I am not a computer expert that understands all the in’s and out’s of internet accountability, controls and resources! I am a mom who knows that I need to protect my family from the evil that is so easily available on the internet. I didn’t want the blessing of homeschooling to turn into a curse of misuse of the internet, or a pornography addiction and its evil influences.
Below are some internet accountability resources to help all of us protect our families.
Internet Accountability: Stop Accidental Exposure!
Did you know that according to the Kaiser Family Foundation, roughly 70% of children are exposed accidentally to pornography each year?
Homeschool grading should not take all evening. Don’t spend too much time grading your kids papers!
Honestly, I can hardly believe I’m writing this but it is true. If you are trying to get your 6th grader to write a perfect essay and so you correct every.single.thing. that you can find, re-write all the sentences, and re-arrange the content YOU ARE DOING TOO MUCH.
The curriculum we use (BJU Press Homeschool) comes with rubriks* to help us grade each writing assignment. There are points for content (Did the students get the point across in the essay? Did the ideas have logical progression?) and points for technical skills (Capitalization and punctuation, etc.) Those 2 scores are combined and a grade is assigned. This way both the student and the teacher know what is expected!
What is a reverse mortgage? It is a financial product that allows you to tap the equity from your home. Millionacres says, You can qualify for a reverse mortgage as long as you’re at least 62, use the home in question as your primary residence, and are able and willing to keep up with your homeownership costs — meaning, continue paying your property taxes, retain homeowners insurance, and maintain your property.
As the articles below show, there are a lot of reasons NOT to get a reverse mortgage.
Since I live in New York, property taxes are a big concern. If you don’t pay your property taxes, your reverse mortgage becomes immediately due. Since there is not legislation protecting the homeowners, a town can reassess property values and your taxes can go up by 50% or more suddenly. Yes, they can. If you don’t pay your property taxes, your reverse mortgage becomes immediately due. If you can’t keep up with taxes, insurance, or maintenance, you are looking at foreclosure.
As the articles below show, there are a lot of reasons NOT to get a reverse mortgage.
But a reverse mortgage comes with several downsides, such as upfront and ongoing costs, a variable interest rate, an ever-rising loan balance and a reduction in home equity. In light of those drawbacks, homeowners considering a reverse mortgage should weigh the alternatives, such as refinancing an existing mortgage or taking out a home equity loan.
Explore All Your Options
On its surface, a reverse mortgage might sound like an ideal way to use your home for income. However, both upfront and ongoing costs accompany a reverse mortgage, along with a variable interest rate. Another pitfall: Because interest and fees are tacked on to the loan balance each month, the balance increases—and as the balance goes up, your home equity goes down.
Because of the numerous downsides to reverse mortgages, be sure to explore all of your borrowing alternatives to ensure your finances don’t end up going in reverse.
Everything Finance One of the ways lenders try to entice you into a reverse mortgage is by putting the idea in your head that you’ll never lose your home and ultimately live there forever. However, depending on your retirement income, even with the money from your reverse mortgage, the home insurance, repairs, and property taxes could become too much for you to handle.
Should you fail to be able to pay for any of those expenses, you’ll be in severe risk of losing your home. Moreover, there’s no telling how much repairs will (sic) ultimately equal.
If you’re contemplating moving for health concerns or other reasons, a reverse mortgage is probably unwise because in the short-run, steep up-front costs make such loans economically impractical. These costs include lender fees, initial mortgage insurance costs, ongoing mortgage insurance premiums, and closing (a.k.a. settlement) costs, such as property title insurance, home appraisal fees, and inspection fees.
Homeowners who suddenly vacate or sell the property have just six months to repay the loan. And while borrowers may pocket any sales proceeds above the balance owed on the loan, thousands of dollars in reverse mortgage costs will have already been paid out.
2017: 90,000 mortgages held by seniors are facing involuntary termination of their mortgages, i.e. foreclosure! At that time, 14%- 18% of the loans ended in foreclosure- a really, really, really high foreclosure rate.
Once in 30 Years From Elizabeth
“Jane” wanted to get a reverse mortgage. Her house was paid for. She wanted to remain in her house for the remainder of her life and have money to pay for her care, and she had no heirs. Also, she had recently been given less than a year to live. At that point, I could not talk “Jane” out of a reverse mortgage. There are other options, but she wanted what she wanted.
However, my advice for you: Run away from a reverse mortgage! Elizabeth Estelle
Homeschool Christian Mom Elizabeth Estelle is ready to help you!
Do you need some extra homeschooling help? Use this link to get on my calendar and let’s chat! Move from being a hesitant homeschool mom to a happy homeschool family.
