One and Co

One and Co

Archives for May 2020

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Faking it: How to stage a home for a sale

It is probably going to be the biggest thing that you are ever going to buy or sell, so it stands to reason that a little care and attention is often invested in the real estate process.

Something that has become increasingly popular over the last few years has been house staging. In other words, you don’t make your home look like it has for all the years you have lived in it – you make it commercially acceptable.

By the end of today’s article, you’ll know all there is to know about house staging. You’ll know exactly when a house has been staged and in some ways, the effect won’t be nearly as impactful. For example, take the following pages:

All of the images featured on the above pages are truly impactful, but only if you don’t realize what is going on. A fruit bowl here, a fancy piece of furniture there – the average person doesn’t realize what’s going on. By the end of today’s tips, you’ll know the game inside-out, and you’ll know all of the staging tricks of the trade that sellers adopt as they bid to get their home off the market in record speeds.

Focus your energy in the right places

First and foremost, this shouldn’t be a huge job. Sure, it will take time, but you don’t have to invest in every room in your home. They’re not all equal, at least when it comes to the real estate industry.

There are some rooms which have more influence in the buying process. The kitchen, master bedroom and main living space usually fall into this category. It means that if time is of the essence, focus on these three rooms.

Freshness is key

If you have a swarm of viewings booked for a day, make sure you purchase a bunch of flowers from somewhere like Avas Flowers. Providing a fresh and inviting atmosphere is key when staging a house, and this Avas Flowers page should help you with a few ideas. There are also a few Avas Flowers discounts around if you want to perform this on a budget.

It’s not all about flowers, though. It can be about eliminating less-than-pleasant smells (i.e., emptying the trash can). Or, an even simpler tips is to just buy a plug-in scent to change the mood.

De-personalize wherever possible

You don’t want to eliminate character from your home, but at the same time you need to allow others to believe that they can live there. This means that you almost need to provide a blank canvas; remove personal photos and take down anything that might be seen as contentious in interior design terms. This is staging at its easiest; you don’t need to buy anything, just make things a little simpler.

Create space with your furniture

You might not like your big sofa on the left side of the room, but this might be the position that creates the illusion of spaciousness. There are umpteen furniture tricks like this which are doing the rounds, and all just allow a potential buyer to navigate around a home a little easier. It is these little staging tricks which can sway those that might currently be sat on the fence about your property.

 

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4 Tips To Promote Your YouTube Videos And Increase Views

YouTube is the second largest website in the world with over 2 billion monthly users. Not only that, but the average person also spends up to 6 hours a day watching videos.

Thus, businesses will need to appeal to these binge-watching tendencies. However, the boom of video content also resulted in hundreds to thousands of brands trying to master YouTube channel marketing. So, in order to stand out on YouTube, you need to utilize as many promotional strategies as possible.

Here are just some ways on how you can promote your YouTube channel and increasing the views for your videos.

1. Interesting Titles

YouTube marketing relies mostly on presentation.

Thus, titles can make or break your video’s performance and views. Are you presenting video content as a must-see or just meh?

To craft interesting and killer titles you need to grab your audience’s attention and interest without resorting to the clickbait headlines. People love content that is entertaining and wants to know what your video is all about from the get-go.

For the technical specifics, a study revealed that YouTube video titles need to have at least 41 – 70 characters. Meanwhile, CoSchedule recommends at least 55 characters for an easy-to-read and engaging headline.

2. Up Your SEO Game

Fact:

YouTube videos show up in 70 percent of the top 100 Google search results.

Any “how-to” or product query on Google will return something from the social giant. As a matter of fact, YouTube videos can sometimes pop up before websites or traditional blog posts.

YouTube, on its own, is the second largest search engine. Just like people search for services and products of problem solution through Google, the same is also true on YouTube. So, you might want to step up on your SEO game.

Here are the best YouTube SEO practices to follow:

  • Include target keywords in your descriptions and titles.
  • Mention your keywords in your video.
  • Use categories in order to help YouTube better understand who to show your videos to.
  • Increase engagement.
  • Add tags to your videos.

3. Publish On Social Media

Video contents get the spotlight on social media in terms of performance and engagement. Thus, you will need to regularly promote your YouTube channel to your followers on other social media platforms and encourage them to become a subscriber.

Once your videos go live, make it a point to let your social followers on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram know about it. You can even create previews or snippets for each social platform, then link to your latest production.

With the help of social media marketing agencies like the LosFamos marketing agency, you can cross-promote and schedule your content without having to manage multiple platforms at once.

