If you have to choose between your Desktop and your laptop, use your laptop and save money

I'm sure that we could all use an extra bit of money.

And it's possible to save a little every month just by being proactive about electrical use from your laptop computer, about $2.50 a month, or $30 a year.

If you take the time to unplug your laptop charging cord after you are done charging your computer, you can really save that much in electricity.

If you get rid of your desktop entirely, you can save even more, and possibly even afford a nicer laptop computer.

Four Major Cancer Patient Support Charities Spent Less Than 5% of Donations On Cancer Victims

According to CNN, four major charities have been found by United States Consumer Protection Bureau investigators to have spent 97% of over 187 million dollars of donations on a number of expenses that have nothing to do with actually helping cancer patients. These charities were all run by James Reynolds and his family, James Reynolds Jr. (his son), and Rose Perkins (his ex-wife).

James Reynolds Sr. is the CEO of Cancer Support Services and the Cancer Fund of America.

James Reynolds Jr. is the CEO of the Breast Cancer Society.

Rose Perkins is the CEO of the Children's Cancer Fund of America.

As a direct quote from CNN:

"The government says the charities claimed to provide direct support for cancer patients, breast cancer patients and children with cancer. "These were lies." "

Aside from the lavish expenditures, the charities also showed a stunning level of nepotism and cronyism, all run by the family and extended family of a single man, and employing a number of friends, family members, and extended relations in capacities that are completely unrelated to their prior experience and primarily based on a desire to give them work.

Among the expenses listed in the report as reported on CNN, donor funds were used to pay for private fundraisers for personal use or for themselves. Charity workers used donor funds to buy cars and other vehicles, consumer goods, college tuition, gym memberships, Jet Ski outings, subscriptions to dating services, luxury cruise lines, and tickets to concerts and sporting events.

It's quite lamentable to hear that people are willing not only to appropriate money from their businesses, but to take money away from people who arguably need it the most: men, women, and children afflicted with cancer and in need of help.

For more information, refer to the Federal Trade Commission newsletter, which I will also reproduce below.

FTC, All 50 States and D.C. Charge Four Cancer Charities With Bilking Over $187 Million from Consumers

Complaint Alleges Defendants Falsely Claimed Donations Would Help Pay For Pain Medication, Hospice Care & Other Services; But Spent Donations on Cars, Trips, Sports Tickets, & Professional Fundraisers

FOR RELEASE

May 19, 2015

TAGS:

 

• deceptive/misleading conduct
 
• Bureau of Consumer Protection
 
• Northwest Region
• Consumer Protection
 
• Charity

The Federal Trade Commission and 58 law enforcement partners from every state and the District of Columbia have charged four sham cancer charities and their operators with bilking more than $187 million from consumers. The defendants told donors their money would help cancer patients, including children and women suffering from breast cancer, but the overwhelming majority of donations benefitted only the perpetrators, their families and friends, and fundraisers. This is one of the largest actions brought to date by enforcers against charity fraud.

Sham Cancer Charities infographic – click to view full-size.

Named in the federal court complaint are Cancer Fund of America, Inc. (CFA), Cancer Support Services Inc. (CSS), their president, James Reynolds, Sr., and their chief financial officer and CSS’s former president, Kyle Effler; Children’s Cancer Fund of America Inc. (CCFOA) and its president and executive director, Rose Perkins; and The Breast Cancer Society Inc. (BCS) and its executive director and former president, James Reynolds II.

CCFOA and Perkins, BCS, Reynolds II and Effler have agreed to settle the charges against them. Under the proposed settlement orders, Effler, Perkins and Reynolds II will be banned from fundraising, charity management, and oversight of charitable assets, and CCFOA and BCS will be dissolved.  Litigation will continue against CFA, CSS and James Reynolds Sr.

