Your house is a wreck, but unless you know how to handle yourself throughout the insurance claims process, the disaster might just be getting started. Here are six common mistakes homeowners make during this critical time.
There are many avenues to fund higher education that one could take. Grants offer money to help college students cover the cost of their education, usually based on financial need. Money received by grants does not typically need to be repaid. Student loans, on the other hand, refer to a lump sum of money that […]
The post What Is a Merit Scholarship & How to Get One appeared first on SoFi.
Passive income, for example, is a good way to make money while you sleep. The money you make from passive income isnât tied to how many hours you work or how hard you try.
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When navigating which career is right for you, finding something that aligns with your personality is no doubt a fine place to start. But if you fancy yourself as an introvert, you might want to avoid careers involving a lot…
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The post 25 Best Jobs for Introverts To Feel the Most Fulfilled appeared first on MintLife Blog.
To remove hard-water deposits in your toilet bowl, pour 1 cup of white vinegar into the bowl and allow it to sit for several hours or overnight before scrubbing.
Forget the nasty chemicals and overpowering scents! You can use ½ cup lemon juice in your toilet bowl to deodorize and remove stains naturally. Let it sit for several minutes before scrubbing clean.
Looking for more creative uses for lemons? Check out Domestic CEO's guide to Using Lemons to Clean Your Home
The tannins in tea can help lift any stubborn stains. Tannins also have antimicrobial properties. To take advantage, just leave some brewed tea in the toilet bowl for several minutes to several hours (depending on the severity of the stains). Then brush the bowl, and flush the stains away.
For a cheap and easy way to clean your toilet, use mouthwash. Just as it cleans away germs in your mouth, it will do the same in your toilet bowl. Pour 1 capful into the bowl, leave for 10 to 15 minutes, and wipe clean with your toilet brush.
Clearing away dirt and deposits under the rim can be tricky. But a smart tool can help. Purchase a package of those cotton coils used for perms (you can find them at a beauty supply store). Soak the coil in a basin with vinegar. You might want to do this right in the shower to avoid drips. Then stuff the toilet’s rim with the coil. Allow the vinegar to work on the stains overnight, then remove and throw away the coil, and flush the toilet to rinse.
To make this nasty chore easier on your gag reflex, drop two Alka-Seltzer tablets into the bowl twice a week. After 15 minutes, swipe around the bowl with a toilet brush. Your toilet will be spotless!
A fizzy denture tablet works well for this hack, too.
Cola contains phosphoric acid, which can lift stubborn stains such as rust. That makes it a good toilet cleaner: Pour the cola directly into the bowl, leave it for an hour, and then flush.
Instant lemonade mixes like Kool-Aid contain citric acid, which works great to battle mineral deposits. Sprinkle the powder around your toilet bowl, let sit for a minute or two, then scrub with a toilet brush.
We all know it’s gross to stick that brush back into the holder wet. But what’s the solution? Close the seat on top of the brush’s handle so it’s sandwiched and secure, with the brush in position to drip-dry over the toilet bowl. Come back for it later when it’s dry and ready to stash away with much less ick.
You can also add a little mouthwash to the toilet brush holder to help fight germs while the brush is in storage.
If your toddler or fur baby likes to unroll or shred your toilet paper, you’re not alone. Simply slipping a rubber band around the roll will keep it safe from curious hands and paws.
Youâve probably heard that holiday shopping will be a nightmare even the Grinch himself couldnât dream up. Supply-chain troubles, shipping bottlenecks, and worker shortages will make it harder to find big-ticket items. Meanwhile, demand is up. Holiday shoppers expect to spend $785 on average this season, more than they planned on in both 2019 and [â¦]
This was originally published on The Penny Hoarder, which helps millions of readers worldwide earn and save money by sharing unique job opportunities, personal stories, freebies and more. The Inc. 5000 ranked The Penny Hoarder as the fastest-growing private media company in the U.S. in 2017.
Holiday time is a great time to brush up on your understanding of influence and persuasion. Why? Because we are all strongly influenced by fundamental sociological and psychological principles that often unconsciously pull at us—frequently causing us to spend more. No one is immune, but you can protect yourself from exploitative strategies by better understanding what is really driving you to say, "Yes!"
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The rule of reciprocity is a deeply ingrained instinct that makes us feel obligated to return a favor, kindness, or invitation. It's why at this time of year many of us receive charitable donation requests with address labels inside, or why the local sweets shop offers free samples of expensive chocolate, or why your server leaves a mint with the bill. When you accept these free gifts, it will trigger an unconscious urge to repay the debt—even if you didn't really want it, even if the gift was very small or invaluable, and even if the gift giver says they gave it to you without any obligation. Even worse, our response or return gesture often outweighs the freebie. So, in a sense, we end up "paying" for the freebie and may even give money for something we didn't really want in the first place.
How do you protect yourself from the pull of reciprocity? You can refuse free samples or accept the small gift, but take a break before making any purchasing decisions because the feeling of obligation is strongest at the moment you receive the gift. Recognize the "gift" for what it is—an attempt at influence.
The rule of scarcity demonstrates that items that are perceived as scarce are then considered more valuable. Also, when there is competition for scarce resources, it makes them even more valuable. For example, I'm sure you've been in a store ready to pick up your item when you see the sign that reads, "No more than four per customer." This is how retailers create false scarcity. They want for you to think, "Well, if I can only have four, this must be a really good deal" or "I better get a few more, since this is such a good deal and I might not be able to get it again at this price." I guarantee you'll see this principle throughout the holiday season from restricted quantities to "limited seasonal editions" to deals that are only on one day (Black Friday) or only available for a limited time (doorbuster deals). To protect yourself from the influence of scarcity, it is important to ask why you want the item (or why you really need four of them). Most importantly, it is critical to remember that scarcity will NOT make an item BETTER (even though research tells us that is our normal response).
Remember, a product won't taste better and it won't feel better, it won't sound or it won't work better, simply due to it's limited availability.
If you've ever purchased an item or visited a restaurant based on online reviews, or you waited in line behind the velvet rope at a nightclub, or bought something online based on a case study or customer testimonial, you've experienced the power of social proof. Social proof is psychological phenomenon where people assume the actions of others reflect the correct behavior for a given situation. Social proof helps to ease the mind of a worried customer. So tomorrow when you see your family break out the Black Friday ads looking for deals, or on Friday when you see a line of people waiting to get into a store, don't be surprised if you suddenly have the urge to join the crowd and go shopping! How do you protect yourself? You need to ask yourself: could this have been falsified? (Is the nightclub really full? Is this online review from a verified purchaser? Is this deal really a deal and worth fighting the crowds?)
Today, I only briefly covered three of the primary drivers of influence. If you'd like to learn more about the six fundamental social and psychological principles that are the key drivers of influence and persuasion, I invite you to check out my new online video course, Influence: Maximize Your Influence. In this course, I explain what influence is and how it's different from manipulation. I explain the principles of persuasion, and I also include practical strategies for using these principles to authentically (and ethically) influence others at work and at home.
This is Lisa B. Marshall helping you to lead and influence. If you'd like to learn more about compelling communication, I invite you to read my bestselling books, Smart Talk and Ace Your Interview and listen to my other podcast, Smart Talk. As always, your success is my business.