Ten tips to help cut your internet bill

Chris Ridabock Jr.

Internet connectivity is no longer an option, but a necessity to do business. As such, more time and money is being eaten up by managing your internet needs. However, there are several things that you can do as a business owner to maximize your current resources, decrease your costs, and increase the reliability of your connectivity. Here are ten tips to help reduce your internet and telecom spending.

1. Move to a wireless local area network to reduce your cabling costs, which are a big piece of a network installation. With your computers and even phones on a wireless system, cabling costs can be almost eliminated.

2. Get to know your network usage. If you have the knowledge of how much bandwidth your employees use, then you can adjust your internet service accordingly. Tracking usage trends gives you the ability to gauge what services you will need in the future, making sure you aren’t paying for something you don’t need.

3. Offload your extraneous internet traffic to a secondary DSL. Surfing traffic eats up a lot of your bandwidth. If you use a fibre connection to support your business, consider moving less important surfing traffic to a low-cost DSL service, reserving the fibre for priority items such as cloud applications, email or voice over IP.

4. Take advantage of new technologies for small business. For example, you can install a relatively inexpensive application that will let employees use their smartphones over company Wi-Fi as their primary business phone. A smart ISP can help you classify your internet service to prioritize voice quality for VoIP, allowing you to do away with traditional desk handsets. Not only does this lower costs, it improves employee productivity by increasing mobility.

5. Use the Cloud! So many services are available via the cloud that companies have traditionally had to pay a huge upfront cost for. By moving your data storage, back-ups, mail server or even software over to the Cloud, you can eliminate purchase costs and pay a more manageable monthly fee.

6. Avoid service agreements with data transfer charges. Just like a cell phone contract that only allows a certain number of minutes, your internet service agreement may only include a certain level of usage. Make sure you have an unlimited agreement to avoid any overage fees.

7. Carefully reconcile your bills for errors. Often times large telecommunication companies make billing errors that are never caught. Ensure that your bill matches the costs that you have agreed to.

8. Factor customer service into your financial calculation. If your accounting department spends two hours a month with a billing rep fixing errant invoicing, how much is this costing you in productivity?

9. Assess how much network downtime is costing you. When your network or internet service goes down, how long does it take you to get in touch with your provider and get things working again? Any downtime at your company’s end prevents employees from performing their jobs optimally.

10. When in doubt, ask for help. Networking professionals who are familiar with both local area networks (inside your office) and wide area networking (out to the Internet) can help you assess what strategy is best for your business. An expert will be able to tell if upgrading will improve efficiency or just be a waste of financial resources.


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Bad Weather/Sandy Alert

LEAKING BASEMENTS are the most common and concerning of all house problems. Review your property annually for all the issues listed below. These are causes of basement leaks.

* Improper grading. Ensure that all grounds slope away from the foundation.

* Patios and walkways require slope away from the house.

* Grading should always be 4 to 6 " below siding and brick

* Clean gutters/eves troughs twice a year and ensure proper drainage.

* Downspouts should extend 4 to 6 feet (1 to 2 metres) away from the house.

* Disconnect and extend all downpipes that enter into the ground they are likely collapsed or clogged.

* Monitor all cracks or faults in the foundation walls.

*Window wells should be installed where window sills are not 4 - 6 " above the ground.

* Seal all through-wall penetrations or wall flashings.

* Large trees close to the house could cause damage below grade to the foundation.

* Raised flower beds should be sloped away from the house.

* Driveway should slope away from the house.

* Neighbour's properties should not drain onto your property.

* Underground sprinkler system outlet to be positioned and directed away from the house.

* Clean all drains or catch basins annually.

OTHER LEAKAGE ISSUES

Roofs and windows may leak due to poor or cracked caulking, faulty seals, worn shingles and driving rain into opennings.

If you have made the above corrections and leakage continues, contact us to inspect, assist and direct you toward corrective measures.

Allan Spisak - owner/general manager

ACISS Home & Commercial Inspections

Head Office

5475 Lakeshore Rd. #44

Burlington, ON, L7L 1E1

905-633-8219  1-866-573-7131

ACISS does more then just home inspections.

www.teambluesky.ca

7 Reasons Your Neighbors Have More Money Than You

by VINCENT KING

• Email

You look out the window of your home each night after dinner, staring across the street at your neighbors. You long for the cars they drive, their weekly manicured lawns, and even the vacations they seem to take several times a year.

You’re not alone.

I often look out my window, too, staring at the gorgeous homes and cars wondering how they manage to pay for them. After all, we live in the same neighborhood, our kids go to the same schools, and their salaries aren’t that much more than ours.

