A Tampa man was jailed after Polk County deputies accused him of stealing diesel fuel using fraudulent credit cards.Noel Perez-Partagas, 20, of 6403 N. Armenia Ave., was arrested Wednesday and taken to the Polk County Jail on charges of trafficking in stolen credit cards, fraudulent use of credit cards, obtaining fuel fraudulently, unlawful conveyance of fuel and petit theft.
The investigation began Monday after fuel thefts were reported the previous week at Murphy's USA stations in the county. Detectives focused on two stations, one in Mulberry and one in Winter Haven.Detectives learned that on July 3 and Monday, a suspect in a white 2000 Ford pickup bought approximately 99 gallons of diesel fuel with stolen or altered credit cards, the Polk sheriff's office said.
About 7:30 p.m. Wednesday, a man was seen pumping fuel into the bed of a pickup matching that description at the Murphy station at 2118 U.S. 92 W., Auburndale. The truck left the area at a high rate of speed, and deputies conducted a traffic stop, the sheriff's office said.Detectives said they interviewed the driver and searched the truck, where they found 89 plastic cards with magnetic stripes - 20 of them on the driver. They also saw that the cards were an assortment of Walmart gift cards, hotel door keys and credit cards, and the cards had re-encoded credit information, meaning there were victims whose personal information has been stolen and coded onto the smart card.
Detectives said the card used to purchase the fuel Monday was a Walmart gift card that had used someone's stolen credit information.A search also revealed that the metal toolbox area in the bed of the truck was fitted with a compartment that led to a large metal tank in the bed, used to store the diesel that Perez-Partagas "purchased" at the pumps.Britons are regularly using credit and debit cards to pay for items which were once purchased with a fiver or less, new research for Debenhams Personal Finance has revealed.
Cards rather than cash are often handed over for coffees and snacks in local cafes, sandwich bars and pubs.The study found a similar picture in newsagents and sweet shops with the purchase of magazines and confectionary now frequently made with plastic.Debenhams looked at latest industry figures for spending by card in high street outlets where previously the bill would be settled with a handful of small change.
The number of transactions using credit and debit cards has risen by almost 40% from 7.4 billion in 2008 to 10.2 billion this year, but the value of the average transaction by credit and debit card has dropped.A Debenhams survey found the trend is being led by younger adults who enjoy the convenience of plastic in their everyday spending for everything from a skinny latte to a glossy magazine.Almost one in three (31%) 18-35 year olds said they used a credit or debit card for purchases under ￡10 at least once a week and 19% said they used plastic for purchases of ￡5 or under.
The study revealed that the top ten items purchased by card which cost ￡5 or under included a coffee in the number one slot, chocolate, sweets and crisps, second and soft drinks third. Newspapers, magazines and a pint of milk and a loaf of bread also made the list.Those under 35 told researchers the main reasons for using a card was “convenience” and “not having to carry cash”. The savvy ones among them say they are also channelling their use of cards to certain providers who offer cash-back and loyalty schemes.
However, not all take card convenience for granted, with 7% of those that regularly use a card for purchases under a fiver admitting they frequently check with the cashier in a shop if it is OK to do so, or apologise for the transaction being so small.Older people still prefer cash as a way of keeping a check on their finances, especially in the current difficult economic times and use cards for larger less frequent purchases. Only 5% of over 55 year olds said they prefer plastic to cash for small value treats.
Debenhams Head of Personal Finance Mike Hazell says: “Cash is still a big part of our lives, but for an increasing number of people, in particular the younger generation who have grown up with cards, plastic is the payment method of choice, even for relatively small, everyday purchases.“They like the convenience and the benefit that some cards have of reward schemes. Others just don’t like carrying cash. It’s all down to personal choice.”
Our changing attitude to cards has been reflected in statistics showing frequent transactions for smaller amounts now are often put on our plastic. In coffee shops, the total spend on plastic is up 9%, but the average payment made by debit card has dropped to ￡8.48, compared to ￡11.20 a year ago.The pub is another place where cards are increasingly being flashed to pay for a round of drinks. The debit card comes out when the bill comes to just over ￡20 with the average debit card payment being ￡22.78. A year ago a typical debit card transaction was ￡24.58.
Ever wonder who had the bright idea to put that small magnetic strip on the back of your credit card? The one that tells a machine what card you have, which ultimately lets you pay for your transaction without any cash.That man was Ron Klein. He is now a 77-year-old Korean War veteran who had no idea his invention was going to take off the way it did.
Klein invented the strip in 1966 because he was frustrated with how complicated charge purchases were at the time. Merchants had to painstakingly look through a book containing thousands of account numbers to see if the potential buyer had bad credit. Klein utilized the same technology used in reel-to-reel tape communications to come up with a magnetic strip that could be placed on the back of a plastic card.
Click on their website www.smartcardfactory.com.
Thursday, July 11, 2013
Wednesday, July 10, 2013
The Baltics inexplicable obsession
What is your obsession with running? The citys public transport has been put on hold. Roads are closed or diverted. Some 4,000 runners wind their way either twenty-one or forty-two kilometers through Rigathrowing away plastic cups and emptied high-calorie gel packs as they go. Animated crowds line the streets. The atmosphere is in double measures opulence and celebration. And this question, levied with genuine curiosity, has never been more pertinent than now, in the Baltics.
With organized runs appearing in all corners of Lithuania, Latvia, and Estonias roads and trails, with running clubs enrollment swelling, and the after-work runners spilling out onto the streets, its easy to wonder what has catalyzed this sudden and dramatic attraction to running.
But just how popular has running become? And how recently? Only in the last six years have Vilnius, Riga, and Tallinns marathons been recognized by AIMS (Association of International Marathons and Distance Races). Both Riga and Vilnius marathons became members of AIMS in 2007, while Tallinn Marathons 2011 press release boasts AIMS recognition as one of the best marathons in the world. But Institutional acknowledgements aside, perhaps the best gauge of runnings popularity in the region is participation in each capitals marathon.
SEB Tallinn Marathons statistics registered 1,689 participants in 2000: the events first year.High quality plastic card printing for business cards, Only after ten years, in 2010, was the marathon, all forty-two kilometers added. And last year, statistics show that 18,785 people ran in either the marathon, the half marathon, the 10K, the 5K, the 10K walk, or the Childrens Race. This is an increase of 17,096 participants in 12 years. If this trend is anything to go by, Septembers marathon will have more participants than any year before it.
In Vilnius, the Danske Bank Marathon is showing equally dramatic figures. The readily available numbers suggest that the number of participants doubled to over 5,000 in 2012 over five possible distances. Its organizers suggest that the Danske Bank Marathon is growing more speedily than Riga or Tallinns. More promising still is that this year, the marathons course has been redrawn, bringing participants through the most historic and architecturally impressive regions of Lithuanias capital.
But the story of the Riga Nordea Marathon is probably the most tumultuous and revealing in how substantially the sport has grown in popularity in only a short time. The races first year, 1991, had 707 finishers, but witnessed a steady and near fatal decline until 1999. The marathons Web site admits the race and the organization struggled to survive. But the numbers of participants have increased since the early 2000s and figures from Mays marathon show that 22,020 runners joined from 65 different countries.
Lets examine the elementary economics of running: the raw materials and the final product. Even modest joggers invest large quantities of time, money, and energy, which are highly valued resources in any economy, to the sport. And to what end? The final product is largely untenable. Running is rarely about getting from A-Z. In fact, preferably runners run a loop, ending where they start. So, having invested and then exerted these precious resources, the end products are tiredness, sweatiness, and probably hunger. The cost-benefit of running doesnt explain why so many people are drawn to it.
So its curious that each capital citys marathon is sponsored by the Baltics biggest and most competitive banks. This is economic investment on a grander, realer scale. Rigas marathon is sponsored by Nordea; Vilnius, by Danske Bank; and Tallinns, by SEB. And considering the celebratory and congenial atmosphere at running events generally, this banking sector sponsorship is probably the races most rivalrous aspect.
But corporate participation in the Baltics marathons hasnt limited itself to event sponsorship. Some of Rigas most successful companies, corporations, and governmental institutions, including Accenture, Tieto, Swedbank, and Ernst & Young entered teams in this years Riga Nordea Marathon. At least some, if not all, of these companies sponsored their teams participation.
