Buying a house is one of the most exciting things you will ever do. But there are LOTS of little details involved - details which can be very costly if they are overlooked.

Unfortunately, I made all 10 of these mistakes when buying my first house. Even though I thought I was very prepared. But with so much going on, I still missed them…and cost myself THOUSANDS of dollars!

Which is why I created www.HouseBuying-Tips.com. Now, you can learn ahead of time how to save yourself lots of money. So, here is the first mistake you should avoid when buying your next house:

#1: Know EXACTLY what you want before you start house hunting, AND put it in writing!

Owning your own home is a great feeling. It’s the American dream. And it’s one of the biggest purchases you will ever make!

So the more time you spend preparing, the easier your life will be.

One of the most important things you can do to get ready to buy your first house is to decide EXACTLY what you want - and write it down on paper.

Sounds simple. But over the next few months you’ll see that the house buying process is one of the most intense, stressful, busy - and exciting - times of your life. So, BEFORE you start looking for a new house, it’s a good idea to have a very clear picture of the type of house you want.

It’s certainly helpful to have a picture in your mind. But as you get further into the process, you’ll find it helpful to have a list you can refer to (especially when the “files” in your mind start getting overloaded!)

Of course, once you start looking at houses, your list can change:

…you’ll find things you never thought of
…things you thought were important but may not be any more
…things you thought you could afford but can’t
…and things you didn’t think you could afford, but you can.

So don’t be afraid to make changes.

When writing your list, think of all the qualities you want in a house…and in a neighborhood…and in a town (or city). Include EVERYTHING you think is important. While this won’t guarantee that you will get everything you want, it will help you be able to prioritize what you think is most important.

Here are some of the items you should include on your list:

• Town or city (which towns do you WANT to live in, which ones would you live in if you had to, which ones would you NOT live in no matter what!)
• Area of town
• School system
• Type of neighborhood (With kids, without kids, close to highway or main road, out in the country, etc)
• Type of house (Cape, Ranch, Colonial, etc)
• Size of house (Square footage, number of bedrooms, number of bathrooms, etc.)
• Size of rooms
• Layout of house
• Yard (Landscaped nicely so you don’t have to do any work getting it in good shape, not as nicely landscaped so you might get a better deal but need to put in more work, etc.)
• Price (Are you willing to pay less for an older house or one that needs more work?)
• Anything else that is important to you (For example, I knew I did not want a house on a hill. But our first offer was for a house on a hill. Which left me feeling very uncomfortable. Luckily, the deal fell through, but without a list I got caught up in the excitement.)

If you’re not sure what to put on your list, take a walk through the house or apartment you are living in now. Take a walk through the neighborhood. Visit a friend or neighbor. The more information you have, the better!

(NOTE: If you are buying your house with someone else, make sure you ask your spouse, partner, or significant other what they think is important as well. If at all possible, try to combine your list so you can work together.)

Once your list is ready, put the items on your list in order of importance, so when you have a million other little details in your mind, you can look at your list and not have to rely on your memory.

So, do yourself a favor and find a quiet place, take a few moments to write out your list, put it in order of importance, and save yourself a bunch of stress!

Kris Bickell is the owner of HouseBuying-Tips.com, a site that helps first time home buyers avoid the costly mistakes that many new homebuyers make. For tips on buying a house, getting a mortgage, finding a realtor, and getting out of debt, visit: http://www.HouseBuying-Tips.com, or sign up for the free “How To Avoid These 10 Costly Mistakes When Buying Your First Home” email course at: http://www.HouseBuying-Tips.com/course.html
© 2005 HouseBuying-Tips.com

Between 50% and 60% of the people using the Internet today do not have high-speed broadband access. Yet many Web sites cater only to the 40% that do. Then they wonder why their sales figures are so poor. Although it’s tempting to add every whiz-bang feature into a Web site, if you do, you are undoubtedly sacrificing profitability for “techno-appeal.”

As the Internet has become more popular, more and more software applications have moved onto the Web. To give users an experience that rivals what they get from their PC software, browser vendors have had to give developers a way to program and extend the browser interface. A programming language called JavaScript is one popular tool for client-side (browser) scripting.

Unfortunately, every vendor implements the JavaScript language differently and defines the rules for manipulating the browser differently. This situation makes it extremely difficult to develop a rich user experience that works across browsers. As a result, you should be careful about adding features to your site that rely on JavaScript. For example, you should never use a script-based menu system as the only way for visitors to navigate your site. Search engine spiders cannot follow program code, so JavaScript menus essentially slam the door on the search engines.

If you think back on your own browsing experiences, can you remember a time when you got some kind of scripting error while navigating to a Web page? How did you feel about that site after you got the error? Would you want your visitors to have that feeling about your site?

The fact is a lot of scripting is totally unnecessary. Also, some browsers don’t support it, and many people intentionally turn it off for security reasons. If you do use scripting, use it sparingly and be sure to test it on all the browsers you can.

Plug-ins are just as bad. For one thing, they require your visitors to download a program that will run on their system, and some people find that idea just plain scary. Spyware and other nasties have made people skittish about downloads, and for good reason.