4. Customized Thumbnails

Probably the simplest and most effective strategies to promote your YouTube channel and increase your views is to create custom thumbnails.

Just think of your thumbnail and title as a sort of one-two punch in order to grab your viewer’s attention. On its default setting, YouTube only takes a screenshot from any given video and makes it your thumbnail. Most of the time, this means blurry shots.

By creating thumbnails yourself, you can make your videos look more appealing and also shows a sense of professionalism.

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5 Activities for the Housebound Elderly to Enjoy

woman wearing yellow and pink floral dress wahing carrots

Figure 1 by CDC on Unsplash

Are you a senior who’s no longer able to leave the house, or have you lost mobility due to arthritis, a stroke or a fall injury? Staying at home doesn’t by any means need to be boring.

While you might not be able to do all the things you previously loved, some of these could be adapted to suit your current season of life. Here are five enjoyable activities you can try to keep your mind active and mood boosted.

Container or Indoor Gardening

Got green fingers but can’t spend long periods of time outside, or no longer have a large garden? Your solution is container gardening. Planting flowers to add pops of colour to your balcony or patio can bring you immense pleasure and joy.

There’s also nothing quite like growing your own produce. Carrots, cucumber, eggplant, leafy greens, tomatoes, peas, peppers, potatoes and radishes all thrive in container gardens. Herbs such as basil, mint, thyme, parsley and rosemary typically grow well too.

Baking and Cooking

You’ll want to put your container garden harvests to good use. Baking and cooking allows you to appreciate not only the rewards & personal satisfaction, but also the smells & flavours!

It’s even better with the helping hand of your child or grandchild. The best part? Devouring what you’ve grown and prepared in the company of a loved one.

Online Gambling

For something a little different, try your hand at online gambling. Experience the thrill of live roulette, a round of blackjack, poker or trying your luck at online slots. Look up the best online casino options and start playing! Maybe you’ll even pocket some winnings.

Make Some Music

Maybe you’ve always wanted to learn how to play a musical instrument. It’s never too late! The drums, flute, guitar and trumpet are examples of instruments you can play while in a seated position.

Some musical instruments can even be modified to be comfortably played while lying down, so your limited mobility needn’t restrict your musical ability.

Arts and Crafts

With extra time on your hands, it’s best to keep those fingers moving! From adult colouring in to drawing, painting, pottery and sculpting, creativity options are endless.

Dig out your family photo albums and transform them into scrapbooks, or compile a recipe book of your family favourites. If these ideas don’t tickle your fancy, maybe you’ll enjoy calligraphy, jewellery making or woodwork.

Seated Exercises

Despite limited movement, fitness is key. Try some seated exercise routines, such as chair yoga. It’s an excellent way to help improve your breathing, core and posture. You’ll also stretch and loosen your painful muscles. The added mental health benefit? Quietened focus and meditation.

You can also improve your circulation by doing exercises which reduce ankle and foot swelling. With an online instructor to guide you through the moves from your TV or computer screen, you can play and pause easy-to-follow YouTube videos to your heart’s content!

The golden years and beyond can be the best times of your life. There are many more activities to discover either alone or with visitors from the comfort of your own home. Why not start by giving these a try?

 

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7 Major Reasons Why Getting Car Insurance Is Worth It

#1. Severe penalty

The first reason, of course, is that it is the law. Except for Virginia that does not require car insurance, but if you don’t you must pony up a $500 uninsured fee, New Hampshire, which does not require drivers to carry auto insurance but requires them to be responsible for paying the costs of an accident, or in the case of Mississippi, you can post and heavy bond in lieu of obtaining car insurance, every other state in the nation requires you to have at least a minimum level of collision insurance.

In most states, the penalty is severe for not having car insurance. Typically a fine of up to $1,000 and loss of your driver’s license for a year. Deleware has the most severe fines, between $1500 and $2000, but several states such as New York, South Dakota, and Kansas can actually impose imprisonment.

#2. Avoiding lawsuits

There are many reasons why getting car insurance, particularly comprehensive car insurance is really worth to you as a consumer.

There are thousands of lawsuits filed every year by attorneys on behalf of clients who have been injured in automobile accidents. Florida, Michigan, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Hawaii, Kentucky, Massachusetts, Minnesota, North Dakota, and Utah are no-fault states.

No-fault means that each person is responsible for their own insurance. It doesn’t mean that you can’t sue in an accident, but you can do so only for actual damages above a certain threshold. And there are no provisions for pain and suffering.

