Home

□Turn on lights

□ Make beds

□ Wipe down counters

□ Clean toilets and put seats down

□ Vacuum carpets

□ Take out trash

□ Clean mirrors

□ Air out home by opening windows

□ Put away anything on the kitchen counter

□ Turn on lights

□ Sweep front porch and deck

□ Make arrangements for animals to leave the home

□ Wipe down cabinets

□ Set dining room table

□ Light candles (with fresh scents)

□ Put out fresh flowers

□ Hide clutter via a tote in garage

If you only have a few minutes to get your home ready, consider just doing a few of these. It’s important to think about investing in a home cleaning service while you’re selling your home, so you don’t have to do a deep clean every time you have a showing. If you have kids, give each a tote to store things at the last minute, that can fit neatly in their closet. You can do the same thing if you have pets, find a tote that can store their toys and beds for last minute appointments.

Shopping for back-to-school supplies can send parents into sticker shock. Aside from standard items such as pencils and papers, students from kindergarten through 12th grade often need — or want — pricier items, such as laptops or headphones.

That partly explains why parents are expected to spend, on average, nearly $688 on back-to-school supplies this year. That's up 8 percent from last year and up 60 percent compared to 10 years ago, according to data from the National Retail Federation, a trade organization.

The biggest two categories are electronics and clothing, which together comprise about two-thirds of a family’s back-to-school spending, the National Retail Federation says. Basic school supplies, such as pens and notebooks, can set a family back by about $114, making it the smallest spending category. Parents can cut down on their expenses by researching prices and delaying some purchases, says Kristin Cook, managing editor of BensBargains.com, a price-tracking site started by a student at University of California, Berkeley.

While there are good deals to be found in August, some stores will offer even better discounts starting in September, especially with apparel, Cook says. 

Strategies When Buying the Basics

Prices for paper, pens, and pencils don’t vary much by store, but the items do add up. 

Don’t overlook supplies you may already have on hand. Organizing a swap with other parents can also save money. One family might have an extra notebook that they’d exchange for lined paper, for instance.

Because school supplies are relatively inexpensive and priced similarly at various stores, look for retailers that are offering gift cards for purchasing school basics, Cook says. One such deal can be found now at Target, which is currently offering $5 gift cards when customers spend $50 on school supplies. 

Smart Tech Strategies for Electronics

While shopping for all kinds of back-to-school supplies, several apps and services are available to help track prices for big-ticket electronics items, such as Amazon-price tracking service Camel Camel Camel. Parents can enter the URL of a product they want to buy for their kids, like a Chromebook, and receive an email alert when it drops. The site also provides a price history, so you can see when a product hit its lowest and highest prices on Amazon.

If you are shopping for back-to-school supplies at a brick-and-mortar store, bar code scanners such as ShopSavvy app check whether cheaper prices are available elsewhere. The best strategy may be to wait for Black Friday sales on electronics, which now start as early as October, says Cook. If students don’t have an older laptop or tablet to use until the holiday sales kickoff, there are still discounts to be found, although they might not be as deep as those offered later in the year.

Hold Off on Apparel

While growing kids need new clothing, resist buying an entire fall wardrobe in August because retailers typically slash fall clothing prices in September, advises Cook. She recommends buying one back-to-school outfit in August, and returning the following month to score deals on more apparel. That delay also gives students a chance to check out the current fashion trends at school.

Preteens and teenagers are old enough to be involved in budgeting, says Sara Skirboll, a retail and trends expert at RetailMeNot. Even better, give them half of the budget to spend themselves, which will motivate them to stretch their money and find deals. That being said, keep an eye on what they are buying, since many schools have dress codes or standards.

Copyright© 2006-2017 Consumer Reports, Inc. of U.S., Inc. No reproduction, in whole or part, without written permission.

“My father was a seaman, and while he never encouraged me to follow in his footsteps, it became something I always wanted to do or at least try,” said Plathan. “So, I applied to the SIU and went through their apprenticeship program that lasted for 18 months. For the last five years, I’ve mainly worked in the Gulf of Mexico on tankers carrying crude oil, gasoline and sulpher, traveling from Florida to Louisiana and Texas.”

As his life as a sailor progressed, Peter realized that renting an apartment was similar to throwing money away. Gone for weeks (and sometimes months) at a time, he was rarely home long enough to make a lease work. Yet coming home without a lease meant having to find a place to live after each voyage.