Its not mandatory for everyone who laces a pair of shoes by their front door to one day run a marathon. More and more, the idea of a gold standard in running is becoming less important. In fact, there are entire conglomerates that seek to suit everyones ideal run. And these options vary considerably. Take for example those compelled to run up, then down, a mountain or hill; theres fell running. Originating in England, organizers of fell running events generally take for granted, or stipulate, that participants possess sufficient orienteering skills and survival supplies for extreme or unforeseeable circumstances.
Lying at the opposite of runnings spectrum is hashing C the illustrious combination of running and beer drinking which has been popular in the Baltics since independence from the Soviet Union. Its origins date to 1938 and British colonial presence in India, where hashers met on Mondays to admonish their weekends excesses. According to a 1950 report on the hashers registration card,where cards are embedded with chip card and a cardholder. the club sought to promote physical fitness among members, get rid of weekend hangovers, to acquire a good thirst and to satisfy it in beer, and persuade the older member that they are not as old as they feel.
So what is the obsession with running? There isnt a sufficient answer; only probable causes. The variety of running experiences on offer can only explain in part why the sport has become so popular, so recently. Even the celebratory, specifically non-rivalrous agenda of running seems to fall short of providing a full explanation. Its crucial collaborative and social component isnt a completely satisfying answer either. The most pointed clue comes from all runners seemingly describing one common experience when talking about runningelation.
This part of the operating system is in a state of flux; between version 10.0 and 10.1 the ability to select words, paragraphs or all the text with multiple taps has been dropped. Hopefully accuracy will improve, requiring less use of the balloon. Heck, if an advertising company can get it nearly right, BlackBerry should be able to, too.
Meanwhile, BlackBerry makes much of the Hub, a message aggregator encompassing IM, email text and social networks and device notifications. Yet after over five months using BB10 regularly, I can say I use it in spite of the Hub, not because of it.
Some basic messaging tasks - for example navigating sequentially through a mailbox - are tedious, because you must return to the Hub after each message. Even the cumbersome iPhone C which is nobodys idea of a top-quality messaging device - has always enabled this.About IC card in China used for paying transportation fares and for shopping.
And the Peek gesture C allowing you to view recent incoming messages and return you to your last task in one step C is a nice idea, but it rarely works as the Demo Gods intended. If youve left a message open, thats what youll see, not the most recent received. Theres no single, system-wide gesture for view most recent incoming. I found myself wishing the bezel had one.
BlackBerry appears to have made a rod for its own back by choosing an eccentric set of gestures, and as things settle down, I hope it does not become a prisoner of this design. Far too often the user is moving things out of the way.
To ameliorate the effects of these peculiar design choices, BlackBerry now obliges you to sit through some tutorials and even overlays the screen with a signpost which is quite hard to remove.Another sign of the systems immaturity has been some wild variations in battery performance between updates. The Z10 update just prior to 10.1 gave it astonishing battery life, taking the phone into a second day. Now its exhausted by the evening.
Another issue is that daemon-style services - which should have no more UI than a control panel setting - must be running in an "Active Frame"; they cant operate "headless" as background services should. And since there cannot be anymore than eight Frames open, less frequently used services are closed down by the system.Then there are features older 'Berry users will want, but find are missing: the software engineers are restoring those as fast as they can. These include areas such as fine-grained alerts (notifications present a more difficult task). Other features will never return, including BIS, the consumer BlackBerry internet service.
With organized runs appearing in all corners of Lithuania, Latvia, and Estonias roads and trails, with running clubs enrollment swelling, and the after-work runners spilling out onto the streets, its easy to wonder what has catalyzed this sudden and dramatic attraction to running.
But just how popular has running become? And how recently? Only in the last six years have Vilnius, Riga, and Tallinns marathons been recognized by AIMS (Association of International Marathons and Distance Races). Both Riga and Vilnius marathons became members of AIMS in 2007, while Tallinn Marathons 2011 press release boasts AIMS recognition as one of the best marathons in the world. But Institutional acknowledgements aside, perhaps the best gauge of runnings popularity in the region is participation in each capitals marathon.
SEB Tallinn Marathons statistics registered 1,689 participants in 2000: the events first year.High quality plastic card printing for business cards, Only after ten years, in 2010, was the marathon, all forty-two kilometers added. And last year, statistics show that 18,785 people ran in either the marathon, the half marathon, the 10K, the 5K, the 10K walk, or the Childrens Race. This is an increase of 17,096 participants in 12 years. If this trend is anything to go by, Septembers marathon will have more participants than any year before it.
In Vilnius, the Danske Bank Marathon is showing equally dramatic figures. The readily available numbers suggest that the number of participants doubled to over 5,000 in 2012 over five possible distances. Its organizers suggest that the Danske Bank Marathon is growing more speedily than Riga or Tallinns. More promising still is that this year, the marathons course has been redrawn, bringing participants through the most historic and architecturally impressive regions of Lithuanias capital.
But the story of the Riga Nordea Marathon is probably the most tumultuous and revealing in how substantially the sport has grown in popularity in only a short time. The races first year, 1991, had 707 finishers, but witnessed a steady and near fatal decline until 1999. The marathons Web site admits the race and the organization struggled to survive. But the numbers of participants have increased since the early 2000s and figures from Mays marathon show that 22,020 runners joined from 65 different countries.
Lets examine the elementary economics of running: the raw materials and the final product. Even modest joggers invest large quantities of time, money, and energy, which are highly valued resources in any economy, to the sport. And to what end? The final product is largely untenable. Running is rarely about getting from A-Z. In fact, preferably runners run a loop, ending where they start. So, having invested and then exerted these precious resources, the end products are tiredness, sweatiness, and probably hunger. The cost-benefit of running doesnt explain why so many people are drawn to it.
So its curious that each capital citys marathon is sponsored by the Baltics biggest and most competitive banks. This is economic investment on a grander, realer scale. Rigas marathon is sponsored by Nordea; Vilnius, by Danske Bank; and Tallinns, by SEB. And considering the celebratory and congenial atmosphere at running events generally, this banking sector sponsorship is probably the races most rivalrous aspect.
But corporate participation in the Baltics marathons hasnt limited itself to event sponsorship. Some of Rigas most successful companies, corporations, and governmental institutions, including Accenture, Tieto, Swedbank, and Ernst & Young entered teams in this years Riga Nordea Marathon. At least some, if not all, of these companies sponsored their teams participation.
Its not mandatory for everyone who laces a pair of shoes by their front door to one day run a marathon. More and more, the idea of a gold standard in running is becoming less important. In fact, there are entire conglomerates that seek to suit everyones ideal run. And these options vary considerably. Take for example those compelled to run up, then down, a mountain or hill; theres fell running. Originating in England, organizers of fell running events generally take for granted, or stipulate, that participants possess sufficient orienteering skills and survival supplies for extreme or unforeseeable circumstances.
Lying at the opposite of runnings spectrum is hashing C the illustrious combination of running and beer drinking which has been popular in the Baltics since independence from the Soviet Union. Its origins date to 1938 and British colonial presence in India, where hashers met on Mondays to admonish their weekends excesses. According to a 1950 report on the hashers registration card,where cards are embedded with chip card and a cardholder. the club sought to promote physical fitness among members, get rid of weekend hangovers, to acquire a good thirst and to satisfy it in beer, and persuade the older member that they are not as old as they feel.
So what is the obsession with running? There isnt a sufficient answer; only probable causes. The variety of running experiences on offer can only explain in part why the sport has become so popular, so recently. Even the celebratory, specifically non-rivalrous agenda of running seems to fall short of providing a full explanation. Its crucial collaborative and social component isnt a completely satisfying answer either. The most pointed clue comes from all runners seemingly describing one common experience when talking about runningelation.
This part of the operating system is in a state of flux; between version 10.0 and 10.1 the ability to select words, paragraphs or all the text with multiple taps has been dropped. Hopefully accuracy will improve, requiring less use of the balloon. Heck, if an advertising company can get it nearly right, BlackBerry should be able to, too.
Meanwhile, BlackBerry makes much of the Hub, a message aggregator encompassing IM, email text and social networks and device notifications. Yet after over five months using BB10 regularly, I can say I use it in spite of the Hub, not because of it.
Some basic messaging tasks - for example navigating sequentially through a mailbox - are tedious, because you must return to the Hub after each message. Even the cumbersome iPhone C which is nobodys idea of a top-quality messaging device - has always enabled this.About IC card in China used for paying transportation fares and for shopping.
