Name change coming as Global Cash focuses on slot machine business

The gaming industry's top provider of payment processing equipment will unveil a new name, logo and New York Stock Exchange ticker symbol later this month that reflects the Las Vegas-based company's place within the casino equipment manufacturing sector.

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$16.5 billion coal mine shot down

ENVIRONMENTALISTS have won a court case putting another roadblock in front of the controversial Carmichael coal mine in Queensland’s Galilee Basin.

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Holidaymakers to spend £420 on credit cards this summer

Tom Wilson

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UK holidaymakers are expected to spend £420 each on credit cards while on holiday this summer.

UK holidaymakers are expected to spend £420 each on credit cards while on holiday this summer.

Some 14.3 million people will spend £6 billion, 10% more than in 2012, according to research from Post Office Money.

Holidaymakers to spend £420 on credit cards this summer

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UK holidaymakers are expected to spend £420 each on credit cards while on holiday this summer. Some 14.3 million people will spend £6 billion, 10% more than in 2012, according to research from Post Office Money. A quarter of these holidaymakers plan to use their cards to top-up their spending money, and 18% say they expect to run out of money and will rely on 'precautionary plastic'. According to the report, a fifth of card users don't check the cost of using plastic overseas. Be aware of charges John Willcock, head of credit cards at Post Office Money, said "It is essential that anyone planning on using a credit card abroad is fully aware of how much they will be charged." If you're planning to use your card abroad, Moneywise recommends the Everyday Card from Creation Financial Services, which has no charges for spending or withdrawing cash abroad, and a 12.9% APR. Other top overseas-spending cards are the Halifax Clarity Card, which also has no charges for withdrawals or spending abroad, and has an 18.9% APR. If you're a Haliax current account holder, you may also receive £5 cashback a month.

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California police hunting for survivalist fugitive

Police were searching remote deserts and foothills in Central California on Tuesday for a unidentified fugitive with survivalist skills wanted in a brazen crime spree that a includes a kidnapping and the murder of a retired dentist.

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Facebook Dumps Plan To Cut Off Device-Level Data After Advertiser Revolt

Facing strong opposition from mobile app advertisers, the social network will continue providing data on how campaigns are performing on specific mobile devices.

Please visit Marketing Land for the full article.

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Las Vegas Strip Starbucks will be one of a kind

In some ways, the Starbucks under construction in the Grand Bazaar Shops at Bally's is like any of the chain's 21,000 stores worldwide.

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Growing trend in restaurant sales: 24-hour breakfast

LOS ANGELES — Call it the rise of the "Breakfastarians" — the dining tribe that craves breakfast food morning, noon and night.

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Hootsuite Is Rolling Out New Instagram Integration, Including Scheduling Workaround

Instagram still doesn't allow third-party posting, but Hootsuite's new tool will enable scheduling via desktop, followed by mobile notifications for publishing from mobile devices.

Please visit Marketing Land for the full article.

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Avengers brings in the billions

AVENGERS: Age of Ultron has been great news for Disney’s bottom line, proving the continued strength of the Marvel superhero brand.

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Marketing Day: Twitter News Tab, Salesforce’s Instagram Tools & Retail Email Strategies

Here's our recap of what happened in online marketing today, as reported on Marketing Land and other places across the web.

Please visit Marketing Land for the full article.

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Caesars reports 17.4 percent revenue increase, reverses net loss

Caesars Entertainment Corp. said Tuesday its net revenue increased 17.4 percent in the second quarter, crediting the openings of the Cromwell on the Strip and the Horseshoe Baltimore and the $223 million renovation of the Linq Hotel for the boost in results.

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Farley: Solar industry trying to circumvent legislative intent

CARSON CITY — A state lawmaker involved in the drafting of a bill directing state regulators to adopt a new rate class for rooftop solar customers said solar industry officials are trying to circumvent legislative intent by asking that an existing net metering policy be maintained until the new tariff is established.

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SPONSOR MESSAGE: Marketing Automation Platforms Buyer’s Guide

This free guide analyzes the current market for marketing automation platforms including the types of vendors serving the market and the capabilities available. If you are considering licensing a marketing automation platform, this guide will help you decide whether or not you need to. It provides...

Please visit Marketing Land for the full article.

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Audio: Back-to-School Shopping Tips

Parents can save by taking advantage of sales tax holidays. 