“I wanted to start a new chapter in my life and didn’t want to rent anymore. So, I found a house near Florida’s Gulf Coast in North Port,” said Plathan. “It’s a three-bedroom, two-bathroom townhome in a community with a clubhouse and pool. I’m really excited about it.” 

Plathan’s road to the American dream began easily enough. He applied for a loan and was immediately pre-approved, enabling him to move on the house. However, as his paperwork moved through the underwriting process, Plathan faced a challenge that so many other union members confront: the nature of his work – a constant cycle of hiring and layoff tied to specific voyage-based assignments – disqualified him from ultimate approval for a conventional loan.

“I saw the Union Plus Mortgage Company (UPMC) ad online and got lucky,” said Plathan. “I called them immediately and was approved within two weeks.” 

“The thing of it is, UPMC understood my situation and my job. It was no problem.” said Plathan. “That made the process really smooth. I would definitely recommend anyone trying to buy a home to call them.”

Plathan was able to close on his house right before setting sail on another adventure. He looks forward to moving in and getting settled.

“For me, it’s a major investment and the start of a new phase.” said Plathan. “Through the process of purchasing it, Union Plus really showed me that they have the backs of union members. I’m so grateful.” 

The Union Plus Mortgage program, with financing available through Union Plus Mortgage Company, is available for all eligible union members.  UPMC is union-owned and staffed by unionized loan officers. 

For qualifying members, special benefits include: 

• A $500 gift card after closing for purchasing or refinancing a home
• A $750 gift card for First-Time Home Buyers'
• Special hardship mortgage assistance from Union Plus in the event of income loss due to disability, unemployment or strike/lockout.

For more information, visit unionplusmortgage.com or call 855 UNION 53 (855-864-6653). 

Moving the kids to school is never easy. Advance planning, including reserving a rental truck, is key to making the move easier. Budget Truck Rental offers these simple guidelines to help make the back-to-school move more efficient, less stressful and safer:

1. Pack like a pro. Students today are taking more than clothes and school supplies to campus; they're packing computers, printers, gaming systems and other electronics. Budget Truck Rental encourages customers to pack electronics in their original boxes, if available. If not, a strong box should be used and the components should be generously wrapped with plastic cushioning wrap. Packing peanuts or any shredded materials can get into the device and cause damage. Use caution with larger televisions. Many newer TVs need to be transported standing up or they could be damaged. The screen should also be protected. Whether boxes are filled with hangers, power strips/surge protectors, extra-long sheets or shower necessities, they should always be full. If there is space at the top and the box is already heavy, some light weight filler like plastic cushioning wrap, packing peanuts or crumpled paper should be added. Otherwise, if there is empty space at the top, stacking on top will cause the box to crush and tilt. Boxes should be labeled on the sides, not the tops, which may be covered by other boxes. In addition, Budget Truck Rental offers a wide variety of products to make moving easier. These include furniture pads and dollies, boxes, tape, plastic cushioning wrap and rope.
    
2. Plan your truck needs ahead of time. To ensure truck availability, reservations should be made as far in advance as possible. Truck availability is best mid-week (Sunday through Thursday) and mid-month. Hand trucks and moving pads can help make moving easier and protect possessions. Budget Truck Rental locations have these available for rent.
    
3. Plan your travel route. Trucks are prohibited on some roads. Budget Truck Rental recommends planning the proper route ahead of time to avoid police citations for driving on roads where trucks are prohibited or getting stuck beneath an overpass. Budget Truck Rental is the first and only major consumer truck rental company to offer Global Positioning System (GPS) units that include routes designated for trucks. With guidance by Garmin® , where2 offers Budget Truck Rental customers an array of navigation features, including truck routes and local points of interest such as ATMs, hotels, restaurants and gas stations, a simple user interface, high-quality maps, audible turn-by-turn directions spoken in multiple languages and Bluetooth hands-free calling capability.
    
4. Drive safely. Customers should take time to adjust the rental truck's mirrors. Caution should be used when backing up the truck and renters should never back up with towing equipment. Budget Truck Rental recommends that customers use extra caution on sharp turns. Trucks are longer and wider and need more turning area than cars. Renters should always use the turn signal and allow greater distance (at least five vehicle lengths) between the truck and the vehicle ahead. Customers should watch for overhead clearances, allow for at least 14 feet of overhead clearance, and beware of low canopies, overpasses, bridges, drive-through lanes, tree branches, parking garages and signs prohibiting truck traffic.

