Ingredients:

• ⅓ cup cinnamon sugar (for coating)

• 2 cups sifted all-purpose flour

• 1 tablespoon ground ginger

• 2 teaspoons baking soda

• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

• ½ teaspoon salt

• ¾ cup shortening or butter

• 1 cup white sugar

• 1 large egg

• ¼ cup dark molasses

Instructions:

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

2. Place cinnamon & sugar in a bowl for later.

3. Sift dry ingredients: flour, ginger, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt into a mixing bowl. Mix until blended.

4. Cream shortening or butter in a large bowl with an electric mixer. Gradually beat in white sugar. Add egg and molasses and beat until light and fluffy.

5. Sift 1/3 of the flour mixture into the mixture; stir to thoroughly blend. Sift in the remaining flour mixture and mix together until a soft dough forms.

6. Pinch off small amounts of dough and roll them with your hands into 1-inch-diameter balls. Place balls in cinnamon sugar and roll to coat, then place 2-inches apart on ungreased baking sheets.

7. Bake in the preheated oven until tops are rounded and slightly cracked, about 10 minutes, switching racks halfway through.

🎁✨ Pro tip: Allow the cookies to cool for a few minutes on a wire rack before indulging!

When most people think about home security, they tend to focus on locks, alarms, and cameras. While these safeguards are essential, there are many other things you can do to prevent break-ins — without having to invest a lot of money.

Landscape Your Way to Safety
Well maintained landscaping can be a powerful deterrent to burglars. Overgrown trees and bushes provide perfect hiding spots for potential intruders. So, keep shrubs trimmed and ensure tree branches don’t offer easy access to upper-level windows.

Let There Be Light
A well-lit exterior can make your home an unattractive target for burglars. That doesn’t mean you need to illuminate your home like a Christmas tree 24/7! Instead, consider motion-activated lighting. It not only conserves energy but can startle and deter anyone trying to sneak around your property.

Silence the "No One's Home" Alarm
Heading on vacation? Hold your mail and newspaper deliveries, ask a neighbor to pick up flyers, and resist the urge to post your holiday pictures on social media. Don't let your absence become an open invitation for burglars!

The Bottom Line
Don’t rely entirely on gadgets and systems. Take a more comprehensive approach to home security and you’ll have more peace of mind when you’re away.

What do you do for your home security? Share your tips with us in the comments below!

Interest rates skyrocketed in 2023, and even as rates soften they may continue to be unpredictable. So, how do you manage your finances during such periods? Here are some helpful money-saving tips to consider.

Review and Reduce

Regularly review your monthly expenses. Are there any subscriptions or services you’re no longer using? Is there an unused gym membership or magazine subscription that can be cancelled? By trimming the fat from your budget, you’ll have more to put towards savings.

Build an Emergency Fund

When you have money set aside, you won’t have to dip into your line of credit or carry a credit card balance when something urgent comes up. Putting just a few dollars a week into a fund can add up over the year — and give you peace of mind.

Energy Efficiency Upgrades

Investing in energy-efficient appliances, windows, and even home insulation can lead to significant savings on utility bills over time. Additionally, some energy-efficient upgrades come with tax credits and other incentives.

Buy in Bulk

Watch out for sales on goods you purchase regularly, like breakfast cereal. If the discount is substantial, stock up. Over the year, this strategy can save hundreds on your grocery bill. Just be sure to pay attention to expiration dates!

Avoid Interest Charges

As much as possible, reduce or eliminate anything that charges interest. For example, pay credit cards by the due dates. (Note: credit card interest on cash advances often begins immediately.)

As you can see, making smart money decisions can help you ride out the current wave of interest rate uncertainty. What are your money saving strategies? 

When prospective buyers visit a home, the room they tend to check out most closely is the kitchen. So, it pays to ensure it looks its best.

No matter how tidy, clean, and well-adorned you’ve made your kitchen, there are going to be some issues — which can seem minor — that can distract a buyer from appreciating those positive qualities.

