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5 Tips For Dealing With Aging Parents

If you have parents who are getting older, leaving you feeling helpless about how to proceed, you’re not alone. Millions of Americans have to find ways to provide care for their senior parents without any previous experience or know-how.

It can be a lot easier to take on when the whole family gets involved in doing their part. However, if you’re an only child or the only one pitching in, it can be a lot for one person alone. It’s natural to worry about everything from their mental well-being to how they’ll feed themselves. After all, you have a day job and can’t do everything yourself.

Whether your aging parents are to the point of needing assistance around the clock or are just starting to show the signs of lack of independence, here are some of the best tips to help them through.

Get Help

It’s a lot to ask someone to help you take care of an older parent. If there are no other family members around to assist, then you may be hesitant to ask friends. However, taking it all on alone isn’t going to do anyone any favors.

Try to get help wherever you can. Whether you ask a neighbor, family member, or even friends of your parents. You may be afraid that you’re inconveniencing someone, however, you’d be surprised how happy most people are to help.

Create a Long Term Plan

Unfortunately, people do not age in reverse. Things are only going to get more complicated as the months or years go by. It’s helpful to create a long term plan to prepare for things as they progress.

Making a plan in advance means that you won’t find yourself scrambling in a panic if something unexpected happens. If possible, make the plan with your parents so that they have a say in how they wish to be cared for.

Find Support

Caring for aging parents can, in some ways, be even more stressful than caring for small children. Older people who have Alzheimer’s or serious medical problems can be a lot to handle. Caring for people with extremely high needs can start to take its toll on your mental well-being. It’s helpful to find support where you can. Talking to people who are going through the same thing can be helpful. You’ll feel less alone and even likely to find advice where you felt like you had nowhere to turn.

There are support groups available often in local community centers or churches, or if that’s not an option, you can always turn to online forums. People often create support groups online where you may not be physically in front of someone; however, the bond and support can be just as impactful.

 

Factors Impacting your Travel Insurance Premium

If you are one of the avid travelers, you must be aware of the cancellation policies of airlines, reimbursement of stolen baggage, etc. But those traveling for the first time or not so frequent travelers might not be aware of the numerous rules and regulations of the airlines when it comes to levying cancellation charges or refund of your tickets. Travel insurance is suggested to secure your travel plans for cases pertaining to medical emergencies or flight cancellation.

Despite the fact that travel insurance is imperative for ensuring the protection against any kind of mishaps during your journey, many people don’t buy it due to unawareness and the lack of understanding. Situations have occurred where travelers miss their flights because of natural events or the death of a family member. If there is no travel insurance, your payment will not be reimbursed and you would have to bear the loss or sometimes you may have to pay an additional amount from your pocket as well.

Hence, it is advisable to buy travel insurance online to secure your travel charges. Depending on certain parameters, different companies charge a different travel insurance premium. These parameters are listed below which will help you in choosing the right travel insurance plan to secure your travel.

Age

Travel insurance can be used to reimburse your expenses in case of illness or injuries. As age increases, humans are more likely to fall ill or get injured. There are numerous chances for aged people to claim this insurance. Hence, travel premiums are costlier for older people as compared to younger individuals. Also, the age groups are considered while evaluating the travel insurance premium. Elderly people don’t necessarily are charged the same amount. A 65-year-old will be charged lesser than as compared to a 70-year-old. Different companies use different policies while charging a premium. Hence, it is advisable to compare different brands before buying one.

Duration

Another reason that can impact on the price you pay for your travel insurance, is the duration of your travel. As you may have noticed most flight cancellations take place on your end if it follows a greater time. Often connecting flights that last beyond a few hours, are likely to be missed. The chances of any injury or illness befell on you are higher if the duration of your travel is more. Hence a premium amount of higher value is charged for your travel insurance. And for shorter travel duration, or non-connecting flights it will be comparatively low.

Destination

Destination of your travel also falls under the parameters which decide the amount of your travel insurance premium. Traveling to remote locations or risk-prone areas will cause a hike in your premium amount. The pattern of cancellations increases while traveling to remote locations. This is the reason why international travel insurance is costlier than a domestic one.

Medical Conditions

Patients that are diagnosed with medical conditions have to pay more for travel insurance due to obvious reasons. Many companies charge a higher amount of physically diagnosed illnesses. However, care should be taken to inform your insurance provider about any medical illness. In some cases, the insurance provider has the right to dismiss your claim if the policy doesn’t cover medical illness.

So these are a few common points that should be kept in mind while buying travel insurance. A comparison between different providers will get you the benefit of a cheaper plan.

