How to Organize Your Finances in One Weekend

By Zoe Eisenberg, RISMedia’s senior content editor

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Financially successful people are typically also financially organized people. You too can join their ranks, and it doesn’t need to take a ton of time, or include a finance pro.

Clear aside a weekend to tackle your finances, and come Monday, you’ll be a master of money organization. Below are a few starters.

Create a budget. This may be the largest item on the financial to-do list, so tackle it first. Your budget should look at incoming and outgoing expenses, with areas to track necessary spending (bills) and fun spending. Don’t just make a budget and forget it. Pull it up weekly and update it with weekly spending so come tax time, your expenses are easy to track.

Set up low-balance alerts. Most banks offer low-balance alerts, which you can set for a specific number, like $200 or $500. Every time your account hits your set number, your bank will let you know, so you can move money around and dodge overdraft fees.Create a list of bill due dates. Make an easy list or calendar of the dates your bills are due, and pay attention to it so you always have enough in your account and can avoid those overdraft fees—which brings us to…

Sign up for auto-pay and direct deposit. Signing up for auto-bill pay means you’ll never make a late payment again. This goes for depositing pay, too—use direct deposit wherever possible.

Create a place to stash receipts, bills, and more. If you still like to use paper receipts and bills, set yourself up for optimum organization. A tri-bill folder is a great way to do this, or a filing system or even simple envelopes.Set up a savings withdrawal. Your budget should give insight into how much of your monthly pay you can squirrel away. A great goal is 10 percent of your paycheck. Contact your bank or employee so that 10 percent of your income is automatically taken from your pay and put into a savings account.

Create a financial goal. A financial goal can help keep you on track for savings. This goal can be weekly (save $50 a week), monthly (save $200 a month) or annually (stash away $2,500 by year’s end).

Zoe Eisenberg is RISMedia’s senior content editor. Email her your real estate news ideas at zoe@rismedia.com.

NAR Survey: Here’s Why You Should Really Be Staging Your Home

Spring has arrived! As the home-buying season heats up and you look to list your home, there's one thing you need to seriously consider: staging your home. According to the recent National Association of REALTORS® (NAR) 2019 Profile of Home Staging, 83 percent of buyers' agents agree that staging your home makes it easier for homebuyers to see themselves living in it.

Related: The Five Golden Rules of Home Staging on a Budget

Additionally, according to the NAR report, more than half of sellers say that staging your home will decrease the amount of time your home stays on the market.

"Buying a house is more than a financial decision; it is an emotional decision as well," says John Smaby, NAR president and broker at Edina Realty. "Buyers aren't just making an investment in a property. They are purchasing a place to call home; to raise their children; to begin a new chapter; or to retire to a new season of life."

Here are some key takeaways drawn from the report:

A full 25 percent of buyers' agents who responded note that staged homes saw an increase of between 1-5 percent in the dollar value offered. Although more respondents saw no impact on the dollar value or were unsure of the impact—29 percent and 28 percent, respectively—some 12 percent of buyers' agents note an increase of 6-10 percent in the dollar value offered.

Real Estate Agents Say Housing Market Is Favoring Buyers

Anticipating a surge of supply this spring, buyers are taking their time Real estate agents say many of their buyers are encouraged by an expected surge of supply this spring, and that a number of them are taking a wait-and-see approach rather than hustling to get a deal done. This market shift that puts the control in the hands of the buyer was revealed by a recent Credit Suisse survey of 500 real estate agents around the country. The report noted that buyer traffic in February was up one point from the previous month, but down 11 points from last year. The results appear to be in line with expectations, Credit Suisse said, with responses indicating moderate activity across the country compared with last year, intensified by atypical rainfall, snow and cold. Credit Suisse also said its survey revealed an uptick in incentives in markets like Las Vegas, Houston and Denver, and that Charlotte, Jacksonville, Florida; and New York – Northern New Jersey saw the largest gains in traffic. Further, the majority of respondents to the monthly survey noted a sequential increase in home prices for the first time since August.  The report also notes that while inventory of existing housing stock is rising as sellers plan for spring demand, there is a lack of supply in housing under $300,000. Respondents reported a strong demand for housing at this price point, noting that corporate relocations are supporting sales in areas where there is affordable housing stock. Here is a summary from Credit Suisse of feedback from active real estate agents in the 5 top-performing markets: 1. Charlotte, North Carolina “Traffic levels met agents' expectations as rising employment opportunities encourage in-migration. That said, closings are constrained by the lack of inventory at more affordable price points.” 2. Jacksonville, Florida “Moderating rates and snowbirds coming down from Northern states drove demand above realtors' expectations. In turn, the persistent inventory shortage has buyers out and looking at any available property.” 3. New York-Northern New Jersey “Demand is concentrated at the more affordable price points, including first-time and multi-family properties. Given the potential for further home price moderation, buyers seem willing to wait longer before purchasing.” 4. Atlanta, Georgia Agents cited an early start to the spring market with buyers motivated by year-over-year price declines and improving inventory levels. Days on market remain low with multiple offers on quality inventory, though we note 52% of our respondents saw greater-than-anticipated incentives.” 5. Denver, Colorado “In-line with broader trends, Realtors noted healthy demand at affordable price points vs. sluggishness at the higher-end ($500k+). Easing rates and down payment assistance programs are also supporting entry-level traffic.” Read the full article here! Source: HousingWire