1. Stained sink

Use a specialized cleaner for the type of sink you have.

2. Garbage

Garbage in the garbage bin. Buyers don’t mind seeing the bin, just not the garbage inside. Don’t forget to also empty the organic waste bin.

3. Cooking scents

Avoid cooking anything prior to a viewing that may create lingering odours. Not everyone appreciates the aroma of spaghetti sauce.

4. Kitchen Mat

That old or worn mat in front of the sink. Replace it.

5. Countertops

You want the countertops to look spacious to buyers. So remove any items that don’t absolutely need to be there.

6. Cupboards

Cluttered or disorganized cupboards. Declutter and organize your cupboards. Buyers are most likely to open upper cabinets.

7. Lighting

Poor lighting. You want the lighting in your kitchen to be bright (but not blinding) and evenly distributed.

8. Damage & Stains

Damaged or stained kitchen surfaces. Professional cleaning or replacement of your countertops can improve your kitchens look considerably, and might be worth the investment.

Say you’ve found a house for sale in an area that’s unfamiliar to you. How do you figure out if it’s going to be the ideal neighbourhood.

Take a Walk

The first step is to take a walk! Stroll the neighbourhood and explore. If you get the chance, chat with homeowners and get their opinions of the area. Ask what they love about it. Ask what they don’t like.

Lifestyle Needs

Next determine how the neighbourhood is going to fit with your lifestyle. You’ll want to consider things like commuting routes, local amenities, schools, parks, shopping, etc. Google Maps is a great tool for this. Just turn on satellite view and get a bird’s eye view of the areas features.

Neighbourhood Data

Get the latest data on neighbourhood characteristics such as noise, demographics, crime rates, and more. You’ll be surprised by how much data is available, and the valuable insights you can gain about what it’s going to be like to live there.

Explore the Options

Now that you’ve determined your ideal neighbourhood it’s time to explore your options! Using DK Group's website you can search for your dream home by neighbourhood. You’ll be able to see specific location information for each individual listing such as exact distance to transit, schools, parks, and so much more! Make informed decisions about your new home’s location, ensuring it aligns perfectly with your lifestyle and preferences.

There are several ways to make the selling process easy and relatively stress free. One way is to create a selling timeline that fits your needs, lifestyle, and capabilities.

Say you’d like to list your home in four weeks and expect it to be on the market for an additional four weeks. That’s an eight-week timeline. How do you create a manageable schedule that works for you? Try these steps: 

1. Determine what you need to do to get your home ready for sale. 

2. Assign who will be doing what. For example, if you need to paint, will you hire a contractor? Do it yourself? Make a family day out of it? 

3. Estimate the time it will take to do those tasks. Then add 50% as a buffer. (It’s easy to underestimate time on tasks.) 

4. Look at your current schedule and block out times on your calendar so you can complete those tasks at a comfortable pace. Go through these same steps for other selling activities, such as finding and meeting with a real estate lawyer, having buyers come to see your property, etc. 

When you create a manageable — and realistic — schedule, you may find that most of the stress and worry of selling evaporates. A manageable schedule also ensures you won’t miss anything and then have to scramble.

There is a reason why “The early-bird gets the worm” is such a popular expression. Real Estate is one of many examples in life when being early, or even first in line, gives you an advantage.

When shopping for a new home, being among the first to learn about a new listing benefits you in several ways:

You have more time to see the property and make a decision. 

You have the ability to submit an early offer. 

You’re under less pressure to make a decision quickly.

Overall, by finding out about a new listing early, you improve your chances of getting the property.

How do you get the early-bird advantage?

If you scour the internet for new listings, you can still miss opportunities. For example, “Coming soon” listings may not yet be published on the MLS. A better strategy is to arrange to be alerted to new listings and coming-soon opportunities the moment they come up. That way, you’re always the early-bird and your likelihood of finding and buying your next dream home increases.