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During my childhood, almost no year was complete without a house move, and Im still a bit of a nomad. With 20 house moves in 25 years, Ive picked up a few tips to streamline the process. Here are five tips to make sure that the big day is smooth and painless.

1. Getting grounded

Everything you move has to go through your front door, so it makes sense to have your belongings as close to the departure point as possible. That means getting all boxes and items down from the loft/attic (or up from the basement/cellar) before moving day. Most of the stuff in there you dont use every day anyway and can well do without for a few weeks. Put the boxes in room you can do without for a while (this is usually the dining room as you can eat off trays for a couple of weeks) and stack them three or four high, big boxes at the base, small ones at the top.

2. Name calling

Label, label, label. Dont just label boxes by where theyre going; label where theyve come from as well. Youll have a much better idea of where to find that elusive vase for the welcome flowers the new neighbours have brought you, because youll know exactly where that was in the old house. Label boxes on the top and at least two sides (four if you cant be bothered to be careful about how theyre put down). That means you wont have to lift every box to find out whats in it. Make some signs for the new house (Bed1 Bed 2 etc) for rooms where there might be some confusion. Then your move-day helpers can easily find out where each box should go. Invest in a few thick black or dark blue marker pens (at least one for each of the main packers). With multi-coloured boxes you can write on the tape.

3. Holiday time?

Use those empty suitcases to pack your folded clothes; the hanging ones can be transported over the back of a car seat. The carry on bags are great for packing a couple of essentials so you can have clean clothes that evening and the next day and take a tablet if the move has given you too much of a headache.

4. Back to basics

Get together a move day essentials box. This should have a kettle and enough mugs for everyone whos helping you move, as well as coffee, tea and sugar (those packs you get at hotels are perfect) and a carton of UHT milk. A bottle of mineral water is also a good idea, as are a couple of snack bars and a roll of toilet paper. Another essentials box should have your hammer, drill, screwdriver set as well as a few nails, screws and wall plugs. A couple of light bulbs may also come in handy, as will a roll of bin bags and some large dust sheets in case its a wet day (you dont want mud all over the new carpet, do you?)

5. Food frenzy

On move day you should take your perishables out of the fridge and box it up. Leave the food thats in the freezer; thats where its safest. As long as the freezer door stays shut, you should be able to move the fridge and plug it in again without any losses. Of course, if it will take several hours to get to your new home, maybe you should empty the freezer in the weeks before move day. And take this chance to throw out any out of date foodstuffs.

Final thoughts

If you do all this, you should have a relatively hassle free move. Of course that wont stop the movers from double booking themselves, or the previous tenants from leaving a full skip in the driveway, but at least youll have sorted the elements you can control. Happy moving!

# posted by cpm-marketing21052 @ 2:59 PM 0 comments

I read with amazement a story in my local newspaper this morning. It concerned a couple in their early 30's from Perth, Western Australia who won AUD $793,151.87.

Their lotto dream was realized just two years ago. Lucky people huh?

OK. Nothing too amazing about that - so far. Reading on I was shocked to learn that this story is news now because, despite their massive windfall, this couple had never stopped claiming social security benefits. Greedy huh?

That welfare money is meant to be available to disadvantaged people who are in financial difficulty. Essentially it is "survival" money.

But the story gets worse, much worse...

This couple spent ALL that money in just seven weeks! Gone. Vanished. Seven weeks! It hardly seems possible. So, what does that tell you?

The first thing that struck me was how utterly irresponsible this pair was. How do you spend $113,307.41 each week for seven weeks? I have great difficulty comprehending that.

What if this pair had spent just the $93,151.87 having "fun" and put the $700,000 into an interest bearing term deposit for three months at 6.00% interest while they got some decent financial advice? At the end of the three months they would have accumulated another $10,500 to play with (less tax, of course).

So many stories abound like this - people with no financial skills suddenly find themselves in possession of a large inheritance or a lottery win and zap! Just like these two, it is gone. How would you have handled it?

For anybody wanting to learn basic financial skills "The Richest Man in Babylon" by George S Clason is a great start. Had these people bothered to read such a book then they would still have a significant chunk of that money left. Maybe they would have even more. As it is they have nothing to show for it and there is a strong possibility of either gaol or massive fines for defrauding the Government.

It pays to educate yourself.

This article comes with reprint rights providing no changes are made and the resource box below accompanies it.

About the author: Gary Simpson is the author of eight books covering a diverse range of subjects such as self esteem, affirmations, self defense, finance and much more. His articles appear all over the web. Gary's email address is budo@iinet.net.au. Click here to go to his Motivation & Self Esteem for Success website where you can receive his "Zenspirational Thoughts" plus an immediate FREE copy of his highly acclaimed, life-changing e-book "The Power of Choice." Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Gary_Simpson

# posted by cpm-marketing21052 @ 10:23 AM 0 comments