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Your Home Sold GUARANTEED
Or I'll Buy It*...
"Insider Tips For Healthy, Wealthy & Happy Living..."
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Dear Friend,
While studies indicate late-night snacking isn’t usually the main cause of weight gain, there are some foods that are both common after-dinner treats and potentially getting in the way of a good night’s rest. In today’s Service For Life! ® Free consumer newsletter, you’ll learn what to avoid eating before bed—and a few alternatives to stock for better snacking.
You’ll also learn how to maintain the overall good looks of your hardwood floors, tips to make family trips fun for everyone, and a few reasons why an HSA should probably be in your investment portfolio– plus fun facts, a trivia challenge, and lots more.
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Finally, I want you to know that you may call me for any reason. And please let me know if a friend, family member or neighbor needs a caring, competent real estate professional to help in buying or selling.
I truly appreciate your friendship and referrals. Enjoy your issue!
Warmest regards,
Gary Evans
Broker - Owner
Your Home Sold Guaranteed Realty
832-721-0442
[email protected]
P.S. When you notice people talking about real estate in the next few weeks, can you tell them about the free consumer information I provide? You can mention my Free Consumer Report: “8 Secrets For Saving Thousands When Finding, Buying and Financing Your Next Home”. Please pass my number along to them. - 832-721-0442.
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Brain Teaser…
What type of cheese is made backwards?
(See page 4 for the answer.)
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Don't Eat These Late at Night
(What to Snack On Instead)
Midnight snacks are not to blame for weight gain—at least not simply because of when they’re eaten. Research says it’s the overall daily consumption of calories to keep an eye on, but that doesn’t mean all late-night snacks are created equally.
Snacking in addition to meals too often can be a negative for your overall health, but there are some snacks that can hinder your ability to get a good night’s sleep. Here are some things not to eat before bed—and some substitutions to keep handy instead.
Instead of This… …Eat This
Instead of Ice Cream...
Try Yogurt: It’s full of calcium, which can help you sleep.
Instead of Potato Chips...
Try Pistachios: They help produce melatonin.
Instead of Chocolate...
Try Strawberries: They’re a low-calorie treat with lots of vitamin C.
In general, right before bed it’s best to avoid large quantities of simple carbs, sugar, or food that’s more difficult to digest. The sugar and carbs can cause spikes in blood sugar, making it challenging to relax, while your body working harder to digest something like red meat may cause indigestion and discomfort.
The best late-night snacking advice is:
- Count those calories in your overall daily intake.
- Exercise portion control to avoid unintended overeating.
- Steer clear of sugar and simple carbs.
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Save Thousands When Buying A Home...
Did you know there’s a free consumer report revealing ways to save time and money when buying a home? It’s called “8 Secrets For Saving Thousands When Finding and Buying Your Next Home,” and it’s great even if you’re not planning to buy soon.
Simply call me to get a free copy: 832-721-0442
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4 Family Travel Survival Tips
Studies show that traveling with family members can strengthen family bonds—but that only works if you’re not arguing the whole time. Here are a few tips to ensure your next family adventure is more fun than frustration.
1. Get everyone involved in the planning process. Find books geared toward every age group that are set in your vacation destination or activity books designed for little ones traveling there. The latter may include scavenger hunts and language lessons to keep kids engaged throughout the trip.
2. Allocate extra time to get from place to place. It always takes longer than you think it will. And when you’re rushing to catch a plane or meet a tour group, patience goes out the window.
3. Make sure everyone gets nap time. Being well-rested is a critical component to making sure everyone—parents included—can enjoy every waking moment. When the kids need some shut-eye, adults should take advantage of that time for a nap, too.
4. Relax the rules a bit. If sweet treats aren’t the norm at home, they’re excellent rewards for post-museum good behavior. Treats can also be a fun way to get kids to interact with the local culture—they can have gelato every day in Rome, for instance, but how about if they to learn to order it themselves? In Italian!
Next week: Look for Part 2- Family Travel Survival FLIGHT Tips!
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Would You Like to Know How Much Your
Neighbor's Home Listed or Sold For?
Maybe you’re just curious. Or maybe you want to know how much your home is worth. Either way, I can help…with no “sales pitches” or run-arounds.
Call me at 832-721-0442 and I’ll give you all the facts.
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Maintaining Wood Floors
Wood floors can help make a home feel warm and inviting, and they’re always a big selling point. Like any natural material, though, wood needs some special care to ensure it maintains its good looks for decades.
- Dust acts like sandpaper the second you walk on it. Sweep regularly to keep dust at bay. And always sweep before using a spray cleaner.
- Put an extra layer of protection in high-traffic or high-impact areas, including padded discs under furniture legs. On dining room chairs that drag on the floor regularly, change the pads each month.
