January 2020 marks the EPA mandate to end production of Freon (also known as HCFC-22 and R-22), the primary refrigerant chemical used in residential air conditioning units that has been found to have a significant contributing effect on ozone depletion and global warming.

While this is good news for environmentally conscious consumers, what does this mean to homeowners?

In short, you can still opt to keep your older system that requires Freon. However, this can pose a problem should your unit need even minor service, such as a small leak. Technicians will have limited access to R-22 or use recycled versions until supplies dwindle. Further, a shortage means increased prices. Alternatively, homeowners would need to hire a technician to replace the outdoor unit and indoor coil to accommodate the newer R410A, which is an expensive proposition.

Ultimately, now might be a perfect time to upgrade since the average lifespan of an HVAC system is approximately 15 years - allowing homeowners to enjoy greater long-term savings on utility bills and live greener. 

Live Green, Save Green, Stay Cool 

With home heating and cooling accounting for nearly half of home energy use and air conditioner energy expenses costing homeowners more than $11 billion a year, small steps can go a long way.

Following are some useful tips to help you contribute to the cleaner energy movement and reduce bills:

* Get Electric: According to Columbia University's Earth Institute, electric systems are a solution to decarbonize home climate control. Among the most energy-efficient heating and cooling products, electricity-powered ductless mini-split systems, offered by companies including Fujitsu General America, can save as much as 25 percent on your energy bill. Mini-splits use thin copper tubing to pump refrigerant from an outdoor compressor directly into an indoor air-handling unit, where the air is quietly distributed to the interior space.

* Be "Smart" About Home Climate Control: When it comes to smart home temperature control, there are Smart HVAC Systems and Smart Thermostats. Smart HVAC systems have built-in Internet capability and can be controlled directly without additional equipment. Smart Home Thermostats create "smart" systems by enabling remote temperature control via a mobile or Internet-connected device or voice-operated home automation system.

* Voice Your Preferences: Take control of your comfort. Most HVAC manufacturers offer apps that enable systems to be controlled from anywhere using a mobile device. Voice-control capability uses digital assistants, such as Amazon Alexa or Google Home, to verbally dictate home temperatures. Easily controlling the temperature more closely allows homeowners to be more comfortable and improve energy savings.

* Find Your Efficient Comfort Zone: Many of us live in homes designed for bigger families, but have yet to downsize. If you find yourself using a fraction of your home on a regular basis, consider upgrading to a zoned, ducted, or ductless system. That will allow you to save energy heating and cooling spaces where you and your family don't spend a lot of time. This will multiply savings as you're not only needing less cooling, but you also gain from a more efficient system in the spaces you do still use.

* Go Low-tech: Simple changes can have a big impact. Try to use heat-producing appliances - stoves, irons and dryers - at night or early morning. Switch to LED light bulbs instead of incandescent bulbs - which consume 90 percent more power. Seal air leaks around windows, doors, and places where pipes and wires come through walls. Check existing caulking and weather-stripping for gaps or cracks.

There's no need to sweat the ban on Freon this summer. If a new system is right for you, many Fujitsu systems with the Energy Star rating are more than twice as efficient as the minimum standard set by the government.

To learn more or find a contractor near you, call 888-888-3424 or visit www.constantcomfort.com.

According to recent research, psychoanalytic therapies achieve lasting results by exploring underlying causes of one's mental health issues. This deeper exploration gets to the root of a person's symptoms and sets psychoanalysis apart from more superficial therapies that only treat symptoms. By looking closely at each person's life, psychoanalytic therapies help one feel more understood as a unique individual, improve personal relationships, relieve painful emotional symptoms, and change life-long ways of coping.

This is not your father's psychoanalysis. In fact, in a 2019 survey conducted by PsychoanalysisNow, 400 psychoanalysts in the United States highlighted the realities of psychoanalysis and how it works. Almost all the professionals surveyed (96 percent) said they regularly conduct therapy either once or twice per week, which is feasible for most patients' schedules. The stereotype of lying on a couch during therapy is an option - but only if the patient chooses it for relaxation and comfort. Otherwise, patients and their analysts are seated facing each other in chairs. Roughly, 73 percent of analysts surveyed report that they also conduct therapy sessions remotely, via telephone or through Internet video connections.