There are several reasons our can neighbors afford so many of the things we would love to have, but could never fathom splurging on:

1. Perception is Everything

Your perception may be skewed. You see fancy cars in the driveway, and the trim lawns you can almost feel between your toes. You watch work crews going in and out of the awesome remodeling projects happening inside. Yet, none of that means your neighbors are wealthier than you are. Just because you see them as more affluent, doesn’t mean they are.

You are only able to see above the surface of their spending, meaning you have no idea what’s happening down below.

2. Allocation is Essential

While you choose to consistently save money for your kids’ education, and retirement later in life, they are spending what they believe are excess funds on their cars and homes. They might be making the shallow choice to spend their money on what people can see, while you are spending your money on the life you want to live, both today and tomorrow. You choose to pay for peace of mind.

It’s how your neighbors allocate their income that makes them seem richer than they are.

3. Perks Matter

While Your neighbors’ salaries might be slightly more than yours, it isn’t enough to justify the massive leap in spending. However, fringe benefits can greatly widen the gap. Perks such as cars, phones, laptops, and more can give the recipient an amazing leg up when it comes to freeing money for other pleasures.

4. Luxuries of the Mature

As families mature, houses get paid off and savings grow. Even if your children do go to the same school, their children are older, and they have a few years on you as well. Those could be years spent paying on their house and putting money in the bank. Imagine how much more freedom you would have without also having to manage your monthly mortgage.

5. Their Lives Might be Plastic

Your neighbors might be disciples, worshiping the power of the plastic. While you are smart enough to understand the headaches of undisciplined credit, your neighbors might be living carelessly, buying short-term luxury today in exchange for a meager tomorrow.

6. They Know Where to Find Deals

I consider myself a connoisseur when it comes to finding great deals on groceries and kids clothing. Perhaps your neighbors also know something about finding deals on the things they need, freeing up more money for things they want.

7. They Pay for Their Immediate Wants First

Your neighbors could also have more money than you do because they prioritize differently, and pay from their savings for projects and luxuries that they want done.

While my neighbors may or may not make have more money than me, I don’t let it influence the way that I live. I spend money in the way that’s most important for me and my family, both for a better, more comfortable today, and for a brighter tomorrow.

As “The Millionaire Next Door” and “Rich Dad, Poor Dad” point out, those that spend on things like homes, cars, and clothes are spending on material items and living on “rented” lifestyles. Instead of building assets, these people are living on liabilities and that can be a dangerous mindset. You don’t have to live like a king today, if it means you’re going to live like a pauper tomorrow.

It doesn’t matter what the Jones’ are doing. Not now, or ever. Save where you can. spend where you need, and live a life you want.

www.teambluesky.ca

5 Reasons a Walkable Neighborhood is Valuable

by THURSDAY BRAM 

• Email

Even though a walkable neighborhood isn’t the first thing a real estate agent might mention when showing a house, it can be an important consideration when you’re picking somewhere to live. When I picked out the house I live in now, one of my big concerns was choosing a place where I could walk to at least a few different places. My neighborhood isn’t exactly downtown, but my house is within about a mile of a small shopping center, a post office, a couple of restaurants and a library. Being able to walk to those places has made a world of difference for me. Here are 5 reasons why this is so:

1. You don’t need to spend as much on transportation. Even though my husband and I live out in the suburbs, we do fine with just one car. I can hoof it to do most of what I need to do on a given day, without even needing to figure out the local public transportation schedule. Not all families could do without a second car, though we manage because I work from home and living where we do. Either way, being able to walk to a lot of places still minimizes the money we spend on gas and on wear and tear on the car.
2. There are more opportunities for exercise. A neighborhood that is walkable is also joggable and runable. Personally, my preferences for exercise have never tended towards going to the gym but being able to just go out and take a walk or a run in my neighborhood whenever I want. It doesn’t hurt that convincing yourself to drive two blocks to the post office very quickly just because you are lazy can be hard, putting you in the position to get a little more exercise than you might otherwise.
3. You do your part for the environment without even thinking about it. We’re all in favor of protecting the environment on some level, but the fact of the matter is that it’s easier to just do what we need to in terms of our day-to-day lives than to think about what changes we can make. If you’re already in a situation where walking makes sense, though, it’s easier to leave the car in the driveway and walk than if you’re in an area where driving seems like the only solution.
4. A walkable neighborhood is often a safer neighborhood. Most of my neighbors are out walking around at various times. We all see what’s going on in the area and we’ll talk if we have a concern. Overall, that makes for a safer neighborhood to live in. When the only time residents of an area spend outside their homes is while they walk to their cars, there’s just not much awareness of what’s going on in the area. That doesn’t automatically make for an unsafe area, but you’ve got to admit that a lot fewer problems happen when there always seems to be someone within sight.
5. It can come in handy during emergencies. Last year, we were snowed in for five days. Because our neighborhood was walkable, we still had access to many services including a few shops that were open at least a few hours for people who hadn’t managed to stock up. Luckily, we didn’t run into any problems, but we did get a bit stir-crazy. A neighborhood restaurant was open (in part because most of their staff also lived within walking distance), so we were able to walk over and hang out, even though our car couldn’t make it out in the snow.

