February 2025 - Newsletter
- Stacy Fernandez
- Feb 18
- 11 min read
Hello friends,
This month we are going to be covering the following:
📸 Lincoln NE Area Market Snapshot
👫 Realtor Matchmaking Update
📝 Personal Note from your Favorite Realtors - Learn about my coupon list!
👶🏼 Ezrael Exclusive - Free Books!
🍪 Recipe
💰 Money Tip
🏡 Home Tip
💸 Free Resources
🎯 Goal Tracking
📸 Lincoln NE Area Market Snapshot
👫 Realtor Matchmaking
All jokes aside deciding on a Realtor to represent you is a BIG deal that most people don't take much time to consider. In most cases a home sale or purchase is one of the largest financial decisions someone will make, yet they don't do a lot of research on who to help them when making these decisions.
We all live busy lives so it is understandable that you might not have the time to make an educated choice. Or worse you think just because someone has a license they are uniquely qualified to help you in your specific situation.
Sadly I hate to be the barer of bad news but not all Realtors are created equal! This really shouldn't be a big surprise since there are so many facets of real estate. However you want to make sure you have the right Realtor on your team! That is where we come in.
We offer Realtor Matchmaking to help solve this problem for you!
Here is the typical Match Making process:
You decide you want to buy or sell.
We get on a call to talk about your goals.
You sit back and relax and start dreaming of achieving your goals (while we get to work).
You get matched with Your FAVE agent.
You achieve your goal!
We all celebrate together
What you don't have to worry about:
Paying to get matched with an agent!
We are compensated by the Realtor you are matched with in the form of a referral. Our service to you costs NOTHING!
Ready to be Match Made? Know someone else who needs a Realtor?
📝 A Note from Your Favorite Realtor
Welcome back for Round 2! So glad you are here!
February is a month all about Love! This month we as a family have spent quality time together huddled up inside, visiting the library and cooking as if we were 5 star chefs, (we wish - bingeing too many cooking shows), celebrating 2024, and learning more in 2025! This month I want to update you on a few specific parts of our lives: Frugal February, Postcard Coupons, Sock Drive and Turner Syndrome Awareness Month.
Frugal February
Per an idea one of Eliezer's coworkers does that we are trying to implement is Frugal February. Essentially you just try not to spend much money in February. I would say we have done decently well. I'll admit this last weekend was an exception because we celebrated Eliezer and my mom's birthday and I lost card roulette at lunch.
For Frugal February our rules are:
No more than $25 per day (on discretionary spending - we will still be paying our mortage as normal).
If you don't spend the $25 it doesn't accrue for the next days.
Try to eat everything in our pantry (exception for fruit that is part of the $25 per day spending)
It really hasn't changed our lives much and we haven't been tracking our spending so we won't really have a basis to compare to. I do think it has made me be more conscious of random purchases I would make historically. I've definitely put off buying something because it would exceed our daily budget. I can't tell you how impressed I am that I have walked out of Costco at least 3 times not spending over $25, I didn't think that was possible...
Anyway looking for a fun challenge try doing a Money March. Either don't spend or even better try to find new ways to make a buck!
Postcard Coupons
We recently heard a story where some family friends of ours had been receiving our coupon post cards (if you are not on the list reach out, they are great coupons). Their son had seen the coupon on the fridge and decided to redeem it. It is my favorite coupon of all time so I can't blame him!
He told me this story so I had to act! I reached out to him the next day and made sure to get him on my list so they could get a coupon exclusive for them delivered right to their door. No more having to go to Mom's house to get the coupons!
If you don't know what i'm talking about you obviously aren't receiving them but should be. Each month myself and Ron Svoboda with Charter West Bank send coupons with pretty stellar deals to our clients, friends, family, heck even strangers if they want on the list. The point is to keep us top of mind for our clients but we are also suckers for a good deal! If you decide to use us as your Realtor and Lender, fantastic, if not you get some free coupons, though we would love if you refer us to your friends and family.
Want FREE coupons? Reach out i'll add you to the list!
Okay done with my sales pitch for free coupons!
Sock Drive
Friendly reminder February is Sock Drive month!
We will take you new, used or holey socks - or if you are so inclined your money (so we can buy new socks)!
