COVID-19 has changed much of our lives and now people are working from home or doing distance learning. Although folks can do these anywhere in the home – even outside if they’d like – people are vying for a home office. 

A home office gives homeowners the feeling that they can do their work in a dedicated space, and once their work day is over, they can close the door and forget about it. The home office is becoming a hot commodity so much so, HomeLight’s Q3 2020 survey shows that 45% of real estate agents say homeowners are turning a spare room into a home office. The survey also shows 14% of agents are adding features specific for home learning, like built-in desks, storage bins, and bookshelves.

If you’re tired of sitting in the living room or dining room table and want to build a home office, here are a few things to keep in mind!

1. Set a realistic budget

One of the things that homeowners love to do when starting a project is to look at various design ideas online. The fancy furniture, the luxurious finishes, and so on are fun to look at and picture in your own home… But these things add up and can get very expensive! 

That’s why you need to set a budget for your project. Not only do you have to set a budget, you have to have the discipline to stick to it! 

2. Give yourself plenty of time to complete it

It doesn’t matter how long you think a project will take to complete, you should always give yourself an extra day or two (or more if it’s going to be a huge renovation) to get it done. Some projects may only take an afternoon to finish (like painting a room) and other tasks like removing and replacing the floor will take a bit longer. 

The point of giving yourself a little more time than you expect to need is because you don’t want to hurry through it just to meet a deadline. That’s when things go wrong and would take even more time!

3. Decide what item(s) you want to splurge on

Although you have a budget and need to stick to it, that doesn’t mean you can’t spend your money on nicer things. Think about what you’re doing to the room and what items you’ll need in it. Then you can choose where you can splurge. 

Let’s say you’re someone who works best in the morning. You could allocate a portion of your budget to install a large window that would bathe the room in sunlight. Maybe you have a bad back and need an aerodynamic office chair, you could spend a little more money and purchase a good chair. 

Of course, keep in mind that if you splurge on some things, you’ll have to save on others!

4. Hire a contractor if you’re doing extensive renovations

There are some things that the average homeowner can do without the help of a certified contractor. Things like painting, rearranging furniture and possibly even switching out light fixtures can be done on your own. However, if you need electrical work done, replacing windows, or even refinishing hardwood flooring, you may want to hire a professional so you know the job is done right. 

If you do hire a contractor, make sure you factor labor into your budget. 

5. Step away from the project if you’re overwhelmed

These are stressful times, to be sure. Adding a renovation project on top of that isn’t going to help matters either. When you feel overwhelmed or frustrated as the project progresses, don’t force yourself to keep working – that’s when accidents and mistakes happen. 

It’s perfectly fine to take a step back and give yourself some time to calm down. Once you’re feeling better, you’ll be less likely to make a mistake once you start again. Taking a break isn’t just good for your sanity, it’s great for your safety!

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Over recent years, issues relating to the state of our environment and planet have been at the forefront of many minds and agendas. In fact, more and more people have become eager to do their bit for the planet by adopting more eco-friendly practices in their day to day lives. The more people who get on board with green causes, the more of a positive difference we can make.

Of course, it is not just individuals who are making an effort to be more eco-friendly. There are also lots of businesses that are bringing onboard sustainable and environmentally friendly practices, and this includes casinos. While traditional brick-and-mortar casinos tend to have a negative impact on the environment in a range of ways, more and more are now offering online facilities, which can help to counteract this impact.

Making Gambling Eco-Friendly

Of course, brick-and-mortar casinos are not going away anytime soon, and they are necessary to our society for a range of reasons. These casinos provide a physical place where people can go out and socialize. They also create a huge number of jobs for those in the local areas. In addition, they bring in a lot of money, some of which goes to the state in the form of taxes on gambling and sports betting to develop and maintain vital services.

However, the negative impact of these physical casinos is that many people drive to them, which means more carbon emissions. They also take up a lot of land, and they have a lot of energy-zapping equipment onsite including a huge range of gambling machines. On the other hand, online casinos offer a far more eco-friendly option for gamblers, and they are fast becoming a popular choice for many.