Walk-ability can be a very useful test of whether a neighborhood is going to be easy to live in. If you’re interested in finding an easy-to-walk neighborhood, downtown areas are not the only choice, despite the fact that they tend to be among the most walkable options. A good alternative is picking an older neighborhood, preferably originally developed before the fifties, or even earlier if you can find them. One of the reasons that my neighborhood is so easy to navigate is because the area was originally established just before the Civil War. There are very few original buildings in the area, but the city blocks still constrain what goes where to the point where I can walk wherever I want.

It’s becoming more common for developers to focus on building communities that have some walkable features — like paths — built in, but it’s worth noting that you don’t just want a path to walk on. You want them to actually lead to somewhere you want to get to at least occasionally. Personally, a neighborhood bar was the deciding factor in choosing my house: I wanted a place that I could easily walk to, hang out at and grab a beer, before walking home again. Your deciding factor may be a grocery store, a particular restaurant or a church, but as long as it’s within walking distance, your life will be a little easier.

www.teambluesky.ca

16 Sweet ways to get rid of your stuff

Selling stuff these days requires more than simply setting up a garage sale on your front lawn. One of the best methods is to sell it online, but that doesn’t mean you can’t use some tried-and-true outlets to pass on everything from old clothing and furniture to antiques and collectibles.

 • eBay: Auctioning items on eBay exposes your sale to millions of buyers, but it’s important to understand the process and how best to market your items. To determine the worth and marketability of your item, search for similar items at eBay’s “Completed Listings” list under “Advanced Search.” You must register first, but there’s no charge to do so. Before you post your listing, read eBay’s seller’s recommendation guide.

You’ll pay eBay a portion of your profit in fees, including posting your listing, completing a sale and receiving payment through PayPal.

 • Craigslist: The king of classified-ad sites, Craigslist began in 1995 as an email distribution list of events in the San Francisco Bay Area and soon began offering a means by which roommates could find each other. Nowadays, selling everything from cars to home and garden supplies on Craigslist couldn’t be simpler, but consult the site’s FAQ and “Avoid Scams and Fraud” page before starting.

 • BackPage.com: A Craigslist cousin, BackPage.com partners with local newspapers, alternative weeklies and other media outlets in your area.

 • Pawn shops: Some pawn shops, also known as pawnbrokers, purchase merchandise directly from the customer. Others are primarily used to secure loans by using items like jewellery or electronics as collateral. Your item is returned after you repay the loan.

 • Etsy: New York-based Etsy allows artists and crafters to sell their homemade products, but has lately expanded to include sales of retro and collectible items. Basically, you set up your own shop, post your products and wait for people to find you. A little social network promotion will help attract more eyes to your site. Sellers can now offer Etsy free shipping coupons through a program offered by the website.

 • Facebook: You can post photos and small ads on Facebook. While each seller’s initial audience may be been small, word can spread quickly.

 •  Your own website: There are a several free or open-source projects, such as osCommerce, you can use to power your online shop. Take advantage of all-inclusive, small business hosting solutions, such as Yahoo Merchant Solutions, which help sellers get started with a minimum of fuss and headaches.

 • Google Product Search: Google has found yet another way to add to their billions. Their product arm, Google Product Search, receives a lot of attention from avid Google users and it’s free to list there if you have your own website.

Google Merchant Center is a service launched in 2009 that makes it easy to upload and manage the product listings you want to appear in Google Product Search, AdWords, and other Google properties. (The Merchant Center basically is a substitute for Google Base, although you can still use Base.)

 • Trade magazines: Trade magazines are an excellent way to sell to a specialty audience, but it’s important to target the proper audience. Good items to sell through the trades include vintage cars, car parts, golf equipment, craft items, antiques and collectibles.

 • Consignment shops: These retail stores resell your merchandise and keep a percentage of the final sale price. Many specialize in clothing and accessories, but you can also find shops that sell furniture, antiques, kitchen items and other things. It may take some time for larger items to sell, but you’re likely to earn more than if you sold them through a garage sale.

