Payday Loans Blog

The West is the second most expensive region to do business with according to an article published Tuesday by the Salt Lake Tribune.  According to the article,  employers in the West (including 13 states) paid their employees an average of $29.41 in an hour in wages and benefits. The Northeast is the only region that tops the West, making on average over $31 an hour.  The national average is $27.42 per hour. Benefits can be the largest cost for employers because they sometimes have to pay up to 29% of the benefits that their employees receive. In this article I will discuss a little further how this is affecting the economy and you as an employee or employer whatever the case may be.

How do High Labor Costs Affect the Economy?

In truth there has not been a lot of research on how getting paid more and higher labor costs hurts or helps the economy, but there is evidence that low labor costs, and therefore low employee pay causes employees to become more lax in their work, and therefore problems arise with quality control, which may then lead to other problems.  Workers who receive a higher compensation have been found to enjoy their work more and are usually more willing to do the work they were hired to do, because they are getting a generous paycheck each month.  

How does the Economy Affect you as an Employee/Employer in the Labor Force?

Employees: Employees can be hit hard by the economy if they are either over or underqualified.  If you are over qualified, or in essence, too good for your job, you may be let go because they can't afford to pay someone with your skills what you are worth. If you are underqualified, it may be just as hard or harder for you. You will get lower paygrade offers, if you get any offers at all.  As the world moves to a high-tech world, where will you be in the labor market? It is hard to tell, but chances are you will end up somewhere that you weren't planning on being, and if you are lucky enough to get paid what you need and want, it may not be at the job you were expecting. 

Employers: Employers are a little more lucky because at most times they have the option of choosing who they want to hire. When the economy is on an upturn is when employers start to struggle a little bit to find someone who can fill the spot.  This is because as the economy rises, these employees are being employed by the competition and employers must try harder to win over the employee that best fits their company and company structure. 

So even though the labor may be expensive, when companies take the time to hire the right person, and give them the incentive to work and be productive by offering a slightly higher paycheck, they may be weilding a very powerful sword.  This bold move, may in fact enable the company to return higher profits because happy employees work harder and better.  

Are you having trouble making that little extra bit of money you so desparately need right now? Bring your gold, silver and platinum items into one of our many Check City Locations or send it to our mailing center through our Online Gold Pack.  Remember, Check City pays 3-5 times as much as other gold buying companies and we can do so because we deal locally to save you money. Visit us today to learn all about our Gold Buying Program.

If you are looking for a cultural outing to welcome spring you should look into participating in the Holi Festival in Utah County.

The tradition of this festival comes from India.  In India the Holi Festival celebrates spring and recognizes the passing of winter.  Everyone that attends the festival is able to purchase colored chalk.

This colored chalk represents everyone's worries.  Everyone socializes and joins together to get rid themselves of all bad things. 

The music begins and everyone dances and while everyone dances the colored chalk is thrown into the air, symbolizing the letting go of the worries.  There are red, green, yellow, blue, black and silver chalks all for sale.

There will also be mantra rock bands present and a large bonfire will be lit. 

Friends and foe alike will gather to celebrate with one another, burying old hatchets.  Mantras will be chanted to address the Lord.  People of all faiths are invited to celebrate.

There is no cost for admission to the temple outside which the event will be held.  You can come for the 12pm celebration or the 4pm celebration which will both be held on March 27th.  You should arrive early to avoid traffic.  To learn more visit the Krsna Temple's website here.

If you want some extra cash to buy more bags of color but your paycheck will not come in time, stop by any Check City location today and get a cash advance.  The process is easy and quick and will enable you to fully experience this Festival of Colors.

Knowing how and when to start a garden isn't easy, especially if you've never done it before. With the recent movements towards things green, and the economy is at a stressfully low level, gardening can not only be a healthy habit to start, but one that can save you money. So, how do you know exactly where and when to start a garden? Maybe you even want to know what you should put in the garden, or how those plants will grow in your area? It is more simple than it seems and can save you lots of money when you do it over a period of time.  Here are just a few tips and tricks on starting a garden, and making sure it grows.

Where can I put my Garden?

Maybe the most important part of gardening is deciding on a place to start your garden.  The spot you choose must be:

• Accessible- You must be able to easily get in to weed, water and fertilize your chosen crops and to do so, you must have a place that can be easily accessed.  You may also want to consider how easily accessible it is to pests, dogs, and neighbors so that problems cannot arise over whose dog did what, and who stole whose pumpkins.
• Sunlight- Your garden should also be in a place that gets plenty of sunlight. It doesn't have to be intense sunlight, just enough throughout the day to nourish your plants and keep them growing. (This is 5-6 hours a day for most plants) If there is shade nearby the garden consider using it as a work or compost area.
• Soil- Soil is the easiest to improve out of all of the things that your garden needs to survive. If the soil is not very fertile, you can add compost, sawdust or manure to it (the cheap options), or you can purchase fertilizers at your local lawn and garden stores.  If you can dig 12 inches into the soil on your property without hitting rocks, water or other matter, your soil is prime for planting. If not, you may want to consider a raised garden patch, in which you must purchase other soils and place them in a garden bed above the ground.
• Water- Even though you don't want your soil to become saturated, water is non-negotiable when it comes to your garden. Is there a water hose near where you are planting, if your area doesn't get a lot of rain? Is it going to be a hassle to carry water buckets or watering cans to your garden if there isn't a hose or spigot near by?