A bonus tip is to plan and book your travel well in advance to get the benefits to its maximum and avoid cancellation charges of a higher value.

DIY vs Hiring Professional House Cleaning

When it comes to cleaning your house, there is not going to be very much glamour in it. This is more than likely going to be the reason that you are often times finding it very difficult to get it done in the first place. With that being said though, the cleanliness of your home is going to play a huge role and a have a very large influence on your lifestyle and your health, as pests and germs are going to thrive in environments that are unclean. On top of that, when your home is dirty, trying to entertain and be hospitable is going to be downright embarrassing, if not completely impossible.

When it comes to your home, it is going to be a representation of not just you, but also of your family and your lifestyle too. Because of this, you more than likely are going to want this to reflect well on all of the people who are living there. This is when you are going to need to make a very important decision. Should you clean your home yourself or hire a professional cleaning service. Here is what you need to know in order to make the right answer to this question.

Factors to Consider

There are actually some people who truly find leaning their home to be somewhat therapeutic, often times thinking that they are able to do a much better job than any professional cleaning service would be able too. With that being said however, there are going to be some house cleaning tasks that you are going to want to leave to the professionals. Here are the factors that you are going to need to consider when trying to figure out if you should clean your home yourself, or if you should hire a professional cleaning service.

  • Are you able to handle the time commitment that cleaning your home is going to take? Depending upon the size of your home and how many people are living in it, the potential time commitment that you are going to need to make can be very large. How many bedrooms and bathrooms does your house have? Do you have pets that seem to shed all the time? On top of that, family members are very easily able to interrupt the time that you have put aside to clean or can even delay you starting to clean altogether.
  • How valuable is your time? Depending upon how you value your time, it may be cheaper to simply hire a professional cleaning service. Now factor in that most cleaning services are going to have special introductory offers and they will definitely be worth the small fee.
  • Do you have the skills to get the job done? While you may feel that cleaning is easy and that anybody can do it, you would be greatly mistaken. With all of the different types of cleaning chemicals and instructions for using them safely, it can be very overwhelming when it comes to cleaning your home. A professional service will have all of this knowledge and more than likely be able to get the job done faster.

 

8 Foods That Will Help Boost Your Hair Health

Everyone wants to retain a healthy head of hair for as long as possible as they grow older. The rate at which your hair grows depends heavily on your genetics, age, health, and diet. You can control your diet, where you cannot control aging or genetics.

It makes sense that you would make the necessary effort to cater your diet to maintain your hair for many years to come. When you’re wearing your high-tech laser hair growth helmet, take the time to think about how what you eat can support your efforts. Start now, and take a quick look at a few tasty foods that will help support your hair health.

Eggs

Protein and biotin are two of the most important nutrients that help to promote hair growth. Eggs are rich in protein, and they are healthy for your body for more than just the purpose of hair health.

Berries

Berries of all shapes and sizes can be good for your hairline. Vitamin C and other antioxidant-rich vitamins are often present in berries, and antioxidants are known to be protectors of the hair follicles.

Spinach

A shortage of iron in your body can cause you to lose more hair than normal. Spinach is a rich source of iron, among other beneficial vitamins and nutrients. Spinach is often labeled as one of nature’s superfoods, and for good reason.

Fatty fish

If you have a palette for fatty fish, your hairline could benefit from your tactical tastes. Fish like salmon, herring, and mackerel are rich in omega-3 fatty acids, and omega-3s have been directly linked to hair growth.

Sweet potatoes

When you eat orange foods like carrots and sweet potatoes, your body is granted a healthy dose of beta-carotene. Beta-carotene is changed into vitamin A when the body processes the source, and vitamin A has long been linked to good hair health.

Avocadoes

Another well-known superfood, the avocado is an excellent addition to a hair-healthy diet. Avocados are a rich source of fatty acids, but they also contain vitamin E. Vitamin E promotes hair growth, not to mention, it is great for your skin.

Nuts

Nuts are good for your body in many different ways, and your hair is one of the beneficiaries of these tasty snacks.

One ounce of almonds will provide your body with nearly 40 percent of its total daily requirement of vitamin E. You can also get fatty acids, vitamin B, and lower inflammation from eating a variety of tasty nuts each day.

Oysters

Zinc has been proven to help the process of hair growth and support the repair cycle of the hair. Oysters are a great source of zinc. Eating oysters may not appeal to everyone, but the health benefits (and the aphrodisiac components) of oysters far outweigh the negative stigma.

