Payday Loans Blog

With only a few days left to purchase the items left on your list you may be wandering if there are any last ways to save a few dollars so that you don't get yourself into a hole this Holiday season.  Here is a quick course on Christmas finances, and how to save yourself a few more bucks before the big day arrives.

1. Buy In Bulk: This is especially good for big families, or anyone who wants to save money in general. When you buy in bulk, you pay less and get more.  There are many bulk buying stores around the country including Costco and Sam's Club.  If you do not have a membership and are not a business customer, you may have to make a purchase of over $100.  If you do not know of any such stores in your area, try talking to your local grocery store to see if they can refer you to someone.

2. Have your Gifts Wrapped for Free: Many stores will gift wrap any gifts that you purchase from them for free, saving you money and time.

3. Make a List and Stick to it!: Make a list of everything you need to buy when you go to the store, and buy ONLY what is on the list. 

4. Buy During After Christmas Sales:  If there are family members or friends that you won't see until after Christmas, wait until after the holiday to buy their gifts. You can save money buy buying into the after Christmas sales.

5. Recycle Gifts: If you have a gift that you appreciate, but may not use, already have, or simply just do not want, you may want to considera gift recycling website. You can list your unwanted gifts on the site and people who would appreciate them more may purchase them from you.

If you want an even easier way to save yourself some money this Holiday season visit Check City online, or at your nearest location to learn about our FREE money orders! Money orders offer you a way to make purchases and pay bills without having a checking account. They are accepted by most financial institutions, government agencies and businesses.  Treat yourself this Christmas with a Western Union FREE money order from Check City.

Here are a few tips that make saving money seem fun! You can use these for pretty much any meal, but with another big one coming up, Christmas dinner, there was never a better time to save some money.

1. Buy Loss Leaders-  Many grocery stores offer products at deep discounts that they are losing money on. Check frequently as items may be discounted as much as 50% or more!

2. Make instead of Buy (if it is cheaper) - Some things are cheaper to make, and some are cheaper to buy, be conscious of what those are, and save yourself some extra money.

3. Make your own gravy - It is easy to make your own gravy from the meat drippings, flour, spices and broth. It tastes better homemade and costs a lot less as well.

4. Decorate the table with items you already have - Natural items make great table decorations, such as holly, and pinecones. Also don't spend extra money buying new decorations, use things you have laying around to decorate your table.

5. Buy canned or frozen fruit and veggies - Fruit is hard to come by at this time of the year, so buying frozen fruit is always a cheaper option, and as for vegetables, frozen ones are more healthy. 

6. Make new dishes with the leftovers- If you are one of those people who hate eating leftovers for days, make a new dish with the leftovers from the Christmas dinner. It will stretch your dollar and help you avoid having the same meal for a week. 

To learn about other great ways to save money check out check city online or visit one of our locations near you. We have great deals on insurance, tax services and mortgages* to help you save some extra money this year. Stop by, check us out online, or give us a call today to learn how we can help save you the most money possible.

*Mortgage services only offered in Utah.

Whether you are just looking to save a few bucks, or give something from the heart here are some Homemade Christmas tips from Family Fun to get your Christmas going. 

Decorations: Twinkling Holiday Lights

What you need:  Strand of White Christmas Lights, Scissors, Laminated foil cupcake liners

Instructions: For each light, fold a cupcake liner into eights by folding it in half three times. Snip two corners at an angle and cup off the tip to create a center hole. Unfold the liner and flip it inside-out so that the shiny part is showing and slide the liner over the light.

Cards: Christmas Tree Cards

What you need: Wavy-edge craft scissors and regular scissors, Paper in multiple shades of green and brown, glue, plain notecards or card stock, star stickers

Instructions: Use the craft scissors to cut a number of 1/2-inch-wide strips from the various pieces of green paper. Then use the regular scissors to cut a small tree trunk. To assemble the tree, first glue the trunk to the card. Working from the bottom up, trim and glue on the green strips, cutting each, as you go, shorter than the previous strip. Trim the last strip to form a triangular tip and top the tree with the star sticker.

