Contemplating a 'Free' Checking Account? Four Red Flags to Watch For

Free checking accounts seem to be offered by every bank, but few of them are really free. While many of them come with hidden fees, other supposedly “free” checking accounts come with a lot of restrictions. If you're considering a free checking account, make sure that you answer these questions first.

1. What are the restrictions on the account?

In order to provide you with free checking, a bank has to make its money from somewhere. In most cases, this money comes from the fees they get from direct deposit or the fees they get every time you swipe your debit card. For this reason, most free checking accounts require you to have direct deposit and/or make a certain number of charges on your debit card each month. Make sure you can meet these requirements before opening the account.

2. Are you sure you can keep the minimum balance?

Banks are legally allowed to advertise free checking even if those accounts come with fees if you break one of the rules. The most common rule that customers break is a minimum balance requirement. These requirements set an amount of money that must be kept in the account at all times. If your spending ever forces the balance in the account to drop below this line, you get charged a fee. I some cases, the minimum balance on a free checking account is $15,000 or higher.

3. Do you have to order your own checks?

If you can meet the other requirements but the checks you need have to be purchased separately, one of these accounts might still be an all right deal if you don't use a lot of checks each month. Ordering a basic supply of Disney checks from http://www.checks-superstore.com/ is just a one-time fee, and the cost of ordering checks is often a lot less than paying fees on the account. Of course, if you go through a lot of checks each month, you might want to keep looking for other accounts.

4. Is there a time limit on “free”?

Even if you meet every other requirement, the fine print on many free checking accounts states that you will have to start paying fees once a time limit is up. If this is the case for the account you're considering, then it might make sense to either switch checking accounts frequently or look for a low-cost account that you can use for years.

3 Fun Ways to Personalize Inexpensive Wedding Favors

Bottles of wine, Swarovski crystals, even custom fondue pots - some people spend way too much money on personalized wedding favors. It's not necessary to spend $100, or even $20, on every person who attends your wedding, and most of your guests truly don't expect you to. 

Wedding favors are considered an optional, but if you choose to include them, they shouldn't cost you more than $5 a person. You'd be surprised how many options are available for that price, including many personalized favors that display your names and the date of your wedding. These kinds of favors will be particularly memorable, and they add a fun, unique touch to your reception. Here are 3 popular examples of items that will look great but cost you next to nothing.

1. Use Candy

Personalized candy is a way to look like you spent more than you did while keeping your wedding favors fun for everyone. Who doesn't love complimentary candy? There are plenty of sites online which specialize in personalized Hershey kisses, lollipops, and buttermints. You can even get personalized m&ms straight from the factory. They can print a message and even a photo on each individual piece of candy. These can be handed out to guests in tins or simply displayed in candy dishes on every table. 

If you're looking for something even more affordable, get some personalized plastic totes and make your own candy bags, filled with old-fashioned or themed sweets and tied with a ribbon. Of course, with any edible wedding favor, you'll need a plan for how to properly store them. You don't want to hand out lots of chocolate at a sunny, outdoor reception! The great thing about candy favors is there are all sorts of variations and ways to create them, from elegant to whimsical. You're sure to find the right confection for your kind of wedding.

2. Add Stickers

Stickers can be fun on their own, but youll most likely want to use personalized stickers to embellish other favors, like tins of candy, knick-knacks, or other small items. Simply embellishing a plain wedding souvenir with a custom label will instantly make an inexpensive favor look really special. The stickers can include a photograph or just a custom-designed message in your wedding's color scheme, usually saying thank you to guests for attending. You can even place them on a piece of cardstock and include a trinket like a pin or magnet to go along with them. 

These same stickers can be used for your guestbook, decorations, or thank-you notes for gifts. They're made of remarkably durable material, and many sites offer a wide variety of design options, so it's possible to get really creative. Many brides and grooms sometimes question if they should give wedding favors to younger guests at the reception, and stickers would be one idea that the children are sure to appreciate.

3. Try Key Chains

Key chains as wedding favors might not seem all that upscale at first, but it really depends on what kind of key chain you're thinking of. There are plenty of ways to personalize elegant silver key rings by engraving your names and your wedding date, but for cheap and easy wedding favors, you'll probably want a clear key chain that you can slip a photo or message into. That's where your personalized labels could come in handy. 

Chances are, very few people besides your parents will be interested in a key chain with you and your future spouse's photograph, but keychains featuring pictures of your wedding location or labels that commemorate your wedding like any other big event can often look really stylish. For fancier key chain favors, you might want to embellish with a charm or other trinket. Even consider giving out picture frame key chains with your label on the back side, so that guests are invited to slip their own photo from the occasion in later.

Your choice of wedding favors will entirely depend on the number of guests, location, and style of your wedding. If you've splurged on a big-budget affair, you can still save money on wedding favors by choosing something that looks tasteful and more expensive than it really is. If your wedding is casual or unconventional, you have a lot more room to come up with fun and unique ideas for favors. 

Personalization is the quickest way to make your favors memorable, even if they're not especially fancy. It doesn't take much to show your appreciation to those who took the time to share in your special day.

