “Nextel Cup” is the second most watched sport in America, only the NFL tops it for attendance and television audiences. On any given weekend during the season, more race fans pack race tracks to capacity, than any major sporting event… All-star Game, Superbowl, or PGA Golf Tournament. The website ‘NASCAR.com’ gets over ONE BILLION hits a year

The Nextel Cup features 26 weekly races, plus a 10 race playoff type schedule. It’s the only sport that has what’s called “It’s Superbowl” as the first race of the season. The Daytona 500 is viewed by over 30 million, over 180 thousand pack the grandstands and infield each year for that event.

This sport that many assume their fans to be white, male, and southern. Well, that assumption is just plain wrong. NASCAR’s fan base is made up by 40% woman, in fact, NASCAR has more women watching, than the NFL or Major League Baseball. The minority fan base increases each week, making up about 10% at this point. The average income of a NASCAR Nextel Cup fan is 83,000 a year.

You see corporate sponsor names everywhere, on the cars, uniforms, tracks, and merchandise. NASCAR fans are the most “Brand Loyal” in the world. These sponsor names cash in on that loyalty…Dale Earnhardt Jr. fans drink Budweiser, you won’t find a lot of Tony Stewart fans setting one foot inside a LOWE’s, because Tony is sponsored by “Home Depot”, Jeff Gordon fans paint with nothing but Dupont paint, etc. It cost 10 to 20 million per year for the top teams to be competitive and Corporate America is more than happy to cough up that kind of cash for what they get in return. It costs sponsor’s around a million and a half dollars a season just to have their company name on the trunk lid of a top Nextel Cup car.

The drivers are the stars and they offer everything from: good looking, ugly, fat, tall, thin, smart, dumb, intelligent, stupid, macho, wimpy, young and old. You can’t find another sport that offers the drama week in and week out that a NASCAR Nextel Cup race offers.

This is only a brief overview of America’s second most watched sport, there is a lot more to uncover in future articles related to NASCAR, but you can not deny, that NASCAR is the best

reality show there is.

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While installing a rain gutter may not seem all that important to many homeowners, it certainly is significant in keeping your home from experiencing water damage when it rains.

Gutters and downspouts provide protection in many different ways. They prevent wood rot, mold, leaky roofs, siding damage and water in your basement among other things.

A rain gutter collects water off your roof and down the closest downspout and away from your home. This will aid in preventing fascia boards from rotting out and water collecting around your homes foundation.

If you’re looking to install a rain gutter, it’s not that difficult of a home improvement project. If you’re a weekend handyman you can easily complete the project in a day. Stores such as Home Depot or Lowe’s all sell gutters and downspouts to fit any home.

Now, if climbing ladders or doing home improvement is not for you, that’s no problem. You’ll find numerous gutter and downspout contractors that will do it all for you at a very reasonable cost.

You can do a search online to find several companies. Look in your local yellow pages, or even talk with your home improvement store for recommendations.

Finally, after you have installed a rain gutter, be sure to clean them out at least once a year. If your rain gutters are full of leaves, water will just back up and overflow down your house. You can have your gutters cleaned out for as little as $50.

Having a good rain gutter and downspout system installed on your home will go a long way in preventing future water and foundation problems.

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Last year we purchased a home that been soiled by the previous owners’ cat.

We thought that having the carpets professionally cleaned would take care of it

but it just made the problem worse.

After using several well-advertised and expensive cat urine removal products that

didn’t work, I was searching on the web for a solution and found a homemade

remedy that uses three simple household products. Desperate I tried it and

wouldn’t you know it - it worked!

So well that I had to find out why and researched the chemistry and origins of the

recipe. I found out it was developed originally by a chemist for neutralizing the

proteins in skunk odor, which are the same proteins found in cat urine and give it

it’s horrible smell!

Cat urine is not much different from any other urine, be it human or other animals.

It is made up urea, creatinine, uric acid, sodium and other electrolytes. When cat

urine dries the urea gets broken down by bacteria which gives it that distinctive

ammonia smell. As it decomposes further it releases thiols which make the cat

urine odor worse yet.

