The Mystery of Peter Answers

The current recession is causing a lot of people to ask Peter Answers, “Will I ever sell my house?” These are very scary times for people who are in a house they can’t afford, need to move, or have lost their job. There is no worse time to sell a house then when you have to. Well, actually there is – when you have to and when there is a buyers market like right now. It is very hard to sell a house even at rock bottom prices in this market, so this is a natural question to ask.

The answer is yes, you will sell your house someday. But you will only sell it for what you want if you follow a couple of key steps:

Look into adding some upgrades

In general I don’t recommend doing major upgrades just to help sell a house as even those upgrades that recoup almost all of the money are dangerous when times are lean like in today’s economy. However, if your home is not as finished as other houses on the market then you may need to do some upgrades to offer a better comparable. Remodeling the kitchen and/or bathroom has been shown to increase the value of a home and provide an excellent return on investment. So too adding a bedroom if needed. You can go fancy if it fits your neighborhood and look at installing something like a home sauna or a home gym. Or you can go basic and just upgrade the landscaping. Just remember, don’t throw good money after bad. Since you may have to offer a fire sale to get rid of your house the less money you have invested in it the better.

Take a try at FSBO

For Sale by Owner is scary to people who haven’t done it, but really it is only scary because the Realtors have told you it is scary. That’s because they lose money when you sell the house by yourself! I have sold a house using FSBO and it was the best and easiest thing I ever did. First of all, one of the selling points Realtors use is that they can properly price your house. But these days with services like Zillow it is very easy to do the pricing by yourself. And the money you can save it pretty incredible. When I sold my house I spend $50 on printing up some brochures and $400 for a lawyer for closing, and I think that was it. If you are selling a $300,000 house you would spend around $20,000 on commissions! So what do most people do? They price their house higher to pay for those commissions. And when the price of your house is higher it is harder to sell. So, instead of giving that money to a Realtor give it to a buyer in the form of a lower price – and that will help sell your house faster, despite what the Realtors will tell you.

2009 will continue to be a tough year in the housing market. If you can afford to wait I suggest you don’t try to sell your house. But if you need to try these two tips and you should have good luck in selling your house.

And that is Peter’s Answer!

For those of you who like to go on vacation every year but struggle with thinking of good places to go, look no further than Peter Answers for the answer to the following question: “Where Should I Go On Vacation?”

The first think you need to do to get some great vacation ideas is to take a quiz that will help identify what you are looking for. There are great quizzes here and there which will help you on your quest. These sites will ask questions like “What kind of weather do you like?” and “What’s your favorite article of clothing?” but beware, some of the answers are so obvious like if you answer that your favorite article of clothing is your Mickey Mouse hat then it will probably be suggested that you go to Disney World!

While the quizzes are an interesting approach to generating ideas for your vacation I personally prefer a world or country map, which ever works for your budget, and then just throw darts at it to see where you should go. Now, you shouldn’t just totally do it randomly and then just go there (I don’t think, maybe if you are more adventerous than Peter Answers!) but I do think it is a good tool. What I do is mark on the map all of the places I have already been, then I throw a few darts. I then find local landmarks near where my darts landed and then I go to TripAdvisor or some other site to research why I might want to go to the place for vacation. If it sound interesting then I book the trip! And then after I return I of course update my map to include that vacation spot.

Now, if you are not willing to do all of that work and you are still looking to Peteranswers for the answer to your question, then I will say that your next vacation will be to Florida. Have fun!

And that is Peter’s Answer!

Skip all of this and take a look at job interview secrets if you want to for sure secure a job in 2009.

If you have been affected by the record number of layoffs in 2008 you are probably looking for Peter Answers for the answer to the following question: “Will I Get a New Job in 2009?”

2008 has been extremely difficult for employees. Just check this list of all the layoffs announced just in December alone. Here are some examples:

Dec. 22: Parker-Hannifin fires 405 in varied locations as part of overall cost cutting.
Dec. 22: Eaton pink-slips 331 at factories across the U.S.
Dec. 19: Genworth Financial cuts global workforce by 14% (1,000).
Dec. 19: Electronic Arts increases previously announced workforce cut from 6% to 10%. Total becomes 1,000.

Whether you have been laid off or not it is smart to be thinking to 2009.

In order for you to find success in 2009 with your job hunt you need to do the following:

Build a Solid Resume

You need to write a resume that not only is an accurate representation of your past employment but a solid one that shows the major contributions you made to your organization. Follow some of these tips to make sure you build a solid resume:

• Look at job descriptions to identify relevant keywords
• Tweak your job objective to match to job you are applying for
• Use action words
• Research the need they have and show how you can solve it

Finally, I always suggest sending a nice printed copy of resume through Snail Mail even if you have applied online. Doesn’t hurt to have a clean unfolded copy (use a big envelope!) of your resume to stand out in a pile of plain white printouts.

Write a Winning Cover Letter

Your winning cover letter should address these points very succintly:

1. For what position are you applying?
2. How did you learn of the position or company?
3. Why are you perfect for the position?
4. Who will contact who?

Cover 1 & 2 in the first paragraph and a paragraph each for 3 & 4. Just like with the resume, send a clean copy with the resume you send in Snail Mail.

Ace the Job Interview

Finally, Peter Answers how to ace a job interview. Getting to the interview is a major accomplishment, congratulations! But this is also where you can screw things up so follow these steps and you will be good to go.

Here are the things you must do in an interview:

• Display confidence through your posture, dress, walk, energy, and eye contact.
• Shake hands firmly but only if a hand is offered to you first.
• Let the interviewer start the dialogue.
• Listen carefully.
• Welcome all questions, even the difficult ones, with a smile.
• Develop answers in your head before you respond. If you don’t understand a question, ask for it to be repeated or clarified. You don’t have to rush, but you don’t want to appear indecisive.
• Give honest, direct answers.

