There are numerous reasons why someone might want to send money to someone in the world. If you need a money transfer, you need a company that you can trust.

Here are some great sources to help answer all of your questions about money transfers:

Use Money Transfers to Send Money

Share Wealth With a Western Union Money Order

Money Orders Take Away Stress

Feel Confident with you Money Transfer

Send you Money Anywhere

Free Money Orders with Check City

Get a Quick and Easy Money Order 

payday loan

Hosting a spring dinner party may be easier than you think.  There are many simple recipes that you can make and put in the oven to cook, and they are sure to impress whatever guests you have to your home. Be sure to watch the amoung of servings and alter the recipe to how many people you will be serving, or you may end up with a week's worth of leftovers. In this post there is a recipe for a main dish, a side and a dessert.  Be sure to watch for sale items at your local grocery store so you can not only make a great meal, but save money at the same time. 

Main Dish: Mustard-Tarragon-Crusted Ham

Ingredients:

  • 1/3 cup(s)  loosely packed fresh tarragon leaves, chopped
  • 1/4 cup(s) Dijon mustard with seeds
  • 1/4 cup(s) loosely packed fresh parsley leaves, chopped
  • 2 clove(s) garlic, crushed with press
  • Pepper
  • 1 (8-pound) fully cooked, spiral-sliced, smoked bone-in half ham
     

Instructions:

  • Preheat oven to 325 degrees F. In small bowl, combine tarragon, Dijon, parsley, garlic, and 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper.
  • Place ham on rack in large roasting pan (17" by 11 1/2"). Pat ham dry with paper towels. Rub Dijon mixture on skin sides of ham, pressing to adhere. Cover pan tightly with foil. Bake 2 hours or until meat thermometer inserted in thickest part of ham (not touching bone) reaches 140 degrees F.

Side Dish: Scalloped Potatoes
Ingredients:

  • 3 tablespoons  margarine or butter
  • 1 bunch green onions
  • 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
  • 2 3/4 cups milk
  • 4 pounds all-purpose potatoes, peeled and thinly sliced
  • Salt and pepper to taste
  • 1/2 cups freshly grated Parmesan cheese

Instructions:

  • Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Lightly grease 13" by 9" glass or ceramic baking dish, or 2 1/2-quart gratin dish. In 5- to 6-quart saucepot, melt margarine on medium. Meanwhile, thinly slice green onions, reserving 2 tablespoons green tops.
  • To margarine in saucepot, add sliced green onions and cook 5 minutes or until tender, stirring occasionally. Add flour and cook 1 minute, stirring constantly. With wire whisk, gradually whisk in milk. Cook on medium 6 to 7 minutes or until mixture boils and thickens, stirring constantly. Stir in potatoes, 1 teaspoon salt, and 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper. Cook 5 minutes, stirring gently; remove from heat.
  • Transfer potato mixture to prepared baking dish, spreading evenly; sprinkle with Parmesan. Cover with foil sprayed with nonstick cooking spray, and bake 1 hour. Uncover dish; reset oven control to broil. Broil, 6 inches from heat source, 5 minutes or until Parmesan is golden. Sprinkle with reserved green onions.

 

Dessert: Strawberry- Rhubarb Trifle with Amaretto Custard

Ingredients:

  •  3 cup(s)  whole milk
  • 1 1/4 cup(s) sugar
  • 1/3 cup(s) cornstarch
  • Salt
  • 2 large egg yolks
  • 1/4 cup(s) Amaretto or other almond-flavored liqueur
  • 1 1/4 pound(s) rhubarb, trimmed and cut into 1/2-inch chunks
  • 2 pound(s) strawberries, hulled and each cut into quarters
  • 1/2 cup(s) heavy or whipping cream
  • 2  (10 3/4-ounce) frozen ready-to-serve pound cakes, thawed and cut into 3/4-inch cubes

Instructions:

