Money Matters

Tips for saving money in all areas of life – business and personal.

Upgrade your old camera phone and possibly win $1 million

The Gazelle iPhone Sweepstakes could win you a cool million dollars - just by selling your old phone!
The Gazelle iPhone Sweepstakes could win you a cool million dollars – just by selling your old phone!

Earlier today Apple unveiled 2 brand new iPhones to be released on September 20th. As the launch date for new iPhones gets closer, the value of old iPhones continues to depreciate. To ensure consumers who are planning to upgrade to a new iPhone get the most value out of their old device,Gazelle is offering consumers the opportunity to lock in today's price for their previous model iPhones or other devices until 11:59 p.m. ET tonight. Consumers who lock in their price today will have until October 15th to send it in. Current pricing for the iPhone 5 ranges between $125 for a broken phone and $350 for a phone in flawless condition. With the sale price of the new iPhone 5c set at $99 with a 2 year contract, you can trade in your broken iPhone, get the new release, and still have some money left over for groceries! Additionally, Gazelle launched its Become a Gazellionaire™ Sweepstakes where one lucky person can win $1 million.Visit Gazelle.com/sweeps for more info.

Go to Gazelle today, see what your iPhone or other device is worth, and trade it in for a chance to win $1 million!

NO PURCHASE NECESSARY. The Become a Gazellionaire Sweepstakes starts on 9/9/13 at 12 a.m. (midnight) ET and ends on 12/31/13 at 11:59:59 PM ET. Visit Gazelle.com/sweeps for Official Rules and complete details on how to register, entry instructions, including how to enter without a transaction, odds of winning, etc. Open only to legal residents of the 50 U.S./D.C., 18 years or older. Void in Puerto Rico and where prohibited or restricted by law. Sponsor: Gazelle, Inc.

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Warning: Your identity is about to be stolen

More than 10 million Americans are victimized by identity theft every year, according to a study conducted by the Identity Theft Resource Center in 2003 and 2004. A statistical analysis on identify theft, The Aftermath Study was created by the group to further determine ways to combat the crime.

According to the study, the post-identity theft recovery time can last as few as three hours and up to 5,840 hours depending on the severity of the identity crime, which varies from a missing credit card to social security card fraud.
To learn about a few simple precautions to avoid being an identity theft victim, read a short article at parade.com. Very simple and easy suggestions that could save you thousands of hours and dollars getting your life back in order.

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Mark to speak on Ophthalmic photography and job search advice

 

Mark photographs patient's retina with a digital fundus camera

On Monday, November 1, I'll be giving a presentation on how I discovered the field of Ophthalmic Photography (photography of the eye) and then review the techniques used to have the position created just for me.

The presentation is geared mainly toward helping photographers explore other areas of imaging, how to find those positions and convincing an employer that you are the right person for the job – regardless of age or experience.

We'll also look at 15 job hunting tips that will help any person in any career field find their next job.

The free presentation starts at 8 p.m. at Mackenzie's Grill (at the Holiday Inn) at 4181 West 150th St. in Cleveland. (Just north of the I-71/West 150th St. exit).

Please subscribe to our YouTube channel and then click the bell icon to get instant notifications when we upload a new video: https://SpectraLight.com/YouTubeSubscribe

See the gear and software we use to create our videos and photos: http://SpectraLight.com/Gear

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Win FREE GIFTS on SpectraLight’s Facebook FunDays

Let’s have some fun AND give away some FREE GIFTS too!
 
Periodically – we’ll post a trivia question on our SpectraLight Photography Facebook page (http://www.facebook.com/spectralight). Be the first person to post the correct answer and you’ll receive something really cool valued at up to $100.

Gifts may be a Starbucks, Best Buy or iTunes gift card or a free portrait session. The actual gift will be listed with the trivia question so you’ll know what you’re playing for.

So hop onto our SpectraLight Photography Facebook page (http://www.facebook.com/spectralight) and click “Like” at the top of the page to be notified when a trivia question is posted. Then, send me a “Friend Request” (Mark Madere) if we aren’t already friends on Facebook.

The prize for our first trivia question will be a Best Buy gift card so hurry and “Like” our page now: http://www.facebook.com/spectralight

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Dragging Granny into the 21st century

E-mail pictures of your family to grandma - even if she doesn't have a computer!

