On St. Patrick’s Day 2007, I moved into my very first place I bought by myself. Being a single parent this was a major accomplishment in my life. The down fall was that it was a mobile home. The only question that ran through my head was; how do you make a mobile home more energy efficient? Most DIY websites and TV shows only show how to do this to a site built home. I researched, did my homework. and asked a lot of questions to friends in the building trade to see what I could do. To my surprise, I have figured out people can do an extreme amount of upgrades to make a mobile home energy efficient.The first thing I noticed is the electric bill in a mobile home is quite a bit higher than...
For a good amount of people owning a house is a big accomplishment in life. But have you asked yourself how secure your home really is? Burglaries happen by the minute. One random day you might return to you home only to find that many expensive objects including: furniture and electronic equipment on you home are missing. Sadly, the majority of home owners start to worry about the security of their property after their houses have been burglarized for the first time. Home security is something that should not be overlooked under any circumstances. So how can you protect your property from such threats? One of the many ways that you can protect your home is by installing a monitored burglar...
As a licensed insurance producer, I often get asked the question: What is contents coverage and how much do I need?The easiest way to describe content coverage is if you turn your house upsidedown and shake it, everything that would fall out is considered contents or personal belongings….ie: furniture, appliances, clothing, bedding, electronics, dishes, silverware, etc. Home contents coverage also includes items like: lawn mowers, above-ground swimming pools, trampolines, etc.There are two types of home contents coverage. One, is automatically included in a home owner’s package and is usually 50 – 70% of the total dwelling coverage.For instance, you have $100,000 of coverage...
Your house is one of your largest assets but more importantly it is your home. Inside its walls reside your family members, treasures, and a lifetime of memories. Securing your home from intruders is critical. Installing a home security system is one way to keep the bad guys out and the happiness in. While installing a home security system makes sense from a security standpoint, there are other compelling reasons to make this move. Below you’ll find the top ten reasons you should install a home security system.1. Peace of mind. Having an alarm system in place will help you to rest easy knowing that your home and loved ones are better protected.2. Deterrent. Most alarm companies place a...
When you think of security for your family you will first think about a security system. There are many different types of home security systems. Some systems are hard wired with cables running to the camera then you could have the services that you have to pay monthly for and have to have a phone line to report disturbances to the office.The newest way is the wireless home security systems. With the wireless you will be able to set up yourself over a weekend and place the cameras in locations that may have been impossible before if you had to wire everything. Many of the new devices and cameras are even motion activated so that you don’t have to sit through hours of no movement on the...
IntroThis was truly the definition of insanity; repeating the same behavior, time after time, while irrationally expecting a different outcome. Too bad it didn’t matter. Insane or not, this was her life.Jenn leaned against the headboard wondering, for what seemed like the billionth time, why she kept doing this.He rolled over and gave her thigh a squeeze before stumbling into the bathroom. “Can we hook up again tonight, Jenn?” he yelled.’Damn, what the heck was his name?’ Jenn was a reasonably intelligent person; she just had a short in the area of the brain where names were stored. In instances like these, it could prove more than embarrassing. What the hell, she...
As a licensed insurance sales producer/agent, it is my responsibility to make sure my customer’s homes are adequately insured. One way we do this is by running a Replacement Cost Estimator. This program compiles the information on a home (square footage, type of interior & exterior, additional structures, etc) and gives us the estimated cost of REPLACING the home AS IS in today’s market.Most insurance companies require a home to be insured for NO LESS THAN 80% of replacement cost value to be considered adequately insured. For istance, the replacement cost is $100,000 the home MUST be covered for a MINIMUM of $80,000 or a claim can be surcharged for the percentage the home is...
Mobile Menaces!With wireless communication becoming more technologically advanced, it was only a matter of time before our cell phones became vulnerable to the same types of viruses that commonly affect computers.The manufacturers of our portable high tech devices are working hard to turn cell phones into mini entertainment platforms. PDA’s, and Smart phones are now capable full HTML web browsing, and many offer mobile versions of popular Microsoft Office applications.They are impressive to say the least. To offer these capabilities the devices have mobile versions of the latest PC operating systems. In short, with the right phone in your pocket, there are very few things you can do on...
Making Your Home SafeWireless home security systems typically embody advanced wireless and sensing technologies that secure customers’ home or sensitive places. They can monitor and detect irregular activities in certain areas and take actions defined by customers. There are various wireless home security products available on market. Some products require subscription fee and the customers pay the corresponding companies a monthly fee for augmented security, and others are simply off-the-shelf products that are installed and maintained by the customers. Needless to say, expensive products that require subscriptions are better supported, and the security measures embedded are more abundant.The...
Weather you are running errands or out on the town, it is important to keep your purse stocked properly!Here are the essentials:KeysWallet- Make sure you have your drivers liscense, insurance cards, credit cards, check book, emergency cash and change.Business Card Holder- It should be full! Any time is a good time to network. The day you leave your business cards at home is the day you need them the most!Cell PhoneIpod or Mp3 Player- Comes in very handy when your stuck waiting for the bus or a cab, and you definitely don’t want to get stuck walking anywhere without it!Chapstick or Lip Gloss- My favorite is the Mentha Lip Treatment from CO Bigelow, which is available at Bath and Body Works....