“Cancer is a debilitating disease that impacts millions of Americans and their families every year. The defendants’ egregious scheme effectively deprived legitimate cancer charities and cancer patients of much-needed funds and support,” said Jessica Rich, Director of the FTC’s Bureau of Consumer Protection. “The defendants took in millions of dollars in donations meant to help cancer patients, but spent it on themselves and their fundraisers. I’m pleased that the FTC and our state partners are acting to end this appalling scheme.”

Virginia Attorney General Mark Herring said, “The allegations of fundraising for personal gain in the name of children with cancer and women battling breast cancer are simply shameful. This is the first time the FTC, all 50 states, and the District of Columbia have filed a joint enforcement action alleging deceptive solicitations by charities and I hope it serves as a strong warning for anyone trying to exploit the kindness and generosity of others.”

South Carolina Secretary of State Mark Hammond said, “When charities lie to donors, it is our duty to step in to protect them. At the same time, however, this historic action should remind everyone to be vigilant when giving to charity. This case is an unfortunate example of why I always tell my constituents to give from the heart, but give smart.”

According to the complaint, the defendants used telemarketing calls, direct mail, websites, and materials distributed by the Combined Federal Campaign, which raises money from federal employees for non-profit organizations, to portray themselves as legitimate charities with substantial programs that provided direct support to cancer patients in the United States, such as providing patients with pain medication, transportation to chemotherapy, and hospice care. In fact, the complaint alleges that these claims were deceptive and that the charities “operated as personal fiefdoms characterized by rampant nepotism, flagrant conflicts of interest, and excessive insider compensation, with none of the financial and governance controls that any bona fidecharity would have adopted.”

According to the complaint, the defendants used the organizations for lucrative employment for family members and friends, and spent consumer donations on cars, trips, luxury cruises, college tuition, gym memberships, jet ski outings, sporting event and concert tickets, and dating site memberships. They hired professional fundraisers who often received 85 percent or more of every donation.

The complaint alleges that, to hide their high administrative and fundraising costs from donors and regulators, the defendants falsely inflated their revenues by reporting in publicly filed financial documents more than $223 million in donated “gifts in kind” which they claimed to distribute to international recipients. In fact, the defendants were merely pass-through agents for such goods. By reporting the inflated “gift in kind” donations, the defendants created the illusion that they were larger and more efficient with donors’ dollars than they actually were. Thirty-five states alleged that the defendants filed false and misleading financial statements with state charities regulators.

In addition, the FTC and 36 states charged CFA, CCFOA and BCS with providing professional fundraisers with deceptive fundraising materials. The FTC and the attorneys general also charged the defendants with violating the FTC’s Telemarketing Sales Rule (TSR), CFA, CCFOA and BCS with assisting and facilitating in TSR violations, and CSS with making deceptive charitable solicitations.

In addition to the bans imposed on charity work by the settling individual defendants and the dissolution of two corporations, CCFOA and BCS, the proposed final order against CCFOA and Rose Perkins imposes a judgment of $30,079,821, the amount consumers donated between 2008 and 2012. The judgment against CCFOA will be partially satisfied via liquidation of its assets; the judgment against Perkins will be suspended based upon her inability to pay.

The proposed final orders against BCS and Reynolds II impose a $65,564,360 judgment, the amount consumers donated between 2008 and 2012. The BCS order provides an option, subject to court approval, for spinning off its Hope Supply Warehouses program to a legitimate, qualified charity. BCS’s remaining assets will be liquidated and used to partially satisfy the judgment. The judgment against Reynolds II will be suspended when he pays $75,000.

The proposed final order against Effler will impose a judgment of $41,152,231, the amount consumers donated to CSS between 2008 and 2012. The judgment will be suspended upon payment of $60,000. The full judgment amounts against the individuals will become due immediately if they are found to have misrepresented their financial condition.

The Commission vote authorizing the staff to file the complaint and proposed stipulated final orders was 5-0. The documents were filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Arizona. The proposed orders are subject to court approval.

NOTE: The Commission files a complaint when it has “reason to believe” that the law has been or is being violated and it appears to the Commission that a proceeding is in the public interest. Stipulated orders have the force of law when approved and signed by the District Court judge.

