<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
<rss version="2.0">
<channel>
<title>Latest Articles by Imawriter</title>
<link>http://www.populate.net/</link>
<description>Articles at Populate.NET</description>
<language>en-us</language>
<item>
<title>Backyard Landscaping Ideas For Your Home</title>
<link>http://www.populate.net/Home/Gardening/Landscaping/backyard-landscaping-ideas-for-your-home.html</link>
<guid>http://www.populate.net/Home/Gardening/Landscaping/backyard-landscaping-ideas-for-your-home.html</guid>
<pubDate>Sat, 01 Nov 2008 00:00:00 -0700</pubDate>
<description><![CDATA[ Having a low maintenance backyard is the goal of many people. You can get easy to manage backyard landscaping done by any of the professional landscapers in your area or you can do it yourself. Either way you can have front yard and backyard landscaping done that will take minimal work to keep looking fantastic all year round. If you are going to get a professional in to do your landscaping though, be sure to tell him that this is your over all goal, that you want to have a yard that will not take a lot of work to keep up.

If you have less grass in your backyard landscaping then you will cut out a lot of maintenance time right there. Mowing the lawn can take up a lot of time and energy so keeping the grass to a minimum is a great way to save on work. Talk to a landscaping expert at your local home improvement or garden store about alternative backyard landscaping ideas that you can use to keep your yard look good with a little lawn area.

Some people use clover instead of grass. Using a clover lawn in your front yard is one of those great landscaping ideas that will save you money and time. You will not have to mow it very often at all and a clover lawn is even good for front yard landscaping in area that is prone to droughts. They do well virtually everywhere. And best of all for those who want to get out there and enjoy their front yard landscaping, bugs hate clover.

Watering the yard can be a big hassle as well. That is why many people incorporate automatic irrigation systems into their front and backyard landscaping designs these days. This can save a lot of time and money. This is one of the easiest ways for you to keep your yard looking healthy and well watered during the hotter months of the year. No more hooking up the sprinkler or having to drag out the hose.

You can get a professional to install one of these systems for your front yard and backyard landscaping design quickly and easily or you can get a kit and do it yourself. I would recommend getting in a professional however, unless you have experience with this kind of thing. If you were to cause a leak then you could face some flooding and rotting and neither of these is going to be pleasant to fix. ]]></description>
</item>
<item>
<title>How To Sell A House In A Down Market</title>
<link>http://www.populate.net/Finance/Real_Estate/Selling/how-to-sell-a-house-in-a-down-market.html</link>
<guid>http://www.populate.net/Finance/Real_Estate/Selling/how-to-sell-a-house-in-a-down-market.html</guid>
<pubDate>Thu, 30 Oct 2008 00:00:00 -0700</pubDate>
<description><![CDATA[ Right now is an awful time to have to sell a house. House prices have gone way down from earlier in the year and there are many more homes for sale than there are buyers. People are reluctant to make such a large purchase in these rough economic times and so sellers need to do everything they can to get their homes sold. Although the prospects are not great, there are some things you can do to get give your house the best chance of getting sold. 

One thing you might consider trying is to negotiate with your real estate broker. If you agree to raise your realator's percentage slightly, he/she will be more motivated to putting in the necessary time to get your house sold. Of course this option is not for everyone and will depend on just how desperate you are to sell your house. If you do rais their percentage, it will give them incentive to hold more open houses on the weekend and to send more flyers out.

Another thing you must do is to advertise your house. You must work to get the word out to as many people that your house is for sale. This is in addition to the work of your realator. There are many ways to advertise your home including advertising in the newspaper, announcement boards at your supermarket, printing brochures and handing them out to everyone, having signs on nearby cross section streets, and telling all your friends. 

Another possible source of leads are your neighbors. Make sure all your neighbors in your local community know your house is for sale because they will sometimes know someone who is interested in moving into the neigborhood. Make sure everyone at your church knows your house is for sale as well. 
  