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Planning an International Trip? Use These Tricks to Save Money

Traveling overseas can be pricey, and many people work hard for years in order to be able to afford to travel. I recently visited Japan, a trip I’d been planning for ages, and learned a few tricks along the way.

If you’re headed overseas soon, try these handy techniques to save money on transportation within a country or region, see the key sights economically and even save when you’re trying to get your hands on some local currency.

Who knows — you might even be able to stretch out your trip a little longer!

Get a Rail or Transit Pass

While you may spend hours poring over flight websites, trying to find the best deals and wondering what day to buy the cheapest airline ticket, have you considered the cost of transit once you arrive?

A little forethought can save you a ton of money on travel within a country or region. Here are two rail passes that can help you save big:

Japan Rail Pass

When I traveled to Japan earlier this year, I made sure to snag a Japan Rail Pass before I left home. These passes are specifically for foreigners traveling to Japan on a tourist visa.

You must buy your pass from overseas; you can’t pick one up once you arrive. If you’ve waited until too close to your departure, you can get the pass delivered to your hotel in Japan, as long as you’ve purchased it from outside the country.

A week-long pass is 29,110 yen (about $235) and a 14-day pass is 46,390 yen (about $375), which is a great deal if you’re doing much traveling around the country. You could also spend a little more to access the first-class (green) cars.

A single one-way ticket from Tokyo to Kyoto is $161, according to the Man in Seat 61, so if you’re planning on doing much intercity travel, this pass could save you quite a bit of cash.

Eurail Passes

Traveling by train is the classic way to see Europe, and it’s often much cheaper with a Eurail pass.

Choose from a number of different options, including a Global Pass valid in 28 countries (starting at $347 if you’re under 25 years old), a Select Pass which gets you around in your choice of four bordering countries (starting at $133) or a regional pass for popular two-country combos (starting at $122).

If you’d like to explore one country more fully, you can get a one-country pass for any of 27 different nations. Single country passes to Romania, Slovenia and Poland start at just $69, while Italy is $159 and Spain is $214.

While you can buy certain passes at select European train stations, you’ll get the best deal by purchasing online before you leave home.

Also, if you’re planning on taking the trains around Europe, be sure to check out Eurail’s deals for youth, families and small groups. Young travelers aged 12 to 25 receive a 35% discount on their passes, kids under 12 travel free, and groups of two to five people can get a Saver Pass which provides a 15% discount.

Look for European Sightseeing Discount Passes

If you’re planning on exploring any major European city in depth, consider snagging a discount card.

These cards can help you save on major attractions and public transit, and some even have the added perk of letting you skip to the head of the line at certain attractions.

Roma Pass

If you’re Italy-bound, consider getting a Roma Pass. The regular pass is valid for three days at a cost of 36 euros ($40), while the abridged 48-hour version is only 28 euros ($31), great for a quick trip through the ancient city.

The pass earns you one or two free entries into museums and archaeological sites (two for the three-day pass, one for the two-day pass) and discounted tickets to other attractions. Plus, you can take the city’s metro, buses and trains for free.

Viator City Passes

Viator offers a lengthy list of deals on European sightseeing and city passes, including the Madrid Tourist Travel Pass, which sells for just $10 and will bring you all around the city on public transit.

The Paris Pass (for $138) gets you all around town on public transit for free and grants free admission to many attractions, including Musée Grévin and Tour Montparnasse Tower. It also lets you skip the line at the Louvre Museum, Musée d’Orsay, Arc de Triomphe and Centre Pompidou, among others.

The London Pass (for $78) lets you into 60 different attractions for free, including Westminster Abbey and the Tower of London. You can also skip the queues at some attractions and get great deals at some stores and restaurants.

Avoid Getting Ripped Off When You Change Cash

Wherever you travel, you’re almost certainly going to need to find some local currency. What’s the best way to get this cash?

Airport money exchange offices are convenient, but typically charge high fees. You don’t have to spend a fortune to grab some local currency. Instead, try these options:

Use ATMs

When I travel, I typically just grab cash from ATMs as I go. This saves me from carrying excessive amounts of cash as I travel, and it usually involves minimal fees.

Call your bank to see what fees are involved with using foreign ATMs and if you’ll need a special PIN number for overseas (some countries have a different number of digits in their PIN numbers). Also, be sure to let them know you’ll be using your card out of the country so they don’t freeze it and slap your account with a fraud alert.