Before giving to a charity, read the FTC’s Charity Scams.

The Federal Trade Commission works for consumers to prevent fraudulent, deceptive, and unfair business practices and to provide information to help spot, stop, and avoid them.  To file a complaint in English or Spanish, visit the FTC’s online Complaint Assistant or call 1-877-FTC-HELP (1-877-382-4357). The FTC enters complaints into Consumer Sentinel, a secure, online database available to more than 2,000 civil and criminal law enforcement agencies in the U.S. and abroad. The FTC’s website provides free information on a variety of consumer topics. Like the FTC on Facebook(link is external), follow us on Twitter(link is external), and subscribe to press releases for the latest FTC news and resources.

CONTACT INFORMATION

MEDIA CONTACT:  
Frank Dorman,
FTC Office of Public Affairs
202-326-2674

STAFF CONTACT: 
Charles Harwood, Director
FTC Northwest Region
206-220-6350

Tracy Thorleifson,
FTC Northwest Region
206-220-4481

Need to get some work done on your AC? Schedule the labor for winter and save.

While the costs of whole house air conditioning units can vary from region to region based on labor costs, you will likely be looking at several hundred dollars to several thousand dollars for a serious repair or replacement air conditioning unit.

If you can manage to limp through the summer with an older unit, you can reap quite significant savings on a large project during the autumn or winter, often to the tune of 400 to 500 dollars.

Even better, you'll be providing people with work during a slow season, and help them make it until next summer.

As a bonus, many manufacturers offer rebates on air conditioning equipment during the winter time to encourage sales, so you might even be able to pocket a little cash.

Replace your Air Filters Frequently to Cut down on Utilities

The average home has one or two filters inhabiting the heating and cooling ducts, and they can easily clog up and impede the flow of air throughout the home.

Freely flowing air is a great factor in keeping heating and cooling costs low, by allowing your climate control system to be efficient and effective.

If you are able to scrape together 10 or 11 dollars for the necessary filters at your local or online retailer, you might be able to save $40 a year or more in energy costs.

As a bonus, cleaner filters help to prevent accumulation of dust and mold on the condensers in an air conditioner, and extend the life of the system as a whole. Not to mention that you will be breathing much cleaner air.

Being Frugal about my Restaurant Expenses With Loyalty and Reward Programs

I don't eat out much, and when I do I think that it's important to limit the cost of my food and beverages. It's a cliche, but eating out in the United States can be much more expensive than cooking food at home, even when you take into account potentially costly ingredients and the hassle of acquiring them.

The cost of labor to cook and serve food is added onto the price of the meal and the upkeep for the infrastructure used to prepare it, and the business owners usually profit from the meal as well, all contributing to the cost of food before it gets to your plate.

Then to complicate matters in many restaurants a diner is expected to pay a gratuity to the serving and waitstaff.

I personally try to limit my excursions to places in which it is not customary to tip, like a quick service restaurant, and then further reduce my expenditure by financing my visits with gift cards that I earn from reward services like Google Screenwise Trends, Bing Rewards, and Swagbucks. All in all I am usually able to finance a few visits per month to a location of my choice.

To make the visits even more useful, I am sure to sign up for any applicable loyalty rewards programs, and I prefer to frequent areas with local Wi-fi service so that I can continue to do work to earn a little extra cash while I'm there.

At this point, I am a Starbucks Gold Card member, which permits me to get free refills, access to discounts and special offers, and a free drink after accumulating 12 stars. The cool thing is, I can actually get stars by referring friends and family to the My Starbucks Rewards program, so I can essentially earn infinite free drinks. The only limitation on it is that I can only refer so many people for stars each month.

I also joined the membership programs for Panera Bread, Dunkin Donuts, and a few other quick service restaurants.

At this point, I can grab a sandwich or a cup of coffee from any one of over 3 dozen locations around town without paying a dime out of pocket.

Are there any ways that you are frugal with your restaurant expenses?