Unfortunately, selling your house in a recession may come down to lowering the price. No matter how much you do to remodel your house and make it look just right may not matter if the price is not low enough. Right now sellers have the upper hand and they know it. If you want to get what you perceive to be the right price for your house, it may just not be possible. It is difficult knowing what your home was worth and could have gotten one or two years ago but unfortunately cercumstances have changed. In today's market you need to be willing to negotiate and lower the price. ]]></description>
</item>
<item>
<title>Turn Your Garage Into a Cool Hang Out Area</title>
<link>http://www.populate.net/Home/Home_Improvement/turn-your-garage-into-a-cool-hang-out-area.html</link>
<guid>http://www.populate.net/Home/Home_Improvement/turn-your-garage-into-a-cool-hang-out-area.html</guid>
<pubDate>Wed, 29 Oct 2008 00:00:00 -0700</pubDate>
<description><![CDATA[ Garages are the domains of men. It is the garage in your house that men are allowed by their wives (more often than not), to do anything they want with. If you have a big garage, it is time you stop wasting that extra space and turn your garage into a cool sports room. 

You can start by buying flooring that has the logo of your favorite sports team or league. There are many online outlets where you can find such flooring ideas and these garage mats can be made out of many different materials. Adding a team garage floor mat will immediately make your garage look great. 

Follow the mat up with painting the walls the team colors or any bright exciting colors you want. Painting the walls of the garage is important because if you don't, it will always look unfinished. If you are a good artist or know someone who is, you might even paint your team's logo on the walls.

A nice big LCD flat screen is the next thing you are going to need to make this the room everyone wants to hang out in during a game. You are going to want to mount it on the wall and of course you will have to figure out how to get your cable TV or satellite reception into your garage. 

Pictures of your favorite players or pennant of your teams can be added to the walls to continue creating the right atmosphere. You can add any sports memorabelia you might have as well. 

You are going to need places to store some of the junk or tools you already have lying around your garage and for that you could install sports lockers. This is a really great idea that will make your garage look extra cool. Sports lockers can be used to store all your sports equipment and anything else you don't want lying about. 

If you have the room, a comfortable couch is in order and maybe even a pool table. If you are going to have friends over to hang out, you really need a place for them to sit and the couch would be the solution. The pool or ping pong table will definitely complete the sports theme. 

Another option is to add a weight training room to the mix. If you have some heavy gym equipment then you might pull it out of the garage and put it in your garage sports room. The garage with your flat screen TV is the perfect place to get away and have a great workout. 

These are some ideas you can use to turn your garage into the coolest room in the house. If you do these things, your garage will surely be the envy of all the other guys in the neighborhood. ]]></description>
</item>
<item>
<title>How to Design Your Office Garage</title>
<link>http://www.populate.net/Home/Home_Improvement/how-to-design-your-office-garage.html</link>
<guid>http://www.populate.net/Home/Home_Improvement/how-to-design-your-office-garage.html</guid>
<pubDate>Tue, 28 Oct 2008 00:00:00 -0700</pubDate>
<description><![CDATA[ change in our houses has happened in the last 15 years or so. The office has suddenly become an important and necessary room in the modern house. Most people use their den as an office or one of their bedrooms but what do you do if you don't have that extra room or space?

An advantage of this garage ideas is that it will separate your office from the family and the family rooms. So many people are working longer hours now and with the advent of the computer they are working more in the home. Their family life and work life have become more of a blur than it was in the past.

By turning the garage (or part of the garage) into an office, you can more easily separate your work time and family time. This is important and will aid in the health of your family unit. In order to make your garage your office, you should do a few things that will make the room more enjoyable:

Heating and air conditioning - If you are going to be in the garage, you will need to make sure it is warm in the winter and cool enough in the summer. You need to find a way to keep your garage office a nice working temperature. Not only is this necessary for health reasons but a comfortable temperature is more conducive to getting quality work accomplished.

Good lighting - You will need good lighting if you are going to turn your garage into an office. Bright lighting is imperative so that your eyes are not strained when you are looking at reports, paper, or you computer screen.

A neutral paint job - A white or light grey would be the standard color used in most offices and yours should be no different. Garages are often dark because of the lack of windows and if you choose your paint carefully, you can create that same environment that is conducive to work. You want something that reminds you that you are there to get work done but does not depress you at the same time. You might want to check out garage color ideas for more info.

Comfortable office furniture - any work environment needs comfortable furniture. Make sure you don't skimp on cheap chairs and furniture that will make you uncomfortable when you are at work. Also, besides having your desk and chair, you might include a second more comfortable softer chair to relax in. That way, when you need a quick rest, you can move over to the softer chair to recharge your batteries.