The recipe works because the reaction of hydrogen peroxide and baking soda

produces large amount of oxygen. The oxygen molecules bond to the thiols,

breaking them up into carbon dioxide and ammonia, that evaporates quickly

thereby effectively neutralizing the thoils and their foul-smelling odor.

THE RECIPE

1 quart of 3% hydrogen peroxide
1/4 cup baking soda
1 teaspoon of liquid soap

Gently mix all ingredients in a non-metal container. Do not mix or shake

vigorously!

The mixture is best used when fresh but can be stored. Do not keep mixture in an

airtight container as baking soda and hydrogen peroxide when mixed together

release loads of oxygen. We don’t want an explosion on our hands on top of the

mess we already have!

I mix and keep mine in a large spray bottle I bought from Home Depot but on old

plastic liter soda bottle works just a well. Just remember to keep the cap on

loose.

3% hydrogen peroxide can be bought at most grocery and drug stores in pint

and quart bottles.

A word of caution:

Surfaces that are porous may swell e.g. drywall, wood flooring, particle board,

etc. with application of this recipe. But if your surface is already ruined by cat

urine and you want to get rid of the odor until you can replace it - give it a try.

Always test for color-fastness when using first. Apply to a small area and wait

24-48 hours until dry before using on an entire area. Hydrogen peroxide is a

bleaching agent in stronger concentrations (think teeth whiteners) and can lighten

materials that are not color-fast.

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Your garden hose is arguably one of the most used items around your home, but it is also one of the most abused. How many times does it get ran over or left lying around? I’ve even known people who used their hose as a rope to secure items on a trailer. Well, with that sort of abuse, leaks, kinks and damaged fittings are bound to happen sooner or later.

This is where some simple garden hose repair can come in handy. Here is a quick look at how to easily repair your hose and keep it from leaking.

1. Find The Leak

Obviously, finding out where the leak is at in the garden hose is your first step. The easiest way to do this is to attach a spray nozzle and turn on the water. Find out where the leak is located and make a mark of it with a marker or pen.

2. Get A Repair Kit

You can find a garden hose repair kit in most any lawn and garden department of major retail stores. Certainly a place like Home Depot will have one for you.

3. Repair The Hose

Cut off the parts of the hose which are leaking water. Then, using the connectors in your repair kit you can put the hose back together again.

If your hose has only a very small tiny leak you may be able to wrap duct tape around it for a quick fix, but in most cases this will not work.

Is your hose beyond the stage of repair? If so, don’t throw it away. You can cut it up and use the pieces to tie down small trees or for other uses in the garage as well.

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Autumn, what a romantic, wonderful time to get married! Whether you want your autumn wedding to be very formal, most casual or somewhere in between, you have an enormous variety of possibilities. It is harvest time. The summer heat is gone. Yet the days are still warm and sunny. The leaves are turning into an incredible array of colors and as they fall off the trees, create a soft, lush colorful carpet. Halloween and Thanksgiving are here and can serve as wedding themes or be incorporated for a most unique personalized fall theme wedding. Can you see the possibilities? So, put on your thinking cap and get creative.

Following are ideas to help you plan a fall wedding.

WEDDING LOCATION, LOCATION, LOCATION

Following are traditional and not so traditional locations that will enhance your autumn wedding and make it unique and special. Picture your wedding at a:

Park

Bed and Breakfast

Country Inn

Winery

Ranch or on a farm,

Barn

Gazebo

Open Field

Orchard

Nature Preserve

Botanical Garden or in a private Garden

Wooded area

Riverbank or Lakeside

Or anywhere where nature presents its glorious backdrop.

ATTIRE

Bride and her attendants

Fall weather is unpredictable. It may get chilly so, consider heavier fabrics and at least some sleeve for the gown and dresses or top them with matching boleros, stoles or shawls that can, but do not have to be worn. The wedding gown can be white, ivory, champagne or gold. The gown and or veil may show embroidered leaf motif or dainty gold embroidery.