5 Easy Ways to Turn Gift Cards into Cash

One of the most common problems that people deal with these days is how to make effective use of gift cards. Among the most common items purchased as gifts and given as rewards, literally hundreds of retailers are offering gift cards for use in their own or multiple stores, and as a country it has been reported that well over a billion dollars of value has gone unspent in the United States due to being locked into gift cards. Major players have even entered the arena, with many credit card companies offering prepaid gift cards for sale in large retailers such as Visa’s Vanilla prepaid gift card, American Express prepaid gift cards, and more. While similar to a prepaid debit card, these gift cards differ in that they often do not permit a cash withdrawal from an ATM, and therefore usually must be spent on a purchase.

Many websites and services that offer rewards for use, such as Swagbucks, Perk, and Google Screenwise Trends make gift cards more easily accessible than cash or cash equivalent payments, so that people that use their services are able to get a greater dollar value of gift cards for a retailer or restaurant than they are of PayPal or Payza payments. This often leads people to have a greater access to gift cards than money.

In any case, regardless of how you acquired your gift card, you are likely interested in converting it into cash. Luckily, there are a number of easy and straightforward methods for accomplishing this, if you are willing and able to make use of the services that I will describe below.

·         Selling the Card to Coinstar

o   If you have never seen the large green Coinstar machines in a grocery store or local business, Coinstar operates machines that accept loose change and offer a cash voucher that can be redeemed at the checkout counter for real money. These days, taking your change in to the Coinstar machine is a quick and easy way to get bills in your hand, without the hassle of having to count and wrap the coins yourself and take them into the bank. Although this service comes at a price, around 9% of the value of the coins, the convenience and speed are worth the price for many people, and it’s not uncommon to see people with jars of change cashing in for anything from a few bucks to hundreds of dollars. What a lot of people are not aware of is that Coinstar machines will now accept a number of gift cards for major retailers, and give you a certain percentage of the value of the gift card as a cash voucher that can be redeemed at the checkout counter.

This service, called Coinstar Exchange, allows you to scan or even swipe your gift card at a kiosk and trade it in for a cash voucher. At this point, over 150 retailers are being accepted, and there are probably going to be even more in the future! While there is little chance that you will get the full cash value of the gift card, you will at least get something, and it is nice to have cash in hand instead of waiting for a PayPal transaction to clear, check to arrive in the mail and be deposited, or any other option.

Just so you know, Coinstar Exchange requires sellers to verify their identity before selling the card, which means you need to provide a phone number, photo ID, credit or debit card, and email address when you redeem your cash voucher at the register.

·         Selling a Gift Card Online

o   There are a lot of options for selling a gift card online, and many different websites that you can use to do it.

o   Craigslist allows you to make a post to sell pretty much whatever you would like, and for many that constitutes an open license to sell unwanted or unused gift cards. People selling gift cards on Craigslist can sell a physical gift card or a gift card code, and are free to ask for any form of payment that they desire, whether it is cash, a check, a money order or even another gift card or a service like mowing the lawn. You can often get up to the full value of the gift card when selling on Craigslist, if you are patient and are willing to meet with the buyer, but you are more likely to make a quick sale if you offer your card for a lowered price, so that the buyer feels like he or she is getting a deal.

o   Ebay allows sellers to sell a gift card. You are able to sell the physical card with delivery through the mail, or the numerical code from the card just by sending the image of the front and back of the card through an email to the buyer.

Ebay is a great way to get money from an e-gift card, which is usually intended for use online and is often delivered without a physical card at all, only a claim code. The only thing that you must be careful about is  taking pictures of your card, you cannot expose the numbers on the card or the card’s value could be claimed by people before the card has been purchased.

Many people are willing to purchase a gift card on Ebay for close to face value, especially if they are for in-demand places like Starbucks and Target. While a person’s motivation for doing so likely varies, some conjecture that they are purchasing with a rewards credit card anyway, so anything that is bought comes with a certain amount of cash back.