In addition you need to find ways to show that you are willing to work, committed to continuous learning, flexible and willing to contribute.

Finding a replacement job is hard work and will not be easy in the economy. However Peter will tell you that if you follow the steps listed here and you work exceedingly hard (not to mention get a little lucky!) that the answer to your question is “Yes, you will get a new job in 2009.”

And that is Peter’s Answer!

Note – if the hard work mentioned here is too much – try this guide to quiting smoking for good.

“Will I Ever Quit Smoking?” is a popular question at Peter Answers because cigarette smoking is addictive and effects many people. And in the down economy we find ourselves in now it is an even more popular question because it is an expensive habit – and that money could be better spent elsewhere.

So before I answer the question we should look at why you might want to quit, and how to go about doing it once you do decide to quit smoking cigarettes or any other kind of tobacco product.

Reasons to quit smoking

There are many reasons to quit smoking. Here are a few of the biggest ones. Does this sound like something you would be interested in?

• To feel in control of your life again
• To save money
• To be healthy
• To improve the health of your family
• To have fresh smelling clothes

I don’t know about you but to me those all sound like great reasons to quit smoking.

How to quit smoking

There are as many methods to stop smoking as there are stars in the sky – and only you will know what will work for you. One method to quit smoking that works for your friend isn’t going to work for you. That is one reason why people spend many years trying to quit smoking because they hear of something that worked for someone else but then it didn’t work for them and they get frustrated.

So certainly this is not a complete list and there can be no guarantees any of them will actually help you to quit smoking, but these are good options to try.

• Set a quit date
• Get rid of all cigarettes and ashtrays in your home, car, and place of work
• Review your past attempts to quit. Think about what worked and what did not
• Once you quit, don’t smoke—not even a puff
• Change your routine
• Do something to reduce your stress. Take a hot bath, exercise, or read a book
• Plan something enjoyable to do every day
• Drink a lot of water and other fluids
• Try a nicotine patch

So, to answer your question of “Will I Ever Quit Smoking” Peter has to say – “It depend on how much effort you put in. If you work hard and recognize that there will be ups and downs, then yes, you will quit smoking.”

And that is Peter’s Answer!

The Super Bowl is the biggest televised sporting event of the year so it should come as no surprise that advertising on the Super Bowl is big business. Huge business in fact. For a lot of people watching the Super Bowl is not about watching football it is about watching the Super Bowl Commercials, as crazy as that seems. The questions have not started coming in yet but they will be soon, and people will be asking Peter Answers, “What Will Be The Best Super Bowl Ad of 2009?”

Before Peter offers his prognostication let’s go through some history.

According to this chart the first Super Bowl ads ran in 1967 at a price of $40,000 for a 30 second ad slot (about $245,000 in today’s money). For a 30 second commercial that still seems like a lot to Peteranswers! The price increased every year until 2007, the last year I have data for, where a 30 second commercial went for $2.6 million! And remember, that doesn’t include the cost of making the ad. These companies are spending bookoo dollars on these product placements.

Famous Super Bowl Commercials

Here are some of the more famous Super Bowl ads in history:

• 1973 – The first famous Super Bowl commercial was for Noxzema featuring legendary New York Jets quarterback Joe Namath.
• 1980 – A spot for Coca-Cola featuring Pittsburgh Steelers All-Pro defensive lineman “Mean Joe” Greene, who is offered a Coca-Cola by a young fan and tosses the kid his game-worn jersey as repayment. However, according to ESPN, this ad never debuted during the Super Bowl.
• 1984 – Perhaps the most renowned Super Bowl ad ever, this ad for Apple’s Macintosh followed a 1984 theme. Directed by Ridley Scott, the ad featured a woman wearing track-and-field clothing sprinting into a large auditorium and hurling a large hammer into a screen right before security guards can subdue her. On the screen was a large Big Brother-type of face speaking to a massive assembly of drone-like people. His last words were “We shall prevail,” before the screen explodes and leaves the audience enraptured in gazing at the spectacle. The ad ran just one more time on television, perhaps compounding its renown.
• 1993 – In perhaps his most famous ad, Michael Jordan and Larry Bird play a game of HORSE for a McDonald’s Big Mac and fries. The game is made more interesting due to the increasing complex set of obstacles set for both players.
• One of the most famous Super Bowl ad campaigns has been the “I’m Going to Disney World!” ads for the past 20 years.

Sleaziest Super Bowl Commercials of All Time

Here are some of the sleaziest Super Bowl ads in history:

• 2005 – GoDaddy.com “Proceedings”: One year after Janet Jackson’s wardrobe malfunction, “Go Daddy Girl” Nikki Cappelli appears before a shocked Congress, as her tank top strap keeps breaking. One politician has to reach for his oxygen.
• 2003 – Budweiser “Upside Down Clown”: A man in an inverted clown suit walks in a bar, orders a beer and drinks it through a hole in the costume’s crotch. To the bar patrons (and viewers at home) he appears to be pouring the beverage into his rectum. Then he orders a hot dog.
• 2004 – Bud Light “Sleigh”: A man and woman are riding in a Hansom cab. When the man lights a candle for mood, the horse lifts its tail and farts, torching the girlfriend. In a year where sleazy ads were scrutinized by critics, this was one was almost always mentioned first.

What Will Be The Best Super Bowl Ad of 2009?

This year the winner will not be a sleazy ad but it will still be one by Budweiser, who has a history of making good Super Bowl Commercials.

And that is Peter’s Answer!