Bring It With You

Some savvy travelers call their banks ahead of time to pre-order foreign currency. For example, if you’re headed to Japan, you can often call your home bank a few weeks ahead of time and ask to order some Japanese Yen.

Many banks offer this service and, if you’re a customer, the charges are often minimal.

Want to learn more great ways to save money on international travel? Join the Travel Hacking Cartel, a community of expert travel hackers.

Your Turn: What’s your favorite way to save money when you travel internationally? Share your advice in the comments!

Disclosure: We have a serious Taco Bell addiction around here. The affiliate links in this post help us order off the dollar menu. Thanks for your support!

Kristen Pope is a freelance writer and editor in Jackson Hole, Wyoming.

The post Planning an International Trip? Use These Tricks to Save Money appeared first on The Penny Hoarder.

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Residents evacuate, then wait as NoCal wildfires burn

The largest of California's 23 wildfires was burning its way toward their homes, and about all they could do was sit on lawn chairs from a distance and watch.

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7 Overseas Retirement Spots With Favorable Exchange Rates

U.S. dollar holders could get real estate bargains in these countries.

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Going Into Sales? Learn These 4 Terms Now

Study the industry's language to help determine the best job for you. 

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Puerto Rico Defaults on $ 58 Million Debt Payment

The government of Puerto Rico has confirmed that it failed to make a $58 million debt payment.

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Sandra Bland's family files wrongful death lawsuit

The family of Sandra Bland filed a wrongful death lawsuit on Tuesday against a Texas trooper, a sheriff's office and her jailers, accusing them of being responsible for the woman's apparent suicide in a county jail.

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9 Common Real Estate Myths That Plague Buyers and Sellers

Even though most people are rarely part of a real estate transaction, everyone believes they are an expert.

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Financial Tips for Career Changers

Transitioning to a lower-paying job? Consider these tips to adjust your spending.

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Most parents want money taught in primary school

Alex Holmes

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Three-quarters of parents want their children to be taught budgeting skills in primary school.

Three-quarters of parents want their children to be taught budgeting skills in primary school.
 
Some 90% of parents already teach their school-age children how to manage money but a worrying 30% struggle to budget themselves.
  

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The 5 Content Strategy Shortcuts That Aren’t Shortcuts At All

Building a content strategy isn't effective when you cut corners. Columnist Rebecca Lieb delves into some popular shortcuts — and explains why they aren’t really shortcuts at all.

Please visit Marketing Land for the full article.

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This Couple Paid Off $20,000 of Student Loan Debt in 2 Years. Here’s How

Nearly all of us have tried to make a budget at some point in our lives, right? But how often do we stick to it?

If an unexpected expense comes up, or if our refrigerator is nearly empty, do we keep following our budget or do we spend more money than we planned?

A New York City couple decided to do the hard work of both creating a budget and sticking to it — and it helped them pay off $20,000 of student loan debt in less than two years, reports Forbes.

Plan Ahead and Stick to the Plan

Johnny and Joanna, the couple profiled in the Forbes story, made their budget work by planning ahead as much as possible.

They made meal plans so they wouldn’t get stuck with an empty refrigerator. They scheduled museum visits on free admission days. The more they planned ahead, the more money they were able to save.

Johnny and Joanna also decided to stick to their budget no matter what. The first month, for example, they realized that they had budgeted too little money for groceries. Instead of spending more money, they ate ramen and peanut butter to make their funds stretch — and then adjusted their budget for the next month!

Include Room for Unexpected Expenses

A good budget has to reflect the life you’re actually living.

When Johnny and Joanna realized they didn’t have enough in their food budget to last through a typical month, they adjusted their budget to spend less on entertainment and more on food. After all, you’ve got to eat!

Likewise, they made sure to have a budget line for unexpected expenses, which they label “everything else.” Johnny and Joanna have two small children, so they know no matter how hard you plan, you sometimes run out of diapers or need to make an extra visit to the pediatrician. That comes out of the “everything else” fund, which helps keep their spending on track.

By planning ahead and preparing for both the expected and the unexpected, Johnny and Joanna were able to pay off their $20,000 student loan debt and start saving for the future.

Making a budget is a tried-and-true financial strategy, so if you’ve got debts of your own, use this couple as inspiration to make your own budget and pay off your debt for good.

Want to know more? Read the full story at Forbes.

Your Turn: Have you ever tried sticking to a budget? How did it go?