 

4 Tips for Having a Healthy Pregnancy

Congratulations! Either you’ve decided to start trying to get pregnant, or you’ve already gotten pregnant! Chances are you’ve already started reading all of the advice and information out there surrounding pregnancy. After a while, your head can begin to spin from all of the rules and advice out there.

Rather than overwhelming yourself with all of the conflicting information, take a look at some of the most important ways to ensure a happy and healthy pregnancy.

Stay Active

One of the biggest fears surrounding pregnancy and childbirth is losing your body. A lot of women believe that after they have a baby, their bodies will never be the same, and they’ll require plastic surgery if they hope to regain their confidence.

While it’s true that some parts of your body will change as a result of the changes pregnancy puts you through, staying active will help reduce the changes. Most doctors encourage regular exercise without any modifications for the first few months of pregnancy. After this point, you should consult with your doctor about whether they recommend continuing to work out as you are or if you should stop for any health reasons.

Walking is usually a great form of exercise since it’s low-impact and is low risk for inflicting injury.

Take Your Vitamins

One of the first things you should start doing the minute that you decide to get pregnant is to start taking a folic acid supplement. Prenatal vitamins seriously reduce the risk of birth complications and diseases.

In addition to taking vitamins, you can also get your fill of nutrients through foods like raw fruits and vegetables and lean proteins.

Get Plenty Of Sleep

When your baby is born, you’ll be missing the days that you could sleep as long as you want without interruptions. All of that will disappear the instant that your bundle of joy is born.

During your pregnancy, you should get ample sleep so that your body has time to regenerate itself every night. As your belly gets bigger and it’s more challenging to sleep, consider sleeping on your left side to encourage proper blood flow.

Reduce Stress

As your hormones increase, it’s typical for pregnant women to become more susceptible to stress. However, stress affects your baby inside of you. It’s essential to keep your stress levels as low as possible by surrounding yourself with supportive people and situations.

If you have a stressful job or lifestyle, consider learning breathing exercises to help control your stress.

By applying these tips and choosing the right time to get pregnant, you should increase your chances of a healthy pregnancy. In no time, you’ll be holding your baby that you have been so patiently waiting for!

 

5 tips for finding a perfect rented house for newlyweds

Delhi is the place which is ultimately synonymous with grand and lavish weddings. You may try out some of the most luxurious Chattarpur farms Delhi wedding venues for having a feel of that ultimate experience. It goes without saying that newlyweds dream of a new home which will be theirs exclusively. But that can take time as getting adjusted to each other after marriage can take up to a year. So, the best bet is to start with a rented house post-marriage and save more for the future to buy a new house or build one. But, how about starting with a rented apartment first? Sounds cool right? Let’s see the ways of finding the best one for the newlyweds in this article.

Tips for finding the perfect rented house for newlyweds

This is the most important part for any newlywed. Taking up the responsibility of looking after each other begins with a perfect rented home. But this can be a pretty precarious task if you don’t adhere to these tips while searching:

Set realistic goals

This is very important as starting small can lead you to grow in life. So, if you are setting high goals like setting up a big bungalow within the next couple of years that is not feasible. Begin with small objectives like the amount of down payment you can afford. Be realistic as you two need to manage other expenses like groceries, transportation costs and also debt payments. Out of the remaining money you need to bear the rent. So, choose accordingly.

Decide your priorities

Choose a home that will be at such a location that you don’t need to travel a long distance to reach office every day as that can be hectic and time-consuming. Look out for the safety of the neighbourhood as not everyone in the society is like-minded. Try opting for a place that is little more populated considerably.

Have your information ready to submit

Now, this is quite common with landlords as they may ask for you and your better half’s previous address, dates of occupancy if any even during student life and employment information. Try to be brutally honest as possible and never lie in your rental application form and never give a wrong mobile number or hide any information. Always remember that everyone can commit a mistake and everyone deserves to start afresh.

Consider a professional

Some companies may not allow much flexibility or you may want to move out from your hometown in search of a better job. Naturally, house hunting will be the last thing in your mind. As you and your better half will need to have a job as well as get settled. In that case, a professional can come in handy as he will be able to search the best-rented apartment and within your stipulated budget and very quickly.

Have a decent credit score

This credit score concept is kept by many landlords before renting their homes as they want to be absolutely sure that they aren’t renting to the wrong person who may be a defaulter. So, before you submit your rental form or settle down get a credit report from agencies dealing in this matter. If there is any error or minor default problem of either of you two say that honestly and never hesitate in explaining to your landlord. This shouldn’t cause a major problem.

