Earth Day Special – How to lower the carbon footprint of your house Part I

Environmental experts say anywhere from 39 to 45 percent of the impact on the earth's environment comes from the structures we create for living and working.

It takes a lot of energy to create the materials we use to build our homes, and transport those materials to the building site. Once the building is built, it takes energy to heat and cool our structure and then finally, it takes energy to tear down the house or office building and start again.

If you want to cut down on your personal environmental impact, start by changing out your light bulbs. For every incandescent bulb you exchange for a compact fluorescent bulb, you'll save one barrel of oil per year. Change 5 light bulbs and you'll save 5 barrels of oil.

If each of the 110 million households changed out 5 light bulbs, the impact would be staggering – more than half a billion barrels of oil saved each year. Now that's the way to save energy.

Earth Day Special – How to lower the carbon Footprint of your house Part II

If you want to save energy, as well as the environment, there are a few things you can do around your house that will help.

Exchanging your incandescent bulbs for compact fluorescent bulbs can cut your energy bill by a third.

But if you're building a new house, try orienting the house along the east-west axis, so you maximize your exposure to the south and north. That move alone can shave as much as 45 percent off of your energy bill.

Double pane windows are more energy efficient than single pane windows, but try a new e-coating, which will allow plenty of light, but cut back on the energy you're losing through the window pane. Finally, consider replacing your standard hot water heater with a tankless hot water heating, also known as point source heating. You'll have hot water when you need it, but you won't waste energy heating the water all day long.

For more suggestions, check out my website ThinkGlink.com

The Automatic IRA Act of 2007

The savings rate has fallen to a dismal negative 1 percent, and just half of Americans have a retirement plan option at work. But Congress has been busy trying to think of a way to encourage all Americans to save more for their retirement.

Last week, new legislation was proposed in the Senate that would require companies that are at least two years old and have more than 10 employees, to enable workers to have wages sent to an individual retirement account.

The Automatic IRA Act of 2007 would exempt companies that already offer a retirement plan.

The legislation would provide tax credits to employers that would help offset administrative costs, but would not require employer contributions to the accounts.

How much would you be able to put away? The legislation would follow current IRA rules, which permit a contribution of up to $4,000 per person, or $5,000 if you're 50 years of age or older. Experts suggest Americans would save an extra $8 billion per year under the program.

If you've got a fixed income, stop looking at million dollar homes.

If you want to break your heart, start walking through homes that are out of your price range.

That's one of the biggest mistakes first-time home buyers make. They wind up touring homes that have more space, amenities and upgrades than they can afford. When they start looking at homes they can afford, nothing looks quite good enough.

How do you avoid the problem in the first place? You've got to figure out how much you can afford to spend.

Get your tax return, checking and savings statements and current pay stubs together and pay a visit to your local mortgage broker. Talk about what kind of loan you're looking for and ask the broker to help you figure out how much the loan will cost.

Then, before you sign on the dotted line, ask for a copy of the application. Go home and spend a few hours on the Internet shopping around at a bunch of different lender websites.

No offer yet? Here's how to know when it's time to lower your price

I recently heard from a listener who is trying to sell her condo. She has it listed for the price she paid two years ago, but it hasn't sold. Her listing agent wants her to lower the price.

She's worried that the agent is only suggesting she lower the price because of the $50,000 in equity they have in the house.

But that doesn't make any sense to me. A good real estate agent doesn't ask you to lower your price because you have equity in the property. An agent has an incentive to get you the highest price possible. Your house isn't selling and there are only two reasons why homes don't sell – buyers don't like the condition of the property or they don't like the price. If you're the seller, that's tough to hear.

If you don't have an offer within 3 to 5 weeks of listing your property, you've got to face facts – it's time for an adjustment. But if you're going to adjust your price, lower it at least 5 percent or more. And make it count.