Is your house your castle or an albatross around your neck?
Your answer might depend a lot on your mortgage. Getting an affordable property at a great rate can make you feel as if life couldn’t be any sweeter. But ask anyone who bought a house with a mortgage they didn’t understand and couldn’t afford, and they will likely tell you their house has brought them nothing but frustration and tears.
If you’ll be in the market for a new place soon, Money Talks News finance expert Stacy Johnson can tell you all about the all-time worst mortgage mistakes. Watch the video below, and then keep scrolling for more details.

Mistake No. 1: Not reviewing your credit first

Before you go to your first open house, you need to go to AnnualCreditReport.com if you haven’t already. That’s the official site to get the credit reports issued by the big three reporting agencies: Experian, Equifax and TransUnion. You’re entitled to one free credit report from each agency each year.
In addition to your credit reports, it might also be helpful to know your credit score. You used to have to pay for it, but now certain banks and credit cards, such as Discover and Barclaycard, offer it as a perk for their customers. You can also get your score for free at CreditKarma.com.
You’ll need your credit score to be in tiptop shape if you want the best rates. A 2013 study from the Federal Trade Commission found 5 percent of consumers had errors on their report that could result in less favorable loan terms. If you’re among that 5 percent, you want to the find the error and correct it before applying.
And if your credit score simply stinks, you can try these tips for raising it fast.

Mistake No. 2: Failing to get pre-approved

The next mistake you can make when applying for a mortgage is failing to get pre-approved.
Getting pre-approved by a bank is one way to avoid the heartbreak that comes from falling in love with a house you can never buy. It may also give you an edge if there are multiple offers for the same property. A seller may feel more confident selecting a bid from someone with a mortgage pre-approval rather than a person who hasn’t even begun the process.
However, don’t get carried away by whatever pre-approval amount you receive from the bank. Remember, what the bank thinks you can afford and what you can actually afford may be two different things. A lot of people lost their homes in the Great Recession because they were given loans they couldn’t pay back. Don’t make the same mistake.

Mistake No. 3: Not shopping around for the best rate

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau says nearly half of mortgage borrowers don’t shop around and that’s a big mistake. Even seasoned comparison shoppers may search for the best deals on their soap, their furniture and their car, but then don’t look for a better mortgage rate.
It may be convenient to use your primary bank for a mortgage, but that could also be expensive if its rates aren’t competitive. According to Bank of America, for every 0.25 percent you can reduce your loan on a $200,000 mortgage, you’ll save $30.55 per month. Over a 30 year period that can add up to a lot of extra cash.
To review current mortgage rates, visit the Money Talks News Solutions Center.

Mistake No. 4: Ignoring mortgage fees

While you’re investigating rates, check out the fees on available mortgages, too. Most mortgages come packed with fees of all kinds, and while some, such as your county recording fee, are likely fixed, others are completely negotiable.
Before your closing, you should be provided with a good faith estimate of the fees. Ask your lender to review what they are for and then see if you can negotiate a lower price. These are a few of the fees likely to have the most wiggle room:

• Loan origination fee
• Application fee
• Broker fee
• Underwriting fee

Mistake No. 5: Not having cash for a down payment

Not having a down payment can be a mistake for two reasons.
The first is that it can sink your prospects of getting a mortgage. After being bitten by the housing market crash, traditional lenders shy away from giving mortgages to those bringing nothing to the table. But even if you can find a program that will allow you to get a mortgage with little or no money down, you could still be making a mistake.
Remember how the housing market crashed from 2007-2009? Property values plunged and suddenly homeowners found themselves owing more than their homes were worth. When those owners then lost their jobs or otherwise couldn’t keep up on their payments, they often found themselves without a prayer of refinancing or selling their property As a result, many ended up on the receiving end of a foreclosure notice.
While nothing is guaranteed, putting 10-20 percent down on your house can reduce your chance of ending up in the same position.