Have you ever seen those ads in the plane magazines about personalized help finding your soulmate? The service sounds wonderful. Imagine my pleasure when I met one of these dating geniuses: Dorinda Barker!
Dorinda’s company NXt Connection focuses on YOU and featuring your unique personality authentically on an appropriate dating app. She offers personal, one-on-one services to help you find your SOMEONE.
(Bonus: Use discount PROMO code Elizabeth5.)
One -on-One Coaching
Dorinda says, “My 1-on-1 coaching is a “Done For You” profile but you also get guidance with opening lines, messaging and responses, first date do’s and don’ts, hype-man advice, and style advice. I also include a self-care course that brings out your confidence with dating.” (8 Weeks of guidance)
Testimonials
I wasn’t getting a lot of matches with my social media dating apps. A friend of mine suggested NXTConnection. I was unsure about it- but thought, why not give it a try. I met with Dorinda for my one on one consult. She was very friendly and we bonded over a wide range of conversation and topics. Little did I know, she was focused on who I was as a person. She would later show me I was not my natural self in my profile. We went over things step by step starting with my pictures, written description, and my dating goals.
Overall, My matches have increased since using NXTConnection. I highly recommend at bare minimum, the consultation. J.R.
People can contact Dorinda at www.instagram.cpm/nxtconnection or www.nxtconnection.com
Prompts are conversation starters and get-to-know-you nugget questions that an app such as @hinge provides. Prompts also are additional knowledge into who you are on top of just a biography.
An example of a prompt can be: A random thought I had this morning. . . . .
A good prompt on Hinge can inspire good creative answers as well as responses from potential suitors. An unpopular opinion can stir up good conversation and banter. A good prompt can invite an opening to be random, quirky, unique, insightful, bold, or humble if done correctly.
Basically prompts are ‘get to know me better’ questions before even using your swipe on a person. To that I say, “Bring on the prompts!”
Testimonials from Annie
I heard about Dorinda through a friend who heard her give an elevator speech about her business and explain how she helped people go into online dating successfully. I love to date and want to meet my person but dreaded the thought of even writing a bio or learning to use a dating app. I felt like any attempt would be canned and corny but meeting guys wasn’t going well either. My friend recommended I at least do the 15 min free consult and see if we could even work together. Dorinda was bubbly and cheerful and I got excited as I caught her enthusiasm. I tried to be very blunt and tell her exactly what I was looking for and she took it all in stride. She was excited and already had recommendations of apps that might fit me best. Over the next 5 weeks, I had weekly meetings with her as I wrote her a wishlist, talked about past relationships, and did homework to make my profile the best it could be (more photos!) One thing that both surprised me and I appreciated was this was much more about me then I thought. Dorinda focused on what I believed about myself and made me work through the lies that directed who I dated. She set me up with a bomb profile on 2 apps that look so good! Thank you for that huge push of courage, know-how and reminding me I’ve more than got this!Annie
MEET YOUR SOMEONE: NXTConnection enhances people’s dating profiles by making your pics and bio SHINE. Let us help you with your spark and more.
Just like a state flag tells something about the state, your personality flag will tell something about you. If you are teaching a class, this is a great project to help you to get to know your students.
What will you put on your flag? An object? An animal? Your favorite dessert? A quote or verse? A picture of a musical instrument?
Materials:
Watercolor paper
Watercolor paint
Brushes
Water
Ruler
Pencil
Eraser
Magazines, pictures, calendar pictures, and books for ideas
Step 1
Use a light pencil line to divide your paper into 5 spaces like this:
What objects, animal, quote, or food will you choose to tell me something about you?
Step 2
Choose what you will draw in each space.
Lightly draw your ideas and begin painting your flag.
I recommend starting with a favorite animal, as this is often an easier decision.
This student is both bold and mysterious as shown by the tiger’s eye!
You do not have all 4 spaces drawn in before you begin painting. I have found that this project tends to come together best one space at a time.
This is one of my favorite verses.
For verses or quotes, you can use your computer to try out different fonts and arrangements to find a pleasing layout. I had fun finding this fancy “B” in a calligraphy book. I used a light watercolor wash behind it, to look like it was written on parchment.
Our finished projects:
What a great job!
What will YOUR flag look like? I hope you try this project at home and post your Personality Flag on FB in my Homeschool Christian Mom group, where I have more art projects as well as homeschooling tips and tricks and resources. See you there!
Homeschool Christian Mom Elizabeth Estelle is ready to help you!
I was meant to homeschool and manage the challenge. Let me provide resources in your “I’m stuck” moments so that you can get back to teaching your children and homeschooling happily.
Do you need some extra homeschooling help? Use this free link to get on my calendar and let’s chat! Move from being a hesitant homeschool mom to a happy homeschool family.