For example, Flash is a commonly employed plug-in that requires a sizable download. Realistically, Flash animations are cool the first time you see them, boring the second time, and annoying every other time beyond that. Never, ever use a Flash animation as the only way for people to enter your site. It is like locking the front door of your business and requiring customers to get a key from somewhere down the street.

Use animations only when they make sense as part of the content, like for demonstrating how something moves. Frivolous animations of any kind are annoying to most people. If you are trying to read the content of a page, the last thing you want is a distracting graphic flashing in the periphery.

Use sound as you would use an animation: only when it supports the content. For example, if you sell duck calls, you could include a sample of what each one sounds like. But that sample should only play when the customer clicks a link requesting it. Do not under any circumstances force people to listen to music while surfing your site. There’s a strong possibility most of them will hit the Back key and never return.

The bottom line is that you should think about your audience. Simplicity is not a bad thing. Some of the most popular sites on the Internet like CraigsList.com and Yahoo.com are simple and straightforward. Plus, they are usable by people surfing with any type of connection, even dial up. So the next time you ponder adding some “cool” new feature to your site, first ask yourself if it is going to add anything to the bottom line.

Susan Daffron is the President of Logical Expressions, Inc. (http://www.logicalexpressions.com) and is the author of more than 70 national magazine articles, 200 newspaper articles, two books, and online training courses. With hundreds of online articles to her credit, she regularly publishes ezines on computer tips (Logical Tips), pet care (Pet Tails), and other topics.

Charity wristbands have become hugely popular over the last year. Countless charitable organizations representing everything from breast cancer awareness, to the Red Cross, to patriotic and religious groups, to the Lance Armstrong Foundation sell uniquely colored wristbands to raise money and awareness. The charity wristband phenomenon is not just happening in the United States, either. People as far away as Europe and even Australia are becoming entranced by this popular trend.

Charity wristbands offer people the option of helping out causes they believe in. People who may not have much money to give away to charity can buy a wristband for a very reasonable price and know that they are doing their part to help. Most charity wristbands sell for under five dollars, with some going for as little as one dollar. The wristbands are sold for so little because they are usually made of inexpensive silicone or rubber. Many manufacturers offer discounts for organizations that buy large numbers of wristbands.

Charity wristbands can come in nearly any color and can have any type of slogan or name embossed on them. Certain colors are known to represent particular charities or causes. One of the most popular is the yellow wristband that is sold by the Lance Armstrong Foundation. People around the world recognize that people wearing these bands donated money to help people living with cancer. Pink charity wristbands signify breast cancer awareness. People who buy these wristbands help support breast cancer research and treatment. After the catastrophic tsunami, the Red Cross began selling red wristbands to help fund the rescue and recovery efforts in the area.

Charity wristbands are popular worldwide. They are trendy fashion accessories as well as fundraising tools. When the first quantity of yellow wristbands sold out in Australia, people bought the bands off of eBay at huge markups.

Wrist Bands Info provides detailed information about rubber, silicone, and leather wristbands, plus free and custom wristbands, including charity, and cancer wristbands. Wrist Bands Info is affiliated with Business Plans by Growthink.

Normally an inhibitor of pain, norepinephrine can produce pain as well–especially in the case of fibromyalgia. Your subconscious may be able to help counteract the effects of this pain-related brain chemical.

When your brain receives a pain signal transmitted by substance P, a major amplifier of pain, it immediately ships a packet of pain-relieving chemicals to the site where substance P was first released. Included in that packet is norepinephrine.

If the pain becomes chronic, however, norepinephrine may begin to alter nerve cells so that they intensify pain signals rather than dampen them.

Norepinephrine and Fibromyalgia

The abnormal alteration of nerve cells by norepinephrine seems to play a large role in fibromyalgia pain.

Fibromyalgia often begins with a car accident or some other physical or psychological trauma. That event sets off the sympathetic nervous system, which controls the fight or flight syndrome, to be hyperactive 24/7. This can cause the sleep problems, fatigue, digestive upsets and cognitive difficulties associated with fibromyalgia.

The constant activity of the sympathetic nervous system can also cause pain. If it becomes chronic, the mechanism described above kicks in–norepinephrine begins to alter nerve cells so that more pain is produced. This leads to more hyperactivity of the sympathetic system, which leads to more pain, thus starting a vicious cycle.

This pain shows up in tender points throughout the body. Many of these points are in the neck area, which contains a large number of interconnections for the sympathetic nervous system.

Norepinephrine and Visualization

Through visualization statements it may be possible to focus your subconscious on reducing the impact of norepinephrine in the pain process. This could be true not only for fibromyalgia but for back pain or pain in the neck or other extremities, arthritis pain, or neuropathic pain (nerve pain).

Visualization statements represent the specific language that your subconscious wants you to read back to it to help ease your pain. They’re simple and are targeted directly at the main factors that could bring you relief.

