Life Hacks

These days, everyone seems to be looking for a shortcut or a “hack.” Apparently, things like “growth hacking,” “social media hacking,” “biohacking” and so on are all the rage. It appears everyone wants to find that magical shortcut that will lead them to getting more output with less effort.

 

And, of course, hacking “experts” and gurus are on hand to help! The number of seminars, webinars and pitching services focused on the “hack economy” are unprecedented.

 

In a great post about useful hacks by Morgan Housel, a partner at Collaborative Fund, he wrote about attending a three-hour session with a social media consultant who walked attendees through a slew of social media-related “hacks.” However, although she talked about things like when to post and why to create hashtags, Housel notes that the trainer never actually talked about the most important component: creating good content to post.

 

Good writing takes time, creativity, patience, determination, perseverance and careful editing. In other words, it’s work. With this in mind, Housel provided a list of hacks that he finds useful.

 

• Marketing hack: Make a good product that people need.


• PR hack: Do something newsworthy.


• Writing hack: Write every day for years.


• Learning hack: Read a book. When finished, read another.


• Work culture hack: Trust people and pay them well.


• Investing hack: Give compounding the decades it requires.


• Savings hack: Lower your ego and live below your means.


• Career hack: Work harder than is expected of you and be nice to people.


• Organization hack: Clean up your mess.


• Fundraising hack: Make a product lots of people will pay for with decent or better margins.


• Scale-to-a-million-users hack: Make a product a million people need.


• Making college more affordable hack: Go to an in-state public school and work full time.

The takeaway is, rather than focusing on what you can “hack,” it’s a far better use of time and energy to follow tried and true principles of productivity and achievement. Five favorites are:

 

1. Follow the 80/20 Rule. 20% of our inputs are responsible for 80% of our outcomes. Therefore, it would stand to reason that the ultimate “hack” is to identify and spend time on what has the potential to provide the greatest outcome. The rest is a distraction.


2. Separate Urgent from Important: One of the most important productivity concepts that goal-oriented individuals understand is the difference between those things that are urgent and those things that are important.


3. Give consistent effort and have patience. Rome wasn’t built in a day. Things worth doing take time and consistent effort towards the goal.


4. Create a Stop Doing list: To do more of the right things, you need to also stop doing the wrong ones.


5. Last, but not least, if you do something, do it well. Two of my favorite Friday Forward stories are about how world-class photocopies launched the career of one of America’s top venture capitalists and how a plumber showed a client what commitment to excellence looks like.

History is a great teacher, showing us time and again that qualities such as focus, patience, practice and a commitment to excellence will always trump a hack in the long-run.

 

Need A Mortgage? Visit us at: www.mortgagemastersgroup.com

Botanica 2019 - Happening This Weekend

Happening this weekend…

Botanica 2019 at the Port St. Lucie Botanical Gardens, 2410 SE Westmoreland Blvd., Port St. Lucie, FL.

Saturday & Sunday (February 9th & 10th) from 9am to 4pm for all your outdoor and garden needs. Food, fun, live remotes with Hamp Elliott from 97.1 Ocean FM and Jazz from 12 – 2pm with the Fort Pierce Jazz & Blues Society both days.

Come out and join in the fun!

Need A Mortgage? Visit us at: www.mortgagemastersgroup.com

Free Tax Assistance Available Throughout St. Lucie County Starting February

Trained volunteers with the American Association of Retired Persons (AARP) and the Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) programs will be providing free tax preparation assistance at eight locations throughout St. Lucie County starting in February.

