Thursday, February 14, 2019

Choosing A Senior Living Community

Do you have a senior citizen in your family who can no longer live alone? If this is the case, you will need to begin to look for a senior living community. This is a place where elderly people can live full-time under the constant supervision of a highly trained staff. There are many places like this in most communities. However, you need to thoroughly investigate a senior living community before you agree to place your elderly loved one in their care. Here are a few of the things you should do in order to make your decision much easier.

1. Talk to some of your work colleagues and friends to find out which senior living community they chose for their loved one.

You would be wise to get the advice of people you know on this matter. It can be quite helpful. These people can tell you what to look for when you are comparing the facilities you are considering. What factors did they look at when they were making their decision? Are they happy with the way the staff treats their loved one? Have there ever been any serious problems? How much does the facility charge? Would they advise you to use the same senior living community for your elderly loved one? Talking to people you know might help you find some very good senior housing Denver.

2. How many people stay in the facility at one time?

This is an important question because you do not want to choose a facility that is too crowded. On the other hand, you also do not want to place your loved one in a senior living community that does not have enough people to make friends with.

3. How many staff members does the facility employ?

You need to be sure there are enough staff members to adequately care for all the people staying at the facility. Never assume this will be the case. There are some facilities that try to save money by not having enough people on their staff. Make sure your loved one will get the high-quality care you are paying for.

My Top 5 Green Essentials

** This post contains affiliate links which means I will be paid if you make a purchase through my links! I am very grateful for any help however, I completely understand if you would rather visit the website directly to make your purchase! **

“What are the essential products for creating a greener home?”

It's probably the most common question I get!

I’m not surprised: With so many products the market, it can be overwhelming and hard to know where to start. Switching products is a big deal, and you want to know that your new cleaners will work as well as your old favorites!

My recommendation is to start with everyday products like soap and paper towels. These are the products you use the most, so switching to greener alternatives will have the biggest impact on your environmental footprint!

Right now, you can get my top 5 green home essentials for free with your first order of $20 from Grove Collaborative:

Free Mrs. Meyer’s hand soap
Free Mrs. Meyer’s dish soap
Free Seedling bath tissue
Free Seedling paper towels
Free Grove walnut scrubber sponges
Free shipping & VIP trial

(If you’re already a Grove customer, you’ll receive a free set of walnut scrubber sponges.)

Mrs. Meyer’s soaps were the first natural products I started using, and I still use them to this day! They’re made with plant-derived ingredients like aloe vera and olive oil, so I can feel good using them around my family. Plus, they come in beautiful scents like Basil and Lemon Verbena that make clean-up far more enjoyable.

Grove’s Seedling paper is another essential in my home. Despite our efforts to cut back, we go through a lot of paper towels and these are a great alternative to traditional paper. Instead of trees, Seedling is made from bamboo and sugarcane — two plentiful, fast-growing grasses. And for every 50 rolls, Grove will plant a tree!

Finally, the Grove scrubber sponges are a game-changer. I was skeptical at first — sponges made from walnuts?! — but they actually work better than the synthetic sponges I’m used to. I use them for scrubbing pots and pans, wiping down the stove, and even cleaning walls and baseboards.

Grove Collaborative is my go-to for all my green home essentials, from laundry detergent to toothpaste. Grove makes creating a healthy, beautiful home effortless and affordable. They hand-select the best natural products and deliver them (carbon offset) to your doorstep, on your schedule. Going green has never been more convenient!

You’ll get the Green Home Essentials Kit for free with your first order of $20. If you spend at least $39, you’ll also get a beautiful stoneware tray for free! It’s the perfect size to hold your hand soap + dish soap + sponge!

Once you’ve submitted your Grove order, you’ll be signed up for the free 60 day VIP trial. For 60 days, save even more with free shipping, free gifts, price matching, exclusive sales, and personal service.

If you’ve been thinking about creating a green cleaning routine or just wanting to try out some new products, now is a perfect time! This offer is valid until [offer date] or while supplies last — so don’t miss out!