  • Prepare custard: In 4-quart saucepan, heat 2 1/2 cups milk and 3/4 cup sugar on medium just to boiling. Remove saucepan from heat. In medium bowl, with wire whisk, mix remaining 1/2 cup milk with cornstarch and 1/8 teaspoon salt until smooth; beat in egg yolks. Into yolk mixture, stir small amount of hot milk mixture; gradually stir yolk mixture back into milk mixture in saucepan. Cook on medium until mixture thickens and boils, stirring constantly. Remove from heat; stir in liqueur. Pour custard into clean bowl. To keep skin from forming as custard cools, press plastic wrap onto surface of hot custard. Refrigerate until cold, at least 3 hours.
  • While custard cools, in 12-inch nonstick skillet, cook rhubarb, one-fourth strawberries (1 1/4 cups), and remaining 1/2 cup sugar on medium 18 to 20 minutes or until mixture boils and thickens, stirring occasionally. Transfer to bowl. Let cool to room temperature, or cover and refrigerate until ready to use.
  • When ready to assemble: In bowl, with electric mixer on medium speed, beat heavy cream until soft peaks form. Gently fold whipped cream into chilled custard. In 3 1/2-quart glass trifle dish or serving bowl, place half of pound cake cubes; spoon half of custard over pound cake. Spread half of strawberry-rhubarb mixture over custard, then half of remaining uncooked strawberries. Repeat with remaining pound cake, custard, strawberry-rhubarb mixture, and strawberries. Cover and refrigerate at least 4 or up to 24 hours to blend flavors. To serve, spoon into individual dessert bowls.

With Check City you can save even more money and have more fun with our Free Money Orders! Check City, working with Western Union, offers Free Money Orders to all of our Check City customers. To obtain a Western Union money order, just stop by one of our comfortable, conveniently-located stores. Money orders are accepted by almost any business, government agency, or bank.

 


Pay Your Bills

March 5, 2010 by Heidi R

Check City along with 97.1 ZHT presents the "Pay Your Bills" contest. Check City, partnering with 97.1 ZHT radio station has a special offer that runs daily with 5 chances to get your bills paid.  It is easy to do and free to enter. You can start by sending the radio station a COPY ONLY of your bill that you want paid, (the radio station is not accepting actual bills and as such, they will not be liable for unpaid bills that you send in). When they receive your bill, you will automatically be entered in the drawing to have your bill paid for you.

How do you win?

Listen every day at 7:10a, 9:10a, 1:10p, 4:10p & 6:10p   and if you hear your name called you have 30 minutes to call in and redeem your free bill pay. (801)470-1971, (801)570-1971 or (801)670-1971. You must also be a VIP Member of the ZHT radio station.  You can Register Online and you will not only be eligible for free bill pay, but you will have the chance at other cash and prizes as a VIP courtesy of ZHT.

For more detailed information on the contest, visit my blog entry from February 24 entitled Check City Wants to Pay Your Bills. Check City will also be posting information about the contest including names that are called on Facebook ( www.facebook.com/CheckCity) and Twitter ( www.twitter.com/checkcity ). So friend or follow Check City for more infomation on getting your bills paid.

Check City has other great money savers to help your family make it through these tough financial times. With low rates on our Tax Preparation Services and Free Money Orders we can give you the savings you need at the prices you deserve. Visit a Check City location or CheckCity.com to learn about all of our great financial services and promotions going on right now.  We are currently offering 50% off of our Tax Preparation Services, come visit us today to get started saving. <


CARD Act Reform: Fees

February 25, 2010 by Walter D

This is part two of what will be a multi-part coverage of what exactly the effects of Credit Card Act of 2009 will be and exactly how they will affect you and your family. Today I want to briefly touch on fees and what the act has done to the fee section of many credit card agreements. Most of the changes being made are good, however there are less changes than people think.  A lot of the agreements will be the same. Only very specific rules are changing, so you should check back with us every day to see what small or large changes are being made and to keep yourself on top of the changes.

