How to Keep Your Home Cool in the Summer ... and Save Money

Gulf Coast summers — and any hot summers anywhere — mean busy air conditioners, which can equal higher utility bills. This summer, follow these tips for increasing your comfort without dipping into your vacation funds.

Know What’s Comfortable

It’s rarely necessary to keep your thermostat below 78 or 80 degrees. If you’ve set it lower, turn the thermostat up to 78. Then increase the temperature by 1 degree a week until you find your personal comfort threshold. Check your air conditioner’s fan settings as well, since low speeds decrease humidity more effectively.

Seal All Gaps

Every opening to the outdoors increases the area your air conditioner needs to cool and the amount of energy it uses. You know about sealing doors and windows, but have you looked for gaps around your electrical outlet covers? When did you last inspect the foundation and walls for cracks? If you have a fireplace, are you sure that the damper is tightly closed?

You can also take measures to keep summer heat outdoors by closing blinds at midday, especially on south-facing windows. Plant shrubbery for shade, and consider painting your roof a sun-reflecting white to keep out all possible heat radiation.

Let the Air Flow

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While you want minimal air exchange between indoors and outdoors, leaving inside areas open to each other can increase your home’s cooling potential. This works best if you aren’t relying on the HVAC system alone. Install a fan in every major room to improve circulation and evaporation. Remember that fans are more effective when they’re mounted higher and in the center of the room.
Turn fans off and close the door when you’re not using a room, or you’ll waste energy on unnecessary cooling. On cooler nights, you can keep the air circulating by turning off the air conditioner and relying on the fan alone.

Take Cool Showers

You needn’t take hot showers year-round. Instead, warm days deserve cool water. Try turning up your home’s thermostat several degrees before showering to reduce the outside chilling effect. Then leave the temperature at a higher setting for at least 30 minutes afterward. Showers have a residual perceived-temperature effect, so you won’t need additional cooling for a while.

Consider Vacancy Temperatures

Leaving the air conditioner off in your absence can save energy, but you might worry about returning home to a miserably hot and humid house. Luckily, technology offers the ideal solution in the form of budget-friendly programmable thermostats. In addition to raising the temperature while you’re away, some experts recommend that you set the thermostat to lower the temperature to 71 between 3 and 5 a.m. This may minimize humidity buildup and introduce some cooler air to counteract the afternoon’s heating effect.

Keep Up the Maintenance

Change or clean your air filters regularly, and consider switching from replaceable to reusable filters to cut costs and reduce waste. Don’t forget to schedule professional HVAC maintenance as well. This can easily pay for itself by increasing your energy efficiency, extending your HVAC life, and helping you catch minor problems before they become major ones.


Energy bills should never cause major problems. Save your money and enjoy the summer when you follow these tips.

All About Cornhole #fungames #corntoss

Anyone who has been to an outdoor party in the Midwest may have seen someone playing cornhole. The game has gone from not existing at all to being one of the most ubiquitous party games in the country. I always loved playing the game when I was a kid and watching my kids play at parties with their friends over the years. 

It's simple 

The simplicity of the game is what's driving its exponential growth. Each team has two players. They both stand behind boards with a hole cut into them. The cornhole boards are set about 20 feet apart. Players then toss bean bags at the opposing board. In each round, getting a bag into the hole is worth 3 points. If the bag lands on the board and stays, it's worth 1 point. Teams can also knock the other team's bags off of the board to get rid of their points. The rules are similar to shuffleboard. The first team to get to 21 is the winner.

Anyone can be good

The game requires little physical exertion. All that's needed is good hand-eye coordination. Anyone can play, and anyone can learn. Much like a Milton Bradley board game, it is fun for ages 8-80.

Equipment 

You don't need a lot of equipment, just the two game boards and enough 6x6" bean bags to keep the game going. There are professional regulation boards, but you can get whatever size you want. Some people even make their own cornhole sets. You should look into a company like this if you are wondering where to buy cornhole bags. 

Where to get a cornhole set 

If you are interested in playing, get your own set. Customer Corn Toss is an example of a company that provides these. They are even customizable. I am thinking of getting one made in Kansas City Chiefs colors because I'm obviously a fan of the team. Any school could also get one customized with their school colors for carnivals, PE class, fundraisers, etc. There are more basic versions for people who don't want to add any flair to their game set. 

Why you should get your own set 

Getting your own boards and bean bags is affordable. Enthusiasts of the game like having a home set because they can practice whenever they want. They say practice makes perfect. Even if you aren't trying to be a professional, it feels great to beat your friends.

Cornhole is a simple game that's getting increasingly popular. Its popularity is growing because anyone can play it and anyone can learn it. There are now professional leagues forming for the game. I don't see it slowing down anytime soon.