THE GREEN THING

A story for today

In the line at the store, the cashier told the older woman that she
should bring her own grocery bag because plastic bags weren't good for the
environment. The woman apologized to him and explained, "We didn't have the
green thing back in my day."

The clerk responded, "That's our problem today. The former generation
did not care enough to save our environment."
He was right; that generation didn't have the green thing in its day.

Back then, they returned their milk bottles, soda bottles and beer
bottles to the store. The store sent them back to the plant to be washed and
sterilized and refilled, so it could use the same bottles over and over. So they
really were recycled.
But they didn't have the green thing back in that customer's day.

In her day, they walked up stairs, because they didn't have an
escalator in every store and office building. They walked to the grocery store
and didn't climb into a 300-horsepower machine every time they had to go two
blocks.

But she was right. They didn't have the green thing in her day.

Back then, they washed the baby's diapers because they didn't have the
throw-away kind. They dried clothes on a line, not in an energy gobbling machine
burning up 220 volts - wind and solar power really did dry the clothes. Kids got
hand-me-down clothes from their brothers or sisters, not always brand-new
clothing.

But that old lady is right; they didn't have the green thing back in
her day.

Back then, they had one TV, or radio, in the house - not a TV in every
room. And the TV had a small screen the size of a handkerchief, not a screen the
size of the state of Montana . In the kitchen, they blended and stirred by hand
because they didn't have electric machines to do everything for you. When they
packaged a fragile item to send in the mail, they used a wadded up old newspaper
to cushion it, not styrofoam or plastic bubble wrap.
Back then, they didn't fire up an engine and burn gasoline just to cut
the lawn. They used a push mower that ran on human power. They exercised by
working so they didn't need to go to a health club to run on treadmills that
operate on electricity.

But she's right. They didn't have the green thing back then.

They drank from a fountain when they were thirsty instead of using a
cup or a plastic bottle every time they had a drink of water. They refilled
their writing pens with ink instead of buying a new pen, and they replaced the
razor blades in a razor instead of throwing away the whole razor just because
the blade got dull.

But they didn't have the green thing back then.

Back then, people took the streetcar or a bus and kids rode their
bikes to school or rode the school bus instead of turning their moms into a
24-hour taxi service. They had one electrical outlet in a room, not an entire
bank of sockets to power a dozen appliances. And they didn't need a computerized
gadget to receive a signal beamed from satellites 2,000 miles out in space in
order to find the nearest pizza joint.

But isn't it sad the current generation laments how wasteful the old
folks were just because they didn't have the green thing back then.

Fastest growing U.S. metro area hit hard by recession

By Colleen Jenkins
(2011-04-16) (Reuters)