 

These sites offer free tax filing assistance to those residents making less than $55,000 per year. Please call 211 for updates. Assistance will be offered at the following locations:

 

• Indian River State College (Fort Pierce campus / Building B – Room 119), 3209 Virginia Ave., Fort Pierce: Thursdays from 2 to 7 p.m. (772-462-7489)

 

• Lakewood Park Branch Library, 7605 Santa Barbara Drive, Fort Pierce: Wednesdays and Saturdays from 9 a.m. to noon and Fridays from noon to 3 p.m. (772-462-6870)

 

• Kilmer Branch Library, 101 Melody Lane, Fort Pierce: Wednesdays from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. and Saturdays from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. (772-462-1615) (Note: tax service will not be available on March 30)

 

• Morningside Branch Library, 2410 SE Morningside Blvd., Port St. Lucie: Thursdays and Fridays from 9 a.m. to noon (772-337-5632)

 

• Mustard Seed Ministries (Fort Pierce), 3130 South US 1, Fort Pierce: Tuesdays, Thursdays and Fridays from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. (772-465-6021)

 

• Mustard Seed Ministries (Port St. Lucie), 8311 South US 1, Port St. Lucie: Mondays through Fridays from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. (772-340-1406)

 

• Knights of Columbus, 451 SW Ravenswood Lane, Port St. Lucie: Mondays and Wednesdays from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. (772-878-7514)

 

• Port St. Lucie Community Center, 2195 SE Airoso Blvd., Port St. Lucie: Mondays, Tuesdays and Wednesdays from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. (772-344-4302)

 

Times and availability may vary, so please call ahead.

 

A list of potential paperwork that residents will need to bring to have their federal taxes prepared include: Proof of identification, Social Security numbers, birth dates of family members, property tax bills, all income documents, including wage and earning statement(s) W-2, W-2G, 1099-R from all employers; interest and dividend statements from banks (forms 1099-Div); a copy of last year’s federal and state returns (if available); health care expenses; donation receipts and bank routing numbers and account numbers for direct deposit.

 

Volunteers at all of the sites have been trained by the Internal Revenue Service. For more details about this program visit: www.irs.gov and search the “VITA” and click on “Free Tax Return Preparation for You by Volunteers.”

 

Please be aware that residents will not be able to contact the tax volunteers by calling the individual locations. For additional assistance and information please contact the IRS Taxpayer Assistance Center, 7410 South US 1, Port St. Lucie or call 772-340-5606.

 

Need A Mortgage? Visit us at: www.mortgagemastersgroup.com

Happy Groundhog’s Day

Will more Winter or Spring in these six weeks unfold? Whatever the outcome, when he’s put to the test, Mortgage Masters Group wishes you Phil’s very best!   Happy Groundhog’s Day!!!

 

Did You Know? The First Groundhog Day was celebrated on February 2, 1887 and was celebrated in Punxsutawney, PA. According to tradition, if a groundhog comes out of its hole on this day and sees its shadow, it gets scared and runs back into its burrow, predicting six more weeks of winter weather; no shadow means an early spring.

 

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FP&L Net Metering

FP&L Net Metering

Net metering allows FPL customers who connect approved, renewable generation systems such as solar panels to the electric grid to buy and sell electricity to FPL.

When you generate electricity from your solar array for your home or business, it reduces the amount of energy you purchase from FPL. It also lowers your monthly electricity bills. If your system produces more energy than you need, the excess power is sold back to FPL’s grid. That amount of energy is deducted from your monthly bill or credited toward a future bill in the same calendar year.

To be eligible, complete the application process for your Interconnection Tier listed below and FPL will replace your current electric meter with an appropriate meter to correctly measure excess power supplied to the grid. This is needed to calculate the net impact on your bill.

All net metering applications are now available online.

 

Eligible Energy Sources

Several types of renewable energy systems are potentially eligible for net metering:

• Solar energy (photovoltaic)


• Wind energy


• Biomass (landfill gas or methane)


• Hydroelectric power


• Ocean energy (tidal power or ocean currents)


• Hydrogen


• Waste heat


• Geothermal energy

 

Learn See More at: www.fpl.com/clean-energy/net-metering.html

Need A Mortgage? Visit us at: www.mortgagemastersgroup.com

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5 ways to increase the value of your home in one weekend for less than $500

Whether you’re planning to stay in your home for several more years or are looking to move within months, it’s never too early to start thinking about what it will take to get top dollar for your home. Fortunately, there are a few quick and inexpensive things you can do now to boost your home’s value so that once the time comes to go on market, you don’t find yourself with an overwhelming to do list.