Turner Syndrome Awareness Month
February is Turner Syndrome Awareness Month. In April of 2022 we had no idea what Turner Syndrome was or that it would forever change our lives. If you don't know the story I'll keep it brief.
April 1st, 2022 Eliezer and I found out we were pregnant (Worst April Fools joke ever). We did the NIPT test (a blood test to check for genetic risks). About a week after we found out we were high risk for Turner Syndrome. A few weeks later we confirmed that she did in fact have Turners with an amniocentesis. We were cautiously optimistic our daughter, Evelia Jean Fernandez would make it (only about 1-2% do). Sadly at 22 weeks she no longer had a heartbeat and we were induced on August 4th, 2022.
We learned so much about Turner Syndrome, ourselves and grew our connection with God during the hardest times we have ever experienced. We think of our daughter every single day and still pray for her, patiently looking forward to the day we are reunited.
We celebrate her life and think of all of the families that are affected by Turner Syndrome and hold them near and dear to our hearts. We learned so much and prepared ourselves for raising a strong and resilient daughter. Though we never got the chance we were as prepared as possible thanks to the Turner Syndrome of the United States (TSSUS).
If you want to learn more please visit their website. If you are inclined to donate we would be honored. https://www.turnersyndrome.org/
It was mentioned in the last newsletter but I'll put it here again. We are selling an acreage between Lincoln and Crete in the beautiful Butterfly Acres subdivision. Butterflies are representative of Turner's Syndrome. As a way to give back to an organization that gave us so much we will be donating a portion of our commission to TSSUS.
If you want to help please share the property (or buy it) so we can get it sold and make a donation in memory of Evelia Jean Fernandez
Thank you so much for tuning in again! I hope you find these updates informative. It is nice to be able to connect online and dole out information on life, real estate, and anything else that crosses our minds.
👶🏼 Ezrael Exclusive
This month Ezrael wanted to share with you about Dolly Parton's Imagination Library!
Do you have:
kids, grandkids, nieces, nephews or friends between the ages of 0-5 years old?
If you answered yes, you should sign them up with Dolly Parton's Imagination Library.
Every month they send a new book to read with these youngsters. Ezrael is a huge fan!
These come at no cost and are used to encourage young children to grow up to be avid readers. We have enjoyed the books and even used some of the free online resources associated with different books (coloring pages, songs, etc.).
To learn more or check if it is available in your area check out their website:
🍪 Recipe
This month we have whipped up these cookies on more than one occasion... So I think it is definitely worth sharing! They are yummy sourdough (sort of healthy) chocolate chip cookies.
When we made them we used real eggs, maple syrup and substituted Almond Extract instead of Vanilla Extract.
They are so soft and yummy, we loved them! We did try to make some heart shaped ones for Valentine's day but they did not work out as the cookies spread a lot as they bake. If you wanted to do shapes you could always cookie cut them after (we just don't have a heart cookie cutter).
💰 Money Saving Tip
If you keep money in the bank in any sort of savings account you need to know about these!
High Yield Savings Accounts (HYSA)
A high yield savings account (or HYSA for short) is a bank account that earns extra interest. It is not an investment account, so it cannot lose value because the stock market drops. It functions like a traditional savings account, but they’re typically online only and (most importantly) they pay YOU the extra interest. Each account varies, but they’re typically free, allow around 6 withdrawals a month, and are FDIC insured (up to the eligible limits normally $250k).
We personally use Ally Bank for our joint savings account. We have been very happy with it as we can create different buckets for savings goals. You can decide which bucket collects the interest earned. Plus compared to our old savings accounts there are essentially no fees.
Here are some Popular HYSA Accounts to consider and their current rates (as of writing this):
Ally Bank (3.70%)
Discover (3.75%)
CIT (4.30%)
Marcus (3.90%)
SoFi (3.80%)
Capital One (3.70%)
Please do your research on the best options for you. Some have certain minimums that need to be invested to hit those interest rates. However I think you will be pleasantly surprised by the difference in your traditional savings account vs a HYSA.