Mistake No. 6: Not understanding your mortgage terms

Underwater mortgages weren’t the only problem facing homeowners during the Great Recession. An untold number of people also lost their houses simply because they signed on the dotted line without understanding what the heck their mortgage entailed.
For example, people thought they’d hit the jackpot with interest-only loans that let them buy houses beyond their wildest dreams. However, they apparently didn’t understand or overlooked the fact that their monthly payment would hit the stratosphere five years later. What’s more, those five years of payments wouldn’t give them a bit of equity in their home.
Adjustable rate mortgages, known as ARMs, operate under a similar structure. Homeowners were fine for the first few years when their mortgage rate was fixed and low. Then it reset to the current market rate and that affordable monthly payment suddenly didn’t seem so affordable anymore. A 2008 report from the Federal Reserve Board found more than 75 percent of the subprime loans issued from 2003-2007 were “short-term hybrids” that work like ARMs. By 2008, more than 21 percent of these subprime loans were seriously delinquent.
The moral of the story is to always understand what you’re signing up for. It’s not enough to know what your monthly payment is today. You also need to ask if the interest rate can change and if so, when and by how much will it increase. If you’re not comfortable with the loan terms or don’t understand them, it’s better to walk away than make an expensive and potentially life-altering mistake.

Except for the Great Lakes and the Northeast, travel conditions will generally be conducive for dinner out along with a movie. It will also be good travel for those people who have to rush out for last-minute candy, flowers and cards.
Snowy travel may force a change in plans from a night out to dinner and a movie at home across the Northeast, particularly in New England as another snowstorm takes aim at the region.
"The weather will be good for snuggling near a cozy fire with your significant other across the East," AccuWeather.com Meteorologist Mike Doll said.
A blast of arctic air moving into the Midwest, Great Lakes and Northeast will remain in place for Valentine's Day.
Temperatures will also be lower than average in the Southeast, Doll said.
After periods of unsettled weather, a high-pressure system will promote tranquil weather across the West.

Valentine's Day is the number one holiday for florists and fresh flower purchases, the Society of American Florists said on its About Flowers website.
Chocolate sales represent 75 percent or more of Valentine's Day candy purchases, according to the National Confectioners Association. More than 80 percent of Americans will share candy with family or friends on Valentine's Day.
And not including school valentines, Valentine's Day is the second biggest day for greeting card sales, the Greeting Card Association said.
 
A worker checks flowers for distribution to local merchants in preparation for Valentine's Day at the South Florida Logistics Center in Miami, 
Feb, 2015. (TLC Photo/Fahim Ahmed)  
 

Today marks the anniversary of Satya Nadella's promotion to CEO of Microsoft -- and it's clear what a difference a year can make.

Under Nadella's leadership, Microsoft's stock has jumped 14 percent, they've brought their suite of Office apps to iOS and Android, and perhaps most telling of all, developers and users seem genuinely excited about Windows 10.

"I think he brought a new level of excitement and hope for the future of Microsoft and he clearly showed that innovation is important," Patrick Moorhead, an analyst at Moor Insights & Strategy, told ABC News.

Of Microsoft's achievements in the past year, here's a look at some of the moments that stood out -- and show how Nadella, as Microsoft's third CEO, is making his mark on the company. 

Windows 10, the operating system update that is so radical it prompted Microsoft to skip straight from Windows 8, has generated excitement among developers and consumers.

Coming sometime later this year, the update will be free for users who have Windows 8.1, Windows 7 and Windows Phone 8.1, with the exception of enterprise users.

The update includes features that focus on productivity, including multiple desktops and Microsoft's virtual assistant Cortana built into the new software.

For those who have a love-hate relationship with Internet Explorer, the news of a new Microsoft browser called Project Spartan, was welcomed at Microsoft's Windows 10 event last month.

Project Spartan comes with some exciting features, including the ability to write anywhere on a window and quickly share it.

Microsoft executives said it will not be in the first build of Windows 10, so don't think of it as an Internet Explorer killer just yet.

Instead of making rivals in the tech world, Nadella ushered in a new era of synergy with the goal of bringing Microsoft to all devices.

Microsoft brought its Office suite to iOS and Android devices free of charge last year. They quickly shot to the top of the charts in Google Play and Apple's app store and have been downloaded more than 80 million times.

After acquiring smart email app Accompli in December, Microsoft integrated it into its newly released Outlook for iOS app. It will also be in a forthcoming Android release. 

A first-of-its-kind product, Microsoft's HoloLens aims to take virtual eyewear to the next level using holograms.

While it's unclear when HoloLens will be released, there was plenty to geek out over from Microsoft's demo. Imagine holographic Skype calls, turning your living room into a surreal gaming environment or designing a new product virtually. 

