Rocky Mount Mills Presents the Music Sessions

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The Rocky Mount Mills Music Sessions are set to begin at the end of April, giving a fun filled day of listening, dancing, and great company throughout the Spring and Summer months just mere moments from your new home at Belmont Lake Preserve.

Saturday, April 29th

Schoolkids Records & WUNC are extremely proud to announce the Mill Music Sessions at Rocky Mount Mills featuring very special guest HISS GOLDEN MESSENGER!

Check out one their music videos, Mahogany Dread.

Join us on the lawn at Rocky Mount Mills for an evening of music and fun. Just bring your lawn chair, blanket, family and friends. Pick up a picnic dinner from TBC West, food trucks and grab a drink from one of the local breweries or the bottle shop.

Learn More at Mill Music Sessions @ Rocky Mount Mills!

Schedule of Events at Rocky Mount Mills:

  • 4:00pm – Food and Concert Beer Garden Open
  • 4:30-6:30pm – Martin County Ramblers playing in the Beer Garden
  • 7:00-9:00pm – Hiss Golden Messenger playing on the front Lawn

Food and Beer Available at Rocky Mount Mills

Non alcoholic beverages will also be available.

Other Restaurants and Breweries open on campus:

Concerts are free, open to the public and fun for all ages! Rocky Mount Mills is a pet friendly campus and please, no coolers.  See you on the lawn!

 

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Which Home Upgrades Will Help Improve Resale Value?

Whether you’re thinking of putting your home on the market this year or you have plans for making a major move in the next few years, you are probably looking around and wondering just what upgrades you can make that will Improve Resale Value of your investment. Some upgrades are definitely worth the effort and will pay dividends in trying to Improve Resale Value. Others may simply be eye candy; they make you feel better, but a potential buyer is looking beyond the sparkle for more substance. Before you sink too much time and money into major upgrades, consider which ones have the potential toactually Improve Resale Value and put money back in your pocket.

Which Home Upgrades Will Improve Your Resale Value

  • A fresh coat of paint throughout the house will make you feel better while you’re still living in your home and will inspire your prospective buyer to consider making your home their next purchase. Choose a neutral hue that reflects light and gives each room a fresh, inviting look. Unless you feel your painting skills are top-notch, consider hiring a professional painter for the best results. Painting is a relatively inexpensive improvement that is sure to be appreciated.
  • Adding a new deck or improving an existing one will increase both your potential selling price and the general appeal for any buyer that may want to see what your house has to offer. Modern lifestyles have extended beyond the appeal of the indoor environment to include relaxing and entertaining out of doors as well. A great deck or patio is the ultimate in outdoor living.
  • Outdated kitchens and bathrooms can be the kiss of death for any potential real estate transaction. Upgrades in these areas can be costly. You’ll want to choose wisely, but not cheaply, to get the most for your money. Rest assured you will be rewarded with a speedier sale and a better selling price.
  • Replacing worn out, drafty windows is a must if you want to get top dollar for your property. Energy costs rank high on the checklist of home buyers and you don’t want to have to explain why your utility costs are out of sight because of obsolete windows.
  • Similarly, an up-to-date heating and air conditioning system will be a worthwhile upgrade. Fixtures and appliances that are more than twenty years old speak of a lack of concern about the environment and a poor understanding of energy efficiency.
  • Many people think an in-ground swimming pool will cause the value of their property to soar. Be careful with that one; it can backfire on you. Depending on the part of the country where your home is located, you could be planting a giant albatross in your backyard. In climates where heat and humidity are the norm, pools are great and generally desirable. If you live where summer comes late and winter comes early, you are installing something that is much more work and upkeep than pleasure and enjoyment. Buyers will shy away.
  • Take a look around your outdoor landscape when deciding what upgrades make sense. Curb appeal is vital to a successful real estate campaign. Plant shrubs, install floral beds and, above all else, keep the lawn mowed and the leaves raked. A clean home front will make a potential buyer think property maintenance is a piece of cake. A sloppy environment gives the impression that it takes too much work to keep the place looking good.

Basic maintenance should never be viewed as an upgrade. Replacing a leaky roof or broken gutters, exterior painting or siding and maintaining sealed driveway surfaces should be part of your everyday home ownership. When it comes time to put your home on the market, focus on upgrades that make dollars and cents for your ultimate quick and successful home sale.

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6 Smart Steps to Prepare for Your Upcoming Retirement

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Even workers who love their jobs have dreams of a happy retirement, but giving up the daily grind is easier said than done. The transition from employee to retiree is a daunting one in the best of circumstances, but a lack of preparation can make things much worse.

Whether you are planning your exit from the workforce next year or a decade from now, it is important to be as prepared as possible. Hopefully, you have been diligently saving for your post-work life, socking away money in your 401(k), fully funding your IRA each year and building a balanced portfolio you can rely on once those paychecks stop.

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Even so, it never hurts to be overly prepared, and few retirees fret that they saved too much or spent too much time getting ready for life after work. As your chosen retirement date approaches, it is time to ramp up your preparation, not slack off. Here are six essential steps you should be taking before you sign that resignation letter and pick up your gold watch.