Kasasa Checking Account
Another thing that I have been told about but have not taken action but is worth looking into is Liberty First Credit Union Kasasa Checking accounts. Supposedly they have Checking accounts that have high interest rate returns like 2.75% or 5% which is completely unheard of for Checking accounts. My quick reading online is that they expect you to use the account for daily purchases and what not. Which at face value seems very doable. However I need to look into it more because we do a lot of credit card hacking (aka using credit cards to earn points, rewards and cash back), so not sure if paying a credit card through that account would qualify.
If you or anyone you know is using this Kasasa Checking account type please let me know, i'd love to hear about your experience.
If you want to look into it more check it out on their website:
🏡 Home Tip
2025 Refrigerant Law Changes and what that means for your AC System
January 1st, 2025 the EPA (Environmental Protection Agency) changed the regulations and no longer allow AC systems to use Refrigerant R-410A because of the high GWP (Global Warming Potential). This is to reduce the environmental impact of these refrigerants that contribute to climate change.
I know you are probably thinking okay, cool, how does that affect me?
Great Question!
If you have an older system that uses R-410A refrigerant it will be more expensive to repair.
With costs going higher an no more production of equipment using R-410A it might be more cost effective to just completely replace your system with the newer equipment and refrigerants.
If you are planning on selling it is very likely this could come up on an inspection so be prepared to eat the cost of a new system.
If you are buying take into consideration the additional costs, ensure you have enough of an emergency fund to cover a new system replacement or negotiate it in the purchase.
Things to Consider:
If your system is 2010 or newer you likely have a newer refrigerant so this shouldn't affect you, as that is when they started using a newer refrigerant (R-32 or R-454B). However confirm that with your AC manual or the company that installed the unit.
If you have a newer system they do tend to be more efficient meaning less in utility bills, and bonus, they are better for the environment.
It may be time to consider getting a home warranty to help cover in the event of a breakdown.
Why a Home Warranty?
The average AC replacement costs about $6,000 an annual Home Warranty plan costs anywhere from $500 - $1200 with a small deductible ($75 - $125).
The Home Warranty covers more than just the AC unit. Depending on which warranty and level you choose you could have all of your appliances covered.
Even if the warranty didn't completely cover replacement it could help seriously reduce the final bill.
You can often pay home warranty's on a monthly basis, much like a streaming subscription.
If you do not have a lot of reserves I recommend a warranty anyway, big system failures cost a lot of money!
Another option to consider is adding breakdown coverage to your insurance plan. Consult with your insurance provider what that cost would be. I tend to lean towards the home warranty option over the insurance option because I do not like the idea of having to make a claim. Anytime you make an insurance claim it negatively affects your future insurance rates because you are considered more risky. Thus I prefer to keep them separate. Also the Home Warranty we most commonly use sends their own contractors so I do not have to worry about vetting anyone, being ghosted on calls, sending in receipts to insurance, etc. It just makes my life easier which I am all for!
This is the Home Warranty we use on our personal and rental properties. We have had Water Heaters, Furnaces and AC units replaced without any issues. Feel free to read reviews online on any warranty company - you will likely find completely love it and completely hate it. We have had great success and have continued to use them. I can't say i've had the same experience with other companies i've dealt with for clients.
*Please note we are affiliated with the company I am recommending. Unless you signed up for a warranty through me I do not get compensated. We do personally use this company currently and have had a great experience.*
💸 Free Resources
All of these Free Resources can also be found on our Realtor Matchmaking Site:
You can also find Lincoln Nebraska Local Resources here:
Wanting something else specific? Let me know, i'd love to offer more value!
🎯 Goal Tracking
Accountability 101 - Goal tracking update.
As you can see my goal tracker is still completely empty, meaning I'm not achieving my goals... yet... That is pretty common in real estate, it's not like other sales jobs. Never have I showed a house on one day and closed the same day. It normally takes a few months.
I am actively working with a few clients so would like to see at least 4 houses change to yellow in the next coming months. That will not be enough to hit my 30 goal though, so I would love for your referrals!
Still need help deciding how to celebrate if we hit our goal of helping 30 people! Shoot us your ideas and your referrals so you can get an exclusive invite!
🥂 Cheers
Thank you for reading and wishing you all the best!
-The Fernandez Family (Stacy, Eliezer, Ezrael & Gizmo)
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