Regardless of the state, most financial and insurance experts recommend having far more than the minimum amount of state coverage. Typically at least $100,000 worth of liability up to around $250,000 is recommended.

#3. Repairing your own car

If you are lucky and you get into an auto accident, the best scenario is to have insurance that will pay to have your own car fixed. The average claim just to repair a vehicle in a crash is around $3.200, and that was in 2013. Today that figure probably is closer to $4,000.

Insurance that covers your own car regardless of whether someone else was at fault and had insurance or not may run you a few hundred more dollars per year, but with the average new car costing around $36.000 and larger pick-up trucks and luxury vehicles running nearly $60,000, can you afford to go without it.

#4. You lease or finance a car

If you lease or finance a car, and over 85 per cent is financed, your lender will almost certainly require you to have auto insurance. And that won’t be the minimum state coverage. Your lender will almost always require you to carry liability insurance, collision insurance, and comprehensive insurance (often termed “full coverage”).

If you start out with full insurance but drop your insurance down to the minimum or even drop car insurance altogether (say in the case of losing your job for example,) it will be a violation of the conditions of your lease or loan.

The lienholder may choose to cancel your loan altogether, take back the vehicle or both and charge you huge fees for doing so, or they may choose to keep the arrangement in place and insure the car on their own, in the form of forced placed insurance, which they will add to your loan or lease premium.

5. To protect your assets

Although the average car settlement in court is around $30,000, it is not uncommon for court cases to settle for one million dollars or more. Particularly when an injury is involved and a child will be disabled for life.

Unfortunately, the law in most jurisdictions assigns blame, and if you have a home, property, and business, it could all vanish settling a major lawsuit without enough insurance.

6. Protecting your passengers

Having medical payments and personal injury insurance is underrated and unappreciated. Nearly 3 million people are injured in car accidents each year and nearly 2 million experienced a permanent injury.

Whether you are driving the local cheerleading squad, or just taking your best friend for coffee, you want to have insurance to get medical coverage for yourself, both long term and short term, and your passengers.

7. Insurance isn’t just for collisions

Nearly 750,000 cars are stolen in the United States every year. And to say that once the police find your car that it is without damage is wishful thinking. Many thieves literally beat the hell out of cars they steal. Others, who take them to chop shops, literally take them apart piece by piece because it is easier to sell stolen parts than an entire car.

Protecting your car against theft, vandalism, and the fire is a must.

 

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Where to Find the Best Testosterone Supplements

Every young man dreams of reaching their prime, most of which believe it is the ripe age of 30, and in many clinical and physical test results, this rings true. While enjoying the benefits of being at the top, this, unfortunately, is also the time when testosterone levels in men start to dwindle and decrease.

What do these changes mean for the men in our lives? Well certainly for starters it takes effect on their libido and sexual need, and when this happens it can be destructive for their self-confidence and bring on depression.

This is not only preventable, but you can increase your testosterone to more than what you had before. Not sure if you are at that stage or if it’s you, then read this on warning signs of low testosterone and research on what you can do to stop this happening or turn it around.

Life is too short to be struggling with less than adequate bodily functions, with medical advances and research constantly being done for more quality products, there is no reason for us to go through any life stages that can be treated.

Where to find testosterone supplements?

With so many products on the market and manufacturers bringing out new versions all the time it can be tricky to know where to buy or what to get, and yes there are harmful varieties around made by money-driven companies, so you need to be careful.

For a guide and help on where to purchase top quality products then visit https://anabolicsteroiddrugs.com/best-testosterone-supplements/ for supplements from a reputable company and with rave customer reviews. Because we know how people like to leave a comment am I right?

When to take testosterone supplements?

The first indicator could be the decrease in desire to be as sexually active as usual, whether you or your partner notices, and comments think if it is true and how best to go about getting back to normal. It is nothing to be worried about or ashamed about, it is simply a hiccup in your life’s journey and you will make adjustments and go about your daily schedule.

You have been going to the gym your whole life, but lately you’ve been feeling it is a struggle, you’re feeling fatigued and training is becoming an ‘effort.’ This may be another indicator, bones, and muscles are be working as hard as they usually do but the nutrients and vitamins aren’t being produced at their usual rates.

So we add in help for the body and the reproduction of these hormones in the systems, and this is done with mineral enhancers. Check out this link for an interesting blog on all things regarding the ‘T’ hormone and the levels and effects thereof.

5 Benefits of being healthy.

With age we tend to ache a bit more, huff a little quicker and take more pit stops than we used to so it is important that, even with increasing the hormone levels in the body through supplements, we maintain a healthy lifestyle to the best of our abilities.