Amy Chandler is a guest blogger for DiscountBannerPrinting.co.uk. You can follow her on Twitter @DBPamy.

Tips to make money online by investing in forex market

Foreign exchange market, also referred to as forex market, forex capital market, currency exchange market or fx, deals in currencies from all around the globe. The market permits financial institutions including banks to trade different currency denominations in an easy way. The best thing about forex trading is that it can be done online. 

However, before investing hard earned dollars in the forex market, one should consider some essential information about the market to understand how he or she can make noteworthy profits through this investment tool. Here are the factors to take care of before having a jump start in the market.

• Have a clear concept – At the outset, one must have a clear concept about what is forex market and how to trade in it. Foreign exchange market allows a trader to buy a certain amount of a particular currency paying the exact amount of currency from another country. The motto is obviously to purchase at a low and sell at a high price. This is same as the procedure followed in the stock market. For instance, if a trader believes that Euro is going to rise in terms of value, he can buy particular amount of Euro through forex market using American dollar or any other currency of his choice. 
• Understand the worthiness of forex – One must understand that forex trading is not as popular as stock trading. According to many economists, foreign exchange trading is nothing but currency speculation. Some of them even call this as a type of gambling. But that doesn’t make any sense as even buying bonds or stocks depends on sheer speculation. Nevertheless, before actively participating in online forex trading, a wise investor must open a free demo account with any forex trading website and gather hands on experience in the subject and about the market. A trader can operate virtual transaction through such an account for as long as thirty days. Trading in the forex market can be done online through a forex broker or forex mini account. Such an account can be created by signing up for an online trade account with reputed forex brokerage companies like FXCM, FX Solutions and GFT Forex. Taking a course on forex trading may come handy in order to trade successfully in the forex market and ensure minimum loss as well. Participating in mock forex trading can also come handy to gather experience. 
• Know the scams – To conclude, one must understand what is genuine and what is not. The beginners often get confused with promises like ‘forex made easy’, ‘make huge profit in forex’ etc. These are often misleading or even scam. One should study the market and know the basics of forex trading before he invests his hard earned money in it. He may also participate in seminars or webinars related to forex trading to enhance his ability to make more dollars by trading in the foreign exchange market. 

These are some good and helpful forex trading tips that come really handy especially for the newbie in the market. If you were looking for foreign exchange try here https://www.hsbc.com.au/1/2/personal/foreign-exchange/getrate

What to Do and Not Do When Selling Your Home

In the past couple years, real estate values have been the subject of many debates and news stories. With a down market, many home sellers are finding it hard to get the price they want and many are finding it hard to get a return on their investment. This doesn't mean it is not possible to get your asking price and make a little profit. There are right and wrong ways to sell a home, you just need to understand both sides.

Selling Solo or Through an Agent?

"I can sell my home myself" is often the first words of a bad deal. Many homeowners decide to go at it alone, trying to save money on the sale. For many this is the single mistake that keeps their home on the market and often results in a loss in profits. The average agent's cut is 2.5-3%. This can actually be negotiated down due to the competition real estate agents have from discount brokers and flat-rate services. Additionally, the benefits of an agent's years of expertise may yield a higher selling price, cancelling out the commission altogether.
Pre-Inspect and Repair

Before you sell a car, you would get the broken headlight fixed, or deduct the amount of the repair from the asking price. A home is no different. If a buyer sees a minor or major repair that is needed, they will negotiate you down from your asking price to cover the cost of the repair. Have your house inspected and make any repairs that will drive the price down. You want to sell your buyers on the features, stability, and possibilities of your house becoming their dream home, this is hard to do if you have leaking faucets and bad wiring.

Pricing and Value

If you have been following the real estate market or even talking with your neighbors, you know the market is down and prices have fallen. When you decide to sell your home, you have to keep the price within the current market and price it similar to other homes for sale in your neighborhood, even if you feel your home is worth more. Pricing too high will slow your sale and often result in a desperate sale later. Remove your emotional attachment and price your home at what the market deems is the true value.

Clean, Stage, and Prepare to Leave

One of the biggest mistakes made by first time home sellers is the lack of preparation. When you are selling your home, you are selling the structure, not the clutter. Remove as much as you can so your prospective buyers can get a good look at the floors, walls, and surfaces of the home. Your best tool for selling your home is your buyer's imagination of what the home can become when they move in, not what it looks like as you live in it.

Take Compelling Photos

Whether you are selling solo or using an agent, a picture is still worth a thousand words. You can easily find listings with blurry, low quality pictures of the property, and you will more than likely see those years from now as the house stays on the market. Be sure to take high quality photos of the outside, landscape, inside, and the unique features of the home to catch the buyer's attention and make them want to tour the home.

Selling your home is a big decision filled with planning, preparation and care. Take your time to sell the beauty of your home, research the local market value, and give your buyer the experience they expect when they visit their prospective new home. You will find the smallest details can result in the largest sales.

Sheila Madison is a property blogger who advises both home owners and real estate agents on the proper way to prep a home for quick sale.