It hasn't been entirely smooth sailing for Nadella though. He was blasted for comments he made in October that women shouldn't ask for a raise and instead trust the "system" to pay them appropriately. After the outcry on social media, he quickly issued a clarification that his comments were "inarticulate."

Yahoo Publisher network (YPN) and Google AdSense are the leading and most popular PPC (pay-per-click) programs. If you are running a website and wish to earn money through business promotion by displaying ads on your website, then don’t look any further. However the most intriguing question is that which program is the best and that which of the two offers higher profit. Well, this is a tough question to answer. Google AdSense is rated as the most prolific and market-leading PPC affiliate program in terms of affiliate base. But Yahoo is not far behind and has its own benefits too.
 

Which is Better? Google AdSense or Yahoo Publisher Network (YPN)?

Based on analysis, Google AdSense provides better CTR (click-through-rate) which means whenever a person visits your website, greater are the chances of generating clicks from the visitor. The more people visit and click the Ads, the more money the advertisers will pay to the website owner.
The reason is that, Google Ads are more content specific and target audience better than Yahoo Ads. But on the other hand, Yahoo provides a better CPC (cost-per-click) than Google AdSense. CPC is nothing but the percentage of commission the affiliate programs pays per click. For a single click, Yahoo pays more than Google. Google typically pays around 30%-40% whereas Yahoo pays 60%-70% for a click.

Due to the above mixed features, one should decide which ads to display on their sites. If your web page is good enough to attract substantial number of visitors per month, there won’t be much of a difference between the revenue paid by Google and Yahoo, though experts say that Google can attract more number of visitors due to better content target ads. Most people regularly switch between Google AdSense and Yahoo publisher ads to check which program generates better revenue for their websites.
Note: If you have both Google AdSense and Yahoo publisher affiliate accounts, I would personally suggest that you display Google ads on a set of websites and Yahoo ads on another set of websites. It’s better to display Google ads on specific content oriented sites and Yahoo ads on non-content oriented sites such as entertainment sites. Users browsing non-content oriented site such as an entertainment site are more likely to click on a variety of Ads as opposed to a content visitor who is more likely to click on related topic. Since Yahoo ads are less relevant as compared to Google ads, displaying them on professional content oriented sites would not be a better idea.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

It pays to cast your financial net online, where possibilities abound.

Monetizing your expertise -- whether in social networking or transcribing -- is one way to make money while sitting at your computer at home. But others also are popping up, such as taking online surveys or even predicting election results.

The good part: You don't have to pay a dime. And with some sites, you can start to make money online immediately. Most of these gigs are small, steady streams of cash. But they can add up to steady earnings over time.

To avoid scams, forget unknown or untested sites with big promises. "Find out if the site is legitimate," says Nick Mokey, associate editor of DigitalTrends.com. "How long has it been around? And what are they asking you to do?"

Also, keep a clock running so you can maximize your income without wasting your time. Follow these rules, and you'll find the Internet awash in moneymaking opportunities.

Pitching other people's products is one of the Internet's best-paying gigs.

One method is being an affiliate at a mega-site such as Amazon.com, where commissions are up to 25 percent. Anytime anyone buys a product you're pitching, you get a cut. And you can choose from more than a million products, including gift cards or computers.

At ClickBank, commissions are even higher -- up to 75 percent -- and there are more than 50,000 products to choose from. Signing up is free.

On the downside, some ClickBank products can be of poor quality, says Bethany Mooradian, owner of QueenoftheRandomJob.com. So some products are easier to pitch than others. One solution is to buy the product ahead of time to assess its quality, she says.

If you're an information junkie, this gig is for you.

There are several to choose from to make money online. At kgbanswers.com and JustAnswer.com, you become an expert after taking a brief test. At these websites, a customer asks a question and receives an answer from an "expert." At kgbanswers, answers come via your smartphone. At JustAnswers, answers come via email or text message. Both offer subscription and per-question alternatives.

Brainiacs are also welcome at ChaCha, which pays you small amounts of money for completing guide tasks. Advice runs the gamut from solving puzzles to answering questions on set subjects. Payouts can be small but steady.

Building a following on ChaCha is the hardest part, though, Mooradian says. The reason: You're listed along with 62,000 other experts. Also, ChaCha rates are pretty slim, ranging from 1 cent to 20 cents per task. Though savvy experts can make money online, don't give up your day job.

