Check Into Cash BIG Beginnings Giveaway: more than your average $500 Facebook sweepstakes

CLEVELAND, TN, January 27, 2016: Time is running out to enter the Check Into Cash BIG Beginnings Giveaway on Facebook. The January 2016 giveaway is different from many other sweepstakes, because for BIG Beginnings, Check Into Cash is spreading the love beyond the lucky winner. The winner of the giveaway will receive a $500 prize, and then Check Into Cash will match the $500 with a donation to Big Brothers Big Sisters of America.

 

“It always feels great to give back to our customers and online community members,” said Check Into Cash President Steve Scoggins. “We figure the only way it could feel any better is to match that prize with a donation to charity.”

 

This theory was put to the test in October’s #PinktoberPumpkins Photo Contest, where the $500 prize was matched with a donation to the American Cancer Society for Breast Cancer Awareness Month. This month’s charity, Big Brothers Big Sisters of America, helps children in communities across the country build supportive relationships with positive role models.

 

“Big Brothers Big Sisters of America is an excellent organization making a real difference in the lives of kids throughout our nation,” said Scoggins. “We are thrilled to be contributing to a program that connects tomorrow’s leaders with appropriate mentors.”

 

For anyone who wants to enter for a chance to win $500, visit http://ift.tt/205zwyI before midnight January 31 and select the BIG Beginnings Giveaway tab. To learn more about Check Into Cash stores and services, visit CheckIntoCash.com. For information about Big Brothers Big Sisters of America, check out BBBS.org.

 

About Check Into Cash

 

Founded in Cleveland, Tennessee, in 1993 by entrepreneur and philanthropist Allan Jones, the Check Into Cash brand is state regulated and offers customers a wide variety of financial solutions. Check Into Cash stores offer consumer micro-loans, check cashing, Western Union^® money transfers, prepaid U.S. Money Cards, and other convenient services as a complete one stop money shop.

 

Check Into Cash is a founding member of the Community Financial Services Association of America (CFSA), the trade association representing the nation’s payday lenders. The CFSA advocates for best practices and helps enact legislation that balances the needs of the consumer with the interests of the industry.

 

As a national leader and industry standard bearer, Check Into Cash firmly believes in truthful advertising and full disclosure of its services.

 

©2016 Check Into Cash, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

 

Katherine Bartcher

423-473-4186

KBartcher@CheckIntoCash.com

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Determined to Keep Your 2016 New Year’s Resolutions? Here’s How

As January comes to a close, stop and ask yourself how well you’ve done with your resolution so far. Are you keeping up with your goals, or have you already started slipping back old habits? Don’t give up! Find ways to stick to your resolution, and it will stick to you.

1. Be specific.

Don’t resolve to “Eat more healthfully.” That’s too vague. What are you really asking of yourself? Resolve to “Eat breakfast,” “pack a lunch,” “stop eating fast food,” “cook dinner at home,” or “no more sugary soda.” That’s the Strategy of Clarity.

I did this with reading. I love to read, but I wasn’t spending enough time reading. So I resolved to “Quit reading a book I don’t like” (which changed my life), “Do ‘study’ reading on the weekend,” and I also monitor my reading — see below.

2. Monitor your resolution.

If we monitor something, we manage it much better. Just simply tracking how much you are — or aren’t — doing something will push you in the right direction. That’s the Strategy of Monitoring. With reading, I’ve started to post a photo on my Facebook page every Sunday night to show what books I’ve read that week. I find this very fun and satisfying, and I have to say, it also helps me push myself to find more time to read.

3. Figure out your Tendency.

There are Four Tendencies: Upholders, Questioners, Obligers, and Rebels .  This is the Strategy of the Four Tendencies.

4. Give yourself external accountability. 

Now that you know your Tendency, if you’re an Obliger, to keep a resolution, give yourself external accountability. This is key. Tell other people about your resolution, work out with a trainer, take a class, do something with a friend, hire a coach.

Or start a Better Than Before Habits Group, where people hold each other accountable. Everyone can be working on different resolutions — what matters is that they’re holding each other accountable. To get the “starter kit” for people launching an accountability group, request it here. This is the Strategy of Accountability.

Note: the Strategy of Accountability can also be helpful to Upholders and Questioners — but it’s often actually counter-productive for Rebels.

5. Treat yourself!

This is the most fun way to strengthen your resolutions. When we give ourselves healthy treats, we boost our self-command — which helps us keep our resolutions. When we give more to ourselves, we can ask more from ourselves. But make sure they’re healthy treats. Food and drink, shopping, and screen time are often unhealthy treats. This is the Strategy of Treats.

6. “Don’t let the perfect be the enemy of the good.”

