Archive for April, 2009
I sometimes get really stressed out because of chain smoking. This is really bad because I think I really worked hard for the past few years. But, once I just had to stop and couldn`t go on. This has been compounding. I feel really unhappy. Can someone help by suggesting any relaxation techniques? I think I can continue with any relaxation techniques for long because I used to exercise a lot and have some stamina.
Quit smoking. Take the help of Gum/patch if needed
I sometimes get really stressed out because of chain smoking. This is really bad because I think I really worked hard for the past few years. But, once I just had to stop and couldn`t go on. This has been compounding. I feel really unhappy. Can someone help by suggesting any relaxation techniques? I think I can continue with any relaxation techniques for long because I used to exercise a lot and have some stamina.
Quit smoking. Take the help of Gum/patch if needed
I sometimes get really stressed out because of chain smoking. This is really bad because I think I really worked hard for the past few years. But, once I just had to stop and couldn`t go on. This has been compounding. I feel really unhappy. Can someone help by suggesting any relaxation techniques? I think I can continue with any relaxation techniques for long because I used to exercise a lot and have some stamina.
Quit smoking. Take the help of Gum/patch if needed
There are many types of Meditation (not medication). I was wonder which would be best to relive me of my worries and help wake up my mind and help me focus
I used to lie down, close my eyes, and focus on feeling/relaxing each muscle one by one from my toes on up. I tried to do this outside as much as possible as the fresh air really helped clear my head.
Stretching was good too, get's the blood flowing without a whole workout draining you.
There are many types of Meditation (not medication). I was wonder which would be best to relive me of my worries and help wake up my mind and help me focus
I used to lie down, close my eyes, and focus on feeling/relaxing each muscle one by one from my toes on up. I tried to do this outside as much as possible as the fresh air really helped clear my head.
Stretching was good too, get's the blood flowing without a whole workout draining you.
There are many types of Meditation (not medication). I was wonder which would be best to relive me of my worries and help wake up my mind and help me focus
I used to lie down, close my eyes, and focus on feeling/relaxing each muscle one by one from my toes on up. I tried to do this outside as much as possible as the fresh air really helped clear my head.
Stretching was good too, get's the blood flowing without a whole workout draining you.
I have a hypnosis cd that's an hr long. Is that too long to be in hypnosis? Sometimes i would zone out during the session and even fell asleep!
Hello John
A face to face one can last from 20 mins to hour, hour half, depends on the work being done.
You will find that with a CD that it, as with all hypnosis, will be a series of relaxation stages & even in face to face therapy clients can drift off.
As long as your not doing anything that requires your attention you will be fine.
Sadhara
I am purchasing my first home, and getting quotes on home ins. How does it work if you decide to use your escrow account? Is this your home's escrow account? I know you would need to bring your 1st years premium to closing, but just a little unsure of how this works. Would this mean I would not have a monthly payment to the ins. company? Newbie here, and need all the advice I can get!
Usually the mortgage company requires that your insurance company send them proof of insurance and a paid receipt for the first year's premium 3 or 4 days prior to settlement. The settlement company will then collect 2 or 3 months worth of the insurance and taxes and forward the monies to the mortgage company to start your escrow impound account. Your monthly mortgage will then include principal, interest, taxes and insurance (also known as PITI). The annual amount for taxes and insurance is divided by 12 and collected on a monthly basis by your mortgage company. Your homeowners insurance company will be instructed to bill the mortgage company and they will send payment from your escrow account. Your mortgage company will also request a copy of your property tax bill from your local tax assessor's office and pay this bill from your escrow account.
After 12 months your mortgage company will then do an escrow analysis to make sure that they always have enough to pay your taxes and insurance and have a cushion equivalent to 2 or 3 months of the yearly total on hand. If at any time the bills they receive significantly surpass their calculations, they will still pay the bill but your escrow account will then become negative and they will send you a bill for the shortage and also increase your monthly payment to maintain a positive balance in your account. By the same token if they have over calculated they should also adjust your monthly payment downward and/or send you a check for the difference if it is significant.
You do need to make sure that they mortgage company pays each of these bills every year since there have been instances where they did not and it can lead to some very tragic results if they don't. Ultimately it is still your responsibility to make sure both your taxes and insurance have been paid.
In addition you need to make sure that they do not over charge you since I have seen them increase the monthly payment by $50 (for example) even though the increase on the insurance for the year was only $30. If you do the math that increase would be $600 meaning they have increased the cushion by $570. In the vast majority of states the mortgage companies do not have to pay you interest on this money and if you add up the thousands of escrow accounts they handle it means they have the opportunity to "play" with a lot of other people's money!
I cancelled my escrow account years ago because I get fed up with the mortgage company's incorrectly calculating the monthly (of course they always calculated too high never too low). I pay my taxes and insurance just fine without their "help". In the end it is your own money and if you are a good manager, there is no reason to give up control of it.
Once you purchase your property you want to also look at the notices that detail future tax assessments and the rules for filing an appeal since many jurisdictions only give you 30 days to appeal any increase and sometimes it is totally necessary and recommended to file appeals to avoid skyrocketing taxes.