Nicole Dieker is a freelance writer focusing on personal finance and personal stories. Her work has appeared in The Billfold, The Toast, Yearbook Office, The Write Life and Boing Boing.

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Eight Things to Think About Before You Get Married

The key to a good marriage is honest communication, and that should begin long before the wedding. Photo: J.K. Califf

One of the most upsetting and painful arguments that my wife and I ever had came a few months before we got married. We had been dating for six years at that point and had been planning our marriage for more than a year.

I was fairly apprehensive about getting married. I had been thinking about marriage quite a lot for years because I intended to get married for the rest of my life and I wanted to make sure that I was making the right choice.

Anyway, about three months before we were married, I mentioned that fact to Sarah. I was worried about getting married and I was still thinking about the whole idea.

This upset her. A lot. How could I not be sure about it at that point? Hadn’t I had years to think about it even before we were engaged? We had a pretty serious argument.

The thing is, a couple of days later, she came to realize something. Although it might have seemed hurtful that I wasn’t sure, it was actually very loving that I was taking the commitment with that level of seriousness. Loving her was never in doubt. The real question was whether I could be a good enough husband to make this thing last a lifetime.

Twelve years in, things are still going along just fine.

Over the next year and a half, several of our friends and family members are getting married. I’ve actually lost count of the number of weddings we’ll be attending between now and the end of next year. Suffice it to say, love is in the air.

When I look back on that engagement period for Sarah and myself and the things that we did and the things that I thought about that set the stage for a healthy marriage, I realize that they actually helped a lot in terms of building a great, lasting marriage. Our only mistake was that we didn’t start things out on the strongest financial path.

These eight recommendations are things to think about – and things to do – as you begin to think about and prepare for marriage. They are a mix of things that Sarah and I did that led to marital success combined with some key financial steps that we should have done that would have kept us from a financial meltdown three years later.

Yes, I intend to send a link to this article to each of those couples that are getting married in the next year and a half. Consider this my advice to them.

You Need to Know the Full Details of Your Partner’s Financial Situation

Like it or not, your partner’s financial state is going to have a huge impact on your day-to-day life once you’re married. A partner that earns a lot is going to affect your life very differently than a partner who doesn’t earn very much. A partner with a lot of debt is going to affect your life very differently than a partner with no debt.

Before you commit your lives to each other, you need to know the full state of each other’s finances. If you’re not sure how to approach this, try answering each of these questions together.

How much income do you earn (or receive) each year? This includes both your income from work and your income from other things, like support money from parents, trust funds, and so on. Sarah and I really didn’t have any income streams other than our main jobs and a very small side business than I had at the time, so this was easy.

How many debts do you have? How big are they, and what are the monthly payments like? Debts are going to hang around your necks like an albatross. You should realize that when you’re married, your money essentially becomes one giant shared pool (whether you directly share that money or not) and every debt either one of you has gobbles away at your shared pool of money. Your debts can also make it clear to your partner whether or not you have good control over your spending impulses.

How much money do you have? How many assets have you accumulated? Do you have money in a savings account? A 401(k)? A Roth IRA? Do you own a home? Do you have a car that won’t need to be replaced for a while? How much money is sitting in your checking account?

These tools together should help you to answer some more difficult questions, such as how much you each spend per month versus how much you each save per month. Do you spend every dime you make, or do you save a little (in a 401(k) or in a savings account)?

Remember, there’s nothing bad here per se. Instead, it’s about putting together an open and honest picture of what your shared finances will look like should you guys get married.

You Need Some Form of Premarital Counseling

Sarah and I went through several sessions of marriage counseling with the wonderful pastor that married us. He sat us down for about a dozen weekly sessions where we talked through countless aspects of marriage – children, sexuality, money, decision making, and so on.

Those sessions weren’t always easy. Along the way, Sarah and I found a lot of things we were on the same page about, but several others that we weren’t quite in sync on. Those areas where we weren’t in sync became major conversation points for us.

Having those conversations was absolutely vital to the success of our marriage, but having a counselor that knew how to tease out those issues was vital, too.

The easiest method for premarital counseling, assuming you’re getting married in a church or a temple or some other religious building, is to talk to the person who will be officiating your wedding. Many pastors, priests, and other religious leaders are happy to guide a couple through some form of marital counseling. Some will even insist on it.

If this is not the path you’re choosing for your marriage, seek an actual marriage counselor who specifically provides pre-marital counseling. This person can also provide the same kind of teasing out of key issues that you’ll need to talk about to make your marriage work.