- Use specialized cleaning agents made for the type of finish on your wood floor. Other cleaners (including vinegar and furniture polish) can dull the finish on your floors or damage them over time.
- A floor’s finish won’t wear evenly all over, and you can’t repair just one area—as soon as one spot is showing bare wood, the whole floor needs to be refinished. As soon as you notice a discolored or faded spot, it’s time to recoat the floor.
For more information, check out the National Wood Flooring Association’s website: woodfloors.org
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Browser Extensions for Productivity
With all the time we spend online, why not enlist your browser to help make you more productive? These add-ons can do just that.
one-tab.com – When your browser is slowing down because you’ve got too many tabs open, a simple click on OneTab sucks them all into—you guessed it—one tab so you can focus only on what you need to, saving the rest for later.
todoist.com – With Todoist, you can track everything on your to-do list from your browser, no matter what website you’re on. Plus, the app version lets you manage your to-do list on the go.
evernote.com/features/webclipper – Countless people use Evernote to organize their lives. Adding the Web Clipper feature as a browser extension makes it easy to save anything you see online to your Evernote account to reference or read later.
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How To Be HSA-Savvy
They may be only one letter apart, but an HSA (health savings account) and FSA (flexible spending account) are different animals that need different care—and an HSA offers so much more than most people realize.
People with high-deductible health insurance plans may qualify for a health savings account, which allows you to put pre-tax income into a savings account to be put toward medical care costs down the road. Unlike an FSA, there’s no deadline for using the money—you could save it for years, even past retirement—and it’s not tied to a specific employer. You take it with you no matter where you work. And as long as the expense is a qualifying medical cost, you get to choose when it gets spent.
- The list of what qualifies is long, including: prescriptions, eyeglasses, crutches, counseling, and regular trips to the doctor or dentist, as well as things like travel costs for treatment and braces for the kids. The full list of what’s included can be found at: irs.gov/forms-pubs/about-publication-502
- This is money that can only be spent on healthcare costs, so it’s not a replacement for other retirement investments—but expenses on those qualifying medical costs are withdrawn with no taxes. Not only that, if you still have money in your HSA after age 65, the tax rate on non-medical withdrawals drops to whatever your current tax rate is—effectively turning the HSA into an IRA at that point. Withdrawing money from an HSA for non-qualified expenses before age 65 is costly (there’s a tax on the withdrawal plus a penalty), however, so try to avoid doing so.
Talk with your employer about signing up for an HSA if you haven’t already—you can often contribute monthly through payroll deductions—and try to contribute the maximum amount each year. Check in with your tax preparer to find out if you can add anything to your HSA before you file your taxes.
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Are You My Client of the Month?
Every month I choose a very special Client Of The Month. It’s my way of acknowledging good friends and saying “thanks” to those who support me and my business with referrals, word of mouth and repeat business.
This month’s Client Of The Month is:
Stephen and Sharon Bell
You might be my next Client Of The Month too! Watch for your name here in an upcoming month.
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“Who Else Wants To Win
Dinner and a Movie Gift Card?”
Guess who won last month’s Trivia Question? I’m pleased to announce the lucky winner of last month’s quiz. And the winner is…drum roll please: Bob Salinas was the first person to correctly answer my quiz question.
What is the most populous country in Africa?
a) Nigeria b) Egypt c) DR of Congo d) Algeria
The answer is a) Nigeria. Though Algeria is the largest in size, Nigeria is the most populous with nearly 200 million people. So let’s move on to this month’s trivia question.
The famous Brownie Box Camera from Eastman Kodak sold for how much when it first hit store shelves in 1900?
a) $2.50 b) $1.00 c) $10.00 d) $5.00
Call Me At 832-721-0442 OR Email Me At [email protected] And You Could Be One Of My Next Winners!
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Brain Teaser Answer:
Edam. It’s M-A-D-E backwards.
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Real Estate Corner…
Q: We’ve been thinking of hiring a REALTOR to list our property. What should we look for in a qualified, competent agent?
A: Just because someone passed a state licensing examination doesn’t mean they are qualified to handle your needs. All agents are not the same. Here are a few things you should look for in a qualified agent.
1. First, determine if he/she specializes either in your area or type of home.
2. Ask them how they helped clients overcome specific problems they encountered in a past transaction.
3. Ask them specifically what they will do for you if they represent you. They should have a step-by-step plan of action.
4. Ask them how long they’ve practiced real estate, and how many transactions they have under their belt.
5. Ask them about their marketing skills. Most agents are trained to handle transactions and understand the law, but not all of them are trained in effective marketing.
Want to learn more? Ask for my Free Consumer Report called “12 Questions You Should Ask Before Hiring a Real Estate Agent.” I’ll send a copy right over to you. Do you have a real estate question you want answered? Call me at 832-721-0442. Perhaps I’ll feature your question in my next issue!
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