A key drawback is that it takes a long time to receive the money from a gift card sale, which can be a problem if you “need cash now”.

o   Gift Card selling sites

There are a number of gift card buying and selling sites online, which either act as marketplaces for a gift card to be bought and sold directly by individuals, or act as intermediates and buy unwanted gift cards at a fixed price and sell them at a slightly higher fixed price to people who are looking to buy gift cards. Rates are highly variable between these sites, and while it is possible to approach full face value with compensation rates of up to 90% for certain cards on certain sites, the amounts paid will differ depending on the time of year, level of demand for the card that you have, and interestingly the face value of the card. The methods of payment vary, with some sites offering a little bit more for each card being sold if you opt to receive a check in the mail versus an instant PayPal payment, and other sites offering different rates, as well as the policies in place regarding physical gift cards versus e-gift cards.

·         Selling the Gift Card to a Pawn Shop

o   Many pawn shops now will purchase gift cards for major and local stores, to be sold out of the shop to other customers. The amount offered by the pawn shop will vary store to store and card to card, and will likely depend on what the store employee believes that the card can be easily sold for.

The primary upside to selling a gift card to a pawn shop is the ability to get cash immediately, without the work of trying to find a buyer, and without the burden of verifying your identity with a Coinstar machine.

The primary downside is that the store may give you a low offer, and there is no guarantee that the pawn shop will take your gift card at all.

·         Trading your Gift Card for Other Gift Cards

o   There are a number of ways to trade a gift card for another gift card. One is to advertise that you are interested in doing so on Craigslist or in the local classifieds, which would either be free in the former case or of minimal cost in the latter, but another way would be to use a Gift Card Exchange. There is a thriving community on Reddit.com of individuals willing to trade gift cards for other gift cards, often at equal value or rates approaching equal value, and while it might take a bit of time, it is possible to get the full face value of your card in the form of another card.

Since many of the people trading gift cards are interested in a quick sale, there is often a discount applied to the asking price, and it’s not impossible to get even more value than your card’s face value in exchange, especially if you have a gift card for a retailer or restaurant that is in demand.

You are free to request any form of payment in exchange for your gift card, including a different kind of gift card, cash, or cryptocurrency on a forum based exchange, but at the same time there is a chance that nobody is interested in your offer.

·         Offering to Pay for the Purchases of Others

o   While not usually the fastest way to liquidate your gift cards, when you offer to pay or shop for other people and just have them give you cash in exchange, you can get 100% of your face value of the card, and you get to assist someone at the same time. This method is long honored, and goes back to the days when gift cards were unheard of and gift certificates were common.

Chatting for fun and a bit of gas money on ChatAbout

Are you looking for a website that let's you socialize, take surveys, and enter contests and pays you for doing it?

I was about a year ago, and I joined http://chatabout.com. Since then I have made well over 200 dollars for what I consider to be no real work at all.

I have posted the same type of content that I share for free on sites like Yahoo Answers, 4Chan, Reddit and City-data and get chances to be paid for it. I can even take surveys or enter sweepstakes for even more compensation. It's quite easy for me to check in on the site once or twice a day and do a few activities quickly to rack up points, and the surveys can be a good way to fill up time.

I also like to ask and answer questions to get help or collect useful tips and tricks for personal use.

There are people from all over the world that use the site regularly, and with minimal effort one can easily make the necessary points to cash in for rewards, which currently are PayPal deposits and Amazon gift cards in denominations of $5, $10, and $25 at a rate of 1000 points: $1.

If you are interested in signing up, I request that you do so with my link above, as I receive a percentage of the points that you earn if you sign up with my referral link.

Have you had experience with Chat about or a similar site? Please let me know in the comments! Spare no details.

For me, it is just another part of my daily routine to check out what people are chatting about, if anything looks interesting in the news section on the site, if any surveys are available, and to chat a little, so that I can have some fun and make a little money too. At this point I make at least 50 points a day and usually closer to 100-200, but I have made 10,000 in one day before by completing an offer, so it all depends.