 • Garage sales: Items that sell quickly at garage sales include small household goods, clothing, baby items and basic furniture, particularly dressers and bookshelves. Make sure all products are in relatively good shape and price them as you set them aside to avoid confusion the morning of the sale. Your local newspaper’s classified ad section is still the best place to advertise a sale.

 • Flea markets: Think of flea markets as long-term garage sales with better financial returns and without a dependency on good weather. You’ll have to pay for your shop space but you can share rent and work with another seller. Most flea markets are staffed by professionals who keep track of how much stuff you’ve sold while manning the cash register.

 • Antiques and collectibles dealers: Dealers will buy anything from old coins and jewellery to books and toys. Items should be in good shape and collectibles in their original wrapping will bring a better price. Check eBay for price comparisons before you get several quotes or appraisals from dealers.

 • Newspaper classified ads: Classified ads still reach a fairly large audience. If you’re selling low-priced items, look for ad classifications like “Bargain Box” or “Cheap Buys.” These categories often cost less than a full-blown classified ad. Don’t overlook weekly, college and penny-saver newspapers.

 • Play It Again Sports: Play It Again Sports, a resale haven for sports enthusiasts and parents with athletes who grow like weeds, is like a neighbourhood sporting goods store. They’ll buy your used and new sports and fitness equipment or help you trade with other sports enthusiasts.

 • Barter: Some bartering websites are dedicated to specific products (such as furniture, children’s clothing, sports equipment) while others allow you to sell just about anything.

www.teambluesky.ca

HOW TO PLACE SHOWER CONTROLS

With some careful planning, your next shower can be a complete joy to use. No blast of cold water when you turn it on, a controlled amount of water falling from each fixture, water that doesn't spray out the shower door and a handheld cord that doesn't wrap around fixtures. Here are some tips on planning the perfect shower experience through the placement of your fixtures.

Add to ideabook

by Betty Wasserman

by Betty Wasserman

Many factors influence where to put shower controls. Pipes, heating ducts, exterior insulation, electrical wires and other bits of your home's inner workings hide behind your bathroom walls. Sometimes the structure of your home gets in the way of the perfect control placement. But with care a professional can install a system that works for you.

Tip: Arrange controls for multiple showerheads in an order that would make sense to a guest. You can see multiple showerheads, a steam head and body jets in this shower. Since the rain head is the highest fixture, I'd give its control valve the highest placement. You can have a professional install things any way you like — there's no set rule — but try to create a sensible system from the perspective of someone who has never used your shower before.

Add to ideabook by Brett Webber Architects, PC by Brett Webber Architects, PC

There's no need to worry about splashing here, because this entire bathroom is a wet room. Having the shower's controls at the opening of the shower makes heating things up easy and keeps the homeowners from getting wet in the process. Tip: When designing a barrier-free bathroom like this, extra care and attention need to be taken where the tub waste and water supply penetrate the floor. Make sure that the floor is angled toward the drain and waterproofed with sheet membranes and waterproofing products, like Schluter's Kerdi Fix or Noble Company's Noble Sealant 150 (regular or low-VOC version).

Add to ideabook by SM Contracting by SM Contracting

For a handheld shower control, consider the natural arch of the cord. I've found the cords want to curve at roughly 8 inches (20 centimeters). Notice the perfect placement of the shower's handheld cord in this photo. It lines up with the temperature control in middle, and the hose connects to the wall right in line with the lower control valve. Tip: Have your tile layout ready if you want the hose's connection to fall in the center of a tile or on a grout joint. Siting the connection on a grout joint is easier for the tile installer, but most times it looks best to have it entirely on a full tile.

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by Debbie R. Gualco

by Debbie R. Gualco

The entry tends to be the most convenient location for the control valves. Placing a handheld shower nozzle closer to the bench makes shaving easier.

Tip: If you cannot install the handheld to be accessible from the bench, consider a low shower niche on the same wall for storage or a place to rest a leg while shaving.

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by JENDRETZKI LLC

by JENDRETZKI LLC

I love this shower and can only imagine how tricky it was to build and waterproof. When you have only one wall to place plumbing on, make sure that the wall is framed or built with the plumbing layout in mind.

Tip: Decide on grout spacing in advance — often this just means coming up with a simple sketch for your plumber. If you have no opinion, you'll most likely get what the plumber thinks looks best, which might not fit with your views.

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by Lapis Design Partners

by Lapis Design Partners

When building a shower with a window, avoid wooden windows and make sure the shower's waterproofing system ties into the window's frame. Remember, windows move! Allow room for expansion and contraction when you're tiling to take moisture and thermal changes into account.