And the Peek gesture C allowing you to view recent incoming messages and return you to your last task in one step C is a nice idea, but it rarely works as the Demo Gods intended. If youve left a message open, thats what youll see, not the most recent received. Theres no single, system-wide gesture for view most recent incoming. I found myself wishing the bezel had one.
BlackBerry appears to have made a rod for its own back by choosing an eccentric set of gestures, and as things settle down, I hope it does not become a prisoner of this design. Far too often the user is moving things out of the way.
To ameliorate the effects of these peculiar design choices, BlackBerry now obliges you to sit through some tutorials and even overlays the screen with a signpost which is quite hard to remove.Another sign of the systems immaturity has been some wild variations in battery performance between updates. The Z10 update just prior to 10.1 gave it astonishing battery life, taking the phone into a second day. Now its exhausted by the evening.
Another issue is that daemon-style services - which should have no more UI than a control panel setting - must be running in an "Active Frame"; they cant operate "headless" as background services should. And since there cannot be anymore than eight Frames open, less frequently used services are closed down by the system.Then there are features older 'Berry users will want, but find are missing: the software engineers are restoring those as fast as they can. These include areas such as fine-grained alerts (notifications present a more difficult task). Other features will never return, including BIS, the consumer BlackBerry internet service.
Tuesday, July 9, 2013
Barclaycard paves the way for rate rises
Just days after the Bank of England's new Governor, Mark Carney, indicated that the Bank Rate would remain low for the forseeable future, Barclaycard has written to some of its customers changing their terms and conditions.Cardholders with rates that "track" the Bank Rate have been told that from September 1 they will instead be "put on variable interest rates".
In other words Barclaycard's link with the key rate - which has fallen by more than five percentage points since the onset of the banking crisis - has been broken, giving the card issuer freedom to increase its rates at will.It is not clear how many of Barclaycard's total 10m customers are affected, but those whose contracts include the tracker term are expected to be longstanding customers who have held chip card for five years or more.
The lender says those affected are a "minority". Barclaycard will not disclose the rates these borrowers pay, though it is expected they are lower than the rates charged to other cardholders, and The Telegraph is aware that in some cases the tracker rates are as low as 10.5pc. This is unusually low for a credit card rate. The majority of Barclaycard accounts available to new applicants today come with an interest rate almost twice as high.
There is no explanation of why the change is being made, although the letters do point out the alteration comes "at a time when the Bank of England's Base Rate is at an all-time low." The Bank Rate plunged from 5.75pc in mid-2007 to 0.5pc in March 2009 where it has since remained.
Barclaycard declined to say how many customers were implicated but told The Telegraph: "We are simplifying the way we calculate interest on some of our Platinum cards. These will move to a standard variable rate, which is how the vast majority of our interest rates are calculated. We wanted to ensure the best for our customers and so have chosen to introduce these changes at a time that will be most beneficial to them. The switch to the standard variable interest rates reflect our existing rates and the new rates are, in some cases, lower."
Tracker rates on both credit cards and mortgages, agreed before the precipitous plunge in the Bank Rate, have become a nightmare for lenders who have sought to wriggle out of their "tracking" obligations wherever contracts permit.Bank of Ireland UK is the latest lender to become embroiled in this controversy: earlier this year it increased the "differential" by which the mortgages of almost 13,000 borrowers tracked the Base Rate.The Financial Ombudsman Service is currently considering whether this was fair.
Barclaycard's move comes as rates on plastic are drifting up more widely. Moneyfacts, the data compiler, says average long-term card rates - aimed at mainstream borrowers - reached an all-time high in April this year, at 19.1pc. They have since dropped back fractionally to an average 18.9pc, Moneyfacts's Rachel Springall said, though the trend is "in the upward direction."
But while rates are going up, card issuers are competing more aggressively to attract new customers - by offering either low, ongoing rates for those who want to manage balances down over the long term; or by offering extended 0pc deals.
"Today, if you look at the best deals, you've either got a low borrowing rate with no added perks, or you've got a long interest-free period followed by a high revert rate," Ms Springall says. She cites Sainsbury's Bank's Cashback Low Rate card as an example of the former charging 7.8pc. An example of the interest-free offers is Tesco Personal Finance's deal charging 0pc for 18 months, followed by a revert rate of 16.9pc.
Credit cards remain hugely popular and widely-used in Britain, although total borrowing on plastic has been reducing. The latest annual statistics from the UK Cards Association, the sector's trade body, published last month, said outstanding borrowing on credit cards "has fallen from a peak of ￡67.4bn in 2005 to ￡55.1bn at the end of 2012." This represents about 4pc of the country's total personal borrowing of ￡1.4trillion, it said.
I sincerely do not believe I have ever read anything more completely tone-deaf in my life. Does this guy seriously think that it’s easy for a homeless person to just go into McDonald’s or whatever and apply for a job? Does he think it’s easy for anyone to get a job? Especially someone who doesn’t have a home or a change of clothes? Who doesn’t have an ID or a Social Security card or a place of residence? Who can’t bathe? Does he think people are homeless on purpose, because it’s just so luxurious staying in a homeless shelter? Does he not think these people are real human beings?
Organizations like the one Kessler’s son are working for actually help homeless people get jobs. They provide working wardrobes, which give homeless people things to wear for job interviews. They teach literacy and job skills. They help them get back on their feet. Homeless shelters do not cause homelessness anymore than cancer research causes cancer.
Kessler snidely calls these kids “Generation G”– for “Generation Guilty,” because the silly things feel, for some reason, that because they have been born with plenty, that they should go out and do things for others who were not so fortunate. Not so, says Kessler. They’d be doing much more for the world by taking on a job at Jamba Juice, he believes, because trickle-down economics.
Really? Massive wealth? Maybe for hedge fund managers, but certainly not for the rest of us. The rest of us have been in a recession… a recession that was, by the way, partially caused by freaking hedge fund managers! Also, not every “Woodstocker” was Jerry Rubin, who ditched his radical past to become an awful yuppie in the 80′s– and was, quite frankly, pretty awful before then, anyway. I happen to be well acquainted with a quite a few baby boomers who were way too busy actually working for social justice to go to Woodstock. Those people still care, and are still working towards making the world a better place.
I have a dare for people who believe the things that Kessler believes. Don’t shower or change your clothes or brush your teeth or hair for a week, go into a McDonald’s or a Walmart and try to get a job without giving them an ID, SS card or place of residence. Then, tell me how that goes for you, and tell me why we do not need organizations to help these people.
Read the full story at http://www.smartcardfactory.com/CD-RFID-tag_c587!
In other words Barclaycard's link with the key rate - which has fallen by more than five percentage points since the onset of the banking crisis - has been broken, giving the card issuer freedom to increase its rates at will.It is not clear how many of Barclaycard's total 10m customers are affected, but those whose contracts include the tracker term are expected to be longstanding customers who have held chip card for five years or more.
The lender says those affected are a "minority". Barclaycard will not disclose the rates these borrowers pay, though it is expected they are lower than the rates charged to other cardholders, and The Telegraph is aware that in some cases the tracker rates are as low as 10.5pc. This is unusually low for a credit card rate. The majority of Barclaycard accounts available to new applicants today come with an interest rate almost twice as high.
There is no explanation of why the change is being made, although the letters do point out the alteration comes "at a time when the Bank of England's Base Rate is at an all-time low." The Bank Rate plunged from 5.75pc in mid-2007 to 0.5pc in March 2009 where it has since remained.
Barclaycard declined to say how many customers were implicated but told The Telegraph: "We are simplifying the way we calculate interest on some of our Platinum cards. These will move to a standard variable rate, which is how the vast majority of our interest rates are calculated. We wanted to ensure the best for our customers and so have chosen to introduce these changes at a time that will be most beneficial to them. The switch to the standard variable interest rates reflect our existing rates and the new rates are, in some cases, lower."
Tracker rates on both credit cards and mortgages, agreed before the precipitous plunge in the Bank Rate, have become a nightmare for lenders who have sought to wriggle out of their "tracking" obligations wherever contracts permit.Bank of Ireland UK is the latest lender to become embroiled in this controversy: earlier this year it increased the "differential" by which the mortgages of almost 13,000 borrowers tracked the Base Rate.The Financial Ombudsman Service is currently considering whether this was fair.