  • The health of your gut. While you may laugh when you read the word, our gut is a key element in the cohesion of our bodily functions. We want our colon to work at its best, this will prevent any constipation and keep the healthy bacteria being produced which aids in the functioning of the metabolism.
  • Memory. The cognitive thinking part of the brain remains exercised and nutrient full when there are plenty of nutrients being transported around the body, this and the oxygen full red blood cells.
  • Mood. Anyone who has been to the gym knows how great the feeling is after a hard session, the endorphins are running on full cylinders and your whole attitude to life changes. This can prevent depression from feeling heavy and sluggish and fatigue. See many other advantages of keeping fit in this article in the magazine of maintaining a healthy lifestyle: https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/322268#better-mood
  • Bone strength. With added testosterone, calcium and magnesium in the diet, which is a component in strengthening the density of the bones, this will keep you from or significantly decrease the onset of illness such as arthritis or frailty.
  • Future. Lastly, but certainly not least important, being a good role model for our kids and their future behaviors is one of the primary objectives of being a parent. Show them well living and taking care of themselves.

Ways to increase testosterone levels naturally.

Taking pills may be difficult for some people, taking it slow would be the best advice, but there are small changes you can make to start implementing the effect.

You will be surprised at how much having a good night’s sleep can affect the levels of testosterone in the body, try resting a minimum 6 hours a night, and keeping the room reasonably cool so as not to keep waking up from sweating.

As we mentioned earlier diet plays an important role in eating a balanced diet and meal plans with nutrient-rich foods and keeping alcohol consumption to a minimum as well.

Then for those who are already on a supplement cycle, they could take a break and do more research into the product being used. Perhaps speak to a nutritionist or medical advisor and consider changing the pills you are taking to ones that will be more effective for your body and maximizing the benefits.

Grab a cup of tea, sink into your favorite spot on the couch and watch this video on other ways you can increase your testosterone levels naturally if it’s not for you at least you have the excuse of doing homework and the luxury of a lovely cuppa.

No matter which way you decide to go, being safe is the main priority, always use trusted and reliable products, you don’t want to deal with side effects from non-quality supplements. Read labels, check ingredients and choose a well-known brand to ensure they are regulated within the industry.

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How To Buy a New Home Before Yours Sells

There are many ways to purchase a new house as an investor. For example, you can use hard money loans California, but most hard money lenders expect a high return for their investment, especially if they are private investors. However, when trying to purchase a new home before your house sells, what are your options? Many people need the equity from their home to afford a down payment, and others fear they will get stuck with double mortgages they can’t afford. Thankfully, home sellers and buyers have options for finding funds without the immediate sale of their current residence.

Bridge Loan

Most people need to sell their current residence before buying a new one to free up the equity since the immediate need when looking to buy a house is a down payment. Bridge loans for homes can help with this predicament because it is a short-term loan. However, keep in mind these loans are high-interest and best suited for freeing up funds until your house sells. Never borrow more than you need for the down payment on a house, especially if that sum is higher than the equity of your current home.

Home Equity Line of Credit

If you want to use your home equity before selling it, consider a home equity line of credit. Primarily, you are taking out a second mortgage, but you can use the cash to buy anything. You also have no obligation to use the entire available amount. With this loan type, you will have a draw period to access all or a portion of the equity funds.

401(k)

Many 401(k) plans allow contributors to borrow against their investment, but you will need to check with your plan administrator. The IRS also has guidelines and restrictions in place to protect an individual’s investment. If you wish to fund a new home this way, ask about interest rates, repayment periods and whether personal residence loans are available.

Cash-Out Refinance

Doing a cash-out refinance is like a home equity line of credit, but more advantageous for the borrower. Instead of taking out a secondary lien on their existing property, a refinance pays off the existing mortgage and establishes a new one with the equity included. The borrower can then receive the capital in cash to pay a down payment on a new property.

Sale-Leaseback Contingency

If you have the option to sell before buying or finding a new home, you can use a contingency to protect your interests. A sale-leaseback contingency is an agreement that allows you to sell your current residence, freeing up necessary funds, without having to move. You agree with the buyer to pay so much in rent for a specified term.

Gift

In certain situations, a lender may allow a borrower to use gifted funds for a portion of the down payment. However, while a family gift is excellent, you still need to put up something. Most lenders require buyers to use a minimum of 5% of their own money. If you use a gift, ask about any necessary documents and proof.