These are just some of the things you might do to turn your garage into a working office. If you do it right, you will have the best of both worlds; your family life and your work life. There are many cool garage ideas and this is just one of them. ]]></description>
</item>
<item>
<title>Interior Shutters Add Class to Any House</title>
<link>http://www.populate.net/Home/Home_Improvement/interior-design/interior-shutters-add-class-to-any-house.html</link>
<guid>http://www.populate.net/Home/Home_Improvement/interior-design/interior-shutters-add-class-to-any-house.html</guid>
<pubDate>Sun, 19 Oct 2008 00:00:00 -0700</pubDate>
<description><![CDATA[ Interior shutters not only have practical uses but serve aesthetic purposes as well. If you are not particularly fond of curtains or blinds, shutters might be a great option for you. Shutters are usually easy to care for and will last a very long time if maintained properly. There are many styles of interior shutters and they will noticeably alter the appearance of any room. Interior shutters are mostly used to block out sunlight and to provide privacy while exterior shutters are used to provide protection from the weather and to add to the architectural style of a house. 

The most common types of interior shutters are plantation shutters and the louver traditional interior shutters. Both of these shutters will add value to your home as well as style. Although interior shutters are making a comeback in popularity, they still are for the most part a rarity. Most homeowners go with the usual wooden blinds, faux wood blinds, or cheap metal blinds. 

Interior shutters usually fit inside your windows. Sometimes they mount ot the outside of the window and depending on the shutter style, some need more window depth than others. If you are able to mount the shutters inside the window, they will look more natural and look more like they are part of the window. 

When looking at interior shutters, you are not limited to just a few styles. You can buy a large selection of interior shutters that have all sorts of configurations. Shutters can be single tier units or double tier units with two sets of panels. Shutters can be bought that only cover the lower part of a window or the top part. They can be made out of a variety of woods and can be painted and stained any way you like.

Basswood seems to be the best and most popular wood for shutters due to the fact that it is both light and strong. Other reasons it is popular is that it is easy to glue and to stain and it does not warp easily. Whenever you deal with wood you may have issues with warping and so basswood is a fine choice for shutters for this reason. 

Shutters have been around for generations and they have endured because they provide classic style, are easy to maintain, and are long lasting. You can usually see them on many historical buildings both in the US and in Europe. Now you might think of putting them on or in your house as well! ]]></description>
</item>
<item>
<title>Does Buy And Hold Stock Investing Still Work?</title>
<link>http://www.populate.net/Finance/Stock_Market_Investing/does-buy-and-hold-stock-investing-still-work.html</link>
<guid>http://www.populate.net/Finance/Stock_Market_Investing/does-buy-and-hold-stock-investing-still-work.html</guid>
<pubDate>Sun, 19 Oct 2008 00:00:00 -0700</pubDate>
<description><![CDATA[ When you start investing in the stock market, there are many bits of advice you will hear. One of them has always been that investing in stocks long term is one of the most profitable investment strategies. Buy stocks of good solid companies, you were told, and hold them for years. Don't trade stocks and try to time the market, just buy and hold them. 

Does the buy and hold stock strategy still work in 2008? It seems it might not. The world has changed an awful lot in the last 50 years and that includes businesses. Years ago, you could pick a solid company, say an automobile company, and you could count on it growing year after year. Everything moved slower in those days and that included competition and the advancement of new technologies. You could pick a whole list of industry leaders, invest in them, and be sure that they would be worth more in 10 years than they were today. 

In today's world, a good company with a leading technology may be ahead in the marketplace now, but left in the dust just a couple of years down the road. Things happen so fast now that it is hard to pick a company to buy stock in that you feel confident that will still be a leader 10 years from now. 

In the old days, large companies rarely had scandals or went bankrupt. Today, scandal and bankruptcy seem to be common place and stock prices can fluctuate wildly. Today's investors buy stock in seemingly great companies, like Ciitgroup or Washington Mutual, only to find themselves down 75% several months later.

The Internet has also contributed to the rapid pace of the current day's stock market. Day trading is something that was never done before the Internet. Everyone now has instant stock quotes and the ability to make trades effortlessly with the touch of a button. Information is instant and it is everywhere no matter where you live.