Budget Truck Rental's fleet features cargo vans, 10-foot, 16-foot and 24-foot trucks with ramps or lift gates and is one of the cleanest and best-maintained rental truck fleets on the road. Every vehicle undergoes a 10-point quality inspection to ensure proper fluid levels, tire pressure and other necessary elements for a reliable, safe rental. All Budget trucks feature automatic transmissions and have free 24/7 emergency roadside assistance.

Do Some Yardwork, First Impressions Count

• Keep the lawn moved, preferably on the diagonal
• The color yellow sells – plant yellow flowers such as marigolds along the walkway or by the front door
• Wash the exterior windows
• Paint or replace the front door and buy new hardware
• Power spray the house to get rid of dirt and cobwebs
• Buy a new welcome mat for the front steps
• Paint or replace the mailbox

Declutter Your Home

• Remove all personal photographs from the tables and walls. Patch holes in the walls or hang non-personalized artwork over the existing nails
• Pack up your bookcase (you’re going to move anyway)
• Clean out the closets and store non-essential items

Clean, Clean, Clean…Your Kitchen

• If new granite is out of your budget, consider either re-grouting the kitchen counter tiles, which is surprisingly cost effective, or covering them with granite tiles instead of granite slab
• For wood cabinets, stripping the finish and re-staining or painting will save you more money than re-surfacing the cabinets
• Buy new knobs and/or pulls for the cabinet doors.
• Replace a worn kitchen faucet
• Buy a new kitchen sink basket strainers
• Consider installing kitchen pendant lights over the sink

With these quick and budget-friendly tips, you’ll be on your way to maximizing the value of your home and one step closer to the closing table.

If you are ready to sell your home, don't forget the Union Plus Real Estate Rewards program.  You can earn $500 cash back for every $100,000 in home value when you use a  real estate agent, approved by SIRVA. 

Learn More about Real Estate Rewards

Jeremy, a shop foreman for an electrical company, recently purchased a home. He first learned of the contest through Union Plus fliers, “I believe they sent us some literature, [as] we just recently bought a house this year,” he recalls.

Though Jeremy was happy to be chosen as a winner, he already knew to expect great things from Wells Fargo and the Union Plus Mortgage Program. “We originally heard about them from our realtor, she mentioned the program and we thought ‘why not?’” Jeremy quickly learned that he could always count on Union Plus to step up to the bat for him. “It was a really good decision,” he says, “One of the best decisions we made with our home loan.”

Jeremy was especially interested in the contest because it gave him the opportunity to win some extra money for renovations to his new home. “It was kind of a fixer- upper,” he says. “It hadn’t been updated in a long time, so we’ve gone through and changed a lot of the light fixtures, the switches, and outlets. Just a lot of general maintenance.”

He decided that, in order to really show how his house felt like home, he would have to get his whole, winning lineup involved in his own dug-out. “We had a fire going in our fireplace and our kids sitting in front of it. That kind of encapsulated a little bit of finally being home and comfortable, and warm, so we really enjoyed it!”

Because his photos won him the pennant, Jeremy was able to move on some much-needed home improvements. “We used the winning[s] to put in a new floor in part of our house, it paid for basically all of the materials,” he says.

Jeremy knows the benefits of having Union Plus on his team, and has since made sure to spread the word among his fellow union members. “I’ve told everybody I work with about it. How easy they are to work with, how fast they get back to you. We’ve really had nothing but a good experience so far.”

The Union Plus Mortgage program, with financing available through Wells Fargo Home Mortgage, is available for all eligible union members. For qualifying members, special benefits include:

• A My Mortgage Gift^SM award from Wells Fargo after closing–$500 for buying a home, or $300 for refinancing a home – for use at participating retailers.¹ 
• Special hardship mortgage assistance from Union Plus in the event of income loss due to disability, unemployment or strike/lockout.²

Derek recently purchased a house in Sammamish Washington and his submission reflected his happiness with the ways a new home would affect his family’s life. “The picture was of my boys playing in the front yard,” he recalls, “we lived in a condo before, and we didn’t really have any room for them to play outside, so seeing that was pretty cool.”

Derek has a special appreciation of his new house because of his life on the move. As a pilot, he can be at any end of the country on any given day “We don’t fly just one specific route,” he says; “tomorrow I’ll be in Oakland, then the next day I’m in Las Vegas, so I’m kind of all over the place.”

With so many nights away, Derek is proud of his new home field, and is especially appreciative of the help he received in the home buying process, “I had used Wells Fargo for the mortgage on my condo, and I had a good relationship with them,” he says, “When I bought the new house I decided to go with them again, and they actually brought up Union Plus.”