You Need to Merge Your Finances (Unless One or Both of You Is Super-Wealthy)

This was perhaps the biggest mistake that Sarah and I made before getting married: We didn’t merge our finances for the first few years. Instead, we maintained separate checking accounts and agreed that we would each be responsible for a few bills.

The biggest reason for this is that the one area we didn’t adequately discuss before we were married was our finances. We agreed on a few key goals, but didn’t talk at all about how we would achieve them in any specific way. We just kind of assumed it would all work out.

Once we were married, we just kept moving forward with separate finances and merely agreed on each of us paying a few bills.

We should have known that it wouldn’t work because it wasn’t long before we were having little disagreements about how we would pay for shared things. Should Sarah have to pay for the ingredients to an expensive meal I wanted to make? Should I have to pay for the weekend Sarah turned the air conditioner down to 68 when I was in Mexico City? Those were just simple examples, but it wasn’t long before we began to disagree on responsibility for bigger things – the rent going up, for example.

When we had a child, things really fell apart. Children add so many little expenses to the mix and it was really hard to tease apart a fair balance of how to pay everything.

Here’s the truth: Even if you choose to keep your finances separate, they’re not really separate. Most of your expenses are for things that you share and when a new expense shows up or an old expense changes, it’s going to feel unfair to whichever person has to shoulder that greater burden. You’ll never achieve perfect balance.

The best way to achieve perfect balance is to throw all of the money together in a shared pool and pay for everything out of it. If you each want a little “personal money,” that’s fine – keep your old checking accounts and then transfer a small amount each month automatically out of the shared pool.

In our personal life, we have one shared account that takes care of everything. (I also have a business account, but I “pay myself” out of that one and mostly just use it for business expenses.)

You Need to Establish Full Communication with Each Other With No Closed Doors

Your partner is just that – your full partner in everything. Even in the areas where you perceive that it’s all you – like your career – your partner is often holding up a lot of the structure that enables you to follow that path, from the meals you eat to the house you sleep in. Marriage is about merging two ships into one.

The second you hold any sort of secret from your partner is the day you’re opening the door to marital collapse. There is no way around it.

Now, note that I’m not talking about things like buying each other Christmas gifts. I’m talking about genuine secrets, ones that you’re holding back from your partner because you fear upsetting them or don’t want to “rock the boat.”

Of course, the same thing is true when it comes to being honest with yourself. Fooling yourself has the same result as fooling your partner – it ends up with distrust, confusion, and pain.

No secrets. If you’re holding back on a secret, talk about it before you’re married, because it will eventually come up and you’re better off openly discussing it now than having it explode later on.

If you do not do this, you’re starting off your marriage by being willfully dishonest with your partner and that’s virtually guaranteed to be a recipe for failure.

If You Have Significant Wealth Before Marriage, You Need a Prenuptial Agreement

When Sarah and I were married, neither one of us had significant wealth. We both knew that any wealth we accumulated would be done together, so a prenuptial agreement wasn’t something that was on our minds.

However, some marriages start with one or both members entering the marriage with significant wealth. Whatever the reasons for that, it needs to be discussed before your wedding day.

Many people do not like to discuss a prenuptial agreement because it doesn’t really have a function unless the marriage fails. Under that logic, it would never make sense to get life insurance because you never expect to die.

A prenuptial agreement is just that – an insurance policy on your marriage. It ensures that if things don’t work out exactly like you’re planning, there will be a safe landing pad for everyone involved.

Establish this now instead of later. Consult a lawyer and make sure that it’s correctly written and takes care of all necessary contingencies. If you’re afraid of that discussion, then you’re failing at another part of this article – the “no secrets” part. You need to be open about everything, and if you can’t do that, then you shouldn’t be getting married yet.

If your marriage succeeds, great. No problem. If your marriage fails, you will be incredibly glad to have this document.

You Need to Have the ‘Goals’ Talk

I’ll tell you right now that if you’re not on the same page when it comes to your goals moving forward and don’t have at least some basic agreement on how to achieve those goals, every single day of your married life will be like trying to drive a car after dumping a spoon full of sand in the gas tank. You’re going to be working in opposing directions in life and that constant pull will constantly pull you apart.

Everyone has goals. Even the most aimless people have goals – maybe they want to just make it home to watch a Seinfeld rerun each day and maybe they’re just content with their life and want to maintain it. That’s okay, if that’s your goal – at least you understand it.