Bridesmaids may wear either the same color or to really represent the autumn theme, have each bridesmaid represent a different fall color. See Fall Colors List. The bride may wish to wear a fall theme garter and carry a matching hankie.

Bridesmaids and flower girl will look great adorning garlands of fall flowers and leaves.

The groom and his attendants

To reflect the season, the men and boys could wear tan, beige and brown attire instead of the white, black or dark blue. Their ties should be of fall colors matching the bridesmaids dresses and their boutonnière should be a fall flower.

FALL COLORS

white, ivory, champagne, muted gold, tan, beige, various browns, hunter green, burnt orange, rust red, deep red, burgundy, cranberry, wine, navy blue, sky blue, eggplant purple, pewter, silver, pale yellow, pumpkin and orange.

INVITATIONS AND STATIONERY

Accent your invitations and wedding stationery with your chosen fall color. If you print your own, you may add fall graphics such as leaves, acorns, fall flowers, seasonal fruit, or a horn of plenty. If you purchase fall theme print your own invitations, fall theme is available. Cut the place cards to look like a fall theme item leaves, pumpkin, turkey siluettes etc…

FLOWERS

Chrysanthemums, roses, daisies, dahlias, lilies, yarrow, orchids, hydrangeas, sunflowers, baby breath, fall leaves, tallow berries, natural or dried wheat.

CEREMONY

Decorate the ceremony site with fall flowers.

Instead of aisle runners spread fall color real or fake leaves, in the center aisle. If your ceremony location does not allow spreading petals or leaves directly on the floor, glue leaves on aisle runners. This is a great activity for kids as the love to glue and can be creative. So, if you can engage kids, whether they are yours or not, they will be proud to help with your wedding.

Instead of rose petals, fill the flower basket with colorful fall leaves.

Make pew bows from ribbons in your wedding colors and embellish them with fall silk flowers, leaves, fruit, wheat, Indian corn etc…

RECEPTION

General

Use mini pumpkins, gourds, berrirs, Indian corn, apples, grapes, wheat , bales of hay and leaves foe centerpieces, favors and decorations.

Tables

Instead of numbering your tables, name them. For example:

Fall, Autumn, Acorn, Horn of plenty, Cornucopia, Maple, Oak, Apple, Pear, Pumpkin, Cranberry etc…

To add more interest and make it easier to remember give your table addresses. Just add Circle or Square depending on the shape of your tables and you send your guests to Fall Circle or Autumn Square etc…

Use fall color linens.

Ideas for Centerpieces

Before placing a centerpiece, you may strew fall leaves and or wheat on the reception tables and on the cake tale.

Place A Horn of plenty, a basket or a hollowed pumpkin lined with fall leaves or popcorn and filled with fall fruit, berries, nuts, gourds, mini-pumpkins and-or acorns as your centerpiece.

Pumpkin Ice Sculpture

Carve out the inside of pumpkins and place candles in them. If you plan a buffet, you may line hollowed pumpkins with foil and using them as serving dishes.

Fall floral arrangements in a straw basket or hollowed pumpkin.

Place 3 or 4 fall color candles of various sizes in hurricane lamps. The candles may be cinnamon, cranberry, spice or apple scented.

Place leaf or pumpkin shaped floating candles in a bowl, set it on a layer of fall leaves or straw.

Paint or spray mini pumpkins and gourds and group them together.

A real plant with real blooming flowers makes a great gift for guests. Chrysanthemums of many colors are pretty, very reasonably prices and you can get them everywhere; Wal Mart, Home Depot, Lowes, etc…

Display b bales of hay

If you have children, let them participate. Ask them to string cranberries, candies and popcorn and add them to your table decorations.