Quick kitchen makeover

The kitchen is one room in your home that can easily look dingy and dated. But in one weekend, chipped cabinets can be re-painted or re-stained, old hardware switched out and an updated lighting fixture installed. Clear off countertops and give them, and their backsplashes, a good scrubbing. To help accessorize, consider purchasing fresh towels, oven mitts, rugs or other tapestries on display that have become stained and dirty.

Remove popcorn ceilings

The average cost to have popcorn ceilings removed by a professional is anywhere from $1-3 per square foot. But if you do it yourself, you’ll just be out the cost of some plastic tarps, your preferred device for spraying water and a putty knife. Yes, removal is as simple (and as messy) as getting the popcorn wet and scraping it off. Finish with a fresh coat of paint and call it a weekend. Just remember that if you live in an older home, the ceiling should be tested for asbestos first. Cost for testing is usually minimal and should still fit within your $500 budget.

Add a fresh coat of paint

At around $25 a gallon, this can be a quick and inexpensive home improvement project. Color trends change over the years so if you haven’t painted in a while, chances are your walls could use an update. If selling is in your near future, remember that lighter colors make rooms look larger and neutral tones are more appealing to potential buyers.

Fix up the yard

With 48 hours and $500, you could make a huge improvement on curb appeal. A bag of grass seed to fill in dead spots on the lawn, a tree to provide shade and cut cooling costs, and a few flowers to brighten up dead beds could be the trick. Or go the opposite route with drought resistant plants, lowering your (and a future owner’s) monthly water bill. And by renting a pressure washer, you can clean away years of built up grim from your home’s siding, front walkway, decks and fences in a matter of hours.

Declutter

This is possibly the least expensive, but potentially most time-consuming task on our list. Still, decluttering has proven to add value and should be a top priority if you’re planning to put your home up for sale. Clearing space on walls, shelves, floors and in closets will make your home feel more spacious, organized and inviting to potential buyers. And if you’re not selling for a while, consider it an investment into your sanity as you reap the benefits of living in a calm, decluttered space.

Boosting the value of your home doesn’t always mean expensive and time-consuming remodel projects. Even with a small budget and a bit of sweat equity, you can really make a difference. What home improvement projects will you be taking on this weekend?

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Instead of Selling Her $1.7 Million Home, Woman is Giving It Away to the Winner of a Letter-Writing Contest

If you are looking to live in a magnificent $1.7 million home in the scenic hills of Canada, then this woman is asking you to write her a letter.

Ever since Alla Wagner suffered a back injury last year, she has been unable to manage the stairs of her 5,000-square-foot home in Millarville, Alberta.

Home care nurses suggested that she upgrade the house to accommodate her disability, but she couldn’t bear to change its beloved structure.

“I view this home as a work of art and I don’t want to make changes to it that’s going to compromise it’s look and the value and craftsmanship that’s in this home,” Wagner told CTV News.

She spent several months trying to sell the home, but to no avail. Instead of giving up, however, Wagner got an idea.

Wagner is hosting a letter-writing contest in which she is asking strangers to write about why they want to live in her home.

The “Write a Letter, Win a House” contest will be accepting up to 68,000 submissions. As a means of Wagner recouping the cost of her home, participants are asked to pay $25 for their application.

If the letter application fees don’t help Wagner to break even within the next few months, she will refund all of the $25 admissions to the entrants. Additionally, if the contest succeeds, she plans on giving away 5% of its proceeds to the Calgary Women’s Shelter.

Wagner has already started reviewing letters for the contest, and she says she has been heartened by the submissions.

“Just that one family that will end up in this home, in this house and make it into a home for themselves and be happy here, as happy as I have been, I know it’s going to be a beautiful story in the end.”

“It would be a beautiful way for someone not giving up hope,” said Wagner. “I’m not going to give up hope. I believe that when this contest works, I know it’s going to be well worthwhile.”

By McKinley Corbley -Jan 21, 2019 – https://www.goodnewsnetwork.org/woman-is-giving-away-multi-million-dollar-alberta-house-in-letter-writing-contest/

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