Not too long ago, ‘Unemployed’ featured the story about Freddie Mac cutting homeowners a break. Well as you may or may not have heard Fannie Mae is following suit. Again, I am so glad that this option is finally becoming available and my heart goes out to those who lost their homes because this option was not available to them.  CDPE posted an informational video with the basics of how this process will work.  It also made a good point that those seeking this option should first be sure that their mortgage falls under a Fannie Mae (or Freddie Mac) loan. To do this they have a Lookup link which he talks about in the end of the video. If it does fall under Fannie Mae the video explains that you need to go to your server to get the ball rolling. There are quite a few ways someone could use this information, some he talks about in the video. It includes using the time offered to do a short sale or rework your payment plans. If you are just looking to use this time to sell your home, one of the first things I recommend is making sure your home looks the best that it can possibly look. If you’ve never heard of “Staging” or just can’t afford to have a professional do it read the article written by a Real Estate Agent, Mary Muller in the ‘Tips From professionals’ page of ‘Unemployed’ I will include the links and video talked about here. Good luck to anyone looking into this option and as always feel free to share your thoughts and experiences with it. You'll find the links he talks about underneath the video. They're really the only two links you need as far as where he sends you in the video. But, the video will explain this new resource in a little more depth so I do reccomend watching it. The direct link to the Staging Article is also listed below. 

 
Hey everyone, for those who did not get to watch the Today show yesterday morning I will be linking the video on the site for you to check out. I must say it was a really interesting segment and worthwhile for anyone in school, just finishing up and recent graduates. 

Famed Intern Queen, Lauren Berger participated in 15 internships during her four years of Undergrad school. However Berger says on her site that she didn't have a direction and what the internships did for her was give her the spark to take charge of her future. Now, she's written a book called 'All Work, No Pay', that she shops and discusses on the show and she has a seemingly pretty established presence on the web and generally speaking.

I strongly believe that college can open practically a golden gate of opportunity for a lot of people that many of them don't see, maybe until it's too late. With the market being what it is today I hope that kids are figuring this out much earlier. I think her book, speaking engagements, etc. have wealth knowledge about how to approach an internship and how to make it work for you in the long run.

Now I have been an intern before and have worked where interns are employed. I do suggest that students be very aware of the internship they are in. I would not be afraid to ask questions, they are going to screen you it's not a bad idea to screen them a little. I have seen interns learn various software programs and real life skills that translate to many different jobs. But, I have also seen interns learn no useful skills that will translate for them to the work world. My sympathies go out to those who are stuck with busy work and feel cheated out of the real reason for internships.
 
I think the worst is putting in so many hours and investing so much of yourself and walking away not learning any practical skills you would use in that type of job or field. I would also recommend like she did starting early. Fact of the matter is you may not be working in your degree when you graduate; that being said having an internship in your field and one outside could be beneficial. If you start one last minute you will be very limited as far as what you can get, where you can go, etc. But if you start early you'll give yourself time to find a great internship or two where you can really walk away with the skills you will need.

Experience is experience and you never know when that experience could come in handy. Besides, that one internship could help you decide what career path or field you want to focus on. It could even lead you to your first job!

 


 
Hello everyone,

I hope everyone had a chance to read the article about Defensive Diving Class. Just to recap Defensive Driving Class is a class where by taking it you can get a reduction in points on your driver's license and/or your car insurance bill. Now as to how many points if any and amount discounted on your insurance vary depending on the state which you live. Note that these classes must be approved by your DMV. If you are a NJ resident, in the article  specifically posted on the subject you can link to the  full list of approved classes from the NJ DMV. 

So today I attended one of these classes.  The instructor was a safety expert who worked mostly out of NY. Due to work on their office, the class was held in the home adjacent to the service area. A nice fresh box o joe and dunkin's donuts and munchkins were served,Great for a day starting at 9:30am with the promise of continuing well into the afternoon. The fact that it was in a home actually made it more comfortable and laid back. While it appeared that some had gone more than once there was a few like myself who had gone for the first time. 

First, Ed, the instructor did a little overview of various different driving issues. Then we started delving into the workbook, answering a few Q&A, true and false and open-ended questions. There were videos which corresponded to these sections which we watched. 

The second video was especially campy. It was about ABS brakes with a 40's/50's PI (Private Investigator) mystery theme. The investigator was "Mr Straight" and he couldn't walk a crooked line; it went downhill from there. However, campy as it may have been, I actually did walk away remembering the difference between regular brakes and ABS brakes. 

The class may have it's moments but all in all worth the little bit of time out of my weekend. I urge everyone to check with their DMV and car insurance company to see if this is a worthwhile option for you. 

As always feel free to ask a question, leave a comment or just show your support by liking or tweeting the blog. Thanks all!





