Turn Your Home Green

Posted on by Joan Byrnes Leave a comment

It’s time to give back to our planet. Whether you are looking to save money, become a naturalist or are anxious to have the cutting-edge technology, follow these simple tips and help make our world a better place.

Buy new light bulbs
When it’s time to buy light bulbs, opt for the premium fluorescents. They will shine a pure-white or buttery-golden light and can cut your electricity bill by 5%. These bulbs can range from $3 to $12.

Have a barbeque
Outdoor grilling doesn’t just result in a tasty burger – it’s also good for the air. Outdoor grills use less energy that your electric kitchen stove and also keep heat out of the house; therefore, lowering air conditioning costs. Choose a grill that uses propane or natural gas because they emit 5.6 pounds of carbon dioxide per hour whereas a charcoal grill emits 11 pounds!

Brew coffee with an energy-efficient coffee machine
The energy-efficient coffee machines brew coffee at the exact temperature recommended for coffee; therefore, it doesn’t waste any extra heat and you’ll never have burnt coffee again!

Buy a flat screen monitor
The old, bulky monitors not only take up space, but they also increase your electric bill. You’ll save money by switching to an LCD flat-panel model because a flat screen uses as little as a third of the electricity as the conventional tube-based models. You should also consider this when shopping for large-screen TVs – the savings are in the LCDs and rear-projection models because they use less than half the energy of plasma TVs.

Clean-up with recycled papers towels
Next time you’re in the paper good aisle, throw the recycled paper towels into your cart – they’re cheap and environmentally-friendly.

Become an expert recycler
Local recycling practices may vary, but there are a few universal rules that you can follow. First of all, shopping bags never go in your recycling bins. Look on the bottom of your plastic items for a number and only put the items with a one or two in your bin. Second, don’t put light bulbs, broken glass or bits of food into your bin – they slow up the process and make waste professionals feel like they’ve been tossed to the curb.

For more home-owning advice or for Sun Lakes real estate needs, contact me at your earliest convenience.

Joan Byrnes, SRES
Realty One Group
joan_byrnesmartin@msn.com
www.SunLakesLiving.com

 

It’s About Time for the Market

Posted on by Karl Schroeder Leave a comment

It’s About Time

Time is of the essence. Time flies. It’s about time! We fret about time all the time. We mark various anniversaries on a regular basis, the beginning of spring, your birthday, holidays and other special occasions. We have a calendar full of such days. The markets have just marked a couple of anniversaries as well. This past March 10th, it was the 10th anniversary of the peak of the tech bubble. On March 9th, it was the first anniversary of the bull market that started a year ago at the bottom of the last bear market. It is an interesting coincidence that the two days should fall so close together on the calendar. Read more

New Recovery Highs!

Posted on by Karl Schroeder

When was it, a week ago? We were waxing worriedly (enough alliteration) about the resistance right above us for the major market indices. Well, that is all pointless now as we’ve technically broken out above resistance and made marginal new highs. The leader in this effort was the NASDAQ, which actually broke above its January highs a couple of weeks ago and now is clearly in new recovery high territory. All the hoopla about the NAZ being a big loser over the past ten years means nothing to this current run. It is all about “what have you done for me lately?” The NAZ has been the leader in this bull market and looks like it doesn’t want to give up the lead.
Read more

Clean Homes Show Better

Posted on by Joan Byrnes Leave a comment

So, here’s a question for you. Would you rather walk into a clean home or a dirty one? No, it’s not a trick question but it is an important one. You see, when it comes to selling a home, many people forget how important the answer to that question really is. Sellers get busy looking for their new home, preparing the kids for a move, packing up their belongings, getting organized for their new life and relocation so much that sometimes their home that’s for sale doesn’t get the TLC that’s needed to push it to the top of the buyers’ must-have list. Read more

Beware Greeks Bearing Bonds

Posted on by admin Leave a comment

We have to thank Mark Hulbert of the Hulbert Financial Digest for regular reminders about contrarianism. The latest consumer confidence and consumer sentiment data are not a reason to worry about the length or strength of the economic recovery or the market advance. He notes that consumer sentiment is very much a lagging indicator and in times past has bottomed well after the onset of bull markets and economic recoveries. The current low for consumer sentiment was way back in May last year, although we aren’t that far from those levels after this past month’s reading. Typically, consumer sentiment turns several months after the onset of recovery and even further after the onset of bull markets. The recent reports are just a couple more bricks in the wall of worry that this bull market must climb. Read more