Edible Craft:  Chewy and Lewie

What you need: Toothpicks, 2 small white gumdrops, 2 large white gumdrops, 2 orange jellybeans- halved, Icing, 2 purple wafers- halved, 2 orange M&M's - halve, scissors, black licorice (shoestring)

Instructions:  To make each penguin, use a toothpick to attach a small gumdrop to the large one. Snap a toothpick in half and used the same technique to attach the jelly bean halves to the penguin's body as feet. Using small dabs of icing, glue the wafers on as wings and the M&M halves as beaks. Snip off  two tiny dots of licorice and use the icing to glue them on as eyes.

If your savings account is still looking a little slim, even after all of these great savings, check out Check City's prepaid phones and phone cards available now!  We can customize the phone cards to fit your specific calling needs, and we now offer pre-paid Cricket phones as well. It is a great opportunity to save a little extra money on your phone bill this month, while still talking to and sharing time with the your loved ones! Also, don't forget about our payday loans, which come in extra handy during the Holiday season!

Maybe money isn't a problem for your family, but you know of people in your community, and even family members, as we all do, who are struggling during the Holidays this year. Check City reminds you that sending money is one of Check City's many financial solutions.  Check City has partnered with Western Union to provide an easy way to help someone out, even if you can't be there with them this Christmas season. 

Don't forget that serving those around you, may be another way to get involved with your community during the Holiday season, make some memories that will last a lifetime, and change someone's life for the better.

Here are a few ideas for how you can help out no matter where in the United States you call home:

1. Toys for Tots : Toys for Tots hosts gift drives in every state in the country, so that no matter where you live, you can help a child in need.
2. Make-a-Wish Foundation: As always the Make-A-Wish Foundation provides hope to children in various different circumstances and walks of life.
3. Angel Tree: This is a group dedicated to providing gifts and hope to children with parents in prison with the hope of making a difference in the lives of not only those children but maybe one day their parents as well.
4. Many towns offer local opportunities to provide service to those in need as well through local soup kitchens, homeless shelters or similar endeavors. Check with your city for more information on local upcoming events to help provide a better Holiday to those in need.
   

Santa Claus is making his list and checking it twice, soon he will be coming with gifts for all the good little boys and girls! Come join the Hoogle Zoo and Santa in the auditorium for our annual "Breakfast with Santa," and have the opportunity to tell Santa your Christmas wish list- in person!  

The tickets for this event include a hot buffet breakfast, a fun holiday craft for the kids, and a photo opportunity of your family with Santa! Children in attendance will have the opportunity to chat with Santa to discuss their Christmas wishes. Every good girl and boy will also receive a Christmas treat. 

Afterward, take a walk around the Zoo's winter wonderland to see many of our winter-friendly animals!  

What: Breakfast with Santa  

Where: Hoogle Zoo 

When: Saturday, December 12 @ 12:30am 

Admission: Adults: $18; Child: $16; Toddler: $8 

As you start thinking about your wish list you may desire Check City’s prepaid phone card to keep up with friends and family in the upcoming year or even during the holidays. You can find a card that will fit your personal situation perfectly. 

Check City also offers money orders. Most businesses, government agencies, and banks accept money orders as a form of payment. To top it all, money orders are completely free at Check City.

What better way to spend time with your friends, family, and significant others than to bake together. You can bake anything from pies to cakes to cookies.  Sharing time together is what makes the holidays great. Here is a great recipe from Cooks.com for sugar cookies and icing to go on top of them.  You can even use cookie cutters to make Christmas shaped cookies and decorate them accordingly afterwards.

Sugar Cookies

1 c. butter, softened
1 c. sugar
1 egg
1 tsp. vanilla
2 tsp. baking powder
3 c. all-purpose flour
Cookie cutters

Icing 

1 lb. confectioners' sugar
3 oz. cream cheese, softened
5 tsp. milk 

Don’t miss out this Christmas season to see Mountain West Ballet present The Nutcracker Ballet.

This beloved Christmas story begins with the Stahlbaum family annual Christmas Party. Young Clara is in attendance and her Godfather, Drosselmeyer, the Toy maker, arrives bringing gifts for all the children.

Drosselmeyer gives Clara the best Christmas gift she has yet received- a beautiful Nutcracker doll. Her brother Fritz grows jealous and breaks the doll causing a big scene. Drosselmeyer gives aid to the heartbroken Clara as he bandages up her doll with his handkerchief. The rest of the evening she tenderly protects her wounded Nutcracker. As the dance goes on, you travel to a magical world with Clara and her Nutcracker.

