April Newsletter

• Don’t Be A Victim To The “Relative In Trouble” Scam…
• How To Save Hundreds On Your Phone Bill…
• Fun Facts and Laughs: What New Car Dealers Won’t Tell You,
  Useful Health Websites, And More…
• Trivia Challenge: Win Movie Tickets for Two
• Real Estate Q&A: What Mistakes Should I Avoid
  When I Invest In Real Estate?…

Steven Silva, REALTOR^®
Royal LePage At Your Service

P.S.  When you notice people talking about real estate in the next few weeks, can you tell them about the free consumer information I provide?

They may be people getting married soon and looking to buy their first home, and you can tell them about my Free Report: “Top 10 First-Time Homebuyer Mistakes To Avoid.” You’ll be helping them start marriage off by avoiding costly mistakes when buying and financing their home. To request a copy for a friend, simply email me byclicking here, or call me at: 1-855-737-8383 ext 0.

You get a phone call that one of your relatives has had an accident, been robbed, or is stranded in another country. Your loved one needs cash and asks that you wire the money. This scam has been around a while, but the number of people (particularly the elderly) who are falling for it is rising. Do the following so you don’t get scammed:

• Question the caller about the family member in trouble.The call may start with “Hi Grandma!” (Scammers may get family information from social networking sites.) Before saying a name, ask the caller for their middle name. If the caller says, “It’s about your granddaughter,” ask “Which one?” before saying a name.

• Don’t let the caller instill fear. Fear that something bad will happen if the money is not sent can be a motivating factor to comply with the request. Fear can cloud rational thinking.

• Don’t keep the call a secret. Posing to be your relative, the caller may say they are too embarrassed and to not tell others. But don’t be fooled by this trick – let others know about the request immediately. Ask the caller if you can call back – they won’t want to give you a number.

• Try to make contact with the “real” person. Hang up with the imposter and call, email, or text your real relative. If they are on vacation, contact other relatives to find out their itinerary.

If you get a “relative in trouble” call or fall for something else you think is a scam, report it to the Canadian Anti-fraud Centre.  Go to www.antifraudcentre.ca or call 1-888-495-8501. You also can contact the Better Business Bureau at www.bbb.org/canada.

Have you reviewed your phone situation lately? Consider one or all of these options to save hundreds of dollars a year:

Eliminate your landline. First, study your phone bill to see if you’re paying for extras (like caller ID) you may not need. If you decide to ditch your landline because you have a cell phone, make sure you have excellent cell coverage at home. Another option is to switch to VOIP (voice over internet protocol) like Vonage, Skype, Ooma and even MagicJack. Unlimited local and long distance calls can range from $5 to $20 a month, that can save you over $100 per year.

Bundle your services. You can save $20 or more per month if you get your cable, Internet, and landline from the same provider. There’s an extra $240 each year in your pocket for the same services.

Ask your cell phone provider for a cheaper plan. If you talk to the same people daily, a “favorites” plan may better suit your needs. If you’re sending more text messages, go to an unlimited texting plan. Or, consider a pre-paid cell phone where you only pay for minutes you use. Depending on your talking time, that could save you up to $500 a year.

What New Car Dealers Won’t Tell You . . .

•  Negotiate from the invoice price up instead of from sticker price down (find prices at www.kbb.com).

•  Make an appointment to look at cars on Tuesday or Wednesday, when they’ll spend more time with you.

•  Pay attention to overall costs and not just the monthly payment.

•  Get all promises in writing or the salesperson might “forget.”

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Useful Health Websites . . .

•  www.spinehealth.com – Thousands of articles and videos from doctors about back pain, neck pain, and related disorders. A forum for discussion and doctor profiles too.

•  www.kidshealth.org – Most visited site about kid’s health. It’s divided into info for parents, kids and teens.

•  www.agingcare.com – Learn about all aspects of getting older from caregiver information to specific challenges older people experience.

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7 Ways to Get Your Child Excited About Reading 

Does your child spend too much time watching TV or playing video games and not enough time reading?  Here are 7 quick tips to make reading fun and exciting:

1.      Let your child choose books they’re personally interested in.  This way they won’t get bored right away.  If they can’t decide, help them by matching a book topic with one of their interests.

2.      Encourage them to act out the book as a play.  Kids love to perform for others, and this will help them remember more.

3.      Ask your child to draw pictures of the characters.  This gets them to really think about the details, plus it’s fun!

4.      Read chapter books.  These have more surprises and character development, which will help your child visualize the words more.

5.      Take turns reading and let them ask questions.   Also, have them read aloud to their siblings or friends.

6.      Work with other parents to start a book club for kids.  Here’s a video: www.howdini.com/howdini-video-14452277.html

7.      Get your child an eReader.  If you can’t get them away from video games, at least make their time in front of a screen more productive.  If you have an iPAD, go to www.progressbythepage.com to find a reading app.  It comes with a list of free eBooks, and ways to monitor their time spent reading.

Quotes To Live By . . .

The young man knows the rules, but the old man knows the exceptions.
–Oliver Wendell Holmes

Success is not final, failure is not fatal: it is the courage to continue that counts.
–Winston Churchill

Wisdom is the quality that keeps you from getting into situations where you need it.
–Doug Larson

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Guess who won last month’s Trivia Question? I’m pleased to announce the lucky winner of last month’s quiz. And the winner is…drum roll please: Sam of Summerlyn!  Congratulations!

What do the letters in Einstein’s formula E=mc² stand for?

The answer is c) In Albert Einstein’s famous formula, it’s energy, mass and speed of light. Don’t try to explain it – it’s impressive that you know what the letters stand for!  So, let’s move on to thismonth’s trivia question.

What famous singer was told that he should “stick to driving a truck, because you’ll never make it as a singer”?