When Should I Plant my Garden?

The prime time for gardening depends on what crop you are planting, and where you live. The prime time for most planting is in the early spring, when the soil is soft from rain, but not dripping wet and muddy.  If your soil is always wet and marshy, you may want to consider digging out some drainage, or building a raised planter. Soil that is too dense with either clay or sand wll probably not be ideal for a garden, but adding organic material may help to improve it. Some crops must be started in very early spring, such as in March, as soon as the soil is de-thawed and ready for planting, and some plants should wait until May or even later, depending on ripening time and harvest season. Consult with a more detailed guide to find out more specifics.

What to Plant?

This is highly specific to where you live. Certain things will never grow well in the Northwest because of the temperatures and climate and other crops do better there.  Research is really the best way to find which crops will succeed in your garden and your specific area.  You can ask neighbors with gardens, or research it yourself at your local library or by asking around. Also you must be aware of how long the plants you choose take to sprout and grow and how often they flower and bloom. Some plants can take up to a year to appear in your garden, when planted as a seed, and other will only produce crops every other year or even less frequently.

Planting a garden can save you precious money that you need for other things such as insurance and your monthly mortgage payments. Check City can help you out with these as well. We offer great rates on Insurance and Mortgage Plans.  Check City is here to help and with our great rates and even better service you will notice the Check City Difference. Visit one of our Convenient Stores or Check City Online to learn about our various services along with our great Rates and Fees.

The megastore, Target, released a whole new way of coupon cutting using new technology found on cell phones on Wednesday, March 10, 2010.   This new technology will allow customers to save money while they are standing in line, using coupons found on their phones. Coupons are redeemed when the barcode is scanned from the phone during check out. These coupons are only useable once, and have expiration dates. Target believes using this new technology will not only help consumers save, but give them an important competitive advantage as well, that other companies will want to tap into and use for themselves.

Target is not the only one playing with this technology. JC Penny has also recently been experimenting with similar technologies in order to increase their profits and convenience to customers. Estimates put target growth in mobile coupons at over $6 billion by 2014, but redemption rates will be higher because the ease of use which could decrease profits.  Some analysts believe that with the new mobile technology, redemption could be anywhere from 5-15% higher than previously.

In order to receive these coupons however, customers must "opt-in" to the program through the company's online or mobile website.  You can also text the word "COUPONS" to the number 827438 and you will receive a single barcode, useable once, for the item at discount.  Any phone with a data and internet plan should be able to access this program. According to Target, new coupons will be released every month as old coupons expire and are for in store use only.

Target may have plans to make the coupons more personalized, but are still working out any privacy issues this may cause or bring into play. 

Right now, Check City has a great coupon for our Tax Preparation Services. By going online and visiting our Check City Tax Preparation Website you can save 50% off all of our tax services.  We have professionals that have been working in the financial and tax industry for over 20 years and have all the experience necessary to help you when you need it most.  Stop by any of our Check City Locations or visit us on our website at CheckCity.com to learn all that our tax experts can do for you.

Whether or not you are a betting man or woman and whether or not you watched the season, many people get into March Madness. It's something that many people can relate to. Everyone knows someone that went to college even if you didn't go yourself.  You may have loyalties to your hometown area or even relatives that attend a school somewhere. Almost everyone can connect themselves in someway to a college or university sports team.  If you are one of the select few that can't, March Madness can still be fun to watch and when you pick a team to cheer for it can become personal.

Don't worry though if you can't put together a perfect bracket. According to Sportsuntapped.com the odds of picking a perfect bracket are literally 9,223,372,036,854,775,808 to 1. That is nine quintillion to one, so chances are, you won't pick that perfect bracket, and neither will anyone else.  Here are some tips though of how you can get as close as possible and pick a great bracket. 

It really comes down to picking smart.   According to history here are some of the smarter picks for the first round.

1. A number 16 seed has never, and I repeat NEVER upset a number 1 seed. Sad for the 16 seed, good for you if you are picking brackets.
   
2. Number 2 and 3 seeds have records of 88-4 and 81-15 respectively in their March Madness history.
3. 4 seeds also have a strong winning record but after that is where it gets hard.
4. In the middle is where the upsets begin. Seeds 5-12 often yeild quite a few upsets in the matchups and you should look more specifically at the teams for the first round picks.
   

Subsequent round choices become a little harder because all of the teams moving on have proven themselves to be a good team. One analyst recommends picking your final four and working backwards.

