Top 10 New Years resolutions 2015

Making New Year Resolutions is a common tradition practiced all around the globe. New Year resolutions are where a person makes a promise to himself or herself to follow some act or break some habit throughout the entire year. But have you ever thought about the reason behind promising something and carrying on with your resolutions? We suppose you don’t know, so here is the myth behind making such promises to God and to oneself at the start of the year. Long ago, the Babylonians promised to the Almighty that they would return all borrowed objects and pay off their debts. New Year Resolutions are nothing but promises that reflect one’s wrong deed and God offers forgiveness in exchange. In fact, New
Year Resolutions came from Lenten sacrifice and the concept reflects self-improvement throughout the year.

Tenant Rights and Responsibilities When Signing a Lease in Missouri

Many tenants who sign a lease for their apartment or rental unit plan to stay for the full amount of time required in the lease, such as one year. But despite your best intentions, you may want (or need) to leave before your lease is up—for example, if you’re a student at Missouri State and only want to stay in your apartment for the period of time that school is in session. Or perhaps you’re moving in with your boyfriend or girlfriend. Sometimes, you may need to move in order to be closer to your new job or an elderly parent who needs your help.

Leaving before a fixed-term lease expires without paying the remainder of the rent due under the lease is called breaking the lease. Here’s a brief review of tenant rights in Missouri to break a lease without further liability for the rent.

Lease

A lease obligates both you and your landlord for a set period of time, usually a year. Under a typical lease, a landlord can’t raise the rent or change other terms, until the lease runs out (unless the lease itself provides for a change, such as a rent increase mid-lease). A landlord can’t force you to move out before the lease ends, unless you fail to pay the rent or violate another significant term, such as repeatedly throwing large and noisy parties. In these cases, landlords in Missouri must follow specific procedures to end the tenancy. For example, your landlord must give you five days’ notice to pay the rent or leave (Missouri Rev. Stat. § 535-010) before filing an eviction lawsuit. If you have used the premises for the sale or distribution of controlled substances, your landlord may give you an unconditional quit notice, giving you 10 days to move out. (Mo. Ann. Stat. §§ 441.030, 441.040).

Tenants are legally bound to pay rent for the full lease term, typically one year, whether or not you continue to live in the rental unit—with some exceptions, as follows.

When Breaking a Lease Is Justified in Missouri

There are some important exceptions to the blanket rule that a tenant who breaks a lease owes the rent for the entire lease term. You may be able to legally move out before the lease term ends in the following situations.

You Are Starting Active Military Duty

If you enter active military service after signing a lease, you have a right to break the lease under federal law. (War and National Defense Servicemembers Civil Relief Act, 50 App. U.S.C.A. §§ 501 and following.) You must be part of the “uniformed services,” which includes the armed forces, commissioned corps of the national Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), commissioned corps of the Public Health Service, and the activated National Guard. You must give your landlord written notice of your intent to terminate your tenancy for military reasons. Once the notice is mailed or delivered, your tenancy will terminate 30 days after the date that rent is next due, even if that date is several months before your lease expires. State rules may also affect rights of tenants to break a lease in order to serve in the military.

The Rental Unit Is Unsafe or Violates Missouri Health or Safety Codes

If your landlord does not provide habitable housing under local and state housing codes, a court would probably conclude that you have been “constructively evicted;” this means that the landlord, by supplying unlivable housing, has for all practical purposes “evicted” you, so you have no further responsibility for the rent. Missouri law (Mo. Ann. Stat. §§ 441.570, 441.580) sets specific requirements for the procedures you must follow before moving out because of a major repair problem. The problem must be truly serious, such as the lack of heat or other essential service.

Your Landlord Harasses You or Violates Your Privacy Rights

Missouri does not have a state law that specifies the amount of notice your landlord must give you to enter rental property. If your landlord repeatedly violates your rights to privacy, or does things like removing windows or doors, turning off your utilities, or changing the locks, you would be considered “constructively evicted,” as described above; this would usually justify you breaking the lease without further rent obligation.

Landlord’s Duty to Find a New Tenant in Missouri

If you don’t have a legal justification to break your lease, the good news is that you may still be off the hook for paying all the rent due for the remaining lease term. This is because under Missouri law (Rhoden Inv. Co. v. Sears, Roebuck & Co., 499 S.W.2d 375 (Mo. 1973), Mo. Rev. Stat. § 535.300), your landlord must make reasonable efforts to re-rent your unit—no matter what your reason for leaving—rather than charge you for the total remaining rent due under the lease. So you may not have to pay much, if any additional rent, if you break your lease. You need pay only the amount of rent the landlord loses because you moved out early. This is because Missouri requires landlords to take reasonable steps to keep their losses to a minimum—or to “mitigate damages” in legal terms. There is a caveat, however: Landlords in Missouri must mitigate only if they intend to use the tenant’s security deposit to cover future unpaid rent.