You don’t always have to complete the sale of your current home before purchasing new. Contact a bridge loan or other moneylender for more information.

 

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5 Easy Steps to Fix Drainage Issues at Home

You can’t control the rain, but there are steps you can take to minimize the impact of rainwater on your property. According to some clients in the PPC campaign for plumbers, with properly working drainage, large amounts of water can collect in your hard, causing structural problems to your home. Excess rainwater can also damage your plants and invite pests in your yard.

Some signs that indicate a poor drainage include:

  • Water finding its way to your basement
  • Presence of mosquitoes in water puddles
  • Dead plants and trees
  • Erosion
  • Buildup of ice along walkways and patios in winter

Below are 5 common types of drainage problems that are causing these signs to manifest and how you can fix them:

1. Ponding water

Some properties may have low areas that often trap water when the rain pours. Such areas can contribute to flooding/water damage especially if they are close to your house. This problem may have resulted from erosion after drainage patterns were altered, creating low spots. It’s also possible these low spots were improperly graded.

To prevent ponding water, low areas must be re-graded to eliminate sediment deposits caused by erosion. Reshaping the terrain to improve the way rainwater drains is also an ideal solution. Depending on its complexity, you can tackle the issue DIY-style using a shovel or hire a contractor to do the job using mechanized equipment.

2. Water-clogged soil

Homes with a long driveway or large roof often experience rainwater pouring into their yard. This results in the soil becoming clogged with water. There are different ways to handle this problem: you can tackle it from a plumbing perspective or a gardening perspective. You can use wet plants to get rid of the buildup of water in your yard. Wet plants grow in moist areas since they absorb huge amounts of water. Or you can set up an underground drain across your driveway to limit the amount of runoff water.

3. Flooding

Nothing causes much hassle than walking down to your basement and finding yourself wading through waist-deep water. Flooding problems need to be diagnosed right away, but when it’s caused by underlying plumbing woes, the plumbing problem can be hard to determine.

If the flooding isn’t caused by a damaged septic tank, it could come from standing water outside leaking into your home. In some cases, the water will not move away from your home and it might soak through your home’s foundation, leaking into your basement. It’s best to summon a waterproofing in Toronto who can help you diagnose the plumbing issue and fix it using advanced tools and equipment.

4. Overflowing downspouts and gutters

If it rains and you notice that rainwater flows over the side of the gutter or pools around the downspout, this could be a sign of an underlying plumbing issue. You can address this by cleaning your gutters thoroughly. As with downspouts, consider using corrugated pipes and have them run underneath the soil to shift the direction of the water.

5. Eroding soil

Mishandled surface water is the usual cause of this problem, but this can also be a result of unstabilized steep slopes. Erosion occurs when large amounts of floodwater drain to a steep slope. In some cases, placing large stones (also known as rip-rap) along the eroding areas can solve this problem. However, installing drainage structures may be a great option to catch the flood water right before it reaches the slope and directs the water to a discharge area to lower the possibility of erosion.

Some drainage issues in many residences can be obvious while some require a thorough inspection. Drainage woes can take years to develop. Sometimes, you can only notice them at the onslaught of heavy rain. To make sure future problems are avoided, it’s crucial to get the assistance of Plumbing Authority Inc. to prevent proper damage.

 

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Paul M Willette MD – Reasons Not To Check Symptoms With Google

The internet has brought with it an amazing number of things and it has changed our lives in ways that most of us never even thought were possible. Naturally however much like any technological advancement, there are ways to use the internet which shouldn’t be done. As the great Paul M Willette MD continues to tell me, one such use of the internet which we should all avoid is searching for our symptoms on Google when we are not feeling well.

Let’s be honest, we have all been guilty of jumping on the search engine and typing in what is wrong with us in the hope that good old Dr. Google will bring us the news, and hopefully a diagnosis, this however is not really something that we should be doing, and here is why.

Extreme

You could have a sore fingernail and start to search for things on Google and soon enough it is highly likely that you will have managed to self-diagnose yourself as having cancer, or perhaps a tumor of some kind. The point here is that we are so desperately looking for an answer and the fact that humans are always looking to survive, we consider the worst case scenario and plan for that. The sore fingernail which you have could be as a result of jamming it in a door, but we would instead prefer to prepare for the worst, and accept that tumor diagnosis.

Treatment

Thankfully I am not in this category but there are people out there who will not only diagnose themselves, they will then go on to try and seek a treatment for the condition which they have decided that they are suffering from. I am sure that I don’t need to go into how dangerous this could possibly be, but it is glaringly obvious that this not something which you should be doing, there is a reason after all that it takes 10 years to get a medical license.