Barclaycard's move comes as rates on plastic are drifting up more widely. Moneyfacts, the data compiler, says average long-term card rates - aimed at mainstream borrowers - reached an all-time high in April this year, at 19.1pc. They have since dropped back fractionally to an average 18.9pc, Moneyfacts's Rachel Springall said, though the trend is "in the upward direction."
But while rates are going up, card issuers are competing more aggressively to attract new customers - by offering either low, ongoing rates for those who want to manage balances down over the long term; or by offering extended 0pc deals.
"Today, if you look at the best deals, you've either got a low borrowing rate with no added perks, or you've got a long interest-free period followed by a high revert rate," Ms Springall says. She cites Sainsbury's Bank's Cashback Low Rate card as an example of the former charging 7.8pc. An example of the interest-free offers is Tesco Personal Finance's deal charging 0pc for 18 months, followed by a revert rate of 16.9pc.
Credit cards remain hugely popular and widely-used in Britain, although total borrowing on plastic has been reducing. The latest annual statistics from the UK Cards Association, the sector's trade body, published last month, said outstanding borrowing on credit cards "has fallen from a peak of ￡67.4bn in 2005 to ￡55.1bn at the end of 2012." This represents about 4pc of the country's total personal borrowing of ￡1.4trillion, it said.
I sincerely do not believe I have ever read anything more completely tone-deaf in my life. Does this guy seriously think that it’s easy for a homeless person to just go into McDonald’s or whatever and apply for a job? Does he think it’s easy for anyone to get a job? Especially someone who doesn’t have a home or a change of clothes? Who doesn’t have an ID or a Social Security card or a place of residence? Who can’t bathe? Does he think people are homeless on purpose, because it’s just so luxurious staying in a homeless shelter? Does he not think these people are real human beings?
Organizations like the one Kessler’s son are working for actually help homeless people get jobs. They provide working wardrobes, which give homeless people things to wear for job interviews. They teach literacy and job skills. They help them get back on their feet. Homeless shelters do not cause homelessness anymore than cancer research causes cancer.
Kessler snidely calls these kids “Generation G”– for “Generation Guilty,” because the silly things feel, for some reason, that because they have been born with plenty, that they should go out and do things for others who were not so fortunate. Not so, says Kessler. They’d be doing much more for the world by taking on a job at Jamba Juice, he believes, because trickle-down economics.
Really? Massive wealth? Maybe for hedge fund managers, but certainly not for the rest of us. The rest of us have been in a recession… a recession that was, by the way, partially caused by freaking hedge fund managers! Also, not every “Woodstocker” was Jerry Rubin, who ditched his radical past to become an awful yuppie in the 80′s– and was, quite frankly, pretty awful before then, anyway. I happen to be well acquainted with a quite a few baby boomers who were way too busy actually working for social justice to go to Woodstock. Those people still care, and are still working towards making the world a better place.
I have a dare for people who believe the things that Kessler believes. Don’t shower or change your clothes or brush your teeth or hair for a week, go into a McDonald’s or a Walmart and try to get a job without giving them an ID, SS card or place of residence. Then, tell me how that goes for you, and tell me why we do not need organizations to help these people.
Read the full story at http://www.smartcardfactory.com/CD-RFID-tag_c587!
Monday, July 8, 2013
On the Cancer Carousel
On Wednesday, I peed green. Then blue. Then turquoise as the dyes in my veins met and mingled. And a transparent tube leaked body waste from a hole under my arm into a vile vial, to be lugged around with me for five days. A bloody accessory.
Id spent the day before being poked and prodded and pricked and pummelled; all of it in search of clues to the malignant tumour in my breast. Everything about Tuesday was malignant. The procedures, all of them, were highly injurious to my sense of self and well being, pernicious as they gave meaning to the word.
For the first time, as I checked into the Milpark hospital at 6am, I realised that there is no quick fix option to this malignant situation, borne out by a special card handed over by an admissions clerk. Produce this every time you are admitted, she said. Youre in the system now. Im in the system now. I have an easy access pass to a club to which I do not wish to belong. Oncology section. She knew Id be back. And back. And now, I do too.
I slept badly so was exhausted when my phone beeped at 5am. I meant to catch a taxi to the hospital. I meant, too, to let one of the many friends whod offered drive me there. But in the end, I couldnt do it. The very act of allowing myself to be taken to the hospital meant relinquishing control, handing over the reins. And Im not ready to do that yet. Its one of the things that I will have to learn in this process C asking for help, and accepting it when it is offered. I cant do this by myself, but it galls me to have to rely on other people. Is this the big universal lesson that I have to learn? To play nicely with others? To allow myself to be part of a community? To ask for help?
Journalists are supposed to be good at such things, but forms have always presented a challenge. Pages and pages of information: My own teeth: tick. No false limbs: tick. Allergic to penicillin. Ashtmatic. Non smoker. No children. Next of kin always poses a bit of a dilemma.
A woman, uncommonly harassed for this early in the morning steps in while Sister Brenda asks her questions: Has Mrs Naidoo (me) been for isotopes. I try to say there is no Mr Naidoo,Passive and active RFID tag products for cold chain logistics, call me Charmain, but shes out the door. Shes in theatre scrubs. Who is she? The anaesthetist, Dr Starbuck, Im told.
Im given a hospital gown and some big girl disposable knickers and have barely tugged them on when a petite woman wearing blue jeans arrives to fetch me. Were going for a walk, and me with my bottom on display in this open-backed gown with its flimsy ties. Down the corridor. I try and keep up. Who are you I ask. Tara. Thats all. Just Tara.
We arrive at Nuclear medicine. Im thinking Chernobyl. Fukushima. Bhopal. I tell Tara. She doesnt smile. She probably hears that a lot.Transportation China IC card Applications Ceremony. Tara says she will inject isotopes into my breast, (green pee) which will fluoresce my sentinel lymph node. I lie on a narrow strip of a bed with my arms against the cold metal, strapped in, as the gamma camera (also called an Anger camera) helps Tara find the offending node.
Using a black felt tip pen, X marks the spot which will help the surgeon more easily identify the node that needs to be snipped for biopsy.Tara is pleased with my sentinel lymph. It lights up quickly. Im delighted to have such a well behaved lymph. (Louise Hays assertion that all women with breast cancer have an innate inability to say no and are therefore people pleasers pops into my head.)
Next stop MRI. If nuclear medicine caused a flutter, the door to the MRI chamber had me quivering in my crocs. A large enamel fronted door with a thick rubber seal and nautical handle! Rather like a hyperbaric chamber or one of those special rooms at GuantanamoBay where nobody can hear you scream.
Its cold in this room. Very cold. Radiologist, Dr Ingrid Ferreira (I have to ask the assistant who the glamorous woman in the drop dead gorgeous velvet leggings is) puts a cannula in my right hand so dye (blue pee) can be pumped into my veins at some stage of the procedure C to illuminate my cancer.Our products are card lamination and printing as well as various of China RFID tag. (My cancer is much in the spotlight. Its turning into How to Get Ahead in Advertising star Richard E Grants talking boil.)
I am lying on my stomach, with my breasts hanging down into two holes in the bed. The bed is so narrow that I am strapped onto it to keep me from slipping off.
And then the assault on all my senses begins. Its called Magnetic Resonance Imaging since the scanner uses magnetic and radio waves to create pictures of tissue, organs and other structures within the body, which can then be viewed on a computer. I suppose the good part is that there is no exposure to X-Rays or any other damaging forms of radiation. The down side is that you lie there for 40 minutes while extremely loud noises are piped into your brain. Its like being trapped in a disco (Doef Doef) on a construction site (hammer, hammer) in a forest (woodpecker pecking). The sound sequences change, some are mocking, others chastising, most are accusing, angry.
Next stop surgery. By now it was close to lunch time. Id last eaten at 7pm the night before. And so the calming dormicum tablet I was made to swallow just before being wheeled off to the operating theatre took the edge off.
I smiled at Dr Starbuck, asked her if she came from the coffee family. Youll want to know that she doesnt, that Starbucks used her family name C without permission. In all the Starbucks coffee empire, there is not one Starbuck. If, however, she had been a coffee heir, she certainly would not be sticking needles into the likes of me.
