(1)  WORK.  Children need to feel the emotional connection between work & money.  Might pay kids commissions, not allowances.  Then they will learn if they work, they get paid & if they don’t they won’t.  (2)  SAVE .  Teach your children early on to sock away funds for future purchases.  If they save up for a Barbie today, then they can save up for a car later on.  (3)  SPEND.  Let them experience the awesome feeling of buying something they’ve saved up for.  If all the money in the piggy bank is held, they will never enjoy it and grow up to be misers or rebels  & spend too much.  (4)  GIVE.  Demonstrate that giving is the most fun they can have with their money.  Just make sure it is their money.  He needs to know how it feels to take the coin out of his own pocket.  Some churches practice tithing or giving a tenth & a good place to teach.

U. S. NEWS & WORLD REPORT reported this, but we know about our market in TEXAS!  Real Estate Center Research Economist Dr. Jim Gains noted that Texas did not suffer as severe a recession or housing bust as some other states.  Plus we started the recession later.  We did see our share of subprime lending, but with the unemployment rate not as high as other states, that helped lessen the housing market damage caused by the collapse of bad mortgages.  Texas had subprime lending, but that works as long as people have jobs, so you HAD THESE OFFSETTING FACTORS.  Gaines also attributed the market’s strength to the lower-than-average property values in Texas’ major metro areas.  We did not have a true bubble and in Texas you can find homes in metro areas for UNDER $200,000.

Sales were slightly down from July according to GTAR (Greater Tyler Association of Realtors).   The median home for August was $145,000, a 1.19% hike from $143,300 in August 2011.  Bain Real Estate has had multiple sales in the past 2 months with prices pleasing to the sellers.  Still the low interest rates are encouraging buyers to make a decision, so we are moving into the fall with an active market, even with school starting.  Lots of retired folks moving to the area to take advantage of the medical facilities and entertainment, shopping, eating out, etc.  New subdivisions are selling their homes.  Still a lag in upper range homes and these need to move to balance the market.  Tyler has had one of the highest inventories of any city in TX, but it is very slowly coming down.

while this seems out of East TX interest, often hear of folks going to the Gulf Coast to fish and bird watch, so this is important to all of us.   The  Coastal Bend Bays and Estuaries Program plans to work in a 515 square-miles area of bays, estuaries & bayous in the Copano, Aransas, Corpus Christi, Nueces, Baffin & upper Lagune Madre Bay systems.  The group’s goal is to protect & restore the health & productivity of the bays & estuaries while supporting continued economic growth & public use of the bays.  The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) NATIONAL ESTUARY PROGRAM covers 28 estuaries along the Atlantic, Gulf and Pacific coasts as well as Puerto Rico.

To repair your credit, these are companies that do this for a fee.  They charge differently with a one time consulation for a fee, then if you stay with them longer then the charge will increase, but it may take a while to get your credit score up where you can qualify for a loan.  Also some folks have NO credit, as they pay cash for everything or us a pay-day loan.  One just needs to talk to any lender or a credit repair company to get ideas and how to accomplish this.  Landmark Credit Repair has opened a new office in Tyler on Old Bullard Rd across from Rice Elementary school.  This company also has an office in the Canton area and several others.  Again always ask their fees and how you will pay them.  You certainly don’t want your credit hurt by NOT paying them what you agree.

Texarkana ranked 1st in job creation followed by Odessa, Corpus Christi, Midland and TYLER.  The annual growth rate of nonagricultural jobs from July 2011 to July 2012 showed an annual growth rate of 2.2% compared with 1.4% for the United States.  Nongovernment jobs grew by 3% compared to 1.8% for the nation’s private sector.  Texas ‘ seasonally adjusted unemployment rate fell to 7.2% from 8.1% a year ago, with nation’s rate decreases from 9.1 to 8.3%.   All Texas industries have more jobs except the information industry & the state’s government sector and those 2 sections continue to loose jobs.  The state’s mining and logging industry ranked lst in job creation, followed by the contruction industry, the leisure and hospitality industry and the professional and business serviced industry.  All of this according to the Real Estate Center’s MONTHLY REVIEW OF THE TEXAS ECONOMY.

Without a bank account are the “unbanked” in the U. S. & 17 million strong.  Stash cash at home or go to payday loans or check cashing which is expensive.  Without one difficult to pay rent, utilities, etc.  Hopefully with an account, they will also start SAVING.  Usually are younger, less educated & lower income.  Robberies are more prevalent around check cashers, especially on pay day.   Go to the website of Bank on San Francisco to get an idea of accounts being offered to these folks.  Shopping your local banks can find ones that will have little or no minimum.  From these accounts you usually get a debit card,  so if you swipe it the bill will not be paid if no money left in the account, so no overdraft.

Staging a vacant home may not be necessary in some circumstances, but a thorough cleaning & fresh paint job can show potential buyers how they can love it as their own.  13.9% of all housing units in the U. S. were vacant at the end of the 4th quarter of 2011, according to the U. S. Census Bureau.  Plus staging won’t matter if the HOUSE IS OVERPRICED.  Again vacant houses are dismal & lifeless, so a few pieces of furniture, towels in the bathrooms, artwork, plants and a new welcome mat at the front door can give a house a lift.  Buyers often think of vacant houses as foreclosures or short sales, but if not say that.  Just cleaning and decluttering a house will help sell a house.  E-mail for a more complete list.

Continued activity in the oil & gas industry made the state’s mining & logging industry 1st in job creation in June, according to the Real Estate Center’s MONTHLY REVIEW OF THE TEXAS ECONOMY.   The leisure & hospitality industry & the other services ranked 2nd & 3rd.  Nearby Texarkana ranked 3rd in new job creation.  The Texas economy gained 2.2% compared with 1.3% for the U. S. from June 2011 to June 2012.  The state’s private sector had a growth rate of 3.2%  compared with 1.8% for the nation’s private sector.  All Texas industries except the information industry had more jobs, but the state’s government sector continues to lose jobs.

Real lakes are not built overnight.  It takes centuries of plants & trees living & dying to create the perfect aquatic environment.  Unfortunately, most lakes in TX were built overnight as part of the reservoir building boom of the 1950s thru the 1970s.  Instead of carved out of the soil by years of erosion or geographical depressions,  our lakes were created by bulldozers that pushed away trees & scraped away the dirt.  It wasn’t a sterile environment, but lacked the natural native aquatic vegetation that helps improve water quality & create better fish habitat.  Texas Parks & Wildlife is actively planting lake vegetation along shorelines & a recent planting is at Lake Palestine near Tyler.   On Palestine water willow will be planted as it establishs better in the hard clay substrate at the southern end of the reservoir.  30 cages will be established over a mile of shoreline.  These plants produce seeds & cuttings to be carried further.  Bellwood Lake in Tyler did plantings & choked out the hydrilla.  Much interest in these programs!