PALM COAST, Fla (Reuters) - As snow blanketed the northern United States this winter, city leaders in Palm Coast, Florida, sent postcards to thousands of out-of-state landowners who have not yet built homes on their piece of paradise.
"It's sunny and 76 degrees in Palm Coast," the mailers read. "What's the temperature where you live?"
The postcards highlighted the scenic trails and uncrowded beaches that helped make this coastal community between Daytona Beach and St. Augustine the nation's fastest growing metro area in the past decade, according to new U.S. Census Bureau data.
What they didn't say: Palm Coast needs a boost after getting battered by the housing bust and foreclosure crisis.
"We grew too fast," said City Manager Jim Landon. "We fell very hard, too."
The Palm Coast metro area's population rose 92 percent between 2000 and 2010, far outpacing the second-fastest growing metro area of St. George, Utah, which increased nearly 53 percent, the census showed.
The metro areas of Las Vegas, Nevada; Raleigh, North Carolina; and Cape Coral, Florida, rounded out the top five.
Palm Coast also now ranks highest in unemployment out of Florida's 20 metro areas, according to national labor statistics. Its 14.9 percent unemployment rate in February was five percentage points above the national average.
Distressed property sales dominate the housing market. The city building division that once issued an average of 400 single-family home building permits a month during the construction boom has seen that number dwindle to about 10.
City leaders remain optimistic, in part because of the steady stream of national retailers including Kohl's, Belk and Lowe's that arrived during the economic slowdown.
But residents were surprised to learn of Palm Coast's fastest-growing status after seeing many neighbors move away.
"It's become a real depressed area," said retiree Phyllis Sieling, loading groceries from a Super Target into her car.
GROWTH, WITH EYE ON GREEN
It's hard to feel depressed in Waterfront Park, a 20-acre nature haven along Palm Coast's Intracoastal Waterway.
Opened last fall, the park boasts a fishing pier, playground and some of the city's 100 miles of connected hiking and biking trails. Recycling containers for bottles and fishing lines abound.
City leaders have worked to keep things "green" and to maintain the tranquil, outdoor lifestyle envisioned by developers who carved the planned community out of scrubland in the 1970s.
Back then, residents in northeastern states received Garfield the cat phones as gifts if they checked out Palm Coast for their retirement home.
There is still plenty of golf and tennis played, but good schools and a small-town feel also have drawn in families.
"That's what keeps us here, the schools," said 42-year-old mother Tommie Krawiec, who chose a move to Palm Coast over the more hectic Jacksonville.

On a sunny Saturday, Krawiec and another local couple watched from a shaded picnic table as their young daughters played along Waterfront Park's shoreline.

Ken Hemingway, 50, and his wife relocated from Connecticut in 1998, when the city of Palm Coast had just two stoplights and was a year away from incorporating.
He said the influx of residents -- from 49,832 in 2000 to 95,696 in 2010 -- hasn't hurt the quality of life.
"You couldn't drag me back kicking and screaming," he said. "Everybody says it's busy here. We're like, you have no clue."

Landon, the city manager, proudly notes that the only sign of this swiftly expanding city from I-95 is a blue water tower bearing Palm Coast's logo.
City officials said they have withstood pressure during the stalled economy to compromise on strict architectural standards. They require businesses to design attractive exteriors, plant thick vegetation and install signs that are monument-style rather than on poles.
On a main thoroughfare, a soon-to-open Mobil gas station features stone columns by its pumps, and the new ABC Fine Wine & Spirits store has a tile roof and lush landscaping.
"I defy you to find as attractive an ABC store in the state," said Mayor Jon Netts, a retired educator from New Jersey who drives a towing service tug boat on the side.
He's hoping the city can convince the owners of 18,000 vacant platted lots -- who received those tempting sales-pitch postcards -- to build homes and bring in new dollars.

Officials also expect a mixed commercial and residential development known as Town Center to fuel less frenzied growth. A 14-screen movie theater, Red Lobster and Olive Garden opened in recent months, and Panera Bread is on the way.

"We have great potential," Landon said. But, "I hope we're not the fastest growing community in the next decade."
(Edited by Greg McCune)
© Copyright 2011, Reuters

Good news for the housing matket in Palm Coast

Bargain prices on housing combined with low interest rates below 5 percent may bring the real estate market its busiest spring season in years, economists say. Distressed sales continue to put downward pressure on home prices, which may lure more buyers off the fence and ready to snag a deal during the typical prime-time buying season. Some builders are ramping up discounts on new homes as well as boosting commissions to brokers to try to spark more transactions. Sellers of existing-homes also are getting more competitive in pricing their homes

Single Family Delinquency Rate Less than 4%

Freddie Mac Chief Executive Officer Ed Haldeman said less than 4% of the government-sponsored enterprise's single-family home loans are at least three payments behind or heading into foreclosure.

Haldeman made that statement in an article he authored, "Three little-known facts about Freddie Mac delinquencies."

Haldeman said less than 1% of the firm's multifamily portfolio is classified as delinquent.

"It's among the lowest. The seriously delinquent rate for the industry as a whole was about 9% at the end of 2010," Haldeman wrote. "And the rate for subprime mortgages was approximately 27% – seven times higher than Freddie Mac's. On the multifamily side, the delinquency rate for banks and thrifts was slightly more than 4% – about 16 times higher."

Haldeman said the GSE saved 275,000 distressed loans last year, adding that the firm primarily operates as a buyer of 30- and 15-year, fixed-rate mortgages.