Month: March 2017

Free Wildflower Seeds

Cheerios wants to help us keep our very necessary bees by encouraging people to plant wildflowers.

Get your free seeds here: http://www.cheerios.com/bringbackthebees

The great thing about wild flowers is that given a chance they grow without needing a great deal of preparation and care.

Timers!

My cell phone only handles countdowns up to one hour, and the standard kitchen timer has the same limitation.

I wanted to set a timer for three and a half hours. My computer does everything else, so I Googled how to set a timer in Windows 10. And there it was, I can set multiple timers for up to twenty-three hours, fifty-nine minutes and fifty-nine seconds. Yay!

Click the Windows symbol in the bottom left corner, click Alarms and Clock, select Timer from the top, and click the plus sign at the bottom, then choose the number of hours, minutes and seconds you want. Other versions of Windows may have something similar. To find out, Google “how to set timers in Windows <version>.

Cleaning the bottom of the fridge

Cleaning the lower parts of the refrigerator when your back and/or knees aren’t up to the task: I took out the crisper drawers, wet a sponge, and used my grabber to move it around. Every bit as effective as doing it by hand, and no back spasms or knee pain.

Wills and Beneficiaries

In today’s Dollar Stretcher email (www.stretcher.com) a poster stated that she hadn’t realized that beneficiaries on accounts override one’s Will. I knew that, and in fact I’m writing a mystery novel that hinges on the idea of a character promising to make someone the sole beneficiary of her Will, and she does, but her assets all have beneficiaries on them, so the heir by Will gets nothing.

It’s wise to periodically review your accounts to make sure your beneficiaries are still the people you want to have it, and for that matter are still alive.

IRA, 401k, POD stocks, real estate, bank accounts: Are you leaving them to the people you want to have them, or perhaps to a former spouse or deceased parent?

Marie Brack is the author of Frugal Living for the 21^st Century: Adventures in Using Your Money Wisely. It’s available on Amazon.com in both Kindle and paperback versions.

Kindle preview: https://read.amazon.com/kp/embed?asin=B00HQKOQBG&asin=B00HQKOQBG&preview=newtab&linkCode=kpe&ref_=cm_sw_r_kb_dp_gITAxbZWT7SRJ

Paperback: https://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss_2?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=marie+brack

Adapted Neck Brace

The bones in my neck are pressing on nerves and sending electrical zings into my head. The chiropractor recommended a neck brace. I ordered one on Amazon, but it was too short for my neck. Rather than buy another, I spent $3+ at Walmart on rectangular pieces of Velcro and made an extension.

The brace makes me hold my neck in correct alignment, and provides some support for my big ol’ (brain-filled) head, so my neck isn’t under as much pressure.