And then we were in the theatre, and I caught a glimpse of the first man Id seen all morning. Didnt get his name. Apparently hes Dr Benns handlanger. Dr Starbucks made me count backwards espresso, frappuccino, latte
I came to in the recovery room, in agony C a sharp burning sensation under my right arm. Help. Help. She who shouts the loudest gets the best drugs. And so it came to pass that something the nurse described as stronger than morphine was emptied into my drip. Oblivion, but no rest. My rescue nurse needed to talk and my kind face (her words) would do. She was in a quandary: in love with an anaesthetist who had four children and a wife. She was in too deep to walk away from him, but he seemed not to making good on his promise to leave his wife A man called Imran Khan sauntered up and started chatting up the nurse. He was not an anaesthetist but he did fancy nurse. He leant nonchalantly against my bed, on wheels, and fell over. He looked nothing like Pakistani cricketer Imran Khan who is statuesque and handsome. The drugs made me tell him that. He laughed.
Sahm, dear friend, was sitting in the ward waiting for me. She told me she was on a week long food fast. Drugged, hungry and thirsty, I was having a hard time understanding why someone would willingly forgo food when they didnt need to. When I opened my eyes again, my lovely Godchild Nandi was sitting beside me. It made my heart glad.
By now it was mid afternoon. The woman in the next bed had a dozen visitors C three of them boys under five: boisterous, and noisy. I wanted to go home. Dr Slabbert came in to do the post op check C only I didnt know thats who he was. He didnt introduce himself to me. He was the fifth doctor Id seen on Tuesday. Not one of them had introduced themselves, or told me their specialty or role in my care.
Its inhuman and rude. All initial contact between patient in hospital bed and medical practitioner should start as follows: Hi. I am Doctor X, and Im a radiologist/anaesthetist/oncologist/plastic surgeon etc. Im here to (fill in the medical procedure). It contextualises them and allows you a little wiggle-room in the sea of imponderable outcomes and confusion.
The doctor gave me the green light to go home. Shes certainly compos mentis, he told nurse Juanita in her fetching bejewelled white headscarf. But first a lesson on how to care for my drain. Juanita stood there waving her finger: No bathing/showering for five days (use a wet wash rag). No driving for two weeks. (I drove myself home 20 minutes later)
General anaesthetics make me weepy and sad. Or perhaps that is the general disposition of people whove got cancer. I logged into my FaceBook page on Wednesday morning, sitting at my dining room table with greasy hair, X-marks-the-spot pointers and theatre sticker glue on my skin. One of my gal pals was ordering a cappuccino at Life in Hyde Park, someone on SleekGeek was notching up another rung in the fitness ladder C mundane posts made by healthy people. And me? Stuck with a drain under my arm that ended in a plastic jug attached to a long blood filled tube catching waste from my biopsied sentinel lymph. I have never felt sorrier for myself.
Cancer, these days, is considered a chronic disease, rather like asthma or diabetes. Perhaps thats the problem. It has to be managed over a long period of time. I hated Tuesday, not because anyone was unkind or the treatments unbearable. I hated Tuesday because it was not contained; it was not the beginning and end of a single bad episode. Tuesday signified the start of a long road to getting rid of Mr Dixon. And Im not sure if I can do it, or if I want to. But thats today. Tomorrow I might feel differently.
Id spent the day before being poked and prodded and pricked and pummelled; all of it in search of clues to the malignant tumour in my breast. Everything about Tuesday was malignant. The procedures, all of them, were highly injurious to my sense of self and well being, pernicious as they gave meaning to the word.
For the first time, as I checked into the Milpark hospital at 6am, I realised that there is no quick fix option to this malignant situation, borne out by a special card handed over by an admissions clerk. Produce this every time you are admitted, she said. Youre in the system now. Im in the system now. I have an easy access pass to a club to which I do not wish to belong. Oncology section. She knew Id be back. And back. And now, I do too.
I slept badly so was exhausted when my phone beeped at 5am. I meant to catch a taxi to the hospital. I meant, too, to let one of the many friends whod offered drive me there. But in the end, I couldnt do it. The very act of allowing myself to be taken to the hospital meant relinquishing control, handing over the reins. And Im not ready to do that yet. Its one of the things that I will have to learn in this process C asking for help, and accepting it when it is offered. I cant do this by myself, but it galls me to have to rely on other people. Is this the big universal lesson that I have to learn? To play nicely with others? To allow myself to be part of a community? To ask for help?
Journalists are supposed to be good at such things, but forms have always presented a challenge. Pages and pages of information: My own teeth: tick. No false limbs: tick. Allergic to penicillin. Ashtmatic. Non smoker. No children. Next of kin always poses a bit of a dilemma.
A woman, uncommonly harassed for this early in the morning steps in while Sister Brenda asks her questions: Has Mrs Naidoo (me) been for isotopes. I try to say there is no Mr Naidoo,Passive and active RFID tag products for cold chain logistics, call me Charmain, but shes out the door. Shes in theatre scrubs. Who is she? The anaesthetist, Dr Starbuck, Im told.
Im given a hospital gown and some big girl disposable knickers and have barely tugged them on when a petite woman wearing blue jeans arrives to fetch me. Were going for a walk, and me with my bottom on display in this open-backed gown with its flimsy ties. Down the corridor. I try and keep up. Who are you I ask. Tara. Thats all. Just Tara.
We arrive at Nuclear medicine. Im thinking Chernobyl. Fukushima. Bhopal. I tell Tara. She doesnt smile. She probably hears that a lot.Transportation China IC card Applications Ceremony. Tara says she will inject isotopes into my breast, (green pee) which will fluoresce my sentinel lymph node. I lie on a narrow strip of a bed with my arms against the cold metal, strapped in, as the gamma camera (also called an Anger camera) helps Tara find the offending node.
Using a black felt tip pen, X marks the spot which will help the surgeon more easily identify the node that needs to be snipped for biopsy.Tara is pleased with my sentinel lymph. It lights up quickly. Im delighted to have such a well behaved lymph. (Louise Hays assertion that all women with breast cancer have an innate inability to say no and are therefore people pleasers pops into my head.)
Next stop MRI. If nuclear medicine caused a flutter, the door to the MRI chamber had me quivering in my crocs. A large enamel fronted door with a thick rubber seal and nautical handle! Rather like a hyperbaric chamber or one of those special rooms at GuantanamoBay where nobody can hear you scream.
Its cold in this room. Very cold. Radiologist, Dr Ingrid Ferreira (I have to ask the assistant who the glamorous woman in the drop dead gorgeous velvet leggings is) puts a cannula in my right hand so dye (blue pee) can be pumped into my veins at some stage of the procedure C to illuminate my cancer.Our products are card lamination and printing as well as various of China RFID tag. (My cancer is much in the spotlight. Its turning into How to Get Ahead in Advertising star Richard E Grants talking boil.)
I am lying on my stomach, with my breasts hanging down into two holes in the bed. The bed is so narrow that I am strapped onto it to keep me from slipping off.
And then the assault on all my senses begins. Its called Magnetic Resonance Imaging since the scanner uses magnetic and radio waves to create pictures of tissue, organs and other structures within the body, which can then be viewed on a computer. I suppose the good part is that there is no exposure to X-Rays or any other damaging forms of radiation. The down side is that you lie there for 40 minutes while extremely loud noises are piped into your brain. Its like being trapped in a disco (Doef Doef) on a construction site (hammer, hammer) in a forest (woodpecker pecking). The sound sequences change, some are mocking, others chastising, most are accusing, angry.
Next stop surgery. By now it was close to lunch time. Id last eaten at 7pm the night before. And so the calming dormicum tablet I was made to swallow just before being wheeled off to the operating theatre took the edge off.
I smiled at Dr Starbuck, asked her if she came from the coffee family. Youll want to know that she doesnt, that Starbucks used her family name C without permission. In all the Starbucks coffee empire, there is not one Starbuck. If, however, she had been a coffee heir, she certainly would not be sticking needles into the likes of me.
And then we were in the theatre, and I caught a glimpse of the first man Id seen all morning. Didnt get his name. Apparently hes Dr Benns handlanger. Dr Starbucks made me count backwards espresso, frappuccino, latte
I came to in the recovery room, in agony C a sharp burning sensation under my right arm. Help. Help. She who shouts the loudest gets the best drugs. And so it came to pass that something the nurse described as stronger than morphine was emptied into my drip. Oblivion, but no rest. My rescue nurse needed to talk and my kind face (her words) would do. She was in a quandary: in love with an anaesthetist who had four children and a wife. She was in too deep to walk away from him, but he seemed not to making good on his promise to leave his wife A man called Imran Khan sauntered up and started chatting up the nurse. He was not an anaesthetist but he did fancy nurse. He leant nonchalantly against my bed, on wheels, and fell over. He looked nothing like Pakistani cricketer Imran Khan who is statuesque and handsome. The drugs made me tell him that. He laughed.