 
With summer here and more people traveling, I have an easy way for you to save.  New Jerseyans-  it is possible to take up to two points off your license as well as get a discount on your car insurance. 

To read the article click the Lists, Links and Other Aides Tab and download the file. It is in a Word document so you shouldn't have a problem downloading it. However if you should, feel free to let me know and I will send you the file in a format which you are able to open. 


 My email is [email protected]




 
Hey everyone,
Our first contributor has given us a GREAT article. The Title is Mary's Staging Advice. It's loaded with steps to help you 'stage' your house yourself. This is usually done in real estate if the feedback is that the house is not tidy, cluttered or extremely styled. Sometimes, your house reflects you which is great, except if your trying to sell it to any potential buyer. Sometimes people have a hard time visualizing the house as their own and Mary's tips on how to stage without paying a fortune to have it done includes one item that anyone could try whether they're staging their home, having an open house or having company and want to give the house a baked apple pie smell. It's an extremely cost effective recipe you more than likely already have the ingredients for. The article is in the Tips From Professionals section of the page and Mary's contact information is listed on the NEW 'Contributors' section. 

Recipe for a mock apple pie potpourri:

        Four Apples, cored

        Four Tabs of butter

        4tsp. of cinnamon

        4tsp. of pumpkin pie spice

        Dark soda

 Fill the four cored apples with one tab of butter, 1 tsp of cinnamon, 1tsp of pumpkin spice and a dark soda. Place in the oven on 350 and five minutes before the viewing is scheduled, turn off the oven and let the fragrance fill the house

A Word version of the article complete with biographical information will be available shortly. Until then, you can find it in the contributors page along with the contact form for her.. also coming is her own website, links for that will be posted shortly. There you will be able to communicate with her directly, view her current listings, and get real estate advice as a buyer, seller and/or an agent




 
So about a week today took a little time away from the computer and spent some time with my aunt and uncle. My aunt gave me some great tip sand links that I'll be sharing with all of you of great sites, people and tv shows. I'm excited to see where this goes and some big updates are coming! Don't forget to check out the new interactive Forum, having trouble finding the link? Scroll your mouse over to where it says "more" a drop down list will appear  and a link that says "Community" will appear, share your good days and bad days, let us know what you want to see added to the site,etc. Thanks for checking in have a great day and keep stopping by for updates.  
 
It's still difficult to realize I'm starting all over again. But, I realized, you know I took a risk, got some great new skill sets and maybe I'll be in a position to help someone else from my experiences in the future. 

I saw a great you tube channel last night. I've written to the admin and asked if he would mind my posting his videos and what not on here. The're really practical, easy to understand and overall easy ways to save money when things are difficult financially. Hopefully more to come on him but for now I'm back to the grind.

Thanks for checking in everyone! Hope your day runs smooth to and keep your chin as high as you can get it. 
 
Let me begin by saying this; I never expected to be a millionaire with my degree.  I do not want anyone to read this and think- "Anthropology, how do you make money off of that?" I took the degree because I thought I would end up in a NGO. I wanted to help people, I was interested in traveling and making a difference in the world. I never thought my road would go quite like this. Let me explain a little with a brief bio.

I grew up in a suburb in New Jersey. My immediate family relations can be described at best- difficult. However, I had an amazing Aunt and Uncle and two cousins that would prove to be a strong support system my whole life. My parents divorced while I was in high school (it was a good thing hold off on the kleenex). My mother and I actually grew to have a good relationship for a few years. Then, during my last year and a half of school my mother's relationship and I deteriorated with many tears and a fight on my own end. I moved in to my Aunt and Uncle's home and after graduation I moved into an apartment with a very close friend of 15 years. However, that did not quite go as planned and I was left with a heavy financial burden. 

Needless to say I quickly threw myself into working and worked every hour I possibly could. I worked at my peak three jobs to make ends meet. Just to note these jobs were not high paying or high level positions which even required a Bachelor's Degree.

Not long after, and because of my one menial job I found the love of my life who has meant more to me than I could ever explain here. At one of these jobs, my co-workers and later boss, introduced me to him. He was unbelievably sweet and continues to be so. Since then, (almost two years) we've had our ups and downs due to this job market and my roller coaster ride on it. 

A lot of people understand and have been there but I've noticed something. We're spending an incredible amount of resources (i.e. time, money) having our resumes professionally critiqued, created, buying the infamous "interview suit", searching all the job sites, following up on the hundreds of applications we've made, using our networking skills, etc. but I haven't heard as many open up about the affects this market has had on them, how they're coping, how they got back to work, how they are making ends meet or even how they've helped someone else going through that situation. So what the hell got me here is this- where is the support for someone struggling with being unemployed?