  • Track your spending. Knowing how much you are spending now is an essential first step to determining how much you might spend once you retire. As your retirement date approaches, take the time to carefully track your spending for at least six months. You may be surprised at what you find.
  • Categorize your expenses. Tracking your current spending will give you a baseline to work from, but you need to delve deeper to create a realistic post-retirement budget. Categorizing your current spending is important, since some expenses will go away once you retire, while others will increase. Once you are done working, you will likely spend less on clothes and commuting but more on hobbies and leisure activities. Quantifying these changes will help you develop the spending discipline you will need to make your money last.
  • Review your health insurance options. The cost of health insurance looms large for most retirees, and you need to be prepared for these new expenses. If you are retiring early, you will need to review your health insurance options and assess the cost of an individual policy. Even if you are 65 and eligible for Medicare, you will still need to budget for a Medicare supplement plan. The government health insurance  program for the elderly pays just 80 percent of eligible expenses, so you will need a supplement to cover the rest.
  • Assess your portfolio. The transition from worker and saver to retiree and spender can be a difficult one, and it will almost certainly involve a rebalancing of your portfolio. Now is the time to review your investment choices, including how much you have in the stock market and how much is in income-producing vehicles like bonds and certificates of deposit. Since you will be relying largely on the income your portfolio produces, getting this right will be critical to your retirement success.
  • Seek out new forms of income. When you are working, you rely mainly on a single source of income, namely your regular paycheck. When you retire, you will need to replace that income, but you do not have to put all your eggs in one basket. Developing multiple streams of income will give you extra flexibility in retirement, so that should be one of your biggest priorities. If you are eligible for a company pension or plan to sign up for Medicare when you retire, that can be one stream of income. You can develop other income streams through investments in dividend-paying stocks, holdings in bond funds, bank CDs and so on. You may also choose to work part time, start a home-based business or do some freelancing. Taken together, these additional streams of income can help you stretch your portfolio further and give you more flexibility throughout your retirement years.
  • Build flexibility into your post-retirement spending plan. Flexibility is the watchword when planning for retirement, but you will need to remain flexible as you enter your retirement years. Developing multiple streams of income can enhance your flexibility, as can changing your withdrawal rate in response to market conditions. If your goal is to withdraw 4 percent of your portfolio per year, you could adjust that to 5 percent when your portfolio has a good year but cut it back to 3 percent or even less when the economy, and the market, hits a rough patch. Building flexibility into your portfolio and your post-retirement spending is one way to make your money last and give you additional peace of mind.

Whether you love your job or hate it, retirement is likely one of your biggest goals. How you prepare for your post-work life can make all the difference in the world, and the sooner you get started, the better off you and your finances will be.

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Tips for Using the Outdoors to Improve an Active Summer Lifestyle

Are you looking to add more physical activity to your life and improve your Active Summer Lifestyle? Maybe you’re trying to be more fit, lose some weight, or just lead a healthier life? If so,  the perfect time to get started on that Active Summer Lifestyle is right now. While it can be intimidating watching all the oh-so-very-toned people go running, biking, and hiking, there’s no need to be reluctant about starting an outdoor exercise regimen yourself. For those of you who want the exercise but don’t like the gym, or love the fresh air but are made a bit nervous by exercising, here are some tips:

Incorporate Activity Into Your Daily Routine by Starting Small

Have you ever wanted to be one of those people who improve their Active Summer Lifestyle as they go for long runs on summer evenings? You absolutely can if you start slow and easy. Instead of running, start by going on walks in whatever natural spaces you have available to you. Set aside a few evenings a week, or early mornings, or a lazy afternoon. Grab a friend, a dog, or just go on your own and let your inner thoughts wander. You might be surprised how the fresh air and activity (even low-impact activity like leisurely walking) can improve your mood. Then, after you’ve got a taste for outdoor wandering, working up to running won’t seem so intimidating!

 

Reach for Your Bike Instead of the Car Keys

While not everyone lives in a place that’s conducive to improving Active Summer Lifestyle while doing errands,  running your errands or commuting to work on a bike, many of us do and have just never tried it. Though it’s certainly helpful if there’s good infrastructure for biking where you live, it’s not absolutely necessary. Small errands like going to the post office can be a good way to ease into using your bike to get around. If possible, biking to work can be a wonderful way to experience the outdoors on a daily basis. It can be an amazing mood booster if you work inside an office all day. Biking more often is an all-around good thing, both for your body and the environment.

Go Camping!

Although camping itself might not seem a like a very physical activity, hanging out in the woods will inevitably lead to other activities, like hiking. All you really need for camping is a tent, a sleeping bag, water, food, and layers of clothing for inclement weather. After a night of hanging out around the fire and waking up breathing in the fresh air, all you need to add is a backpack and a map to go on your first hiking adventure. In fact, you might find you love the great outdoors so much that you start going on camping and hiking trips regularly. Hiking is great for developing our personal fitness.

It isn’t hard to start working on your fitness this summer. By slowly incorporating activity into your daily routine and by focusing on appreciating the outdoors, it’s way more fun to get your summer exercise when you’re not stuck in a hot, stinky gym. Bringing the outdoors into your life is an exciting way for you to get more fresh air, energy, and exercise. That’s way better than staring at the TV on the exercise bike.

You’re Never Too Far From… Being Active, at Belmont Lake Preserve. One of North Carolina’s top Active Lifestyle, master-planned communities.

 

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