Sahm, dear friend, was sitting in the ward waiting for me. She told me she was on a week long food fast. Drugged, hungry and thirsty, I was having a hard time understanding why someone would willingly forgo food when they didnt need to. When I opened my eyes again, my lovely Godchild Nandi was sitting beside me. It made my heart glad.
By now it was mid afternoon. The woman in the next bed had a dozen visitors C three of them boys under five: boisterous, and noisy. I wanted to go home. Dr Slabbert came in to do the post op check C only I didnt know thats who he was. He didnt introduce himself to me. He was the fifth doctor Id seen on Tuesday. Not one of them had introduced themselves, or told me their specialty or role in my care.
Its inhuman and rude. All initial contact between patient in hospital bed and medical practitioner should start as follows: Hi. I am Doctor X, and Im a radiologist/anaesthetist/oncologist/plastic surgeon etc. Im here to (fill in the medical procedure). It contextualises them and allows you a little wiggle-room in the sea of imponderable outcomes and confusion.
The doctor gave me the green light to go home. Shes certainly compos mentis, he told nurse Juanita in her fetching bejewelled white headscarf. But first a lesson on how to care for my drain. Juanita stood there waving her finger: No bathing/showering for five days (use a wet wash rag). No driving for two weeks. (I drove myself home 20 minutes later)
General anaesthetics make me weepy and sad. Or perhaps that is the general disposition of people whove got cancer. I logged into my FaceBook page on Wednesday morning, sitting at my dining room table with greasy hair, X-marks-the-spot pointers and theatre sticker glue on my skin. One of my gal pals was ordering a cappuccino at Life in Hyde Park, someone on SleekGeek was notching up another rung in the fitness ladder C mundane posts made by healthy people. And me? Stuck with a drain under my arm that ended in a plastic jug attached to a long blood filled tube catching waste from my biopsied sentinel lymph. I have never felt sorrier for myself.
Cancer, these days, is considered a chronic disease, rather like asthma or diabetes. Perhaps thats the problem. It has to be managed over a long period of time. I hated Tuesday, not because anyone was unkind or the treatments unbearable. I hated Tuesday because it was not contained; it was not the beginning and end of a single bad episode. Tuesday signified the start of a long road to getting rid of Mr Dixon. And Im not sure if I can do it, or if I want to. But thats today. Tomorrow I might feel differently.
Sunday, July 7, 2013
Sun, Summer, and Savings
With the summer finally upon us, we often look forward to spending time with family and friends and enjoy the few months of warm temperatures by getting outside. Summer also often means looking forward to that great Canadian tradition of the summer family vacation.
According to a BMO survey, 83% of Canadians plan to take a vacation this summer. Summer vacations not only bring great memories, new experiences, and families and friends together, they also bring a hefty price tag that can make a serious dent in our budgets. The average Canadian going on vacation this summer is looking at spending $3,073 according to the same BMO survey. Because of the rising costs of summer vacations it is not surprising that 79% of Canadians are looking for ways to cut down on vacation expenses while still maximizing vacation experiences.
Matthew Keenan, Credit and Education Counsellor for Credit Counselling Service of Sault Ste. Marie and District, has some tips on how you can save some money this summer and still make those great vacation memories. “When looking at saving some money on your vacation this summer, it is really important to do your research. Many hotels will give you a lower room rate if you call them directly instead of using their online booking center” says Keenan. According to Keenan, “most of your vacation savings occurs in the planning process. Just heading out on the great Canadian road trip is fun, but also often more expensive than taking the time to find the best uses for your hard earned dollar.”
If you are road tripping, spending less than 24hrs in any one spot, a hotel really is a spot to lay your head. With this in mind search for cheaper hotels or motels using travel sites to help you keep costs down. If you really want to save and are not afraid of a little more adventure, try car camping along your travel route. Just remember that you often need to book these sites well in advance of your arrival.
If you plan on staying in one spot for your vacation look for hotels that offer multi-night packages such as stay 3 nights get one free. In some cities with cheap, safe, and efficient mass transit staying outside of the tourist core is a great cheaper alternative, but if the transit system isn’t all that great the cost of taxis to and from the hotel can really eat away at the room savings.
When looking at hotels be sure to see what’s included. While many hotels have free wifi there are still many that don’t. Also, in some larger cities parking your car can be upwards of $20-$50/night. Lastly, if your travels are taking you further afield many international hotels do not include a breakfast in the room rate so this should be taken into account when looking for the most economical hotel choice.
During the planning of a vacation try to brainstorm all of the attractions that you want to visit. By having a plan of what you want to see and do, you can search the internet for deals and coupons to help save on admission or food costs at attractions.
Also, some cities offer packages that help save on admission costs to a number of major attractions. “When looking at these attraction chip card it is really important that you actually want to go to the major attractions it covers. If the majority of the admission discounts are for things you don’t want to see or do then it may be cheaper to just pay the full priced admission to get in” says Keenan.
Some attractions offer lower admission prices later in the day. Many art galleries or museums will do this in the last few hours they are open, “if you only intend to see one exhibit or a few particular art pieces this is a great way to save some money off the cost of admission, and in some cases admission for children is waved during these hours.”
You may be able to save even more on attractions if you are a member of a professional organization. Keenan points out that “many members’ professional organizations like the Ontario College of Teachers can get you into places for free. A quick look at your organizations website should list all the places with waved entrance fees. In some cases, if you show your membership card or ask about professional discounts in other provinces they will be honoured, a great way to save some money that is often not used by travellers.”
“We have all heard the horror stories about huge thousand dollar cell bills when people get back from vacation. While the government is working with cell companies to put in place caps in place to prevent these outrageous bills, those are not going to be in place until December. So, you could still face a huge bill if you are not careful this summer” says Keenan.
It is important understand your cell contract and the charges associated with using text, voice, and roaming to help reduce the likelihood of facing a large cell bill. “You should contact your cell company and see what roaming deals they can offer you, some companies have long distance or data deals available for as little as $10” states Keenan.
As many digital devices like iPads and smartphones can use a wifi connection. It is smart to bring these along with you on your travels. This is because you can use free wifi areas to send emails, check out attractions, or access downloaded tickets without having to use a costly internet café.
A BMO study into the use of credit card rewards points shows that many Canadians have built up about $400 in rewards. Keenan points out that “if you have a credit card that is building points then cash them out for discounts on airfare, hotels, or even as gas gift cards if you are going on a driving vacation. These points are representing your money and yet almost a third of Canadians are not using their points to help reduce travel costs.”
“Food costs can really add up if you are eating at restaurants every day of your vacation” notes Keenan. If you are travelling by car you may be tempted to pull into the rest stop for a quick bite but if you consider buying some fruit and veggies to snack on while you drive you can help to cut down on those rest stop snacks. You can also pack lunches to eat while sightseeing to help avoid going into restaurants in the typically more expensive tourist areas of larger cities. This also cuts down on idle time waiting for your meal to arrive that could be better used sightseeing or dashing off to your next adventure.
If you don’t want to brown bag your supper, eat where the locals eat. “Locals don’t often eat along the tourist ‘strip’ so try and steer clear of those places; again look online to help find true local restaurants. Many have great portion sizes and are a fraction the cost of a tourist focused restaurant” suggests Keenan.
Shopping: “Souvenirs are a hugely important part of vacations. We all like to get those mementos of our trips but they can be very costly and can easily throw your vacation budget out of whack” warns Keenan. One way to help keep souvenir costs down is to choose a small and inexpensive collectible that you pick up on most vacations, “I have seen some people collect small things like fridge magnets when they go to a new city, state, or province. These are typically low cost and are a great way to see your adventures each time you open the fridge door. The idea is to get a souvenir that will be used, appreciated, and not just placed on a shelf forgotten about in a few months’ time.”
Souvenirs can be tricky when travelling with kids. Give your older kids power over their money choices by giving them a daily allowance. Be sure to tell them that they can use this money how they want but when it’s used up that’s it. If your child really wants to buy an item they either need to save for that item or take out a loan, meaning no allowance until the loan is paid off. This is a great way to allow your children to make safe financial decisions and grow to understand the value of their money, purchasing power, and the benefits of saving and drawbacks of borrowing to make a purchase.