You can offer your services online at task marketplaces such as fiverr.com or Zaarly.com. At fiverr, workers fulfill tasks starting at $5 per job. Zaarly.com offers a similar service. It has launched its first storefront in San Francisco but has workers performing tasks all around the U.S.

Or, even better, head to Amazon Mechanical Turk, or MTurk.com, says Mokey. More than 200,000 tasks are listed there to make money online, with varying pay and work requirements. Once a task is completed, payments are deposited in your Amazon Payments account.

"In the worldwide marketplace of today, your skills can be used for anything, including mapping," Mokey says. However, you're also competing against people in developing nations who are willing to work for pennies, he says.

To maximize earnings, evaluate tasks carefully.

In Mark A. Lambert’s book, Seduce with Personality, we are reminded to stop worrying about the past:

It’s not always a complete waste of time to think about your past experiences. You can learn from analyzing your mistakes. And you can plan for an enjoyable future as long as in the present moment you are conscious of the decisions you are currently making.

Embarrassments, making mistakes, the habit of believing you aren’t good enough, even in the face of positive feedback, and of course painful or traumatic experiences can make us feel inadequately equipped to deal with our present moment.

But the past doesn’t need to overwhelm you.

Here are 4 tips for overcoming the bad habit of spending too much time thinking about the past and not enjoying the NOW:

Let’s say you messed up a social situation and got embarrassed. And then you just can’t get it out of your head all day. And then for a few days after that. We’ve all been there. Eventually some of these experiences turn into funny stories.

But I know guys who dwell on their social blunders and it totally messes up their attitude. All they can do is think, “Oh shit, that girl saw my hand shaking because I was so nervous! I’m such a dumbass! Nobody will ever love me!”

By focusing on things you have done in the past you keep associating yourself with the YOU as you were in those memories. And if those thoughts are negative, you are preventing yourself from growth.

We’ve all had a few unpleasant interaction with women. And if you have never had an unpleasant interaction with a woman, then you aren’t interacting with enough of them. But by focusing on that poor interaction, that might have nothing to do with you, but only that unpleasant woman’s lack of social acuity, then you are putting yourself in a negative mindset. And you won’t be ready to interact with the next girl you meet who is socially intelligent and would actually appreciate talking with you, if only you were in a more positive mood.

Deciding to let go of embarrassing or even traumatic experiences means you stop reliving that past discomfort in your memories.  Just make a decision to stop thinking about it, and focus on more positive things. Such as what you can do to enjoy the present moment.

You sometimes hear men say something like, “She was a bitch!” after talking to a girl, and then he will let this girl’s poor social skills ruin his day. Yes, sometimes she is just a rude entitled bitch with pisspoor social skills, sometimes for whatever reason she isn’t interested in talking to you. But at the same time, maybe there is something you can learn from this.

Don’t let other people ruin your day. It feels good to assume the Me versus the World mentality and feel like you are a victim of circumstances. But nobody really cares.

Even if that girl who dissed you actually has the social skills of a moldy banana, it doesn’t mean she is responsible for how you emotionally react to her misbehavior. Don’t give her the power to dictate your emotions.

Anything you feel is your choice and responsibility.

Thinking about it isn’t going to solve anything. Your only problem is that you feel bad about something in the past.

You might not be able to forget what you did, or whatever experience is troubling you. But you can forgive yourself for it.

When you forgive people who have wronged you, you aren’t saying it was right of that sob to steal your girlfriend. You are just saying you forgive him and you can move on with your life.

Forgiveness is one of the most challenging tasks you might ever embrace. There are probably some people in your life you would never even consider forgiving. And, I don’t know your specific experience so I’ll side with you and say, “yes that is probably unforgiveable.” But for the forgivable offenses, why not just forgive and forget so you can move on with your life?

If you forgive yourself for your social blunders you can admit to yourself that you don’t need to be perfect, and even laugh about some of the mistakes you’ve made. You are only human.

You don’t need to keep blaming yourself for all the uncomfortable experiences you have endured. Yes sometimes it is your fault. Sometimes you were awkward and made people feel uneasy. And because you were aware of that you felt bad. But you don’t need to torture yourself by always bringing up those memories. Forgive yourself and you will get better at learning from your mistakes and grow as a human being.

