Problem: Article: Place your bowl and whisk in the freezer for 15 to 30 minutes. If you are using a stand mixer or a food processor, see if you can detach the bowl, and put it into the freezer. If you can't, then don't worry about it. Working with cold equipment prevents the whipped cream from getting too soft. Place everything, except for the strawberry puree/jam into the bowl of your mixer. Beat the ingredients together until they get soft peaks. You can use something that you bought from the store, or you can make your own. You want the color and texture to be even and consistent. If you are using a handheld mixer, be sure to scrape the bottom and sides of the bowl. At this point, your whipped cream is ready to use. It may not be perfect to your liking, however, so give it a taste, and add more sugar, cream, or puree/jam. Be sure to beat the frosting well after each addition. If it is too thin or not sweet enough, add more sugar. If you want more of a strawberry flavor, add more strawberry puree or strawberry jam. If it is too thick, add more heavy whipping cream. Use the frosting within 3 days.
Summary: Start with cold mixing equipment. Beat the cold, heavy whipping cream, vanilla extract, and granulated white sugar until soft peaks form. Add cup (80 milliliters) of chilled strawberry puree or strawberry jam. Beat everything together until stiff peaks form. Taste your whipped cream and make any necessary adjustments. Use the frosting immediately, or cover it and store it in the fridge. Finished.

Problem: Article: When you're contacted by a homeowner who matches your criteria, follow up with a friendly email or phone call to find out more about what they're looking for. It's usually a good idea to start with a short conversation and schedule a longer interview for later on so both parties will have a chance to prepare any questions they may have. You don't want any surprises when you show up for the first day of your house sitting job. Write down your list of questions beforehand so you can be sure you are on the same page as the homeowners. Some questions you might ask would include: "Do your pets require any special care?", "Is there anything I should know about your home's security system?", "What chores will I need to perform?", "Will I be expected to pay for utilities?", and "How far away are the nearest grocery store, pharmacy, etc?" This will help you know exactly what you're in for. You don't want to find out at the last minute that the ceiling is caving in or that bathroom sink doesn't have faucets. Check to see if the pictures look current, as older pictures might not reflect the current state of the home. Search online or reach out to people who live in the area to find out what you can about the neighborhood. Avoid house sitting in areas with high crime or which are known for drug activity. Use Google Earth to search for the address of the home where you'll be staying, then click around the neighborhood to see what it looks like. This can give you valuable information the homeowner doesn't mention, such as whether or not there might be noisy construction going on across the street.
Summary: Follow up with any potential matches. Ask plenty of questions when being interviewed by the homeowner. Ask for pictures of the home. Research the neighborhood.

Problem: Article: Your real estate investment can be active or passive. Active investment, such as trading properties or flipping houses, is more risky because property isn't particularly liquid. If you need to get rid of it, you may not be able to find a buyer. Passive investment is less risky, and may be a good place to start real estate investment. A popular option is to buy shares in a real estate investment trust (REIT). Each share represents a diverse bundle of properties, kind of like a mutual fund for real property. You can purchase shares through a broker. Forex, the international currency exchange market, is the largest financial market in the world. Currencies rise and fall in relation to each other, primarily based on the strength of each country's economy. To successfully trade currency, you need a strong understanding of geopolitical trends and events. Be prepared to read a lot of international news every day so you can spot opportunities. It's usually smart to focus on one or two currencies so you can thoroughly research those countries' economies and keep up with the latest news. An option is a contract that gives you the right to buy or sell an asset at a certain price at a set point in the future. Since you don't have the obligation to buy or sell at that point, your potential losses are limited to the price you paid for the contract. To trade options, open a brokerage account, either online or with a traditional broker. The brokerage firm will set limits on your trading ability, based on your experience investing and the amount of money you have in your account. If you get into riskier investments, a solid hedging strategy will help protect your portfolio. The basic concept of hedging is to offset a possible loss in one security by simultaneously investing in another security that is likely to move in the opposite direction. Most passive investors, who are simply investing for retirement or a long-term goal (such as money for their kids' college), have no use for hedging. However, if you're making aggressive or risky investment choices, hedging can provide a sort of insurance that lessens the impact of losses, particularly from short-term market fluctuations. A financial planner or advisor is essential if you start to move into more aggressive, shorter-term investment strategies. They will help design your hedging strategy and make sure the bulk of your portfolio is protected. Commodities can be used to hedge against risk, because they tend to behave differently than stock markets and currencies. However, they are risky because they respond to a variety of different factors, many of which are completely outside of human control. There are hard commodities, including precious metals, and soft commodities, such as wheat, sugar, or coffee. You can invest in commodities in 3 different ways: physically buying the commodity itself, buying shares in a commodity company, or buying futures contracts. You can also invest in commodities more passively through investment funds. Exchange-traded funds (ETFs) may have shares in commodity companies, or may track a commodity index.
Summary:
Dive into real estate for longer-term investing. Move into the currency market if you like a challenge. Trade options to limit your exposure. Practice hedging to lower your risk. Diversify your portfolio with commodities.