Summer vacations are without a doubt expensive. They are also a great way to bring friends and family closer together. With some pre-planning and research you will be able to identify ways to cut down on your expenses and keep those savings in the bank while still building great memories.
Click on their website www.smartcardfactory.com.
According to a BMO survey, 83% of Canadians plan to take a vacation this summer. Summer vacations not only bring great memories, new experiences, and families and friends together, they also bring a hefty price tag that can make a serious dent in our budgets. The average Canadian going on vacation this summer is looking at spending $3,073 according to the same BMO survey. Because of the rising costs of summer vacations it is not surprising that 79% of Canadians are looking for ways to cut down on vacation expenses while still maximizing vacation experiences.
Matthew Keenan, Credit and Education Counsellor for Credit Counselling Service of Sault Ste. Marie and District, has some tips on how you can save some money this summer and still make those great vacation memories. “When looking at saving some money on your vacation this summer, it is really important to do your research. Many hotels will give you a lower room rate if you call them directly instead of using their online booking center” says Keenan. According to Keenan, “most of your vacation savings occurs in the planning process. Just heading out on the great Canadian road trip is fun, but also often more expensive than taking the time to find the best uses for your hard earned dollar.”
If you are road tripping, spending less than 24hrs in any one spot, a hotel really is a spot to lay your head. With this in mind search for cheaper hotels or motels using travel sites to help you keep costs down. If you really want to save and are not afraid of a little more adventure, try car camping along your travel route. Just remember that you often need to book these sites well in advance of your arrival.
If you plan on staying in one spot for your vacation look for hotels that offer multi-night packages such as stay 3 nights get one free. In some cities with cheap, safe, and efficient mass transit staying outside of the tourist core is a great cheaper alternative, but if the transit system isn’t all that great the cost of taxis to and from the hotel can really eat away at the room savings.
When looking at hotels be sure to see what’s included. While many hotels have free wifi there are still many that don’t. Also, in some larger cities parking your car can be upwards of $20-$50/night. Lastly, if your travels are taking you further afield many international hotels do not include a breakfast in the room rate so this should be taken into account when looking for the most economical hotel choice.
During the planning of a vacation try to brainstorm all of the attractions that you want to visit. By having a plan of what you want to see and do, you can search the internet for deals and coupons to help save on admission or food costs at attractions.
Also, some cities offer packages that help save on admission costs to a number of major attractions. “When looking at these attraction chip card it is really important that you actually want to go to the major attractions it covers. If the majority of the admission discounts are for things you don’t want to see or do then it may be cheaper to just pay the full priced admission to get in” says Keenan.
Some attractions offer lower admission prices later in the day. Many art galleries or museums will do this in the last few hours they are open, “if you only intend to see one exhibit or a few particular art pieces this is a great way to save some money off the cost of admission, and in some cases admission for children is waved during these hours.”
You may be able to save even more on attractions if you are a member of a professional organization. Keenan points out that “many members’ professional organizations like the Ontario College of Teachers can get you into places for free. A quick look at your organizations website should list all the places with waved entrance fees. In some cases, if you show your membership card or ask about professional discounts in other provinces they will be honoured, a great way to save some money that is often not used by travellers.”
“We have all heard the horror stories about huge thousand dollar cell bills when people get back from vacation. While the government is working with cell companies to put in place caps in place to prevent these outrageous bills, those are not going to be in place until December. So, you could still face a huge bill if you are not careful this summer” says Keenan.
It is important understand your cell contract and the charges associated with using text, voice, and roaming to help reduce the likelihood of facing a large cell bill. “You should contact your cell company and see what roaming deals they can offer you, some companies have long distance or data deals available for as little as $10” states Keenan.
As many digital devices like iPads and smartphones can use a wifi connection. It is smart to bring these along with you on your travels. This is because you can use free wifi areas to send emails, check out attractions, or access downloaded tickets without having to use a costly internet café.
A BMO study into the use of credit card rewards points shows that many Canadians have built up about $400 in rewards. Keenan points out that “if you have a credit card that is building points then cash them out for discounts on airfare, hotels, or even as gas gift cards if you are going on a driving vacation. These points are representing your money and yet almost a third of Canadians are not using their points to help reduce travel costs.”
“Food costs can really add up if you are eating at restaurants every day of your vacation” notes Keenan. If you are travelling by car you may be tempted to pull into the rest stop for a quick bite but if you consider buying some fruit and veggies to snack on while you drive you can help to cut down on those rest stop snacks. You can also pack lunches to eat while sightseeing to help avoid going into restaurants in the typically more expensive tourist areas of larger cities. This also cuts down on idle time waiting for your meal to arrive that could be better used sightseeing or dashing off to your next adventure.
If you don’t want to brown bag your supper, eat where the locals eat. “Locals don’t often eat along the tourist ‘strip’ so try and steer clear of those places; again look online to help find true local restaurants. Many have great portion sizes and are a fraction the cost of a tourist focused restaurant” suggests Keenan.
Shopping: “Souvenirs are a hugely important part of vacations. We all like to get those mementos of our trips but they can be very costly and can easily throw your vacation budget out of whack” warns Keenan. One way to help keep souvenir costs down is to choose a small and inexpensive collectible that you pick up on most vacations, “I have seen some people collect small things like fridge magnets when they go to a new city, state, or province. These are typically low cost and are a great way to see your adventures each time you open the fridge door. The idea is to get a souvenir that will be used, appreciated, and not just placed on a shelf forgotten about in a few months’ time.”
Souvenirs can be tricky when travelling with kids. Give your older kids power over their money choices by giving them a daily allowance. Be sure to tell them that they can use this money how they want but when it’s used up that’s it. If your child really wants to buy an item they either need to save for that item or take out a loan, meaning no allowance until the loan is paid off. This is a great way to allow your children to make safe financial decisions and grow to understand the value of their money, purchasing power, and the benefits of saving and drawbacks of borrowing to make a purchase.
Summer vacations are without a doubt expensive. They are also a great way to bring friends and family closer together. With some pre-planning and research you will be able to identify ways to cut down on your expenses and keep those savings in the bank while still building great memories.
Click on their website www.smartcardfactory.com.
Thursday, July 4, 2013
Rachel Woodlock tells how her conversion
I struggled to supply an answer. I was raised in a teetotaller family and it seemed shallow to mention crispy pan-fried bacon. Still, surely I ought to miss something. "Well, if there are men around, I can't put my togs on and go for a swim at the beach," I offered, a stereotypically Aussie reply.
When John, my mildly water-phobic (because he's Irish) husband, read the finished piece - an interview with three Muslim women converts - he laughed. "This makes you sound like a surfer babe," he said and unkindly pointed out I'd hardly spent my time pining for the surf; the closest I'd been to a beach for years was walking past bags of sand mix at Bunnings.
Even before converting, I'd sooner have jumped in the water fully clothed than bare my generously proportioned figure and pasty limbs to the disapproving glances of toned, tanned beachgoers. Thank goodness we now have the burqini, good for Islamic modesty and full-body UV protection.
But strangers suppose I must be some sort of hair-shirt martyr to take up a religion that bans Nativity plays in kindergartens and ham sandwiches in council offices. "Why Islam?" they enquire, as if asking, "What attracts you to daily coffee enemas?" That I didn't convert for my fella - an ex-Catholic, lapsed Baha'i of indeterminate spirituality - confuses them even more.
I was raised in a Baha'i family myself, unusual enough for a white, middle-class Aussie family in the '70s and '80s. My parents converted and met through the small, newish religion that began as a 19th-century Iranian offshoot of Islam before it branched out with its own logo and business stationery. Being typical Westerners,we hardly knew anything about the parent religion from which it sprang.
Thus, I discovered Islam on my own, in the halcyon days before September 11, when the only Islam title stocked in high-street bookstores was a translation of the Koran shelved in the New Age section next to the Dalai Lama's latest offering and books on tarot plastic card and astrology. I learned of Islam's beauty before it became forever associated with the Twin Towers falling to their devastating conclusion.
I bought my first Koran after chancing upon it in the Theosophical Society's bookshop. It was a large, heavy, green and faux-gold-covered edition; its mysterious Arabic script explained for non-natives via an English translation and extensive footnotes. This one is still my favourite Koran, even though my shelves are now stuffed full of other translations and editions. Inhaling the faint wisp of incense infused into its pages instantly brings me back to first encountering God's promise: "When my servants ask thee concerning me, I am indeed close [to them]: I listen to the prayer of every suppliant when he calleth on me: Let them also, with a will, listen to my call, and believe in me: That they may walk in the right way".