"Psychoanalysis is often indicated when other less intensive therapies have failed to achieve the desired results," according to the website of the American Psychoanalytic Association.

"It truly offers something different and more comprehensive, and is a good place to turn when symptoms remain or behavioral or relationship patterns continue after one or two attempts at less intensive, shorter term psychotherapy."

However, one's problem need not be too severe to benefit from psychoanalysis. Individuals struggling in the workplace, who have long-term relationship issues with family members, or who simply want a new perspective on their lives can benefit. Through psychoanalysis, one can unlock the past, inform the present, and expand the future to reach their full potential.

Children and teens can also benefit as some psychoanalysts specialize in working with children in partnership with parents.

For more information and to find a psychoanalyst near you, visit apsa.org.

Fortunately, companies like 7-Eleven are leading the way in offering innovative solutions aimed to help consumers mitigate the negative environmental effects of car travel, giving them a chance to make a difference.

Through a program called RENEW, 7-Eleven calculates tailpipe carbon emissions and offsets those emissions through local and global carbon reduction projects, including reforestation and tree plantings.

"As a brand 7-Eleven has committed to supporting the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, specifically goal no. 7 and no. 11. These goals center around providing more sustainable energy for consumers and giving back to our local communities. That's why we introduced the 7-Eleven RENEW program and why it is so important," says Jason Murray, 7-Eleven Vice President of Operations for the Pacific Northwest. "We've made sustainability an easy option for our customers. By simply choosing to pump at a 7-Eleven RENEW location, drivers are proactively reducing their carbon impact by up to 30 percent."

RENEW launched in 2017 and recently reached a milestone of offsetting more than 150 million gallons of fuel. In terms of carbon impact, that equates to powering more than 5.2 million homes' electricity for a day.

"What 7-Eleven is doing is an example of a community-minded business trying to help solve a very difficult problem," says Sharon, a 7-Eleven customer and a teacher in Tracy, California.

Community engagement is a cornerstone of the 7-Eleven RENEW program, which supports projects in collaboration with local and national nonprofit organizations. The Plant it Forward promotion, available at 658 locations, is an example of 7-Eleven's partnership with the Arbor Day Foundation. Through Plant it Forward, 7-Eleven supports tree planting and invites customers and community members to dedicate a tree to friends or family members.

"We expect to see RENEW grow significantly this year. We want to ensure customers know that when they pull into a 7-Eleven RENEW location to pump their fuel, they are doing more than just pumping fuel. They are making a difference," Murray says. "We are proud of the RENEW program and the customers who participate because we are working together to save our environment locally and globally."

For more information and to find 7-Eleven RENEW locations, visit 7-ElevenRenew.com.

(NewsUSA) - A non-surgical technique for lifting double chins, reducing puffiness around the eyes, and improving the appearance of wrinkles is now available in the form of an easy-to-use home kit called The Face Wrap. (www.facewrap.com).

Previously available as a salon-only treatment, The Face Wrap lifts and tightens drooping areas on the forehead, face, and under the chin by firmly wrapping them up in a mineral-soaked, non-allergenic "face wrap" constructed of non-latex elasticized cotton fabric.

"The liquid minerals are the secret to the Face Wrap," says Sarah Bolger, The Face Wrap's spokesperson. "The minerals, which are all-natural, draw out impurities from the complexion while giving the skin a firmed and tighter look on the outside and a rejuvenated feel to the underlying tissues."

Bolger says the all-natural, one-hour facial beautification procedure is safe and painless.

"Our Face Wrap kits have wrapped many thousands of faces, and we've learned how to produce wonderful changes," says Bolger. "For those looking for an alternative to cosmetic surgery, wrapping your face is an easier way to reduce double chins and puffiness, lift and tighten the skin and enhance your own natural beauty."

Bolger also recommends exfoliating before using to allow the minerals to absorb better, and exercising the face daily with a few simple exercises.