Sometimes, people have the same goals and thus working toward those goals together becomes really easy. However, different people can have very different goals sometimes and those goals can pull people apart.

So, how do you talk about goals? Here’s a very simple way to start: Where do you want to be on your 10th wedding anniversary? What do you want your life to be like? What do you want to have achieved?

Spend a bit of time thinking about that question separately, then sit down together and talk about what you each came up with.

What you’re going to find is that you probably have some things in common and some things that are different. That’s okay – that’s actually how it should be.

However, there are two big traps that people can fall into here.

One, one of the partners completely dominates the goals of the other partner. Sure, the shared goals are a priority, but that partner’s individual goals are seen as more important than the other partner’s individual goals. Bad move. You both need individual goals and interests that are supported by the other one, even if they’re not particularly shared by both partners. Thinking that your partner’s goals are silly and just ignoring them in favor of your own personal goals is a recipe for marital disaster.

Two, the partners have drastically different levels of commitment to the shared goals. One partner might be really invested in doing great things, while the other one is mostly interested in watching The Bachelorette and, because that second partner feels bad, that partner just nods and says “Sure, honey,” to whatever goals that partner states. Again, bad move. The more ambitious partner is now thinking that their partner has full buy-in for those goals and that’s going to create a ton of conflict down the road. If you’re kinda on board with a goal, say so. Don’t make it sound like you’re really on board with it.

If your relationship is a strong one, you’re going to have at least a few goals that you’re both excited about and committed to. Achieving those things together should be one of the major cornerstones of your marriage.

When in Doubt, Spend Less on Your Wedding and Honeymoon

Looking back, Sarah and I actually had a pretty frugal wedding. Our wedding was in a tiny small town church, and our reception was in a local Knights of Columbus hall that was available for receptions. Our family members made most of the food, too. It was surprisingly low cost.

Do you know what I remember from my wedding? I don’t remember the ways in which we were “cheap.” What I remember is dancing with my beautiful wife. I remember laughing with an old friend I hadn’t seen in years. I remember talking to an absolute flood of people. I remember holding my wife’s hand as we walked into the reception, and holding it again as we walked out. That’s what I remember, and those memories aren’t about the money.

Where we spent too much was on our honeymoon. We went to London and stayed in a hotel overlooking Hyde Park for several days. There was no need for that. Sure, the trip was memorable, but it would have been memorable if we stayed way out of the city center in a much less expensive hotel. It would have been memorable if we had driven to Yosemite and camped. It was memorable because (a) it was a new experience for us and (b) we were together as newlyweds.

Keep this in mind as you’re planning your wedding and your honeymoon. Your memories won’t revolve around where you were cheap – you won’t even remember it at all. Your guests won’t care, either – they’re coming for you guys, not for some fancy place or elaborate decorations.

This is a prime opportunity to really learn about one of the fundamental rules of personal finance together. Money spent on nonessential stuff that you won’t remember is money wasted. Remember what’s essential about your wedding. You. Your partner. The loved ones you invited. That’s it. Don’t burn money on the other stuff. All you’ll do is hurt you and your partner in the future.

If Something Bothers You a Little, Deal With It Now Rather Than Later

This starts now, and it will last all through your marriage.

There are going to be moments where some little thing bothers you. Sure, some of them are really transient – it’s not worth making a big deal out of spilled milk, after all. The thing you really need to watch out for are repeated things – things that show up again and again that form a pattern that troubles you.

If you don’t deal with it as soon as you start noticing it, you’re begging for it to start festering and growing and becoming a major wedge in your relationship.

Instead, address it now. The first step for addressing it is to ask yourself internally how big of a deal it actually is. If this “problem” continues, does it really matter? We often let unimportant things blow up because we never really ask ourselves that question. Does this state of affairs really matter?

If it does matter, think about solutions right off the bat and don’t just jump on your first idea, either. How can this be resolved down to something that doesn’t matter? Often, the immediate solution you come up with isn’t the best one.

For example, maybe you’re frustrated that your new spouse doesn’t always clear his or her stuff off the table after a meal. Maybe that’s not how your partner did it during their single life, for whatever reason. You could demand that you each clear off your own stuff each and every night – or else you could just agree to alternate nights taking care of the dinner cleanup and dinner dishes. (Another tip on that alternation thing: If you’re not sure whose turn it is, volunteer to do it yourself. You can never go wrong that way.)