Changes Made:

Fees for overdraft or over the credit limit charges cannot be made unless you are specifically signed up for this service.

Credit card companies are now also prohibited from charging extra based on bill pay.  They can no longer discriminate against you because you choose to pay your bill on the phone or over the internet and can no longer tack on extra fees when you pay that way.  They can however tack on fees if you ask to speed up your payment, so it won't be late, or if you ask for customer service help when paying.

No Change:

Credit card companies will still be able to charge annual fees, inactivity fees, and other fees. And because they have been cutting out other fees, an increase in the fees they are allowed to continue to charge is an almost certainty. There may be other fees that vary by company and it may be beneficial to check on the fees charged by your card company.  Fees, where they are allowed, will increase because these companies are losing billions by not being able to charge over-the-limit fees so they must make that money up by raising other fees, and adding fees not even invented yet.

Doesn't the thought of all of those fees just want to make you curse the Credit Card companies? Don't worry Check City has FREE Money Orders.  That's right, no fees involved.  You can bring in your check or cash to the nearest Check City location and we can put it right on a Money Order in your name or someone else's name. Its easy, and without the usual attached fees you are sure to be satisfied.

Free Money Orders

Services You Can Trust

January 21, 2010 by Heidi R
With so many services I bet you weren’t aware of all of the services Check City can offer you and your family. Here is a small list with concise descriptions of all of the services we offer. We can give you, payday loans, check cashing, title loans, free money orders, money transfer, gold buying services, prepaid debit and phone cards, insurance, mortgages and of course our latest and most talked about service tax services. Not only do we offer a great number of services, but we do so at affordable price! These are prices and services your whole family can count on.  It’s easy and anyone can do it.  Just read about a few of our following services.                             

Cash Advances:


Just visit a Check City Store near you--or apply for a cash advance online. Either way, the process only takes a few minutes. Here's how it works:

You write a personal check for the amount you need (plus our standard fee) and walk away with cash
Check City holds the check until your next payday or some other date you specify
To qualify for a cash advance, you must have a steady source of income, a checking account in your name, and a state or federal ID
*Cash advance loans should be used for short-term financial needs only, not as a long-term financial solution. If you are experiencing credit difficulties, we encourage you to seek credit counseling. Although we strive to assist every applicant, not all loan applications will be approved.
 

Check Cashing:


First, Check City will cash checks many traditional financial institutions won't. Our stores are open much later than any bank-with most locations open until midnight and some stores open 24/7. Finally, we value your check cashing business and we're willing to earn it. That's why we've made it surprisingly easy and convenient to cash almost any type of check.

This includes:

Payroll checks
Cashier checks
Government checks
Insurance drafts or checks
Money orders
Tax refund checks
Personal checks
Out of state checks
To cash a check, just bring your check and a picture ID into one of our comfortable stores, fill out a quick customer information form, and walk out with your cash.

Fees apply for check cashing services. Please contact a Check City location in your area for additional details.

Title Loans:


With a title loan, there are usually no credit checks. You can choose from a variety of payment options. And best of all, you get to keep driving your car. Obtaining a Check City title loan is easy:

Bring your car and title, a picture ID, and proof of residence to a Check City store near you
Complete a simple application form
Wait a few minutes while we perform a quick inspection, process your application, and offer you a loan amount based on a percentage of the value of your car
Drive away with the cash you need
By accepting our offer, consumers who receive a title loan will be granting us a lien on their vehicle. Please contact a Check City location in your area for additional information.


The earthquake in Haiti not only shook the country, but it shook America as well. Many generous people are seeking ways to be able to help the Haitian people receive the items that they need. There are many secure ways to do this, but the U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation is warning people to watch out for scams.

 

They are suggesting that if you would like to donate to Haiti to seek out a secure, reliable organization’s site that you already know about. Be careful what sites you give your information to, because there are already e-mails being circulated that will try take your money and not give it to the people in Haiti.

