Payday Loans Blog

Are there walls throughout your house that are bare?  Big white walls, or really walls of any color, can be quite boring and you may be surprised at how much a simple wall hanging or decoration could brighten your day.  Try out a few of these ideas to see if your home feels anymore alive and colorful. There are ideas for everyone from someone on a budget, to one who has the money to spend a little more on their wall hangings.  These ideas are a great way to spruce up a room without going all out and you may be surprised at how much you will love the little added color and life they bring to your home.

A Giant Map: Are you a world traveler or do you someday aspire to visit the world? Here is a great way to incorporate your love of geography and world travel into your home.  By a large world map. You can get one that looks more antique or one that is a little newer. Its up to your preference as to what would better match your home and style.  Make sure not to spend too much on an elegant map because you are going to cut it into 8.5 by 11 inch pieces which you will then frame in whatever color frames you prefer (try to keep the frames the same color) and then you can mount them on your wall in the original order of the map.  It will add a little bit of dimension to a flat map on a flat wall while still giving you the same effect of having a map on your wall.  You could also use a specific city if you love New York, etc.

Fabric Art: Is there an old blanket from your grandmother that means a lot to you but is just falling apart and you arent sure what to do with it? How about that bow tie that your dad gave you or the dress your mom passed down that you are too afraid to get rid of because it might hurt their feelings or fade their memories.  Turn these little memories into art. If your family members are still living, get permission from them to make those little gifts into pieces of art that you can see everyday to remember them by.  Put the bow tie next to a cutout part of your mom's dress. Be creative.  Frame them and put them in a special place.  

Frame Art: Go to your local hand me down store such as DI or Goodwill and find some frames that fit your personality and style.  Pick out as many as you want, they will probably only be a few bucks at the most, and bring them home. If you are going for a funky look, pick frames with odd shapes, and different colors. If you would prefer something a little more elegant on the other hand, try to find frames with more traditional shapes and colors.  Bring them home and put them on that boring wall just as they are, just the frame. You may want to remove the glass or plastic as well and store them in a safe place. 

Check City adds color and life to the communities in which we live and work through our community outreach program.  We support a number of causes each year and are continually adding projects and causes.  If you want to be a part of the Check City community outreach see how you can help by visiting our Community Outreach page, one of our Check City Locations, or visit our Questions page.

Staying in touch with friends and family is important. Sometimes it is hard, especially when they live far away. This is where a phone card comes in handy. Listed below are some of the benefits of having a phone card.

1- Low Rates- Phone cards offer lower rates on long distance calls than traditional dialing. 

2- Use with Virtually any Phone- You can use phone cards with your home phone, cell phone, office phone, and more. Generally a phone card will offer you lower rates.

3- Ideal for Travel and Vacation- You can easily take a phone card with you and get lower rates on calls from the airport, in the hotel, or to friends and family.

4- Accurately Budget Phone Costs- You can get prepaid phone cards that will help you budget your phone expenses for the month.

Check City offers a variety of phone cards, come into any location and find the right one for you.

This year you may have a goal to get rid of your debt and/or save more money this year. For the year 2010, here are ten ways to help you achieve this goal:

1-      Eliminate Impulse buying

2-      Limit expensive cars and use public transport or walking

3-      Use coupons and buy in bulk at the grocery store

4-      Get the generic brand

5-      Eat at home instead of dining out

6-      Find cheap but good forms of entertainment (red box, dollar theatre, school plays, etc.)

7-      Cut out expensive habits (smoking, drinking, gambling, lattes)

8-      Check bills for errors

9-      Make your lunch to take to work or school

10-   Pay your bills on time to avoid late fees

When you want a card that will help you to learn how to budget your money better, take a look at Check City’s prepaid debit card. It will allow you to decide how much you need and then only make that amount available until you load more on the card. Loading money is easy- so go to any Check City location today to learn more about the Netspend Prepaid Debit Card.

Money orders can help you to get those bills paid on time- especially if you don’t have a checking account. You can receive free money orders at any Check City location.

Food and groceries often are a substantial monthly bill for all Americans. Here are some tips that will help you decrease your monthly expenses when it comes to groceries:

1. Use your freezer. Do this by purchasing staples such as ground beef, chicken breast or cheese in bulk and freeze what you can’t use immediately. This will allow you to take advantage of a price break on family-sized portions. You will also benefit from this by always having these items on hand when you need them.

2. Make more food when you cook. Stews, soups, and casseroles all make great leftovers. Store the remainder away for another meal or to send to work or school for a delicious and healthy lunch. Not only will this save you money- it will save you time!

3. Plan ahead and buy groceries on sale. Groceries get expensive when you run to the store everyday to buy what you need for that evening. Instead, plan out the meals for the week and do all your shopping at once. This will not only save you money on your grocery bill, but also on your gas bill.

4. Look for deals. At the grocery store, it’s no coincidence that the foods with the highest markups are located on the shelves at eye level. Look higher up, farther down, or on end-caps to find generic brands or better deals.

When you need a little extra cash to help you make it through the month you should come to Check City to get a cash advance. Getting a cash advance is easy and the process takes just a few minutes. 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 just bring these things into a Check City location near you and you can walk out with cash in hand.

You can also get money orders to use to pay your bills. At Check City you can receive a money order completely free. 

Recently, banks have been a little bit more hesitant to loan money to people. Just a few years ago you would have been able to easily get a mortgage for more than you owe.

Banks now focus more on credit scores and assets- because of this you need to be able to prove your ability to make on-time full monthly payments. There are some things that you can do to help you stay on track financially so that when it comes time to buy a home you have financial history to make it happen.

First, take some time out of your busy schedule to set up a budget. A budget will help you keep track of your funds. Be disciplined to stick to it.

Second, set up an automatic savings program. This will ensure that you are saving every month. In the book, the Automatic Millionaire we learn that one key to successful saving is paying ourselves first every month. 

Third, pay your bills on-time every month. This part is likely to be easy if you are being responsible with your finances. It is important because it can greatly affect your credit score both positively and negatively.

As you continually work to improve your financial standing you will see the benefits when you start looking to buy a home. Don’t procrastinate today what will benefit you greatly tomorrow. 

When it comes time to buy, build or refinance come to Check City. 

They specialize in:

• Residential and construction loans
• Traditional 15-, 20-, 30-, and 40-year fixed-interest loans
• Adjustable-rate mortgages, including Pay Option ARMS
• Debt consolidation loans
• Equity lines of credit

Money transfers are a great way to send money across the planet.  The world is about 25,000 miles in circumference, so isn't it great that Check City has the ability to instantly send money to nearly anywhere on Earth?

When it comes to finances, sometimes we just come up short.  Some of life's expenses can get really expensive, really fast.  But often times, there is a family member or friend who is willing to help out for a little bit.  Or maybe you are that family member who needs to get some money to your loved one fast.  If they are far away from you, you should use a money transfer.

Because they are so fast, easy, and convenient, money transfers are one of the most popular ways to send and receive money.  Check City works with Western Union, one of the biggest money transfer providers in the world, to help customers provide or receive financial aid from their loved ones.

After using Check City to send money with a money transfer, the recipient can go pick up their money.  If there are no Check City locations in the area, they need to go to one of Western Union's agents in order to pick up their money.

The fastest, simplest, safest, and most convenient way to send money anywhere in the world is through a money transfer.