1. Don't put all four 1st seeds into the final four. According to stats this has only happened once since 1985.  But at the same time, don't leave out all of the 1st seeds, this has also only happened once since 1985. 
2. Lower seeds, according to history, don't very often make it to the final four. Most often the final four is made up of seeds 1-4. Only 10 teams have ever made it through as a 5th or lower seed and only 2 below an 8 seed. 
3. Championship teams have almost always had final 4 experience. The last time a team made it to the championship without ever being in the final four was in 1945. 
4. Even though Cinderella stories are nice, a 1 or 2 seed almost always wins the whole thing. 
5. This may be the best tip of all.  Make sure the team you choose to win the whole thing, has won 6 straight season games, because in order to win the championship the winning team has to waltz through 6 games, not all of them easy. 

These are just a few tips for picking your bracket. There are analysts who speak more in depth about each team and the chances they have for winning.  The best idea is to make your decisions wisely and to not get too upset, have fun with it.  Are you feeling a little upset yourself by the high interest rates on credit cards? Come into one of Check City's many Convenient Locations to find out how you can wipe out your credit card fees and interest rates by getting a netspend Prepaid Debit Card. With a netspend Prepaid Debit Card you can have all of the benefits of a credit card without all the hassle and fees. Bring in cash or a check to any of our Check City Locations and we can deposit that money for you onto a Prepaid Debit Card which you can then use just like a credit card anywhere Visa and Mastercard are accepted, all over the world. When your money runs out on the card, you will have to deposit more, helping you avoid overdraft and late payment fees.  Having a card is simple and affordable with Check City.

Thousands of students are missing school to save their town of Fargo, North Dakota from the rising Red River. In many other places throughout the nation filling and placing sandbags to protect homes would be done by emergency volunteers or parents.

However, in Fargo the students can get the day off of school to help with the sandbags with their parents permission. The students view the task of filling one million sandbags as a race against the river and a fun opportunity to be with their friends and help others.

One of the 62-year-old volunteers, David Stark, expressed appreciation for the young who had volunteered. He said, "They pretty much have saved our community."

Michael Russell, who is 14 years old, said he knew he was helping his friends and neighbors save their homes. He thought the sandbags would probably even save his own home.

The operation of filling these sandbags is taking place in a utility building that normally shelters 25 garbage trucks.  Under the new operation and with the new man-power of the students the building can produce 100,000 sandbags per 12 hours.

This is equivalent to 1,000 sandbags per fifty volunteers per hour. The students have been signing up for three or four hour shifts for twelve hours every day.

The younger students who are helping to save the town are only in elementary school. Some children are smaller than the sandbags they are filling. The support from the students has continued into their spring break.

Governor John Hoeven said the sandbagging depended on the student volunteers. He said, "They're moving those bags like crazy…They are taking pride in helping their community and we are grateful."

The impact that these students have had on their community is incredible. This is an experience that they students will remember the rest of their lives.

You can make a difference in the life of a friend or a loved one as well. There are many who have faced economic struggles and setbacks.

You can send support and love to them no matter where they are located in the world through a Western Union money transfer. Check City makes the process easy and convenient for your loved ones to receive your help. All you need is a photo ID and the money you would like to send them. Visit Check City’s website to find out more about our quick and easy Western Union money transfers.

To read more about these amazing students visit:
http://www.wpri.com/dpps/news/us_news/midwest/students-pitch-in-to-help-save-town-from-flood-jgr_3278364

The IRS Website has a whole entire page full of last minute tax tips to help you out when preparing and filing your taxes. They have tips and helps for everything from Tax Credits to Tax Forms and Volunteer Assistance.  They offer advice on which forms to file and where to file them to.  Check City also wants to help you out with your taxes. Right now we have discounts of up to 50% off of our Tax Services. Our experienced tax preparers are ready to help you with all of your tax filing needs.  With only about a month left to file your return, before it is considered late, it is a good time to get started, especially if you plan on itemizing deductions.

Check City can take the stress and uncertainty out of paying your taxes by making sure you get the largest refund you're entitled to-and by helping you get that money in as little as one day.

At Check City, you'll work directly with a friendly, experienced tax professional who will guide you through the entire tax preparation process. We'll save you money by helping you take full advantage of the deductions you are entitled to and by charging you less than other tax preparation providers. And of course, we can eliminate the tax refund waiting game with a fast, convenient refund anticipation loan.*

Check City has great Tax Services run by professionals who have been in the financial industry for over 20 years.  You can bring your taxes into one of our many Check City Locations or find help on Check City Online.  It is easy to file your taxes with Check City professionals and with our great prices and wide range of options you may find yourself coming back for one of our other many great services offered. Visit us today!

1. *A Tax Refund Anticipation Loan can be an expensive form of credit. One should consider the costs and benefits of this and any other short-term credit options you may have.