When you focus on the present, you don’t have time to waste thinking about the past. Acknowledge negative past memories if they pop into your imagination, but don’t dwell on them, and don’t allow them to rule your emotions. Focus your attention back on the present moment and whatever it is you are working on.

Focusing on the present is an Idea you’ll be familiar with if you are a veteran of the self-improvement community and have read Eckhart Tolle’s, The Power of Now. Flip to any random page in Tolle’s book on how to live in the moment and you will find suggestions on how to do exactly that, and avoid worrying about events that are out of your control.

Here’s a paragraph from the first page I flipped to just now:

If we are focused on waiting for the next great thing to happen to us, it means we aren’t satisfied with the present moment we find ourselves in. We escape into fantasies about our future lives. You might see a very attractive girl walking down the street and think to yourself, “I want to meet her!” And then in your imagination fantasize about your first date with her, kissing her, and maybe even forming a relationship with her.  But do you really “want” her? If you are satisfied with your delusional fantasies about interacting with her, but you never actually make an effort to talk to her, then you never really wanted her at all.

If you fantasize about a future in which you meet a woman who is both a paragon of beauty on the inside and out, or even having threesomes with whoever you desire, but you take no action but to think about this fantasy, then you are just wasting your time.

Write a list of everything you “want.” A list of everything you fantasize about having, and desperately hope you will someday be able to receive and accomplish.

If you are a lazy bastard who hates when some article suggests you, “write a list of….” Something then at least take a minute to dive into your mind and think about everything you “want.”

so get out your pen and a paper, even a stained napkin will do, and just invest at least one solid minute of your valuable time in coming up with a list.

For some suggestions, your list might look like this:

Your list doesn’t need to be huge. And it doesn’t need to include only goals you may have. Include anything you “want.”  It should include things you fantasize about having, and hope to have in the future.

On the top of that list write the words, “Things I want”

Now on a separate piece of paper, or even on a separate section of the stained napkin you wrote your first list on, write a list of everything you did yesterday.

Here are some things that might be on your second list:

Be honest about what you write here. Nobody is going to see this list if you don’t show them. Now next to each of the things on your list, write how much time you spent on each item.

On top of this list write the words, “The Things I ACTUALLY want.”

The activities on this list, in proportion to how much time you spend on them, are the things you ACTUALLY want. These are the things you actually care about.

If you continue your habit of doing the things on this list you can only get better at them within the next decade. You can just throw away that first list I had you write. Because those aren’t the things you actually want.

Now granted there might be several badasses out there who spend most days working out, reading books, socializing, and building their businesses who yesterday just wanted to relax watching a few good movies and didn’t accomplish anything.

But for most people, the things on your “Things I ACTUALLY want list” that you did yesterday are the same things you have been doing the past few months and the same things you will keep doing for the next few years.

If you have items on your list of things you did yesterday that actually move you closer to your goals a little bit each day, then I hope the things on this list align with the items on the first list you wrote.

If your two lists are not aligned then you might need a refreshing kick in the ass to realize fantasizing about your dream job, starting a business, or attracting your dream girl wont magically make these things appear in your life.

It’s hard to change your habits. They are comforting and familiar.

Personal Development coach Brian Tracy suggests that to master any field or skill takes 5 – 7 years.

Do you want to know what you will be doing in 5 to 7 years? You don’t need the power to see into the future. You just need to look at your list of what you did yesterday.

3. Accomplish Something Every Day First of all, you should have goals, if you don’t have goals you are not a real man. And the more time you devote to accomplishing your goals, every day, the bigger sense of self-accomplishment will be. The more you accomplish, the more confident you will feel. And that confidence is the fire of your sexual vibe.

5. Exercise stay in shape, eat well and build some muscle. Girls love touching my six pack. And the healthier you look and feel the more sexually attractive you are.

7. Don’t be afraid of touching. Invade her space and be willing to make her comfortable with your touch. You can do it in playful ways, but it’s not necessary to go crazy with the kino.

8. Be comfortable expressing sexuality. Never avoid being offensive by avoiding sexual topics or innuendo. Delivered in a playful, non-serious attitude you are setting the frame for sexuality in your interactions. Check out 3 Second Sexual Attraction for tips on how to make a woman horny for you with your words.