In this environmentally ‑correct age, you can’t throw an old appliance out with the garbage anymore. Most areas require that you place household and yard waste in separate containers, and that you deliver hazardous items to collection centers. So what are the rules in your area?

Trash pickup dates. Your city’s website will offer a garbage and yard trash schedule for the year for your area, including holidays. Simply input your address, if available, and print and save the schedule in a handy kitchen drawer. You can also order new trash and recycling bins.

Recycling. You’ll need to know how to separate your disposables for pick up and what days those pickups are available. Los Angeles, California offers blue recycling bins for paper, cartons, small glass like spaghetti jars, and metal cans and containers. They offer green bins for yard waste.

Yard waste. Learn your city’s rules for yard waste. Charlotte, North Carolina requires you to place yard waste in open containers on pick up day. Tree limbs and sticks should be unbound while leaves and grass clippings should be sacked in paper. Many communities forbid plastic garbage bags. 

Hazardous waste. Some things can’t be thrown out, but instead must be dropped off to special facilities for hazardous waste. Dallas, Texas offers mobile BOPA (batteries, oil, paint and antifreeze) pickup stations and HHW (household waste) stations to collect old computers, pool chemicals, poisons, etc.

You’ll learn a lot about waste disposal, recycling and doing your part to protect the environment.

Here’s a case for buying a less expensive home than you secretly want.

According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, the average American spends approximately 37% of his or her income on housing. Notably, the top 20 percentile earners spend only 29.9% of their income, while the bottom 20% pay 39.9%. So what do high earners know that you don’t know?

If you have a little less money invested in housing, you’ll have more money to do other things, like: 

• Invest more in your 401K or Roth IRAs.
• Pay extra on your mortgage so one day you’ll be mortgage-free.
• Save money to buy another property. Rent out the first home for passive income as renters make your mortgage payment for you.
• Build or add to an emergency fund.
• Make improvements without adding more debt or tapping into equity.
• Reduce debt.

Conventional loan guidelines from Hud.gov suggest that the average homebuyer spend no more than 29% of his or her monthly gross income on housing. If your gross monthly income is $4,167, spend no more than $1,208, which should include property taxes and home insurance.

What if you have current debts? The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau recommends that your debt-to-income (DTI) ratio be no larger than 43% to secure a qualified mortgage - one the lender has done the due diligence on your ability to repay the loan according to government standards. However, many lenders aren’t comfortable with more than 36% DTI and may charge you higher interest rates accordingly.