I had disconcerting experiences coming to Islam, too. There was meeting Sister Aishah*, who conducted Islamic education classes teaching everything from intricate burial rules to scriptural exegesis. Lolling about a Brunswick tram stop one afternoon, I noticed a hand-written leaflet for "Sisters' Classes" sticky-taped up on the window of a Muslim women's clothing shop. I rang and asked if I could go. "I'm not going to convert," I quickly emphasised. "But can I still come?"
Having adopted Islam in the '70s after a visit to Egypt, Sister Aishah was rumoured to belong to the women's wing of the Muslim Brotherhood and with her stern demeanour,she scared the willies out of me. I sat in on her class with half a dozen other young women and learned how ingrate, truth concealing, Islam-rejecting unbelievers would go to the hellfire. Her fundamentalist theological approach was not my cup of tea, but she was the only Muslim I knew teaching converts to actually practise the religion: how to pray, how to fast, how to worry about your non-Muslim relatives bound for the fire.
A more gentle approach came from a mild-mannered university professor. I was finishing a music degree and students could take a foreign language as a supplement. On a bit of a whim, I rocked up to the administration office asking to do Arabic."That's a bit unusual," noted my adviser. "Usually we have opera singers wanting Italian, French or German. I don't think there are any operas in Arabic." She paused, as if a Semitic aria might surface to mind,then continued, "But if the language department gives you permission, why not?"
The professor was a serene Maldivian who introduced me to the brilliant civilisations Islam had spawned whilst Christendom floundered in the Dark Ages. In getting to know my mostly Muslim classmates, I discovered they had normal lives and normal personalities, although they often came from far-flung places I would have had trouble pinpointing on a map. Some were religious, some weren't. Some wore headgear, most didn't.
It took me a few years of dipping my toe in the water before I finally surrendered to the call. In the meantime, I got married and moved overseas, but I just couldn't shake the sense that I was, underneath it all, a Muslim. As with many other converts to Islam, I didn't so much have a single transformative moment, as a gradual awareness that Islam was my spiritual home.
I was terribly excited to start wearing hijab. I'd always thought the clothes I'd seen Muslim women wearing - loose, flowing dresses with silky headscarves neatly framing their faces - made them look elegant and feminine. Unfortunately, a headscarf on me says 'babushka' more than 'Arabian beauty', but at least it covers bad-hair days well.
Like regional accents, if you hang around Muslims long enough, you can tell a woman's ethnic background by the colour and tying of her hijab. Young Turkish women have a thing for heavily patterned silk scarves tightly wrapped around their heads, Malays do pastels neatly pinned under the chin, and women from the Gulf clip flower claws in their hair under their scarves for more volume. Converts mix and match styles, and YouTube hijab-tying tutorials have become quite the thing!
Converting isn't like wearing a daring shade of mustard or signing up for a store loyalty card - it evokes deep emotions in the people around you. Parents wonder what happened, friends wonder if you'll stop being fun, employers wonder if they'll have to accommodate strange practices to avoid being sued for discrimination.
Click on their website http://www.smartcardfactory.com/smart-card-IC-card_c504 for more information.
When John, my mildly water-phobic (because he's Irish) husband, read the finished piece - an interview with three Muslim women converts - he laughed. "This makes you sound like a surfer babe," he said and unkindly pointed out I'd hardly spent my time pining for the surf; the closest I'd been to a beach for years was walking past bags of sand mix at Bunnings.
Even before converting, I'd sooner have jumped in the water fully clothed than bare my generously proportioned figure and pasty limbs to the disapproving glances of toned, tanned beachgoers. Thank goodness we now have the burqini, good for Islamic modesty and full-body UV protection.
But strangers suppose I must be some sort of hair-shirt martyr to take up a religion that bans Nativity plays in kindergartens and ham sandwiches in council offices. "Why Islam?" they enquire, as if asking, "What attracts you to daily coffee enemas?" That I didn't convert for my fella - an ex-Catholic, lapsed Baha'i of indeterminate spirituality - confuses them even more.
I was raised in a Baha'i family myself, unusual enough for a white, middle-class Aussie family in the '70s and '80s. My parents converted and met through the small, newish religion that began as a 19th-century Iranian offshoot of Islam before it branched out with its own logo and business stationery. Being typical Westerners,we hardly knew anything about the parent religion from which it sprang.
Thus, I discovered Islam on my own, in the halcyon days before September 11, when the only Islam title stocked in high-street bookstores was a translation of the Koran shelved in the New Age section next to the Dalai Lama's latest offering and books on tarot plastic card and astrology. I learned of Islam's beauty before it became forever associated with the Twin Towers falling to their devastating conclusion.
I bought my first Koran after chancing upon it in the Theosophical Society's bookshop. It was a large, heavy, green and faux-gold-covered edition; its mysterious Arabic script explained for non-natives via an English translation and extensive footnotes. This one is still my favourite Koran, even though my shelves are now stuffed full of other translations and editions. Inhaling the faint wisp of incense infused into its pages instantly brings me back to first encountering God's promise: "When my servants ask thee concerning me, I am indeed close [to them]: I listen to the prayer of every suppliant when he calleth on me: Let them also, with a will, listen to my call, and believe in me: That they may walk in the right way".
I had disconcerting experiences coming to Islam, too. There was meeting Sister Aishah*, who conducted Islamic education classes teaching everything from intricate burial rules to scriptural exegesis. Lolling about a Brunswick tram stop one afternoon, I noticed a hand-written leaflet for "Sisters' Classes" sticky-taped up on the window of a Muslim women's clothing shop. I rang and asked if I could go. "I'm not going to convert," I quickly emphasised. "But can I still come?"
Having adopted Islam in the '70s after a visit to Egypt, Sister Aishah was rumoured to belong to the women's wing of the Muslim Brotherhood and with her stern demeanour,she scared the willies out of me. I sat in on her class with half a dozen other young women and learned how ingrate, truth concealing, Islam-rejecting unbelievers would go to the hellfire. Her fundamentalist theological approach was not my cup of tea, but she was the only Muslim I knew teaching converts to actually practise the religion: how to pray, how to fast, how to worry about your non-Muslim relatives bound for the fire.
A more gentle approach came from a mild-mannered university professor. I was finishing a music degree and students could take a foreign language as a supplement. On a bit of a whim, I rocked up to the administration office asking to do Arabic."That's a bit unusual," noted my adviser. "Usually we have opera singers wanting Italian, French or German. I don't think there are any operas in Arabic." She paused, as if a Semitic aria might surface to mind,then continued, "But if the language department gives you permission, why not?"
The professor was a serene Maldivian who introduced me to the brilliant civilisations Islam had spawned whilst Christendom floundered in the Dark Ages. In getting to know my mostly Muslim classmates, I discovered they had normal lives and normal personalities, although they often came from far-flung places I would have had trouble pinpointing on a map. Some were religious, some weren't. Some wore headgear, most didn't.
It took me a few years of dipping my toe in the water before I finally surrendered to the call. In the meantime, I got married and moved overseas, but I just couldn't shake the sense that I was, underneath it all, a Muslim. As with many other converts to Islam, I didn't so much have a single transformative moment, as a gradual awareness that Islam was my spiritual home.
I was terribly excited to start wearing hijab. I'd always thought the clothes I'd seen Muslim women wearing - loose, flowing dresses with silky headscarves neatly framing their faces - made them look elegant and feminine. Unfortunately, a headscarf on me says 'babushka' more than 'Arabian beauty', but at least it covers bad-hair days well.
Like regional accents, if you hang around Muslims long enough, you can tell a woman's ethnic background by the colour and tying of her hijab. Young Turkish women have a thing for heavily patterned silk scarves tightly wrapped around their heads, Malays do pastels neatly pinned under the chin, and women from the Gulf clip flower claws in their hair under their scarves for more volume. Converts mix and match styles, and YouTube hijab-tying tutorials have become quite the thing!
Converting isn't like wearing a daring shade of mustard or signing up for a store loyalty card - it evokes deep emotions in the people around you. Parents wonder what happened, friends wonder if you'll stop being fun, employers wonder if they'll have to accommodate strange practices to avoid being sued for discrimination.
Click on their website http://www.smartcardfactory.com/smart-card-IC-card_c504 for more information.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)