Display balloons in fall colors

Large chocolate or ice sculpture Turkeys

Favors

Fruit shaped candles

Favor boxes or bags filled with candy corn

Caramel Apples

The Perfect Pear items

Garden in a bag or box

Fall theme cookies

Fall theme chocolates

Fall theme lollypops

Maple candies

Reception Decorations

Fall theme ribbons and bows, garlands, paper lanterns or luminaries with amber light bulbs, balloons, chains of stringed popcorn, cranberries, candies, paper chains, bales of hay, ivy, garlands etc…

Accent the doorways and tables with tulle and ribbons in your wedding colors. Adhere leaves and silk flowers for inexpensive, elegant displays.

Cake

Decorate your cake with leaves, fall flowers, mini pumpkins, mini apples, marzipan fruit etc…

Flavors: Spice cake, pumpkin cake, dark chocolate cake, nut cake.

Food items you may wish to consider

Nuts

DRINKS: Apple cider, Sparkling cider, you may add: for adults, port or brandy to the cider and for the kids cinnamon sticks. Wine is very popular for fall weddings both as beverage and as part of a centerpiece..

MAIN DISHES especially if close to Thanksgiving: Turkey, stuffing, corn, potatoes, cranberry sauce etc…

DESSERTS: Pumpkin pie, Apple pie, Pecan pie

HALLOWEEN WEDDINGS

Wedding colors white black and orange

Treat or trick bag for bridal purse and or as guest favors

Costumes or masks

Jack O’lantern ice sculpture or actual pumpkin as centerpiece

Jack O’lantern favors

DO NOT display ghosts at your wedding. You do not want to start your life together with “ghosts in your closet”.

FUN IDEAS

Hay rides, Horse and Buggy rides, blowing soap bubbles, Harvest the rewards of your Autumn Theme Wedding planning and have a super event.

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In the news today we read that financial institutions and banks will lose one trillion dollars because mortgage backed assets have lost their value. This year has seen a national downturn in the prices of houses in US and mortgage lenders in the UK have repossessed forty eight percent more properties.

Homeowners are finding it more difficult to repay their mortgages because of the economic slowdown. Although many of us turn to blame the UK weather forecast for a decline in spending, this is not the entire story as the cost of home improvements have climbed by twenty percent in the past two years.

A slow down in the housing market, house sales, a lack of home builders, and families spending less money on their homes and home renovations all are a factor in the falling profits of B & Q, Home Depot, Trade Depot, Screwfix and other DIY stores.

A story from the BBC news on 21st May give details that Home Depot held a slowdown in the housing market, which had been hit by increasing interest rates, and falling house prices, responsible for a loss in their profits. Similarly a report on 4th June explained that sales in the UK at the DIY stores Screwfix, Trade Depot and B & Q were down, and profits had fallen as well.

A month later the BBC news stated that Travis Perkins, the builders merchants who bought out Wickes home improvement stores, had established that customers were spending less on new kitchens, bathrooms and other large items.

Still in July of this year we saw administrators taking over the DIY flooring retailer, Birmingham based Floors2Go. They closed forty-one of their one hundred and thirty two stores whilst they look for a new buyer. As money becomes tighter, home construction and property sales fall, it becomes increasingly harder to ensure a quick house sale.

However there are several companies around who can help you if you are looking for a quick property sale, regardless whether you are facing financial difficulties and repossession, want to relocate or emigrate, have a problem with a commercial property, or have suffered a bereavement. It does not matter whether you live in a leasehold flat, a freehold house or if you are a landlord who has have a portfolio of properties.

They are available 24 hours a day, will personally answer your call and send out an information pack immediately. You will receive a valuation within 48 hours, and then you can take your time to make up your mind. The best thing about this is that there is absolutely no charge whether you decide to go ahead with your property sale or not. On the other hand if you want to exchange and complete within 7 days this is also possible.

There are other options, which you may not have considered, like selling your home and then renting it back. Sell and rent back allows you to release the equity in your home and have the cash you need without moving. Just think of the benefits, you will be able to keep your job, your neighbors and friends won’t know and the children won’t have to change schools. Additionally you will not have to pay for valuations or an estate agent.

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