Working women want to look their best - especially after 50. But let's face it, most working women find it difficult to carve out an hour or two a week for visits to the day spa. That's the appeal of the home kit. The one-hour treatment can be done at home while reading or on the computer or while resting.

Women generally look five- to ten years younger after a series of three to six treatments. Most people are surprised to see their cheekbones and jaw bones again!

Visit www.facewrap.com for more information. The kit costs $139 and contains enough minerals for at least 20 treatments, or about $7 per treatment. A lot less than $80-plus for various salon treatments.

However, only certain products are truly effective at promoting the deepest, most restful sleep needed for no morning drowsiness. The deeper the sleep, the better for the restoration of your mind and body.

During sleep, your brain goes through five stages that repeat in approximately 90-minute cycles. These stages are divided into non-REM and REM sleep.

Non-REM: The first stage of non-REM (non-Rapid Eye Movement) sleep starts when you first fall asleep (stage 1) and progresses through stage 2 of light sleep.

Stages 3 and 4 are the deepest and most restorative times of sleep, when your heart rate slows, your muscles and skin heal and grow, and your immune system recharges.

REM: REM, or Rapid Eye Movement, is the shallow sleep that occurs as the fifth and last stage of a sleep cycle. REM sleep is associated with dreams, learning, and memory.

Some sleep aid products, such as melatonin, focus on sleep quantity. While these types of products can make you sleepy, many people who have trouble sleeping can't relax their brains into deep sleep. Certain amino acids, however, such as glycine, can help.

Glysom is a unique dietary supplement that contains glycine. Unlike some other glycine supplements on the market, Glysom has been well studied as a sleep supplement to show that it is effective, helping the brain to relax into the deep sleep cycle.

Data on Glysom have shown that the product can help promote deeper and more restful non-REM sleep without such side effects as daytime sleepiness.

Glysom is not an injection or pill; it is available in small packets as a lemon-flavored powder to help make it easy to take.

For more than a decade, Glysom was only available from health care professionals, but it is now available directly to consumers.

Glysom is produced by Ajinomoto, a global leader in the manufacture and distribution of amino acid products.

For more information about Glysom and how to improve sleep quality, visit glysom.com.

The relocation shuffle 

Although Amy was perfectly happy with her first little house and made lots of friends in Grand Rapids, a job opportunity popped up that was too good to turn down. She recently relocated to Pittsburgh, where she serves as a regional sales manager for a major food distribution company.

Before her move, she experienced the ups and downs of both buying and selling houses in two different states. 

Selling a first home in Michigan 

"Lucky for me, Grand Rapids has a shortage of homes for sale and a lot of buyers. I didn't have a chance to make any improvements on my house, a farmhouse built in 1904, but I did add a simple deck and lots of flowers and new bushes. It has more curb appeal than when I bought it," Amy says. She says that the hardest part about selling a house was making sure it was clean all the time and ready for prospective buyers to tour.

Amy ultimately sold her house for $161,000, $21,000 more than what she paid in 2017. Even in that time, she accumulated some equity and walked away with a total of $28,000 when the sale closed. 

Buying a new house in Pennsylvania 

The next step was to find a house in Pittsburgh. Home prices are higher there, compared to Grand Rapids, Amy notes. She wanted to buy a nicer, more expensive home this time around.

"I found one that was a little bit above my price range at $200,000. But it's in perfect condition. I don't have to worry about repairs or anything," Amy says. Plus, coffee shops and restaurants are within walking distance.

She explains, "I could have used all of the proceeds from the sale of my house as my down payment. But I didn't want to drain my savings account. I used private mortgage insurance (PMI) again, so I could put less money down. I could have put 10 percent or $20,000 down, but I opted for a 5-percent down payment of $10,000 instead. My monthly payment is a little bit higher, but still affordable. Thanks to PMI, I could buy a bigger, better house and still have money in the bank."

Are you ready to buy a house right now? Or should you wait to save more for a down payment? Check out this calculator to find out: mgic.com/buynow. And for more information on how mortgage insurance can help you put less money down, go to readynest.com.