 

There is one email in particular that Symantec is trying to warn people about. This email looks like it comes from the British Red Cross and follows a 419-style scam. A 419 style scam is one in which there is a often heart wrenching letter begging for help or donations. They usually ask for a legitimate reason, and then they will not deliver the money.

 

Just like the cheesy advertisements on TV that exhibit the newest contraption that will help you lift boxes, or something similar, most people do not fall for them. However, there are a few who will. With a natural disaster backing up the claim it is especially more likely for people to be deceived.

 

In this case, the email uses the real London address of the British Red Cross so it can seem legitimate. However, the email connects to the scam artist instead. Another indication that this email is a fraud is that the money sent to this contact, does not go through the Western Union.

 

In addition to emails, there are potentially harmful websites that can trick people into visiting them by using a Haiti related headline. Once people click on their link, their website will begin trying to lead the visitor to linked antivirus program websites, which a few people will download, and the people will be asked to pay for those programs. These programs are deceptive at best and criminal at worst.

 

This kind of website headline trick has been growing throughout the past few years and it has resulted in millions of computers becoming infected with viruses. These websites have been able to make their way onto the front page of search engines, so people need to beware of these scams.

 

The purpose of this information is not to discourage people from donating, but to make them aware that they need to do it safely. The best way to donate is through a reliable, well-known site that you are already familiar with.

 

Check City offers reliable money transfer services by working through the Western Union. It is easy, convenient, and trustworthy. Check City also offers Western Union money orders. Money orders are also a safe, reliable, and free way to pay bills that are accepted by almost any organization. 


Return your Gifts

January 11, 2010 by Heidi R

It is approaching a month since Christmas, and if you haven't returned some of your gifts, I would recommended returning them while stores are still accepting things without a receipt.  Some stores stop accepting gifts about a month after Christmas. We haven't quite gotten there yet, but it is fast approaching when it may be quite a bit harder to return some of the items you know you will never use, or at least not enough to get your money's worth from them. 

As you do return gifts however, I would be cautious and use gift returning etiquette. If there is a gift tag on the item, chances are the person who purchased it for you, wasn't sure if it was something that you would like or who knew the styles were rapidly changing.  If this is the case, I wouldn't worry too much about offending the person who bought it for you.  They may have been expecting you to return it to the store.

If there is no gift receipt or gift tag, but you just really don't like the item, or the style of the item, but you know that your friend or family member spent a lot of time picking something out for you, you should let them know before you return the item.  They may want to go with you so that they feel a part of the process of choosing something new.  They may just want to know that it wasn't quite your style of the item but that you are going to try to find something similar to exchange for the item that may fit your style a little better.  This will help to keep you from hurting their feelings while at the same time getting something that may fit your personality and style better so that you can use the gift item instead of letting it sit on a shelf for days or even years. 

If for some reason, some of the gifts you received were for a wedding or even a baby shower that you never ended up having, no matter how hard it is, you should return the gifts to the person who gave them to you with a small thank you note for thinking of you and buying you a gift. You may also have duplicate gifts at events such as this. It is ok to return the duplicate item.  No one expects you to keep two red blenders because they were both gifts.  Extra money during a wedding or new baby is always a help and people are likely to not get offended.  If you do have a particular friend that you know will get offended if you return his or her gift, maybe you could return the "other" duplicate of the item, so that you can honestly tell the person that you did not return his/her gift.

Remember as well that other people may have received gifts that they don't particularly love.  A lot of times you can read this expression on their face, but sometimes it is a little harder.  If you know for sure someone may not love a gift you got them, you could see if they would like to trade gifts with you or with someone else in the room who seems to have a gift that they don't particularly love either.  Most people will not get offended.  They would rather you have a gift that you can appreciate than to spend money to have a gift sit on the shelf or in a dusty corner of your home.  