Thank you, Voltaire.  If you break your resolution today, try again tomorrow.  Try to use your slip-up as a lesson in how to do better next time. Although some people assume that strong feelings of guilt or shame act as safeguards to help people stick to good habits, the opposite is true. People who feel less guilt and who show compassion toward themselves in the face of failure are better able to regain self-control, while people who feel deeply guilty and full of self-blame struggle more. This is the Strategy of Safeguards.

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Changing Lives By Volunteering

BIG things are happening this year! Be part of something BIG by volunteering with the Big Brothers Big Sister of America Foundation today. Read real stories of what happens when you think BIG!

Changing lives—one story at a time.

The impact a Big Brothers Big Sisters relationship can have is real. We hope these Little stories inspire you to start something by becoming a donor, volunteer or enrolling a child.

Real Life Stories Andrew and Jon John helps Andrew build his confidence. Deva and Zorina Deva and Zorina have formed a lasting bond. Jon and Jesse Jon looks forward to going to baseball games with Jesse. Lanitra and DaeAsia Lanitra has made positive change in Dae’Asia’s attitude.

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9 Things to Do to Get Ready for Tax Season Now!

Getting ready for tax season can be scary, but you don’t have to be caught off guard this year. Check out these tips to help you get organized and get as much as you can out of your tax refund.
1. Prepare a central location for all of your tax documents. It might be a desk drawer or it might be a folder. Just be sure you have one single place for the tax documents you’ll receive in January and February, so that when you do file your taxes, you can easily and quickly find all of the documents you need in one place.

2. Use this last week of the year to take advantage of any tax breaks. For example, there are many tax breaks available for simple energy efficiency improvements that you can do in this final week of the year.

3. Finish up your charitable contributions. If you’ve been intending to give money to charity this year, get it done now so that you can claim the deduction on your taxes. Keep careful track of what you donated – perhaps even in that central folder for your documents.

4. Purchase and install the tax software of your choice. The mainstream tax software packages all do a pretty good job. Get one early, install it, and make sure it’s updated (and you know how to use it) before crunch time rolls around. You don’t want April to arrive

5. Start hitting some tax-oriented blogs. If you’re obsessed with squeezing every nickel from your return, you can start subscribing to solid tax-oriented blogs like the WSJ Tax Blog or Tax Rascal. (I’m partial to the TurboTax Blog because I’m occasionally a guest contributor.)

6. Do a rough estimate. This is the perfect time to do a “back of the envelope” estimate to see whether or not you’re actually going to owe taxes this year. It doesn’t have to be perfect, but it’s a good idea to do it – and to estimate high, so you don’t get a nasty surprise in a few months.

7. Start saving. If you do have a bill coming, start saving to make sure that bill is well-covered. Again, aim high – having too much savings isn’t really a problem, but not having enough really can be.

8. If you’re afraid of doing taxes yourself, find a good preparer. This is a good thing to ask your friends and associates about. Who prepares their taxes? Do they do a good job? Is there anyone to avoid? You might even find yourself with a foot in the door of a really good preparer.

9. Come up with a plan. Don’t wait until the last day to do all of your taxes at once. Do it a bit at a time, spread out over a longer period. This allows you to check over your work with fresh eyes (and perhaps notice things you didn’t see before). Come up with a plan – maybe you’ll spend an hour each Saturday starting in February on your taxes. Add it to your calendar now so that you’ll know you’ve got to do it.

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10 Money Tips Millennials Need in 2016

We all make resolutions for the new year. Whether it’s changing the way we look, act, or think, we all have goals to make every year better. One of the biggest goals is always making our wallets fatter, and we have some great tips to help you make that happen!

Click Image Below For Top 10 Money Tips For 2016!

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Charity of the Month

Check Into Cash is supporting the Big Brothers Big Sisters of America Foundation to bring in the New Year with some BIG changes. Learn more about the amazing organization, and why we’re so excited to support them as our Charity of the Month!

For more than 100 years, Big Brothers Big Sisters has operated under the belief that inherent in every child is the ability to succeed and thrive in life. As the nation’s largest donor and volunteer supported mentoring network, Big Brothers Big Sisters makes meaningful, monitored matches between adult volunteers (“Bigs”) and children (“Littles”), ages 6 through 18, in communities across the country. We develop positive relationships that have a direct and lasting effect on the lives of young people.

Vision: all children achieve success in life.

Mission: provide children facing adversity with strong and enduring, professionally supported one-to-one relationships that change their lives for the better, forever.

Accountability: by partnering with parents/guardians, volunteers and others in the community we are accountable for each child in our program achieving:

• Higher aspirations, greater confidence, and better relationships

• Avoidance of risky behaviors

• Educational success

Our Programs Start Something

Here’s the proof. National research has shown that positive relationships between Littles and their Bigs have a direct and measurable impact on children’s lives. By participating in our programs, Little Brothers and Sisters are:

• more confident in their schoolwork performance
• able to get along better with their families
• 46% less likely to begin using illegal drugs
• 27% less likely to begin using alcohol
• 52% less likely to skip school.¹

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