Here’s how it works:

Sign up for Grove Collaborative here. You will receive the [insert offer] for free when you sign up!

To receive this offer, your order needs to be a minimum of $20. Choose the combination of products and scents you love and receive your first box within a few days.

You made it!

Click Finish & Pay and place your order.

Friday, February 1, 2019

Stella & Dot New Stylist Sign-Up Special

**I was compensated for this post and this post contains affiliate links, and I will be compensated if you make a purchase after clicking on my links. **

This is a great opportunity if you have been thinking about starting your own business or have another New Year's resolution you want to check off of your list!

Sign-up as a Stella & Dot Stylist for $99 today!

You only need a downpayment of just $99 and you can start earning extra money by setting your own schedule and working from home. The remaining balance of the $100 starter kit will be waived when you sell $1000 in your first 30 days. This won't be too hard considering there is something for everyone's style at Stella & Dot! They are constantly adding new styles so you'll be able to easily find a few items to please everyone's taste!

Shop New Arrivals at Stella & Dot Here!

If you're looking for a unique way to earn some extra money, make new friends, use your sassy sense of style to help others, and show off your creative makeover skills, you want to check into Stella & Dot Trunk Shows. This is a very cool way to introduce friends and family to the new styles and your new career. Trunk Shows come with tons of perks for hostesses so bring your planner so your guests can set a date and time to host their own Trunk Show and invite their family and friends! (Hostess perks include free items and 50% off!) Hosting your first show could lead to new customers, a filled up agenda with new Trunk Show dates and new friends. So, be sure to have lots of drinks and snacks and have fun with it! You could host a themed show or just use this a way to let everyone know about the new items you fell in love with.

You have until February 5th to take advantage of the $99 starter kit! What are some of your favorite Stella & Dot styles? (Don't forget to check out the sale tab too! I think I found the most gorgeous cobalt blue sweater there!)

Classroom Valentines (And Stickers Too!) At Minted.com

** This post contains affiliate links and I will be compensated if you make a purchase after clicking on my links. I was compensated for this post. **

Enjoy FREE Priority Shipping on Classroom Valentine and Sticker Orders $35+ with code BEMINE2019 at Minted!

Every time I think I have it all figured out, Minted comes back and surprises me with something they offer that I never would have thought of! I guess what I should do from now on is just go ahead and check out their site before I even think about doing anything else. I mean, sure, I'm probably not going to find beef jerky there or toilet paper. But, I can find journals, stationery, an endless supply of art, calendars, invitations, some of the most unique greeting cards for every occasion (and maybe some occasions you didn't even know existed!), pillows, and the list just keeps going and going.

Well, now, I find that they have Valentines for my kid's classrooms! Not just Valentines but stickers too! As with most everything at Minted.com, you can personalize your classroom Valentines and your stickers too!

Minted's Classroom Valentine's Cards are created by independent artists (Just like everything on Minted.com!) so, you'll be helping them with your purchase. I always loved that everything on this site is made by an independent artist because I prefer to shop small and shop often with local businesses. I feel that more of the money makes it into the right hands this way! Besides that, the quality is top-notch!

There are styles to fit every personality and age at Minted.com. Another cool thing about Minted is that when you find an artist that just totally "gets" you and you think, "Oh, wow, I have to buy more from this magical person who knows exactly what I like and knows what it's like to be me!" you can simply click on their name and VOILA! There is their photo, a bio, and an easy to search catalog of their other creations. You can even "heart" their page and share their page on your social networks.

While you're deciding which Classroom Valentines to order for your kiddos, be sure to check out Minted's Valentine Photo Cards! (You can save 15% on those right now too!) You'll want to send valentines to everybody on your Christmas card list, your entire neighborhood, you might even start going through the phone book to grab some more addresses because the cards are seriously that cool! (Does anyone even use a phone book anymore?)