The Benefits of Online Casinos

Over recent years, online casinos have accrued a huge following, with many loving the chance to gamble and play casino games from the comfort of their own homes. Of course, they do not offer the same social benefits or atmosphere of a physical location, but they do offer a huge range of games and a greener option for gamblers.

When you gamble online, you do not have to drive to the casino in order to enjoy some gaming, as you can simply put your feet up and play from the privacy of your own home. In addition, all the machines and games are virtual, so you are not using machines that use huge amounts of energy in order to operate.

The good news is that more and more casinos with physical locations are also teaming up with software companies to provide online versions of their casinos. So, this means you can continue gambling at your favourite casino while also benefiting from enjoying the thrill of the casino online.

As many of us are aware, the damage that has been done to the planet over recent decades is huge, and it has become crucial to take steps to try and reverse some of this damage. This is why adopting green solutions when it comes to entertainment such as gambling is such a good thing. By offering online facilities, casinos are able to do their bit for the green cause, as well as allowing their customers to be more eco-friendly at the same time.

Every Little Helps

Providing access to online casino facilities is one of the ways in which modern casinos are helping the green cause. Many also adopt other methods such as using recyclable products at casino resorts. The main thing is that every little helps and many casinos are now doing their bit for the environment.

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The McDowell News has been looking to explain how your debts could be affected by the outcome of the 2020 Presidential Election. The Presidential election comes at the end of your when many of us are thinking about personal finance and just how close we can come to losing everything. Credit card debt has been growing across the U.S, for decades with few of us able to make the right moves to pay off our credit card debt speedily and efficiently. There are several options for paying off debt, from different strategies to creating a budget, according to U.S. News.

Debt Payoff Strategies

One of the biggest problems we all face is addressing just how much credit card debt we are in. Many of us carry large balances on high-interest cards and fail to make more than the minimum payment each month leaving us with ever-larger credit card debts piling up. When you want to pay off your debts, you will want to take an inventory of the credit card debts you have. If you are looking to efficiently pay off your debts, you can look to use one of two common debt payoff systems, avalanche, and snowball.

The snowball debt pay off option is a slower one with the main question being what are the lowest balances you owe. If you decide to take this option you should continue to pay off your largest balances as minimum payments and work on paying off your smallest balances in full. Once the smallest balance is paid off, you can move on to the next smallest balances.

In contrast, the avalanche option allows you to concentrate on paying off your largest balances first while making minimum payments on your smaller debts. The avalanche system aims to allow you to reduce the highest balances and interest rates while seeing lower balances climb more slowly. 

Make Payment Deals with your Creditors

Your creditors are not as scary as you may think with most wanting to get paid in some way, shape, or form. If you have several creditors, you will find yourself trying to juggle a range of different payment options that may be piling up. If you look at the different options available you can quickly make a change to your budget by choosing to talk to your creditors and make some plans for the future of your payments. If you are struggling to make a payment, your creditors will often look to make better decisions regarding your financial future, NerdWallet reports.

Create a Better Budget

 One of the first steps you need to take when you are looking to pay down your debt simply and effectively, a budget is a great option to undertake. Debt.com reports the decision to pay off as much debt as possible in the shortest time means you will need as much money as possible available for the coming months. This is a difficult first step to take when you decide to pay off debt because it can take a lot of money to complete and you will need to tighten your bootstraps. A better budget is a difficult part of credit card debt with you often finding the luxuries of your life are taken away for a short time when you are looking to pay down credit card by lowering your weekly outgoings.

Transfer your Balances 

While you are trying to make an impact on your finances, you can look to lower your balances and interest rates by transferring your balances to lower interest rate cards. Investopedia explains you will often be able to find credit cards with a low or zero-percent credit card payments for an introductory rate. The transference of balances will make it easy for you to avoid the high-interest rates being charged for your existing credit cards.

Find a Credit Counsellor

When you are looking for a great way of paying down your credit card debt, you may struggle to find yourself looking for the best ways of paying down credit card debt. The use of a credit counselor is one of the best ways of making a major impact on your credit card balance is to work with a credit counselor. Along with making the right choices about credit consolidation, a credit counselor will make a big impact on the different choices you could make to pay down your debts.

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