Like I said above however, if you do have gifts that you just need to return to the store, make sure to do it soon. Christmas is getting farther and farther away everyday, so the sooner you return Christmas gifts, the more that stores will be willing to work with you on them, especially if you have no receipts.

Check City has some gifts that may help you as well.  We can get you cash when you need it without busting the bank. We have services such as our new gold buying program, title loans, insurance plans, money orders and money transfers to help you get money when you need it, and save money when you need to save it. It is a great opportunity to help you out.  


Celebrate the New Year at The Living Planet Aquarium! Shawn Stevens from B98.7 will be there for fun games, crafts, activities and prizes to kick off the New Year! B98.7 will be giving away 98 passes to The Living Planet Aquarium that can be used in 2010.

The Living Planet Aquarium is a non-profit organization. The aquarium is dedicated to enhancing public interest in the environment, conservation, and the enhancement of our planet and its creatures through adoption, education, research and recreation. 

There are various exhibits to see with new ones being shown all the time. Coming soon will be an exhibit called the South American penguin encounter.

What: Noon Year’s Eve at the Living Planet Aquarium 

Where: 725 E. 10600 S.
             Sandy, UT 84094

When: December 31, 2009

             12:00-3:00 pm 

 

When you need some extra cash Check City can help you out! They offer services that range from cash advances to scrap gold. The friendly staff can even provide you with money orders and money transfers. With so many options, when you need financial services, think of Check City.


Inexpensive Gifts

December 3, 2009 by Heidi R

Are you dreading buying gifts for 30 people at that big family Christmas party you are having? Or how about just buying a few gifts for someone that means a lot to you? Here are some inexpensive gift ideas that can save you money and still let the receiver of the gift know that you care.

  • Gourmet Coffee in a Coffee Cup
  • Framed Artwork of a Child
  • Homemade Hot Cocoa Mix in a Decorated Jar
  • Photo Collage
  • Homemade Bread with the Recipe
  • Basket with Homemade Jams and Jellies
  • Hand made scrapbook
  • Gardening gloves with a plant or seeds
  • Coffee Cup filled with candies, and Christmas Socks (Customizeable)
  • An Invitation to Dinner at Your Home
  • Home Baked Cookies!

 

If you want to ensure that your friends and relatives absolutely love your gifts, visit check city to get the cash you need now. Check City offers easy payday loans and money orders so that you can show the people you care about most just how much they mean to you. 


Winter Fun (Part 1)

November 12, 2009 by Heidi R

Over the next three days (Thursday, Friday and Saturday) I will be posting tips for Winter activities. This first installment is 18 things you can do with your children (or any children) during the holiday and cold weather season.

1. Make Hot Chocolate! To make it a little more fun and interesting, you can spruce it up with  the following items. (A candy cane (for stiring and taste), whipped cream with sprinkles, add caramel, make s'mores in a cup (marshmallow and chocolate in cup, and graham crackers on the side).  2. Go sledding.  3. Make paper snowflakes.  4. Go bowling   5. Make sun catchers  6. Make ice cream using snow!  7. Go roller or ice skating   8. Have a snowball fight   9. Play board games  10. Make snow angels  11. Buy a child-sized shovel and shovel the snow together  12.  Get books from the library  13.  Draw and color a mural depicting a winter scene  14. Build a snow fort  15. Fill an old spray bottle with colored water using food coloring and "paint" a snowman or write in the snow  16.  Make a fort in the living room or their bedroom using old sheets, and other items from your home  17.  Teach them about caring for others by collecting old toys, and/or coats, and donating them to a local shelter (make sure to wash them first) 18. Decorate your home for Thanksgiving/ Christmas (Deorate the Tree together)

In "order" to make sure your family is set for the Holidays make sure you visit the Check City location nearest you to obtain a Western Union money order free of charge!

Check back tomorrow for things to do on a date!