From there, Wells Fargo helped Derek research the benefits available to him through the Union Plus Mortgage Program. “The person at Wells Fargo basically handled everything, and made the whole process really easy,” he recalls. “They definitely kept the paperwork to a minimum.”

The Home Run Contest was particularly helpful to Derek, as it helped him finally include his family in his travel plans.  “It was good timing, because over spring break we splurged and took the kids to Disneyland, he laughs, “so it definitely helped to offset that vacation.”

The Union Plus Mortgage Program, with financing available through Wells Fargo Home Mortgage, is available for all eligible union members.

For qualifying members, special benefits include:
• A My Mortgage Gift^SM award from Wells Fargo after closing – $500 for buying a home, or $300 for refinancing a home – for use at participating retailers.¹
• Special hardship mortgage assistance from Union Plus in the event of income loss due to disability, unemployment or strike/lockout.²

Mallow, who is no stranger to the sports world, works as an athletics financial administrator at a college. “I’m basically in charge of processing the financial paperwork for all of the sports teams,” she says.

Though Kimberly enjoyed her work and had a happy life with her family, she hoped to find enough financial stability to afford to buy a house of her own. “I was living in Yonkers with my husband and daughter [and] we were saving for a new place, but you know how [high] prices can be in a big city,”
 
Despite her high cost of living, Kimberly and her husband were able to save enough money to buy a house. With her family growing every day, it couldn’t have happened at a better time.

“We had another daughter, and we were finally able to save enough to buy a house on Long Island,” she recalls. The house was a significant improvement over their old life, with more space and a large yard. “More space is never bad,” she says with a laugh.
 
Kimberly and her family were happy with their decision, but their bills didn’t leave the roster, as money remained a constant issue. Fortunately, Kimberly had heard about the Union Plus Mortgage program with financing provided by Wells Fargo Home Mortgage, and knew about all of the services they could offer to new homeowners.

“I subscribe to the OPEIU emails, which is where I first learned about Union Plus,” she says. “They’ve been very helpful in the past, so I was sure to keep up with their emails after we bought our place.”
 
Kimberly was especially interested in the Union Plus Home Run Contest, which gave her the chance to submit photos of her new house, while including her family in the process. “We just took pictures of [us] sledding with my daughters, everyone was smiling and laughing, it was pretty natural,” she recalls.
 
When Kimberly was chosen as one of the winners of the Union Plus Home Run Contest, the money’s impact on her family proved to be a grand-slam. “The money has been great. I’m currently five months pregnant and I don’t get any maternity leave from work, so we’ve been able to use it to pay our mortgage.”

In fact, Kimberly has been so impressed with the services she has received from Union Plus that she makes sure to spread the word whenever she can. “Union Plus has been great,” she says, “I always make sure to recommend it to new people at work.”

The Union Plus Mortgage program, with financing available through Wells Fargo Home Mortgage, is available for all eligible union members. 

For qualifying members, special benefits include:

• A My Mortgage Gift^SM award from Wells Fargo after closing  – $500 for buying a home, or $300 for refinancing a home – for use at participating retailers.¹ 
• Special hardship mortgage assistance from Union Plus in the event of income loss due to disability, unemployment or strike/lockout.²

As a trained chef, I've learned to embrace the barrage of culinary queries from friends and family. “Can I swap out curly parsley if I can’t find Italian flat-leaf?” “What’s the easiest way to chop an onion?” And so on. But the question chefs probably hear the most—and have the hardest time answering—is how to know when a steak is done.

It can be difficult to explain because the real trick is cooking enough steaks to develop a sixth sense for internal temperature. Absent the intuition that comes from years of practice, a meat thermometer is the way to go—both for food safety and to ensure you don’t overcook a pricey prime porterhouse.

Some people think using a thermometer when grilling is a cheat, or maybe they had bad experiences in the past with older, leave-in analog meat thermometers, which routinely do poorly in CR's tests. But using a digital meat thermometer is the best way to make sure the meat is cooked to a safe internal temperature.

The Hand Method

One of the most popular methods of determining whether a steak is done is something called the hand method, a decidedly unscientific touch test that calls for holding one hand palm up and using the index finger of the opposite hand to press the ball joint below your thumb. So the thinking goes, that squishy feeling is how the center of a steak should feel when it's rare.

Making a pincer grip with your thumb and index finger—causing the joint to tense slightly—is how a steak should feel at medium rare. The same motion repeated with the middle, ring, and pinky fingers represent medium, medium-well, and well-done, respectively, or so the lore goes.