These are the basic steps that you should keep in mind while finding your perfect rented apartment. Always remember not to put pressure on each other as that can create unnecessary stress on the relationship. Instead, try to have a unique experience of house-hunting together.

Also Read: marriage anniversary wishes for husband

 

 

How to Get More Money for Your House

You’d be surprised at the amount of people who upon asking themselves “How much is my house worth?” realize they don’t actually know the answer. While a professional comprehensive estimate is often a huge eye-opener, even something as quick and easy as an online home value calculator can be pretty, well, valuable. Your home might not be worth as much as you think, or it might be worth even more. The only way to know is to find out.

Make some changes

A great thing about owning real estate is that you’re never entirely at the whims of the housing market when it comes to determining value. Quite the contrary, you can literally control the value of your property, at least to an extent. The adage “leave things better than how you found them” is good advice not just for life, but for selling your house as well. Major changes like adding a deck, swimming pool, or garage can boost your home’s value greatly, but it doesn’t have to be that drastic. Even inexpensive renovations such as adding a light to your front porch, repainting the living room, or changing the door knobs can help.

Time things right

Like in any other market, values in real estate fluctuate over time. Housing has its up periods and its down periods. Pay attention to what experts are saying to get an idea if now is a good time to sell. If you’re not in a position to hold onto your property until the market changes, even the time of year can have a big effect on your selling potential. In many areas, spring is the season where most buyers come out of hibernation. More buyers means a greater likelihood that your ideal price is also someone else’s.

Cut your costs

Closing costs can often be trimmed if you know where to cut. If you’re working with a realtor, for example, negotiate to pay a lower percentage commission in exchange for employing them again when you’re the one doing the buying. Or forgo the realtor entirely and sell your home yourself (though be warned, doing the work an agent would normally do for you can be an expensive prospect when you don’t know what you’re doing). If you’re expected to pay the buyer’s closing costs, as is common, factor that into your initial asking price. Often times the best way to make more money is by simply spending less.

Top Plumbing Scams – How Not To Get Ripped Off

Written By Elisha French

Certified Master Plumber in the State Of Texas

Owner of https://friscotxplumbers.com

If there’s an opportunity or a profession that features a lot of money being made, you can be certain there are going to be unscrupulous individuals looking for ways to take advantage of the situation.

The plumbing industry is a good example of this. It’s one of the leading service industries in the United States, filled with mostly honest, hard-working people trying to make a living for their families.

But there are certainly some bad apples as well, people who should be avoided at all costs. They can be difficult at times to weed out, but reading online reviews and checking with the local chamber of commerce before making a hiring decision can certainly help.

There are many scams that these individuals attempt to run, and some show up over and over again. So be on the lookout for some of the more popular ones, so you can avoid becoming a victim yourself.

The Materials Switch Scam

As the name suggests, this scam involves a plumber billing you for a high-end product and then replacing that product with one that’s inferior in quality and not likely to last as long.

To beat this scam, you really need to be on-site when the work is being performed. If the work has already been completed, there’s not a whole lot you can do other that filing a complaint and/or writing a negative review of the company.

One way to stay on top of things is to ask to see the part just before the plumber installs it. Check it over and make sure that you’re getting what you paid for.

If you haven’t received an invoice, or don’t yet know what you’re going to be charged for, ask to see the parts anyway and make a note of what’s being installed. If the invoice doesn’t match your notes, call the plumber on it.

The Extra Workers Scam

If you hire a plumber to do a job in your home and you begin noticing many more people milling about that you intended, this should definitely send up a red flag in your mind.

Some less than honest plumbers will sign on for a job and then begin subbing parts of the job out to associates, oftentimes family members who are out to make a quick buck.

The plumber will come back and tell you that this is a common practice and that they don’t have any control over what these “associates” charge.

To combat this, you really need to have a contract in place before the work actually begins. Short of that, you can put a halt to all work currently being done until you have more clarification from the plumber regarding the situation.

The one thing you don’t want to do is wait until the job is complete before bringing it up. By then, it’s too late and you’re likely going to be stuck with paying the invoice in full.

The Padding The Invoice Scam

If you live in a nice neighborhood and have a high-end home with luxury cars in the driveway, you have a good chance of being victimized by a plumber who you haven’t thoroughly vetted ahead of time.

Some plumbers may pad their invoices as much as 50 to 100 percent in these situations, so you definitely need to keep an eye out for that.

To prevent this from happening, obtain estimates from a few different plumbers and see what shakes out. This could well open your eyes to a scam in the making.