Doctors Anyway

The main reason why there is little point in Googling your symptoms is that if you need to go to the doctors now, you will still need to go after you have diagnosed yourself of having some life-threatening disease, only then you will have a far greater urgency and face much greater levels of anxiety. The point is that your searching for symptoms online is not going to cure you or allay your fears, it will only exacerbate the situation which is not good for anyone. Make a doctors appointment and wait until you are able to speak to someone who has gone through years of training for situations just like this.

It is tempting I know, but the reality is that if you are feeling unwell and you aren’t sure what it is, there really is only one person who is going to be able to tell you that with any accuracy, and their name is not Dr. Google.

 

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Virtualshield – What is a VPN and Reasons to Use One

When you go online to browse do you use a VPN? Do you know what a VPN is? If you don’t use one and you don’t know what they are all about don’t worry, you are in good company with the large majority of web users. The fact is however that you really need to learn about what a VPN is and understand the reason for using one, all of which we are going to go into today. VirtualShield is one of the best VPNs on the market and once you have read this I suggest that you go and download it for free, and here is more about it.

Virtual Private Network

Every internet hub has its own IP address which indicates the geographical location of the network, your home, your office will all have its own IP address. A VPN on the other hand is a remote server which has its own private network, and when you connect to that private network your IP address will be hidden and will instead change to the location of the where the server is situated for the VPN.

Why Use One?

The most important reason for using a VPN is that your data cannot be tracked. The internet can be a very dangerous place and no matter how innocently you think certain websites are, they are constantly tracking your data, with the idea of improving your experience. Have you ever done a Google search for a certain holiday destination and then found in the following days that every ad is a commercial about that place or the things which you can do in that place?That is because your data has been tracked and they are trying to use it to give you a better experience. This may sound innocent but it really isn’t and the majority of people do not like having this data tracked. When you use a VPN you can make sure that nobody will be able to track that data.

Security

Just have a think about what kind of things you use the internet for, online banking, sharing information with friends such as videos and personal photos, perhaps photos of you home, letting people know when you go on vacation, storing personal and sensitive information. All of that activity can be tracked and whilst the details aren’t revealed, just a small amount of information can give people enough to burgle your home, hack your computer or one of nay number of activities like it. When you use a VPN however you are going to be absolutely secure, and nobody will be able to track any data from your web use.

A VPN is essential, they are easy to use and once downloaded you simply need to connect to that private network every time that you browse the web. Very simply and extremely secure, make sure that you download a VPN before you start browsing again.

 

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Sadigh Gallery – How to Ensure That Antique Coin is Real

Each year fraudsters who replicate pieces of ancient art and antiques from civilizations gone by make millions of dollars for their work and sadly there are many who get caught out and end up buying something which they believe to be real, in many cases not even realizing that it is a fake until too late. So how can you possibly avoid something like this happening if you find a coin that you think is the real deal? To help us with some tips on what you can be doing to minimize your chances of getting caught out, I caught up with my friend Sally from the Sadigh Gallery in New York, and here is what she had to say.

No Guarantees

The first point to make here is that there are never any guarantees that you can completely avoid a fake so don’t get overly paranoid about it, there are some guidelines to follow but that is about as much due diligence as you can make, unless you wish to invest thousands to have every piece which you look at valued and checked by an expert.

All Details

When it comes to coins you have to first start off with as much literature as you can get your hands on which will describe every single detail of the coin which you should expect to find. This will include the material that the coin should be, the weight, the color, the markings if any that the piece has and of course any inscriptions or embossing which may be found on the coin.

Wear

One area which fraudsters do find difficult to mimic is the wear that a coin may have had. LEt’s say that a coin is from the 15th century, during the last 500 years the metal would’ve worn and corroded in a certain way, the use of the coin would have seen details rubbed off and some discoloration would have taken place in certain areas. This is where you can often spot fakes because trying to copy something new is one thing but trying to copy something and create 500 years of wear is not going to be easy. Make sure that you know how the particular material should wear over time and what to expect from a piece which is as old as it is.

Gut Instinct

It may not be particularly scientific but there is a lot to say about trusting your gut instinct when it comes to more expensive purchases. Now if the piece you are looking at is $40 for example then it may very well be worth a punt, if on the other hand you are looking at spending some serious money on the piece there is just no point at all in buying something if you have any doubts about it. Assuming you’ve done your homework, the last test is to trust your own instincts about whether or not the piece is real.