Small Business Ideas You Can Start at Home

Working in the corporate world isn’t easy but you do it anyway because it is fulfills a very basic need of us, which is to survive. We need money to raise our children, provide them with their needs and send them to school. We need it to finance the roof over our heads and feed our family. It’s a lot of hard work and by the time retirement rolls by, you’re more than ready to hang up your corporate hat. And then you’re faced with a new dilemma--empty nest syndrome. 

The first few weeks and maybe months of retirement are going to be all about leisure and travel. But once the novelty of being unemployed has worn off, you suddenly realized that the house is a little too quiet. With your grown children either married or away at college, you realize that you have very little to do. Even gardening and other hobbies are not enough to fill all your free hours. So you begin to think of a small business--nothing too stressful--something you enjoy and something you can start in the comfort of your own home. Here are some suggestions that you can take inspiration from. 

Home Daycare

Some parents love taking care of children that they take to caring for other children as well. If you fall under this category, you can opt to operate a home daycare center where you will care for kids whose parents are busy at work and unable to watch their kids during the day. What makes home daycare better than a commercial day care center is that you can set the limit to how many children you will look after and this small number will help you in making sure that every child’s need is met. Home daycare is also more reassuring for parents especially if they are your friends and they know that you can be trusted to take care of their beloved children.

Bake by Demand

Another lucrative small business that you can start at home is a mini bake shop where you only bake by demand or on an order basis. This will make a great venture especially if you love baking or if you find it therapeutic. You can start out with your friends until your clientele grows through word-of-mouth recommendations. Another great marketing strategy you can employ is to always bring a cake or any homemade dessert to a party or as a gift so that guests who love your baked concoctions will ask about who made them and place an order.

Consultancy Firm

If you have been in a particular industry for a long time, then you know your work inside and out. This experience would be beneficial for you especially if you decide to open a consultancy firm, where people can ask about starting a business similar to where you’ve been working at. Example, if you were in finance, you can advise people on how they can manage their money wisely and also on what would make fantastic investments. If you’re used to be in marketing, you can help small business owners to come up with effective strategies that would help market their products and services better.


If you are planning to make one of these small business ideas into a reality, make sure you get prepaid legal plans for whatever legal problems that may arise. Attorney fees are expensive but if you go for prepaid plans, it comes out cheaper through its monthly subscription fees. Another thing you should remember about starting your own small business is that if it’s something you love to do, then it doesn’t feel like work at all.


About the AuthorBased in San Diego California, Tiffany Matthews is a professional writer with over 5 years of writing experience. She also blogs about travel, fashion, and anything under the sun at wordbaristas.com, a group blog that she shares with her good friends. In her free time, she likes to travel, read books, and watch movies. You can find her on Twitter as @TiffyCat8

Is Car Insurance Calculated the Same the World Over?

UK drivers have enjoyed some reductions in their car insurance premiums over the past few months, which has been caused by new gender neutral policies, as well as by ongoing competition within the insurance sector. However, there can be some significant differences between car insurance policies around the world, which are often the result of varying regulations and levels of risk. How car insurance policies and premiums are calculated are also determined by local circumstances for drivers.

In the UK, the average cost of car insurance is currently around £1,100, although this can vary quite considerably once age and location are factored in. Younger drivers still tend to pay a lot more than older drivers, while those over the age of 55 can also suffer from increasing premiums. Decisions are made on insurance calculations from your past driving history, the kind of car you drive, and whether you’re doing everything you can to keep a car safe.

The level of risk attributed to a car insurance policy can rise and fall depending on different countries and their general insurance policies. In the United States, for example, the cost of insurance is different from state to state, and can be as high as $2,500 on average in Michigan, through to $995 in Vermont. Michigan also issues driver responsibility fees, and has a high proportion of uninsured drivers, which pushes up premiums.

The cost of car insurance can also be considerably different in countries where third party liability insurance is not mandatory; this is the case in South Africa and New Zealand, where the larger number of people without any form of insurance means that some individual policies can end up being large. Other factors that can affect insurance premium calculations can include limits of no claims discounts, which in France can be a maximum of 50 per cent of the policy’s value.

There are ongoing efforts, however, to standardise insurance costs and calculations. The EU Motor Directive of 2009 imposes rules over third party insurance across European member states, as well as practices for compensation and minimum claims. How rates and premiums are calculated still comes down to individual insurers, though, who can choose to be stricter or more lenient depending on their target market. Specialist insurers can be more relaxed, for example, about providing reasonable cover for kit cars or to drivers with spent criminal convictions.

Similar rules apply in Asia, where car insurance can range from the competitive policies and specialist rates of an insurer like Direct Asia in Thailand, through to China’s combination of nationalised and private insurance. Average calculations and the level of risk calculated across different drivers can consequently be affected by how much of a stake governments have in keeping insurance rates low, and the competitiveness of individual companies to offer low rates to customers.

Author Bio

Paul Taylor is a freelance blogger covering car insurance from around the world. He recommends that drivers check out www.directasia.th for more information on low cost insurance. When not looking for deals, Paul enjoys camping tours and caving.