How to Decide Where to Live and Why We Chose to Stay Put

Where to next?

Have you ever wondered if youre living in the right place?

The right neighborhood? The right city? The right part of the World?

Mrs. PT (my wife) and I struggled with this question recently.

As you know were in the process of moving. Our recent offer was accepted and we close on the loan for our new home at the end of this month.

This may sound crazy, but our primary motivation for moving (right now) was so we could have a yard. We live in a townhome now. We dont have a yard. That fact stinks now that we have little kids.

You may be going through a similar experience (needing to move). You may have recently retired, become unemployed, graduated from school, or just grown tired of where youre at. Maybe you too are ready for a yard.

So how do you decide where to live?

Ultimately, we chose to stay in the same suburban town here in North Dallas.

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Greece Political Impasse Continues To Worry Traders

Tagged Under : Traders

– The major U.S. index futures are pointing to a lower opening on Tuesday, with a lack of agreement among political parties to form a coalition government in Greece worrying traders enormously. Riskier assets such as the euro and commodities have taken a beating as traders steered clear amid the fluid political situation in Greece. Among global economic data, Australia reported a wider deficit for March, while Germany reported industrial output growth for March that exceeded forecasts. Amid these developments, traders may also focus on a couple of Fed speeches scheduled for the day.

U.S. stocks overcame fears triggered by the results of elections in Greece and France and closed on a mixed note on Monday. The major averages opened lower and moved about in a volatile manner until the afternoon.

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Video: Consumer Reports installs MyFord Touch flash update, notes improvements

Tagged Under : Myford Touch, Touch

Over the last two years, we’ve had abundant criticism for Ford’s MyFord Touch (and the similar MyLincoln Touch) dashboard control design. But Ford deserves credit and compliments for this system’s recent comprehensive update.

We’ve grown accustomed to a near-constant barrage of software updates on our computers. Cars are not so different, as modern automobiles are basically rolling computers and updates are to be expected. The current MyFord Touch update is essentially an extensive software update to bring improvements to current vehicles. Expect 2013 models to have the latest software straight from the factory. But rather than letting current owners suffer through problems, or making them go to the dealer (although they can do that if desired), Ford mailed flash drives to owner’s homes with the new software. Consider this a DIY upgrade, and a much needed one, as there were a lot of bugs to fix.

Some owners had the system completely shut down and reboot while driving; this happened to me in our 2011 Ford Edge. But even day-to-day operations revealed glitches. Consumer Reports kept our tested 2011 Lincoln MKX, rather than selling it, so that we could see how the update performed.

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Angie’s List founder advocates credit card payments for contractors

Tagged Under : Card Payments, Credit Card, Credit Card Payments, Payments

Credit card payments have become the best way to ensure quality work from contractors, according to Angie Hicks, the founder of service professionals directory Angie’s List. Yet, based on pleas from vendors to avoid merchant fees or taxes, many customers still pay in cash or with checks.

“Homeowners are still whipping out their checkbooks when it comes time to pay the plumber, landscaper or roofer,” Hicks said in a statement to reporters.

Sixty-five percent of service companies in a recent Angie’s List poll confirmed that they can accept debit or credit cards, up from 57 percent in a poll conducted a year earlier. One in 5 of those company representatives told researchers that they preferred credit card payments to cash or checks. That figure nearly doubled from a year ago, signaling increased acceptance of phone, web, and mobile payment technology.

Hicks recommends screening prospective contractors, using credit card acceptance as one of the determining factors about proceeding with a project. Credit cards enable vendors to stagger payments over the course of a long project, while giving consumers the protection to dispute charges when work doesn’t match a contract’s terms.

“What you absolutely should not do is pay in cash,” Hicks said.

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How to Win the Lottery – Guaranteed 10 Times Out of 10

Tagged Under : Lottery, Lottery Guaranteed

Do you know the secret to winning?

Youre so lucky

Lucky that you found this page.

Why? Because I just figured out how to win the lottery and, right now, I will teach you how to do it too.

In fact, I bet that the moment you finish reading this, youll be rushing out to play the lottery and buy a Powerball ticket.

Yes, you will.

All of the bad luck in your life is about to change. No more financial worries. Heck, no more worries, period. Thats what winning the lottery will do for you.

Your first stroke of luck was finding this article. But, through some mystical happenstance, you did it, you found this page. That, my friend, is fate. Now prepare to be wowed!

Im going to tell you how to win the lottery. But first, I will tell you what pushed me to try to figure out how to do it. Then I will tell you why you should trust me that this works.

Finally, Ill tell you exactly how to do it How to win the lottery.

I, myself, wanted to learn how to win the lottery.

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