Neal Smith
Certified Mortgage Planner
NMLS # 76186
NKS Financial
818 University Avenue
Sacramento, CA 95825
Phone: 916-736-3575
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Rum Orange Chicken Kebabs
Serves 4-6
- 2/3 cup dark rum
- 1/3 cup fresh orange juice
- 1 tablespoon orange zest
- 1 tablespoon grated ginger
- 1/3 cup Worcestershire sauce
- 2 tablespoons brown sugar
- 2-3 garlic cloves, minced
- Salt and pepper to taste
- 4-5 skinless, boneless chicken breasts cut into 1-inch pieces
Directions
Whisk together the first seven ingredients and season with salt and pepper.
Place the chicken in a shallow dish and add enough marinade to coat the chicken. Marinate for at least an hour. Place chicken cubes on a metal or bamboo skewer and broil for 10-15 minutes, turning once or twice
during cooking and occasionally basting with remaining mixture.
Serve chicken garnished with orange wedges and sprinkled with chopped cilantro to add a little extra!
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Some helpful tips on how to transition your
family from their summer fun schedules and back in to the groove of school.
1. Anticipate and address your child's
Going back to school is stressful for kids of all ages, so head off the stress before school even starts by talking with your kids.
2. Manage your own anxiety.
Maintain a positive attitude about summer ending, helping you and your kids look forward to the transition.
3. Ease back into scheduled days.
When your kids are used to running around outside until dark each night, shifting to the early morning school bus rush can be a real shock to the system. So try starting their bedtime routine 10 minutes earlier a week before the start of school.
4. Stay connected to nature.
Going back to class doesn't mean your kids have to say farewell to outdoor fun completely.
5. Get back to healthy eating.
Summer splurging has to end at some point. The arrival of fall is a perfect time to teach your kids that family-focused healthy eating can be fun too.
6. Seek out one-on-one time with your child every day
.
Whether it involves reading a few extra books to your toddler, taking turns making up a story with your preschooler, or gazing at the stars with your oldest after the others have been put to bed, your children will savor your undivided attention.
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2 Myths Holding Back Home Buyers
In
Realtor.com's recent
article,
"Home Buyers' Top Mortgage Fears: Which One Scares You?" they mention that
"46% of potential home buyers fear they won't qualify for a mortgage to the point that they don't even try."
Myth #1: "I Need a 20% Down Payment"
Buyers overestimate the down payment funds needed to qualify for a home loan. According to the
First Quarter 2017 Homeownership Program Index (HPI) from Down Payment Resource, saving for a down payment was the barrier that kept 70% of renters from buying. Rob Chrane, CEO of Down Payment Resource had this to say,
"There are many mortgage-ready renters today, but they don't know it. Often, homebuyers remain sidelined for years due to the down payment."
Many believe that they need at least 20% down to buy their dream home, but programs are available that allow buyers put down as little as 3%. Many renters may actually be able to enter the housing market sooner than they ever imagined with new programs that have emerged allowing less cash out of pocket.
Myth #2: "I Need a 780 FICO® Score or Higher to Buy"
The survey revealed that 59% of Americans either don't know (54%) or are misinformed (5%) about what FICO® score is necessary to qualify.
Many Americans believe a 'good' credit score is 780 or higher.
To help debunk this myth, let's take a look at Ellie Mae's latest
Origination Insight Report, which focuses on recently closed (approved) loans.
As you can see in the chart above, 53.2% of approved mortgages had a credit score of 600-749.
Bottom Line
Whether buying your first home or moving up to your dream home, knowing your options will make the mortgage process easier. Your dream home may already be within your reach.
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Smishing Scams Targeting You?
Have you ever been sent a text message with a link or telephone number to call? If so be very careful! It could be an ID theft scam known as smishing.
A link or telephone number often appears in the body of a text message telling you to click here or call a telephone number to win a prize. If you click on the infected link, or call the telephone number, it may try to compromises your device with malware or ask you to input personal information. This is an example of a fraud technique called Smishing. You have heard the term phishing but this is phishing done by SMS text messages rather than an email, therefore, SMs phISHING.
What you probably didn't realize is that when you call the number these texts might give you for your bank, you're actually connecting to the scammers, who ask for your account number, PIN,
Social Security number - the raw material of
identity theft. Bogus bank alerts lead in smishing attacks.
So here are a few ways to avoid this from happening to you:
- Don't reply. Even sending a "remove" or "stop" response to a smishing text tells scammers that your number is active, meaning you may get more messages.
- Don't click on links in texts.
- Block suspicious numbers. Contact your provider to find out where the calls originate.
- Don't trust the numbers provided, look them up yourself and call to confirm.
- Login information should never be stored in emails or notes on the phone.
- Have your phone set to time out and lock after a short period so no one can access if stolen.
- Install updates. When you receive a notification to upgrade to your phone's software, install if you are confident it is legitimate. Again, to be safe its always good to call your cell or app provider.
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