Tip: In this shower, the door shields the user from that first cold start-up spray. When you select your final shower fixture locations, remember that shower doors open both ways. By adding a separate side panel that the door hinges off of, it can open further into the shower without hitting the shower's fixtures.

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by On Time Baths

by On Time Baths

Body jets should never face the shower entry or door. When placing jets, consider how the spray will bounce off bodies and where it will land.

Tip: Jets should be sized to the user's body and installed to hit shoulders and other areas needing a massage. Consider installing them from both sides for a full-body soak!

www.teambluesky.ca

Will you fight the latest property tax assessments

What's your property worth? Well, according to the Municipal Property Assessment Corp., likely a bit more than you think.

Ontario property owners can expect to start seeing MPAC assessment notices in the mail any day now, as 2013 marks the beginning of another four-year property assessment cycle.

Properties across the province will be assessed based on what they were worth at the beginning of 2012.

If your home’s value has increased since the last assessment in 2008, that jump will be phased in equally over four years. If it's dropped in value, the change will be recognized immediately, however.

You can check your assessment here, at www.aboutmyproperty.ca. and compare the value of your  property to others in their neighbourhood and community.

Don't like what you see? Well, let MPAC know.

www.teambluesky.ca

6 THINGS YOU SHOULD AVOID BEFORE BUYING A HOME

Buying a home is not an impulse buy. In most cases you will have a few months notice before you actually go through with the sale. Planning ahead is crucial particularly if you don't have extensive financial resources. Since mortgage lenders will be sizing up your finances carefully, don't give them any reason to reject your application.

You never know what effect today’s actions will have on your mortgage application in three or even six months. Even something as simple as transferring money from your savings to your chequing account can negatively impact the mortgage process. So here are some suggestions on things you should avoid before buying a home:

1. Do not make any major purchases
Don't invest in any major purchases. Cars, weddings, jewellery, furniture and electronics can all wait until you're settled in your new home. When you make a major purchase, you limit the amount of money available for your down payment, and decrease the amount of liquid capital in your name.

If you do have to make a major purchase before buying a home, you might want to put it on a low-interest credit card until after your mortgage application is approved. Sometimes you can't control what life throws your way, but think carefully about your options before making a decision.

2. Don’t move money around
When a lender reviews your loan application for approval, one of the things they are concerned about is the source of funds for your down payment and closing costs. To do so, they will request statements from all of your accounts that contain liquid assets.

Moving your money around, even if you are consolidating your funds to make it "easier," could make it more difficult for the lender to properly document and measure your finances. So leave your money where it is until after closing.

3. Do not make large investments
It is also not recommended to make investments just before buying a home; again, you're decreasing the liquidity of your assets. If you've come across a new stock in which you'd like to invest or if it's a great time to buy bonds, wait until after you've settled the finances on your home.

Furthermore, you'll have to disclose all of your finances before buying a new home, which means accounting for every withdrawal and deposit in all of your accounts. This can get quite tedious, especially if you're trying to dig up cancelled cheques for the new home theatre or HDTV you just had to have three months ago.

4. Do not change your bank 
Changing banks is always a hectic ordeal, so don't do it before buying a home. You'll have to provide information about previous accounts that are now closed, and therefore inaccessible. And if you diversify your money too much in money market accounts, savings accounts, chequing accounts and other places, you'll have a harder time with the disclosure process.

If you're frustrated with your bank and want to change, tough it out a little longer and switch after your mortgage is approved and you've set up shop in your new home. This will save you hours of headaches and frustration.

5. Do not apply for a new credit card or line of credit
Even though the inquiry won’t hurt your credit too badly if you already have a good credit score, the additional credit card will cause the lender to question your financial stability for buying a home.

6. Do not change your job unless absolutely necessary
Try not to change jobs. Your employment is a key factor in the mortgage approval process, and if you can't show steady employment, you might be denied. Of course, you can't help matters if you've just been laid off or an opportunity presents itself that you can't pass up.

This could become more difficult if you become self employed. In most cases, lenders want to see at least two years of self-employment before they will approve you for a loan. So if you can, wait until after buying a home to become self-employed. For part-time workers, changing jobs creates unpredictability in the number of hours you will work so the lender cannot determine your gross income to qualify you for a loan.

If you're going to change jobs before buying a home, wait another six months before going ahead with the real estate transaction. This gives you an opportunity to establish employment and to show a steady income from a single employer. This looks much better on a loan application than a long list of recent employers.

As mentioned above, there will be times when you can't avoid all of these things before buying a home, but know that it's in your best interests to wait until the dust settles. The goal should be to move into your new house with as few obstacles as possible.

www.teambluesky.ca