You can obtain these statements by learning how to communicate directly with your own subconscious mind. The process is straightforward and can be done at home by working with a facilitator over the telephone. You you need no special skills and no previous experience in working with the subconscious.

To help break the vicious cycle of more pain leading to more hyperactivity of the sympathetic system, the subconscious will probably suggest visualizing a decrease in the amount of norepinephrine that you release.

Easing the Pain

Fibromyalgia has no known cure, but we’ve found that visualization statements do seem to ease the pain in some cases. It may be worth exploring this technique as an alternative way of dealing with norepinephrine-related pain.

Ben Plumb is CEO and President of The Visualization Group, Inc. The company’s service is delivered by people like himself who personally suffered from years of chronic pain, and used the visualization method described in this article to obtain relief when nothing else worked. For more information, please visit http://www.thevisualizationgroup.com.

(c) 2005 The Visualization Group, Inc. All Rights Reserved. The methodology and program disclosed in this article are Patent Pending.

Vacations in Europe can be quite expensive. The hotels are more expensive and so is the living cost. On the other hand vacations in UK are less expensive and quite manageable. But you have an alternative to hotels if you are planning to spend your vacations in Europe. All you have to do is find a camp site in Europe and enjoy your stay. Hiring a car and tent can be quite cheap for vacations in Europe. Camping in Europe can be fun as Europeans are fond of outdoor activities.

The best thing about camping in Europe is that you can find a wide range of facilities on there camp sites. You can easily find restaurants, bars and access to hot water. Some camp sites provide you with toilet facilities in your own camp. Another advantage of camping in Europe is that you can have the site booked online. You can find a lot of websites that provide you with this information and you can go for advance bookings. This way you can save yourself a good amount of money when compared to living in a hotel. The food services provided are also good but its best that you cook your own food.

This article relates to the Compensation and Benefits competency, commonly evaluated in employee satisfaction surveys. It tells the story of a company that offered a new benefit to its employees, solved the problem of lagging productivity, and boosted morale at the same time. The Compensation and Benefits competency focuses in detail on how your employees feel regarding their compensation and benefits packages. The questions included in this competency will help your organization determine whether your employees feel they are fairly paid for the work they perform when compared to a similar job at a different company. This competency also queries their feelings regarding the adequacy and quality of their benefits package. A fair and attractive compensation package is critical for hiring and retaining quality employees. A high satisfaction level in this competency requires that your compensation structure and benefits package be fair, balanced, and understood by your present employees.

This short story, An Unexpected Benefit, is part of AlphaMeasure’s compilation, Tales From the Corporate Frontlines. It illustrates how companies can use benefit programs to solve problems and create better work life situations for employees.

Anonymous Submission

An Unexpected Benefit

Whenever my company or coworkers engaged in a discussion about compensation and benefits, the talk generally turned to pay rates for specific jobs, raises, or the complexity of various health care plans. Compensation and benefits issues were raised around open enrollment or salary and performance review periods, and pretty much ignored during the rest of the year.

Last year, I was asked to be part of a focus group on benefits. There was a particular benefit that the company was considering adding to our package, and feedback from the rank and file was requested. The benefit was described as “Employee Back-up Care”. I had not heard of it, and neither had most of my coworkers.

At the meeting, the moderator described the benefit. It turned out to be a service- offered by an agency that contracts with the company - that provides caregivers for the children or elderly dependents of employees in the event that the regular care provider was unavailable. The care is delivered in- home, by workers thoroughly screened by the agency and provided on an as-needed basis.

Our company was considering offering this benefit because of the large numbers of working parent families and employees now responsible for the care of elderly relatives. It seemed to be a win-win situation: employees received peace of mind and quality care for their dependence, and the company avoided the lost workdays and low productivity resulting from employees worrying about their charges left at home or the unavoidable distraction that occurs when they are brought a long to work.

Needless to say, we were interested. Living in a part of the country where winter weather can make school attendance sporadic at best for a few months of the year, another option sounded wonderful. But exactly how does this miracle plan work?

Basically, it is simple. The company selects an agency to partner with in providing the service. The agency is responsible for prescreening and preparing a database of qualified caregivers. The employee is free to call upon the agency for help whenever needed. Usual situations included mild illness, post hospital elder care, schools closed due to holidays or bad weather, business travel, or the temporary unavailability of a regular caregiver. The employer, according to an agreement made with the agency, usually covers costs. Some employers cover the service completely; some share the cost with the employee. Each employee is allotted a specific number of days of service for the year, or a specific dollar allowance.

A few months later, our company instituted this benefit. Though it was unexpected, it is most welcome and appreciated. I would encourage other companies to look into back up care as an addition to their compensation and benefits packages.

© 2005 AlphaMeasure, Inc. - All Rights Reserved

This article may be reprinted, provided it is published in its entirety, includes the author bio information, and all links remain active.

Measure. Report. Improve your organization with AlphaMeasure employee surveys.

Josh Greenberg is President of AlphaMeasure, Inc.

AlphaMeasure provides organizations of all sizes a powerful web based method for measuring employee satisfaction, determining employee engagement, and increasing employee retention.

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