Never, ever, ever let those things fester. The unhappiness over a minor matter can easily start growing and growing and growing until it festers into a real problem and that’s just poison. Get into a better habit now. It’s not just you any more.

Final Thoughts

The real key to marriage is communication. There is no marital problem (outside of insane breaches of trust) that can’t be dealt with with some clear communication right off the bat in which both members stay calm and realize that it’s not an attack on each other but an effort to find a solution that makes everyone happy.

This starts before marriage. If you can’t communicate like that during your engagement, then you should think very strongly about whether marriage is the right choice for you. You never have to get married.

Good luck on your marital journey.

The post Eight Things to Think About Before You Get Married appeared first on The Simple Dollar.

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6 things ex-Ferguson officer Darren Wilson reveals in new interview

Former Feruguson, Mo., police officer Darren Wilson may have been legally vindicated in killing Michael Brown, but in many ways, he doesn't live like a free man.

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MGM Resorts quarterly results driven down by Macau

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Here's What Veterans Want in Their Civilian Careers

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5 Tips For Retailers To Up Their Email Promotions Strategies

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Please visit Marketing Land for the full article.

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Please visit Marketing Land for the full article.

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Big plan to save South Australia

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Fire sale on stuff that burns: Oil, natural gas, coal down

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Time to end perks for our richest

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How You Can Run Your Business on Just $100 a Month

By Anum Yoon It takes money to make money. That’s an immutable law of the universe when it comes to business. If you want to earn money by providing a product or service that people want to buy, then you’ll have to invest some money. Fortunately, you don’t always need to spend a great deal of […]

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House prices rise as mortgage rates start to climb

Laura Whitcombe

House model on calculator and paperwork.jpg

The average house price has climbed 3.5% in the past year and experts are warning that mortgage rates are also starting to rise.

The average house price has climbed 3.5% in the past year and experts are warning that mortgage rates are also starting to rise.

The latest data from Nationwide put the average house price at £195,621 in July, up from £188,949 the same time last year and £195,055 in June.

House prices rise as mortgage rates start to climb

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The average house price has climbed 3.5% in the past year and experts are warning that mortgage rates are also starting to rise. The latest data from Nationwide put the average house price at £195,621 in July, up from £188,949 the same time last year and £195,055 in June. Meanwhile, MoneySuperMarket said it has seen a rapid rise in the average 60% loan-to-value (LTV) fixed rate. It stood at 2.23% on 3 August, compared to 2.09% on 23 July, a rise of 0.14 percentage points. It added that since Mark Carney suggested the Bank of England could start considering an increase in the base rate from "the turn of the year" in a speech in mid-July, some of best mortgage deals have become "less favourable". It gave the example of First Direct, which offered a rate of 1.49% on its best two-year fix at the start of July but has since increased this to 1.69%. Based on the UK average house price of £195,621, the 1.69% rate would cost a homeowner £479.96 a month, while the 1.49% rate would cost £468.86 (based on no application fee and a 25-year mortgage term). While the monthly change may not sound significant, over the duration of the mortgage it adds £3,330 to the cost of the loan. David Hollingworth at broker London & Country Mortgages told Moneywise: "I think it's fair to say that we are seeing an edging up of rates and that the tide has turned from seemingly endless cuts. "Some major lenders including Woolwich/Barclays, Santander, Yorkshire BS and Post Office altered some rates last week and Tesco Bank repriced yesterday. Woolwich put its five-year fix up by 0.20% to 2.59% and the 10-year increased from 2.99% to 3.25%. Santander withdrew some rates and increased others by 0.10%. Post Office withdrew a leading broker-only five-year fix at 2.14%." He added that while lenders hadn't hiked every deal in their range and some may have only "tweaked" products it does look like the bottom of the market may have been hit. "There are still some great deals out there but it does act as a warning to borrowers that those that wait for the base rate to rise will find that the lowest fixed rates have long gone," he said. "Once lenders start to withdraw their best rates it can put greater pressure on the remaining lenders, potentially creating something of a domino effect." However, he said there are "still plenty of very cheap rates out there" and so while there's no need to panic just yet, "the direction of travel is generally upward for fixes".

Beat falling house prices

Are cheap mortgage deals coming to an end?

read more

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The $120bn family power struggle

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5 Lessons I Learned About Personal Finance From the Greek Debt Crisis

It’s been a tough couple of years for Greece.