Keys to a Healthy Home

By the start of the new year, you were probably tired of seeing articles about winterizing your home. Although preparing your home for winter is important, it’s not quite as exciting as the thought of Easter just around the corner. If you want to enjoy this spring to the fullest, there are a few things you should do around the house as winter winds down.

Check for Winter Damage

Start by inspecting your home for damage caused by snow, ice, and other winter hazards, then repair any you find. For instance, cracks in cement steps may have developed or widened as melted snow seeped through, froze, and expanded. You should also check your roof, gutters, trim, chimney, and hose faucets.

Protect Your Foundation

Between melting winter snow and fresh spring rains, your foundation can all too easily fall victim to water damage. To protect your foundation, clear any debris from your gutters and make sure they drain away from the house. Walk around the outside of your home and look for places where water might pool. Fill in lower areas and level out your yard as much as possible, and avoid planting anything too close to your foundation. Also make sure that any flower beds slope away from the house and do not cover the foundation.

Guard Against Pests

If there is one upside to the chill of winter, it’s that it usually means fewer problems with bugs and other pests. As spring approaches, you will need to take steps to ensure that new life doesn’t make its way into your home. For instance, you should move any firewood or junk off the ground and away from your house. As snow and ice melt, the damp wood will become the perfect breeding ground for insects. The same can be said of the aforementioned puddles that threaten your foundation.

Boost Indoor Air Quality

Indoor air quality is one of the biggest keys to a healthy home — and one of the most neglected. Many symptoms of poor indoor air resemble those of a typical winter cold and can easily pass unnoticed. Getting an indoor air quality assessment can help you pinpoint problems before allergy season hits, allowing your family to breathe easier this spring.

Clean, Organize, and Decorate

Image via Flickr by A_Peach

During the transition from winter to spring, don’t forget to give the inside of your home some love. Incorporate any tasks you’ve been putting off, such as wiping down fan blades or washing your windows, into your spring cleaning. While you’re deep cleaning, declutter and reorganize any messy areas in your home. Top it all off with pops of spring color in the form of new linens, seasonal decoration, and fresh bouquets of flowers.

While you may have been ready for spring weeks ago, your home may need a little work to get it on the same page. Follow the guide above to shake off the last vestiges of winter and bring your home into the new season. Whether you decide to block off an entire weekend or tackle one task at a time, your home is sure to be spring-ready by Easter.

The Best Advice To Help You Pay Your Bills On Time, Every Time

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Everyone seems to worry about their bills nowadays. It feels like as the world gets older, we start getting more and more bills that need paying. The costs rack up, and it can become difficult for some to pay all their bills on time.

Well, I’ve got some words of wisdom that will help you pay your bills on time, every time. Check out what I have to say, down below:

4 Useful Financial Habits For The New Year

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If you are like most people, you often find that your finances are not quite in the great position you want them to be in. This can happen, unfortunately, all too easily. What’s more, it can often be much harder to get out of such a situation than it was to get into it. However, there is no such thing as a lost cause, and you can always do something to improve your situation. More often than not, improving your finances is a simple matter of developing some key financial habits which will last. What these are might again depend somewhat on your situation. But here are four which almost everyone could easily get behind.

Take Note Of Any Expenses

Budgeting sounds like a grand thing which is hard to keep up with. But if you instead just try to take note of anything that you spend, you might find it a lot easier to deal with. Most of us overspend without even noticing most of the time, and that is bad enough - but it is worse if you are not also aware of just how much it amounts to. The simple act of making a note of any purchases you make for a month will enlighten you as to where your money really goes. All of us spend money on unnecessary items, and this can be a surprisingly powerful method to snap you out of bad spending habits fast. More on this method can be found at http://www.developgoodhabits.com/good-financial-habits/.

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Invest Whatever You Can

Chances are, you know that investment is a good idea, but you are not convinced that you know how to go about it, or how much to actually put aside. If that sounds familiar, then don’t worry - you are not alone. However, you might find that you will find the whole process of investing significantly easier if you seek the advice of an investment counsel such as the one found at https://www.carnegieinvest.com/. With professional help on board, it really can make all the difference to your finances. Investing is a vital part of ensuring a strong financial future, so make sure that you get this right.

Reduce Impulse Buying

If you followed the first method, you would have no doubt found plenty of examples of when you bought something on a whim. Doing this occasionally is not necessarily going to be a problem, of course. But if you find you are impulse buying all the time, then you might want to minimise it a little. If you have trouble with this, try to find a way to remind yourself of the financial toll of buying things you don’t need. If you remind yourself constantly, you should soon find yourself being much less tempted to buy things of that nature. It might also help if you try to only pay using cash, rather than card. Card payments often make it feel as though you are not really spending any money. As a result, it becomes much easier to spend a great deal.

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