The world moves at such a fast pace now that it seems you can no longer buy a stock, sock it away, and come back 5 or 10 years later and be guaranteed of a gain. When you buy a stock now, you need to constantly monitor it to make sure nothing drastic changes. You need to be able to make decisions constantly of whether to continue to hold it or sell it. ]]></description>
</item>
<item>
<title>Is It Possible To Make Money Without Money?</title>
<link>http://www.populate.net/Internet_Marketing/is-it-possible-to-make-money-without-money.html</link>
<guid>http://www.populate.net/Internet_Marketing/is-it-possible-to-make-money-without-money.html</guid>
<pubDate>Tue, 14 Oct 2008 00:00:00 -0700</pubDate>
<description><![CDATA[ Most people have a job and they get paid for their manual labor, their brain power, or some combination of the two. Many people don't necessarily want to have an "official" job though, and want to make money in some other fashion. Usually that entails starting a business or buying a business where they can work for themselves and hopefully make money.

When you start your own business or buy an existing business, that can be extremely costly. Not many of us have that kind of capital or want to go into debt to that extent. The list of expenses to run a real brick and mortar business is almost endless. Rent, maintenance costs, insurance, supplies, inventory, employees, and countless other expenses insure that it will be difficult for you to turn a profit.

This poses the question of whether there is a way to make money without spending any money. There actually is and it comes in the form of something we all know called the Internet. The Internet has been around now in full force for a good 10 years but most people really have no clue that they can use it to make money. This is in no way saying that they won't have to do work to make that money but at least they can work at their own pace and on their own time.

Learning how to make money on the Internet is admittedly hard. Most people start out enthusiastically and end up quitting 3 to 6 months later. In order to be successful at making money online, you have to have a fair amount of technical knowledge along with a great amount of knowledge of how the Internet and search engines work. Other qualities that help tremendously is the ability to understand how people think, some advertising experience, and the ability to be creative.

There is no one way or best way to make money with your computer on the Internet. If you pick 100 people, all 100 of them will probably all go about it in a different way. That is why making money online is so difficult and intimidating. There is no clear path to follow and no specific guideline that anyone can read and implement. There are of course 1000's of books and ebooks on the subject but most of those are disappointingly thin on specifics when it comes to actually showing you how to begin making money.

Even though making money online may be difficult, the barrier to entry is extremely low. Anyone can give it a try and it is actually possible to start from scratch with zero dollars. Yes, most will fail, but where else in the world can you try to start a business for free? That fact alone will always keep people coming to give it a try. ]]></description>
</item>
<item>
<title>5 Creative Garage Design Ideas</title>
<link>http://www.populate.net/Home/Home_Improvement/5-creative-garage-design-ideas.html</link>
<guid>http://www.populate.net/Home/Home_Improvement/5-creative-garage-design-ideas.html</guid>
<pubDate>Mon, 13 Oct 2008 00:00:00 -0700</pubDate>
<description><![CDATA[ If you are lucky, you have a big garage and have lots of extra room. Or maybe you have a two or three car garage but only one car to put in it. All that extra garage space can be put to good use for more things than just extra storage. Listed below are some great ideas of what you can do with that extra garage space:

1) The cool garage game room - Every guy would like to have his own space where he can get away and hang out. Depending how much you are into games and game machines, the garage is a perfect place if you have the space. There is no better area to put a real pinball machine or old arcade game or games. If you have the space and the money, you can really do it up right and turn part of your garage into a themed game room. You can put in carpet or some other surface underneath and put the appropriate memorabilia on the walls. Just remember to heat it properly in the winter if you live in a cold area.

2) The garage gym / workout area - Your garage is a great place to assemble a gym. One reason is that you can open the garage up any time to let fresh air in. You also might be able to worry less about the heavy gym equipment doing damage to the floors or walls. In the colder months the temperature might be just about right in the garage for a workout but the summer might be a bit hot. Make sure you have your garage heated or cooled correctly for the desired temperature. 

3) The garage play room - This can only be done if you live in an environment where there are no big temperature swings. Turning the garage into a play area for the kids is something you might think of if you lack the extra room in your house. You would need to have that garage area carpeted and make sure it is safe just like you would for any other room. On nice days, the garage doors can be open or partially open if you like and if you have a system to make sure the kids don't go in the street. 

4) The garage workshop - This is a common one of course with the guys who traditionally have their tools stored in the garage. This is where many guys get away to build things or repair things or just to get away. 