What: Mountain West Ballet presents The Nutcracker Ballet

Where: Mount Jordan Middle School

              9360 South 300 East Sandy, UT 84070

When: December 11-December 21, 2009

Admission: $12/Adults, $10/Students and Seniors, $8/Children

You will feel like dancing after seeing the show and hearing about Check City's mortgages. Buying, building, or refinancing a home is an exciting time. At Check City, they make the process simple and offer you payments and terms that match your financial situation.

Also, don’t miss out on Check City’s title loans. Title loans offer you a fast, easy way to borrow against the value of your car while still getting to drive it. There are generally no credit checks and you can choose from a variety of payment options to fit your needs. 

Red Butte Gardens has its own Christmas tradition. Every year in December they offer free admission to the public and host a holiday art show.

The art show features a host of local artists. Everyone can find Christmas joy at the Art Marketplace with a variety of handcrafted block-print ornaments, felted gifts, knit caps, glass objects d'art, jewelry and more to choose from.

During this time, you can also join in on one of Red Butte Gardens popular Wreath-Making workshops.

What: Red Butte Gardens Holiday Art Show

Where: Red Butte Garden and Arboretum

               300 Wakara Way Salt Lake City, UT 84108

When: December 5-6, 2009

Admission: Free

This month is the season of red, green, silver, and gold. At Check City, they are willing to accept any of your scrap gold or silver in exchange for some green. The process of bringing in scrap gold or silver is simple. Simply bring your gold, silver, or platinum in to any Check City store. Your material will be weighed on a jeweler's scale and tested for precious metal content so that we can determine its cash value.

At this festive time of giving and receiving gifts and money keep Check City’s money transfers in mind. Check City in partnership with Western Union makes sending money anywhere in the world fast and easy.

Whether you are stuffing stockings of children or adults, there are always bargains to be found and I have them for you so you don't have to search anymore.

Stocking Stuffers for Children:

• Playing cards
• Bubbles and a bubble wand
• Homemade soap in animal shapes
• Coloring crayons
  
• Doll clothes
• Matchbox Cars
• Gum (Depending on Child's Age)

Stocking Stuffers for Adults:

• Cup Coasters
  
• Return Address Labels
  
• Coupons
• Truffles
• Candles
• Chocolate Covered Pretzels or Peanuts
• Christmas Tree Ornament
• Sudoku or Crossword book

If you are still looking for other ways to save money. Try out our netspend Prepaid Debit Card. It is easy to get, and easy to use. No credit check is necessary and it comes with all the conveniences and flexibility offered by Visa and Mastercard.  It is also accepted anywhere Visa and Mastercard are accepted worldwide. We also offer money transfers so that you can send money to your loved ones no matter where they are, or you can receive money from them.

1.  Buy Online:  Many stores have sales and discounts available online that are not available in store. These savings must be grabbed early though, to avoid rush shipping fees and to get the best deals possible. 

2.  Shop Throughout the Year: This is obviously not the best advice for this year, but maybe next year, you can save some extra money by buying things throughout the year as you see good sales and deals.

3. Have a Gift Swap After Christmas:  If your relatives or friends, have a get together after Christmas, you may find that everyone has some item or even items that they don't need or want, and I'm sure you do as well. Wrap them back up, have a gift swap. Keep swapping until everyone finds something that works for them.  It saves money and you still get something from it. 

4. Homemade Gifts: Some may consider homemade gifts as cheap and cheesy, most people however, consider them thoughtful, from the heart and a treasured memory.

5. Christmas Cards: You don't have to spend a ton of money going out and buying Christmas cards to send to your friends and family. Instead try sending postcards, letters, or just sending cards to the people that mean the most to you. People will understand in this tough economy.

6. Wrapping Paper:  It may seem cheesy, but use pretty holiday magazine pages, or comics from the newspaper, it provides an interesting twist to your holiday wrapping. Also, save the old, big pieces of wrapping paper that you use throughout the year, it can be reused, and no one will even know.

If you want to save even more money this Christmas season, come into Check City and ask about our insurance options. We offer great savings for you and your family on all kinds of insurance plans from automobile to life insurance including homeowners and commercial insurance. Visit us today to start saving money this Holiday season!