So, if you break your lease and move out without legal justification, your landlord usually can’t just sit back and wait until the end of the lease, and then sue you for the total amount of lost rent. Your landlord must try to rerent the property reasonably quickly and subtract the rent received from new tenants from the amount you owe. The landlord does not need to relax standards for acceptable tenants—for example, to accept someone with a poor credit history. Also, the landlord is not required to rent the unit for less than fair market value, or to immediately turn his or her attention to renting your unit disregarding other business. Also, the landlord can add legitimate expenses to your bill—for example, the costs of advertising the property.

If your landlord rerents the property quickly (more likely in college towns and similar markets), all you’ll be responsible for is the (hopefully brief) amount of time the unit was vacant.

The bad news is that if the landlord tries to rerent your unit, and can’t find an acceptable tenant, you will be liable for paying rent for the remainder of your lease term. This could be a substantial amount of money if you leave several months before your lease ends. Your landlord will probably first use your security deposit to cover the amount you owe. But if your deposit is not sufficient, your landlord may sue you, probably in small claims court where the limit is $5,000 in Missouri.

How to Minimize Your Financial Responsibility When Breaking a Lease

If you want to leave early, and you don’t have legal justification to do so, there are better options than just moving out and hoping your landlord gets a new tenant quickly. There’s a lot you can do to limit the amount of money you need to pay your landlord—and help ensure a good reference from the landlord when you’re looking for your next place to live.

You can help the situation a lot by providing as much notice as possible and writing a sincere letter to your landlord explaining why you need to leave early. Ideally you can offer your landlord a qualified replacement tenant, someone with good credit and excellent references, to sign a new lease with your landlord.

by: Marcia Stewart

7 Things You Should Wait And Buy Until After The Holidays

With the multitude of special sales going on, it’s hard to believe even better deals can be had. But there may be items you want to wait to purchase. “Some potentially pricey items that may be on a family member’s holiday wish list—or that you may be thinking of buying for yourself – are even cheaper if you wait,”said Kiplinger.

Here are the 7 things you should wait until after the holidays to buy.

1. Large, brand-name flat screens

There are a number of deals to be had on lower-end flat screens at this time of year, but for the best deals on “brand-name big-screen HDTVs,” wait until just before the Super Bowl, according to DealNews.com. “Expect to see prices on 55-inch brand-name LCD HDTVs 10% lower than the best Black Friday deal,” said Kiplinger.

2. Seasonal / Large Items

Big-ticket items like gas grills, patio furniture, mattresses, and refrigerators may be tempting to buy during holiday sales, but savings site Ben’s Bargains says you might want to wait. “In general, these items are more frequently found on sale at different times of the year during events like back-to-school sales, Memorial Day sales and Labor Day sales as well as shopping trends that occur during the spring and summer,” they said.

3. Bedding and Blankets

Dressing your winter bed may be on your mind, especially if you have guests coming for the holidays. But by waiting until the New Year, you could save yourself a lot of money. “Not only does holiday decor get cheaper after the holiday in question, but bedding and blankets fall to their lowest prices of the year come January and February during ‘White Sales,’ which have been a colorful tradition since the 1950s,” said Daily Finance.

4. Furniture

“If you need to spruce up the living or dining room before guests arrive for the holidays, don’t expect to find a good deal on a sofa or table and chairs before Christmas,” said Kiplinger. “Furniture stores rarely offer discounts during the holidays because they’ll soon have clearance sales in January to clear out inventory before new styles are released in February. Many stores offer 0% financing along with discounts of up to 60%.”

5. Remodeling supplies

If you’re planning to renovate your home, the best prices on remodeling supplies like lighting, paint or wallpaper can be found in the spring and summer, said Bankrate. “For the most part, you probably won’t find huge deals on home fix-up supplies during December. And if you want a deal on carpeting (by the room, not area rugs), look for sales in January and February, when you can often save 25 percent to 50 percent.”

Exercise equipment

January is typically the time when people start to focus on fitness (Hello, New Year’s Resolution!), so it makes sense that it would also be the time to find great deals on gear. “Look for markdowns of 30% to 70% on fitness DVDs, treadmills, elliptical trainers, stationary bikes and complete home gyms,” said Kiplinger.

7. Holiday Decorations

Not to suggest you be a scrooge this year and go without decorations, but if you’re in need of more, you might want to wait until closer to—or after—the holidays. “Every year, the prices on holiday decorations will plummet as we get closer to the holiday,” said Ben’s Bargains. “Similar to Halloween, we also recommend perusing the holiday deals on decorations after the holiday season ends. You can find some killer 75 to 90 percent off deals on everything. It’s the absolute best time to land a great deal on a huge artificial tree. Last year, we saw 6-foot trees as low as $10, 7-foot trees as cheap at $21 and 7.5-foot trees as cheap as $44. Prior to Christmas, those trees had a MSRP range of $150 to $300.”