The Floating Estimate Scam

If a plumber, or any service professional for that matter, tells you that he’s keeping a running total of things in his head and that he’ll provide a written estimate at a later date, stop immediately and have a heart to heart conversation.

This is extremely important! If you don’t get an estimate in writing, then you have no way of protecting yourself down the road when you get hit with that expensive invoice.

Plumbers who engage in this scam are usually very smooth operators, convincing you that they’re on the level and that things will work out in the end.

But just remember to always, always, always get things in writing before any work begins! It’s the only way to protect yourself from these types of individuals.

 

3 Things To Teach Your Kids About Staying Safe At Others’ Homes

When your kids are at your home, you can supervise them to whatever extent you want or need. But as soon as your kids leave the house without you, you have to trust that what you’ve taught them when they were in your home will help to keep them safe while they’re away.

To ensure that you’ve taught your children all they need to keep themselves safe in all types of situations in which they’ll find themselves throughout their young lives, here are three of the things that you should teach your kids about staying safe when they’re at someone else’s home so they don’t get hurt on their property or otherwise taken advantage of.

Set Clear Rules About Guns

Because kids are naturally curious, it’s important that you set certain rules about safety that will help to ensure that your kids don’t get too curious about the wrong things and wind up hurting themselves. These types of boundaries are especially important when it comes to things like weapons.

According to AhaParenting.com, one rule you might want to teach or instill in your children is to never be in the same room with a gun. Whether that gun is loaded or not, if your kids know that they’re not allowed to be around guns or people who are holding guns, they’ll be able to avoid a lot of potential for harm or danger to themselves or others.

Good Touch And Bad Touch

One of the scariest threats to your child is physical or sexual abuse. To teach your kids how to avoid and identify this type of behavior, SafeHome.org advises that you teach your kids about good touches and bad touches. While there is some amount of physical contact that’s going to be okay, if anyone tries to touch your kids in their private areas or make secrets about their bodies, you should inform your kids about how to react in these situations.

The best thing to teach them about this is to scream and yell if someone tries to touch them in a way they don’t like. And if something they don’t like does happen, make sure your kids know that they can and should come to you with this information.

Safe Media

Different families have different ideas about what media is appropriate for their kids. So if you have strict guidelines about what you want your kids to watch or play, it’s vital that you teach your kids how to say “no” to something they shouldn’t see or play.

To better protect your kids in this way, Katherine Lee, a contributor to Very Well Family, advises that you speak with the parents of the house your child will be at to help your kids adhere to the rules you’ve set out for them.

If you allow your kids to spend time at their friends’ houses, consider using the tips mentioned above to teach them how to keep themselves safe while there.

3 Tips For Finding The Best Home Loan Offer For Your Financial Situation

If you’re in the market to buy a new home, you’re probably also looking for any way that you can save yourself some money in the process. While there are various ways that you can save here and there, one of the biggest and most impactful ways to save money when buying a new home is to ensure that you get the best possible home loan offer.

For those who don’t have much experience with getting a home loan, you might not know exactly what to look for in a great home loan offer. So to help you navigate these waters, here are three tips for finding the best home loan offer for your financial situation.

Come In With A Great Credit Score

To qualify for a great home loan offer, you first have to be a great applicant. One of the biggest factors in this, according to Jennifer Bradley Franklin, a contributor to Bankrate.com, is to have an outstanding credit score.

The better your credit score is, the better your chances are of getting a great home loan offer that has a lower interest rate. So if your credit score currently isn’t where it could or should be, you may want to spend some time working on that. To do this, you could limit the amount of debt you have, ensuring that you’re paying all your bills on time, and stop applying for additional lines of credit before you start applying for home loans.

Get Multiple Quotes

In order to know that you’re getting the best possible home loan offer for your financial situation, you’ve got to get multiple quotes from multiple lenders.

When you get these quotes, Beth Buczynski, a contributor to NerdWallet.com, recommends that you pay particular attention to what the APR, or annual percentage rate, is and what, if any, origination fees you’ll be paying. With this information, you should be able to compare which offer is going to make the most sense for you.

Work With A Good Mortgage Broker

If you don’t feel like you’re up to doing all the research and work of finding the best home loan offer all by yourself, Tobie Stanger, a contributor to Consumer Reports, shares that you can always choose to work with a mortgage broker.

A mortgage broker is someone who will shop for your mortgage for you. Keep in mind, however, that it’s the banks that pay the mortgage broker, so you’ll want to research brokers carefully before you choose one to work with.

To help you make the best choice when buying a home and acquiring a home loan, consider implementing some of the tips mentioned above.