Also in one of the jurisdictions that I operate all homeowners are entitled to a Homestead Deduction for their primary residence that allows them to significantly reduce their taxes but you must file for the deduction every 5 years and unfortunately most new homeowners are not informed of this. In addition low to moderate income first time home buyers in this jurisdiction are entitled to a 5 year tax abatement (read no taxes for 5 years which can equal a savings of $5,000!) that must be filed within the first 18 months of purchase–again due to lack of information many miss out on this opportunity.
Make sure that you research any credits, abatements or deductions that you might be entitled to. Also it is my understanding that the new stimulus bill includes an $8000 federal tax credit for first time home buyers or buyers that have not owned a primary residence for the last 3 years–check with your local tax specialist.
I hope this helps. Good luck & congratulations on the purchase of your new home!
I am purchasing my first home, and getting quotes on home ins. How does it work if you decide to use your escrow account? Is this your home's escrow account? I know you would need to bring your 1st years premium to closing, but just a little unsure of how this works. Would this mean I would not have a monthly payment to the ins. company? Newbie here, and need all the advice I can get!
Usually the mortgage company requires that your insurance company send them proof of insurance and a paid receipt for the first year's premium 3 or 4 days prior to settlement. The settlement company will then collect 2 or 3 months worth of the insurance and taxes and forward the monies to the mortgage company to start your escrow impound account. Your monthly mortgage will then include principal, interest, taxes and insurance (also known as PITI). The annual amount for taxes and insurance is divided by 12 and collected on a monthly basis by your mortgage company. Your homeowners insurance company will be instructed to bill the mortgage company and they will send payment from your escrow account. Your mortgage company will also request a copy of your property tax bill from your local tax assessor's office and pay this bill from your escrow account.
After 12 months your mortgage company will then do an escrow analysis to make sure that they always have enough to pay your taxes and insurance and have a cushion equivalent to 2 or 3 months of the yearly total on hand. If at any time the bills they receive significantly surpass their calculations, they will still pay the bill but your escrow account will then become negative and they will send you a bill for the shortage and also increase your monthly payment to maintain a positive balance in your account. By the same token if they have over calculated they should also adjust your monthly payment downward and/or send you a check for the difference if it is significant.
You do need to make sure that they mortgage company pays each of these bills every year since there have been instances where they did not and it can lead to some very tragic results if they don't. Ultimately it is still your responsibility to make sure both your taxes and insurance have been paid.
In addition you need to make sure that they do not over charge you since I have seen them increase the monthly payment by $50 (for example) even though the increase on the insurance for the year was only $30. If you do the math that increase would be $600 meaning they have increased the cushion by $570. In the vast majority of states the mortgage companies do not have to pay you interest on this money and if you add up the thousands of escrow accounts they handle it means they have the opportunity to "play" with a lot of other people's money!
I cancelled my escrow account years ago because I get fed up with the mortgage company's incorrectly calculating the monthly (of course they always calculated too high never too low). I pay my taxes and insurance just fine without their "help". In the end it is your own money and if you are a good manager, there is no reason to give up control of it.
Once you purchase your property you want to also look at the notices that detail future tax assessments and the rules for filing an appeal since many jurisdictions only give you 30 days to appeal any increase and sometimes it is totally necessary and recommended to file appeals to avoid skyrocketing taxes.
Also in one of the jurisdictions that I operate all homeowners are entitled to a Homestead Deduction for their primary residence that allows them to significantly reduce their taxes but you must file for the deduction every 5 years and unfortunately most new homeowners are not informed of this. In addition low to moderate income first time home buyers in this jurisdiction are entitled to a 5 year tax abatement (read no taxes for 5 years which can equal a savings of $5,000!) that must be filed within the first 18 months of purchase–again due to lack of information many miss out on this opportunity.
Make sure that you research any credits, abatements or deductions that you might be entitled to. Also it is my understanding that the new stimulus bill includes an $8000 federal tax credit for first time home buyers or buyers that have not owned a primary residence for the last 3 years–check with your local tax specialist.
I hope this helps. Good luck & congratulations on the purchase of your new home!
My grandpa lives in an older home in the country. In the basement he has a pump running 24 hours a day, seven days a week. If it did not run, his basement would fill up with water. He says house is built over an underground spring. Is there any way a company could come in and stop this water from coming into basement? It comes through the floor and one wall.
The furnace is in the basement and up on blocks. The water heater and electrical box is down there too.
Yeah, I've heard advertisements for companies that specialize in water sealing basements, but I have never looked into it.
Even if granddad has survived just fine for years there, it scares me – electrocution or electrical fire just waiting to happen.
Another danger I haven't heard anyone mention – I don't know where your granddad lives, but I'm in Florida, where underground springs and water ways are likely to turn into sink holes at any time. That means that the ground very suddenly starts to cave in from the center out, taking everything standing on it with it, turning the area immediately into a 30 + foot deep lake. These things can be anywhere from a few feet to a football field wide. Down here, it can happen even where there is no evidence of particularly unstable ground…I wouldn't even dream of trying to live in a place like his.