5) The sports themed garage - Some guys are into sports big time and need a place where they can go to watch sports, be with their sports equipment, work on their sports equipment, and just hang out. Turning your garage or part of it into a "shrine" for that favorite sports team is a way to make the guy happy and it keeps that stuff out of the house to make the wife happy. You can even put in a couch and a flat screen TV on the wall to make your sports garage complete. ]]></description>
</item>
<item>
<title>Stock Market Advice - Be Careful Who You Listen To</title>
<link>http://www.populate.net/Finance/Stock_Market_Investing/stock-market-advice-be-careful-who-you-listen-to.html</link>
<guid>http://www.populate.net/Finance/Stock_Market_Investing/stock-market-advice-be-careful-who-you-listen-to.html</guid>
<pubDate>Wed, 08 Oct 2008 00:00:00 -0700</pubDate>
<description><![CDATA[ With the stock market performing so poorly this year, many people who have no experience are getting interested in learning about stocks. They have  probably heard that is good to buy stocks when they are low and sell them when they are high. With all the bad news of the stock market going down seemingly day after day, these beginners are now becoming interested in getting involved. 

Once a beginner learns how to buy a stock, the next step is to try to figure out what stocks to buy. Where does one get that kind of information or opinion? You can get stock pics almost everywhere including magazines, TV shows, radio shows, The Internet and probably many other places as well. One thing is for sure, there is no shortage of opinions. 

If you watch the financial TV shows, you will often see segments with the top analysts or "experts" where they give their stock tips. These experts might be asked to analyze certain stocks or to give their own stock pics. It seems to me that most of the time these so called stock market gurus are positive about most stocks. There are exeptions but rarely do you find an analyst come on and say that he would not be buying any stock and that now is not the time to invest. 

These stock analysts are often the representatives for their company that the public sees and so they don't want to be negative. It is so much harder to drum up business with a negative outlook than it is if you have a positive rosy outlook. It seems to me that these analysts are told to go out there and paint the most positive picture you can about the market. For example, "the market might be bad right now but it will turn around and these are the stocks you want to own when it does". 

Learning how to do some of your own research and not listen exclusively to the experts is perhaps the hardest part of investing. If you are going to do things right, you do need to learn how to form your own opinions and research stocks on your own. If you buy every stock a guru says is a winner, you will soon find that they aren't right much more than someone who picks stocks by throwing darts. 

If you are a beginner looking to buy stocks and learn, it is wise advice to proceed slowly and not believe everything you hear. These stock analysts are professional salesman and can make the worst stock in the world look like a screaming buy. It is your money and not theirs so be careful with it. ]]></description>
</item>
<item>
<title>Even Gold Is Going Down In These Troubled Times</title>
<link>http://www.populate.net/Finance/Investing/even-gold-is-going-down-in-these-troubled-times.html</link>
<guid>http://www.populate.net/Finance/Investing/even-gold-is-going-down-in-these-troubled-times.html</guid>
<pubDate>Wed, 08 Oct 2008 00:00:00 -0700</pubDate>
<description><![CDATA[ The stock market and the economy are in the midst of very tough times. Everywhere you turn there is bad news about the economy. You hear it on the radio, TV, in newspapers, and bars and pubs. The Dow goes down 500 one day, up 300 the next, and then down 700 the day after that. Investors might be accurately depicted as being in panic mode. Everything about the economy seems unsure right now. 

Gold is usually bought as a hedge against these uncertain times. If there is one asset you can count on, it has always been gold. Gold has never gone to zero in value and usually when the economy is in trouble and stocks are going down, gold is seen as a safe haven. Many people buy gold stocks as an insurance policy against a tough economy. It makes one wonder why, in the midst of all this turmoil and uncertainty, gold has not gone up? 

Lately, when stocks have been taking a dive, all stocks have been going down, including gold stocks. Usually it is more of a one or the other type of thing. This might be happening for several reasons. First, when the dollar is weak, and it has been very weak in recent years, gold goes up. Lately though, the dollar has been making a bit of a comback which might be contributing to golds decline. 

Another reason why gold is not going up may be because of the activity of banks and hedge fund managers that are in trouble. Because they have made a lot of bad bets which has led to this weakened economy and stock market panic, many investors want their money right now. These financial institutions may be having to sell their good investments such as gold in order to cover their losses. This continuing selling of gold will of course drive the current price of gold down. As long as enough of these hedge fund managers are selling, gold will continue to stay at current levels. 

These are some of the reasons why gold has been a disappointing investment in recent months. If you are like most people, it is nice to see at least one thing in your portfolio go up as the rest of your investments go down. Gold and gold stock has always been that thing up until now and hopefully it will make a comback soon. ]]></description>
</item>

</channel>
</rss>