As much of the world leaves behind the 2008 recession, the cash-strapped Mediterranean nation is still struggling to become solvent. And in the last couple of weeks, Athens has been getting the side-eye from the rest of the European Union over its inability to pay its debts.

As the dust settles and it looks like Greece will get to stay in the EU clubhouse, individual consumers can take a few cues from Greece’s Olympic financial fail. Here’s what the Greek debt crisis taught me about money management.

1. Be Honest About Your Financial Situation

As the EU digs into Greece’s financials, they’re finding that officials were playing some pretty sophisticated shell games with the books. The government was underreporting its debt, presenting its finances as much healthier than they were.

The Takeaway

Whether you’re applying for a loan or keeping up with the Joneses, exaggerating your assets sets you up for a fall.

And it’s not just the neighbors and the creditors you might be fooling. Are you being honest with yourself about the state of your accounts?

I roll my eyes now, but I only started using a budget once I was on firmer ground financially. When I was living paycheck to paycheck, I just tried to spend frugally and hoped for the best.

Facing the actual numbers around my finances terrified me. But if I’d forced myself to look at what was coming in and where it was going, I would have had the information to make better spending choices and maybe even set some savings goals.

2. Live Within Your Means

As Greece learned, there are always creditors willing to give you money, whether you can realistically pay it back or not.

The Takeaway

It’s up to you to just say no to unwise loans and irresponsible spending.

Those credit card offers will keep filling your mailbox, even with three maxed-out cards already in your wallet. And that home loan you just got approved for? It’s likely way more than you should responsibly take on.

When I was house-hunting, I was approved for a mortgage that would have worked out to a monthly payment of more than 50% of my takehome pay.

After a few hours of drooling over a whole new world of options on Zillow, I cooled it with the McMansions and clicked back over to the condos. I realized no one is looking out for my financial health except for me.

3. Never Pay Just the Minimum Balance

As it turns out, this isn’t the first time Greece has been bailed out by the EU. In 2010, Europe handed Greece more than 240 billion euros, or about $264 billion at today’s exchange rates.

Now the EU is wondering what happened to all that money. It seems that most of it went toward paying off interest and debt instead of boosting the economy.

The Takeaway

Paying only the minimum balance brings you no closer to paying off your debt. And, depending how much you owe, you might only be covering the interest without chipping away at the principal.

When it comes to paying down debt, be strategic. Even if you don’t have a lot to spare once the bills are paid, look for ways to get creative and eliminate your debt.

Remember your first credit card? I got mine in college and quickly racked up a few thousand dollars in meals out and new outfits.

When my first statement came, it seemed like magic when they only wanted $25 at the moment. But when I calculated how long it would take to pay off if I stuck with the minimum balance, it was years. And that’s assuming I stopped using the card.

A couple of months of extra waitressing shifts later, I paid off the balance in full. (The card is still open though! It’s my oldest source of credit, so it boosts my credit score.)

4. Make the Hard Choices

Even after Greece faced defaulting on its debts, the country continued to resist austerity measures meant to get its budget under control.

The Takeaway

No country wants tax hikes, just like no consumer wants to give up cable or move to a cheaper apartment.

But sometimes getting our finances under control means cutting back in areas we’d rather not so we can reach our goals. So scale back on that wedding, start carpooling to work or scout out ways to save on utilities.

5.  Watch That Credit Score

With all this financial hubub, Greece’s reputation as a viable place to invest has slipped significantly. Lack of investment hampers the nation’s ability to grow its economy and recover from the recent downturn.

The Takeaway

We all know a bad credit score affects your ability to get a loan. But it can also negatively impact your job search or even be cause for a landlord to pass on your rental application.

Keep tabs on your credit score and avoid any situation that could negatively affect your rating.

My partner learned about credit the hard way when he went to apply for a loan. He didn’t have any credit cards, preferring to only spend what was in his bank account.

But, as it turns out, no credit history is bad credit history, and he ended up with an interest rate far higher than he expected.

Whether you’re running a nation of 11 million or a household of one, some financial guidelines remain the same. (Also, let’s send some good vibes in Greece’s direction.)

Your Turn: What are your basic guiding principles when it comes to money?

Lyndsee Cordes is a writer and editor in Washington, D.C.

The post 5 Lessons I Learned About Personal Finance From the Greek Debt Crisis appeared first on The Penny Hoarder.

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The place where Macca’s is not welcome

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How to sell your house for a bigger profit

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