Keeping in touch with older relatives can be challenging when they don't use a computer.

Now, there are several products and services available that can enhance communication between those who use e-mail and those who don't because they lack a computer or the skills to operate one.

Whether you want to send grandma a quick e-mail with the latest family news, a snapshot of your son hitting the game winning home run or even share the latest “inside scoop” about your family from Facebook – there are several solutions to choose from. …

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You’ve just had your identity stolen! NOW what?

Have you been a victim of identity theft? If not, it may just be a matter of time before you are.

ID theft can be more than the inconvenience of disputing fraudulent charges on your credit card bill. For some, it can take YEARS to get your financial affairs back in order.

Sheryl Harris of the Cleveland Plain Dealer has written an excellent article on how to clean up the mess of ID theft. Click here to read it now.

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Are you tired of being stuck in the huge “sink hole” called debt?

Are you trying to get out of debt?

My wife and I were –  so we decided to do something about it. We took a class from Financial Peace University (FPU) – sponsored by Gateway West Church in Cleveland. What once seemed overwhelming is now quite manageable as we put into practice many of the amazing tips we learned.

At one our classes, I discovered a simple technique that saved us $150.00 on the purchase of a new dining room set. We also learned how to create a budget that is very doable and speeding us on our way to financial freedom!

FPU was created by NY Times best selling author Dave Ramsey – a life-changing program that teaches you to achieve your financial goals by eliminating debt, saving for the future, and giving like never before. More than 1 million families have attended FPU with amazing results. You will be challenged and motivated to make a plan for your money and change your family tree forever!

For more information, visit: http://www.daveramsey.com/fpu/home

On right side of page – enter zip code 44111. The first class on list should be ours (Hosted by Gateway Church West, held at West Park YMCA). Read the details and sign up! This class WILL CHANGE YOUR LIFE! We are living proof.

Mark and Doreen Madere

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Craig’s List scammers are out to get you

Fake check and genuine FedEx envelope that it arrived in. Double click a photo to see it larger.

Consider this scenario: You've just received an e-mail from someone ready to pay full price for an item you have for sale on Craig's List. The potential buyer is happy to wait until the check clears before you send the item. Two days later, you get an e-mail from the buyer saying they “accidentally” sent the check for an amount higher than the price of your item. All you have to do is wire the difference back to them ASAP (BEFORE the check clears).

I was selling a clarinet and experienced the above exchange of e-mails. To make it seem legitimate, the check came via FedEx and was written out of a business account. The amount was $2000.00 more than the price of the clarinet!

Knowing all this added up to nothing but bad news, I contacted WEWS NewsChannel5 to investigate. Read their report at  http://bit.ly/bTfGP2

Have you had a bad experience selling something online? Please share it by commenting on this post.

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Smartphones may make digital cameras a thing of the past

Droid X

It seems that every day, there's another smartphone being introduced that makes your pocket sized digital camera a little less important. The latest smartphones have higher resolution than many digital cameras on the market. Why not lighten your purse or back pack and leave the camera at home?

Case in point: Motorola’s latest Android smartphone, the Droid X, has an 8 megapixel camera with a dual-LED flash and auto-focus. It also captures 720p video, and has a 4.3-inch, 854 x 480 WVGA display. It will be available later this summer from Verizon Wireless.

The Galaxy S camera phone made by Samsung will soon be offered by the top four U.S. carriers. However, AT&T, Sprint, T-Mobile, and Verizon Wireless will each offer the Galaxy with other names: Captivate, Epic 4G, Vibrant, and Fascinate, respectively. Sprint’s version includes a front-facing VGA camera for video calling.

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Your bank’s ATM – cause of identity theft?

An identity thief was nabbed in North Ridgeville – a small community about 25 minutes west of Cleveland.

Using a device called a “skimmer,” he acquired the information from the magnetic stripe on each bank customer's card and then used a remote camera to record the PIN as it was entered.

To learn how this is done, how to recognize a “skimmer” attached to an ATM and how to avoid becoming a victim of identity theft, read the informative article at: http://www.snopes.com/fraud/atm/atmcamera.asp

Do you have any tips to avoid identity theft? Please leave your comment – below.

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