So, did you find anything extra awesome at Minted? I'd be delighted to read any comments about your favorites! I'm really digging the kid's Classroom Valentines! I'm thinking about buying the cards that look like records and the "you're rad" stickers myself. My kids found quite a few they really like. So far, the "Floss like a boss" cards are winning! There are even cards for your older children who may be just way too cool for things like this. For instance, my 12-year-old daughter really thinks the card that reads, "Here's your annual piece of paper and candy" is like, the best thing ever! It fits her attitude and it is quite charming!

I think it's extra cool that they are very fairly priced and come with matching envelopes and you can personalize a lot of them! This will save a great deal of time on the night before Valentines Day! Especially if you're working with a bigger classroom or more than one classroom.

Enjoy 15% Off Valentine Photo Cards with code SENDLOVE19 at Minted!

** edited to add that while 1 or more codes may have expired, you will find a new discount/coupon code through these same links! Minted is pretty good at that kind of stuff! **

Saturday, January 26, 2019

Three Important Financial Lessons To Teach Your Children

Unfortunately, most elementary, middle and high schools don't teach financial literacy and money management. This is one of the main reasons why it's so important for parents to pass down this information to their children. When you teach these important lessons to your children when they're young, you'll increase their chances of financial success in the years to come. In order to make sure this happens, make sure you introduce them to a wide range of information at a level they can really comprehend. Though there are tons of financial lessons you can teach, start with these three.

1. Hard Work Hard work is its own reward. Furthermore, hard work is required when you're looking to provide for yourself and your livelihood. Sure, there is such a thing as passive income. However, there's also active income. In order to build passive income, you need money from active income to make it happen. This is where a full-time job comes in. When you're dealing with young children, they don't have full-time jobs. However, they can learn the importance of hard work by doing well in school and helping out with a few chores around the house. Based on their performance, you can reward them with an allowance or monetary gifts for good grades. When you attach currency to certain tasks, they might be able to have a better understanding of all that's involved in providing for oneself and others.

2. Management Once the money is in their hands, it's important to make sure they understand the importance of managing the money well. In this case, teach them how to create a budget. Teach them the importance of creating categories for their money to flow to. If they spend everything they have, they'll have nothing for a rainy day. This is why a savings account is vital. Make sure your children can keep a kids money bank to store the money they decide to save.

3. Investing If they want to build wealth, your children need to understand the importance of investing. This is where it's time to introduce passive income streams and different systems like the stock market and the foreign exchange market. Always teach at a level they can understand. As you do this, they'll be able to retain the information.

Tuesday, January 22, 2019

The Ins And Outs Of Pawn Shops

The United States is home to roughly 10,000 pawn shops, says the National Pawnbrokers Association (NPA). We've all heard of pawn shops, but few of us have ever sold or pawned items to them. Let's dig into the basics of pawn stores and see how they operate.

What Does Pawn Mean?

Pawn loans have three primary characteristics: they will never appear on credit checks or financial history reports, they are typically not large, and pawnbrokers are not legally allowed to ask for the money they loaned back. Keep in mind that pawn shops also buy products from customers, meaning that customers are not able to sell those products back to pawnbrokers to get their money back as in pawn loans.

How Do Pawn Stores Make Money?

These businesses, typically owned by independent entrepreneurs, make money through a variety of methods. Pawn shops primarily engage in the following activities: making pawn loans to people and charging interest, reselling new and used items that were purchased from customers, cashing checks, sending money orders, and selling cellphone services, among others.

What's the Typical Interest on Pawn Loans?

APR stands for annual percentage rate, or the total amount of interest accumulated on a loan in a year's time. The APR of pawn loans hovers anywhere around 75 to 150 percent per year. Most pawn shops charge interest by the month at around 10 percent interest. Keep in mind that defaulting on pawn loans automatically results in the transfer of ownership of your collateral to the pawn shop.

How Much Money Do Pawnbrokers Lend?

The typical range of return on items pawned to these stores is between 25 and 60 percent of what the item's fair market value is. Pawnbrokers refuse to purchase certain types of items, though this typically depends on owners' personal preferences. Pawn shops aren't the most popular way of getting money in a pinch, though they've served countless millions of Americans over the years. They offer several unique benefits to companies in financial services and specialize in jewelry pawn shop forest park.