To see whether there's any validity to the idea, Consumer Reports put the hand method to the test. We used the Weber Genesis E-410, $900, a model we chose for its perfectly even heating in our gas grill tests.

We then grilled five sirloin steaks. The steaks were all cut to the same thickness, and we grilled them one-by-one at the same temperature. For reference, we cross-checked the temperatures with our top-rated Oregon Scientific Wireless BBQ/Oven AW131 meat thermometer, $40, and logged the final temperature before cutting in to see how the steak looked.

Here's how it all turned out.

How We Tested the Hand Method

Like the USDA, Consumer Reports recommends cooking whole cuts of beef to a minimum internal temperature of 145° F. "With steaks, any bacteria present is likely to be on the surface of the meat and 145° F is hot enough to kill those bacteria," says James E. Rogers, Ph.D., director of food safety and testing at Consumer Reports.

In our hand method test, we checked the steaks at every stage from rare to well-done and compared the results to widely recommended internal temperatures from outside sources.

Rare

• Target temperature: 125° F
• Temperature with hand method: 106° F

Did it work? No. While Consumer Reports never recommends cooking steak rare, the hand method posed an extra risk here, as it caused our test steak to come in a full 19° F below the already risky internal temperature of 125° F.

Medium-Rare

• Target temperature: 135° F
• Temperature with hand method: 110° F

Did it work? No. Again, the hand method yielded a result that would be well below what most would consider medium-rare. Cutting into the steak revealed a thin red band and saturated pink meat throughout, and was pretty consistent with a steak we'd consider rare.

Medium

• Target temperature: 145° F
• Temperature with hand method: 127° F

Did it work? No. Medium steaks are among the hardest to master because medium means something different to almost everyone. Again, the hand method yielded an undercooked steak. The thermometer told a different story. Despite looking like a steak cooked medium, it was still 18° F below a temperature we'd consider safe.

Medium-Well

• Target temperature: 155° F
• Temperature with hand method: 142° F

Did it work? No. For our medium-well steaks, we also found the hand method lacking. We got a steak most people would call medium, and according to the thermometer, it was still 3° F shy of the minimum safe temperature recommended by the USDA.

Well-Done

• Target temperature: 165° F
• Temperature with hand method: 157° F

Did it Work? No. Cooking a steak well-done sounds easy enough, but the line between eliminating any traces of pink and overcooking the meat is a fine one. Once again, the hand method produced a result that was a bit on the undercooked side. That can be off-putting if you prefer a steak with no traces of pink.

The Verdict

The hand method receives a thumbs-down. Although the steaks in our test did firm up as internal temperatures rose, the meat thermometer consistently told a different story. That proved our long-held advice that you can't depend on the color of cooked beef to judge the temperature.

In a pinch, the hand method could help you avoid overcooking a steak, but it should never be a stand-in for ensuring steak is safely cooked. A better idea? Use a thermometer to note the temperature of a steak you consider perfectly cooked, and you'll be able to replicate the result all summer long.

Get prepared
The My FirstHome^® online interactive learning experience is for anyone who wants to learn more about finding, financing, and owning a home. Find it at wellsfargo.com/myfirsthome.

Find the right home loan for you
When you’re ready to start exploring home financing options, look to our Home Loan Shopping Tools. Buyers can find their home price range, review different scenarios and loan options, and translate a list price of a home into a monthly payment. Find these tools at wellsfargo.com/mortgage/planning.

Take charge of your home financing decisions
Find a clear path through the homebuying process to the loan closing and beyond when you visit the Wells Fargo Home Lending Learning and Planning Center. Customers can access on-demand tools and easy-to follow information to help them take charge of their decisions. Find it at wellsfargo.com/mortgage/home-loans.

Know where you stand throughout the loan process
Track your home loan’s progress from your computer, smartphone, or tablet and stay on top of every step in the process with yourLoanTracker^SM. You can receive, review, and securely upload documents, plus sign select documents electronically. Wells Fargo can help determine if a specific home loan is available with yourLoanTracker features.

Whatever stage of the process, these tools can help you learn more and make decisions along the way.
And remember, after closing on a loan through the Union Plus Mortgage program, you’ll be eligible for special benefits that include receiving a My Mortgage Gift^SM award from Wells Fargo - $500 for buying a home or $300 for refinancing your home, for use at participating retailers – and access to mortgage assistance through Union Plus in times of hardship such as layoff, disability or strike.^1,2 Keep in mind that parents and children of union members are also eligible for certain benefits.

Click here to learn more about the Union Plus Mortgage program