There is a lot os scrutiny on payday loans and what their purpose is. However, many turn to these short term loans because they have no other option. These loans are overly scrutinized as bad for a consumer because their listed APR, which really is not applicable to a short term loan that does not last a year. The Missourian pointed up some positive benefits to the payday loans. For instance, “Research from the Federal Reserve Board indicates that such loans are not “predatory.” Rather, by supplying credit where otherwise there would be none, they help borrowers by enabling them to avoid less-desirable alternatives, such as fees associated with bounced checks, late bill payments and utility reconnections.” If the Federal Reserve Board understands there is value added to these types of loans, why are so many politicians and consumers looking down on payday loans as a “bad” option? Have they never had a reason to get a short term loan for some unexpected expense???? Probably not….

Leadpile is looking for additional Canada payday lenders and also publishers that can help us generate additional US and Canada payday loan traffic. If you are working in this industry, please reach out to us and we can get you up and going ASAP! Some of the main specifics we are looking for in the Canada payday loan leads are:
1. Customers that are employed
2. Customers that have a checking account
3. Customers that have direct deposit
4. Preferably customers that live in the providences of British Columbia, Alberta or Ontario

Big news from Pepsi this week as they announced they will stop using plastic to make their bottles! In an effort to go green, Pepsi has transitioned making its soda bottles from plastic to making them entirely out of plant material.

The bottles are made from switch grass, pine bark, corn husks and other materials. Eventually Pepsi plans to use orange peels, oat hulls, potato scraps and other leftovers from its food business.

The company plans to test these new bottles in 2012 with a few hundred thousand bottles and once they are positive they can produce the bottles at the necessary scale, they will transition all products over.

After the huge hit of the iPad release in 2010, the iPad 2 was released for purchase this morning. 14.8 million iPads were sold in the first 9 months on the market, with a predicted 30 million to be sold in 2011. The iPad 2 is promoted to be faster, lighter and have rear facing cameras with the capability for video chatting.

The pricing will range from $499 – $829.

There are many out there that are considered the “unbanked” consumer, and I wonder if it is because they choose to be that way or they are not able to obtain a bank account? However, is there a scenario where more people should become “unbanked” because the cost of having a traditional checking account for instance is a lot higher than other alternatives? Some say that the better alternative for those that carry very low balances on their checking account is to have a pre paid credit card. This often times works just like a checking account, however the fees related to this type of account are far less than maintaining a checking account. Reuters.com reports that the average person who has to maintain a checking account pays between $218 and $314 a year, whereas a person with a pre paid credit card is paying between $76 and $261. For someone that is maintaining such a small balance that amount of difference is a BIG deal.
Bottom line- traditional banks are not your only option with regards to paying your bills and maintaining your money. Look at online banks and other options like pre paid credit cards and compare the fees they charge to maintain your own money.

Pepsi has come up with a “skinny” design for their new Diet Pepsi can. The new design is a taller and slimmer shape that is meant to, “…compliment today’s most stylish look”, according to chief marketing officer, Jill Beraud. The product will launch in March after being introduced to New York’s fall fashion week. Window display specialist Simon Doonan is also helping with the release of the Diet Pepsi’s new design and image of fashion and style. Although the new diet can will be available shortly, the older version will also still be available.

Increase your performance and success with the “If-Then planning”. It’s a simple plan with great benefits. Researches show that by acting based on the “If-Then planning” you are two or three times more likely to succeed. The basics: If X happens, then I will do Y. The X can be a time and place, or it can be an event. Y is the specific action you will take whenever X occurs. The plan works so well because it speaks the language of your brain: the language of contingencies. Best part is that it becomes an unconscious act, so you can reserve your energy towards more important tasks.

The chairman of the Number Resource Organization recently announced that they ran out of internet addresses to give out. The group, that gives addresses to service providers, says they went through their 4.3 billion addresses. Although they have currently run out of addresses, there are already new ones in the works. The new pool of addresses has an additional 340 trillion groups, each containing of one trillion networks. The Number Resource Organization thinks this will not be something they encounter again in the future.

A handful of airlines including AirTran Airways, Alaska Airlines, American Airlines, Delta, United Airlines, U.S. Airways and Virgin America have teamed up to free in flights Facebook access during the month of February. Gogo Wi-Fi network and Ford will be making it possible to logon and update your current status while in the air this month. Additional internet access other than Facebook with start at $4.95.

Are you using social media in your advantage? We may feel a certain level of discomfort at first, but as we push through we will be able to get a lot of valuable comments and ideas on how to better ourselves and the product we are offering. People are going to write whatever they want on your “wall”, but, often rewards await those who push through the discomfort of the unknown. Push through the discomfort and use everything in your advantage. Building trust with your customer base doesn’t come easy – each day is a step forward towards a successful product.

According to Searchignite, the demand for paid searches went up in 2010. While only 17.4% of search ad spending was done through Bing and Yahoo, Google dominated with 82.6% of search ads. The market is up 18.5% from 2009 when search ad spending was beginning to decrease. Retailers had very impressive spending because of the busy holiday season. December by itself had a 44.8% increase. While some speculated that there would be a continued decrease, these numbers prove something different. Leadpile uses ad spending as an option just as many others are continuing to do.

Tax season is creeping up on us again.. and as we get closer, something to think about it how you would prepare for an audit.

According to WalletPop, the IRS is ramping up the number of audits in an attempt to close the gap between the taxes it believes it should have collected and what was actually collected. In 2001, the tax gap was $250 billion.

There are 2 types of audits, paper and people. A paper audit is most common – if the IRS thinks you made a mistake, they were notify you that they have recalculated your tax , they may also ask you to send additional documentation to back up claims you may have made. A audit in person is less common and are generally triggered by something very out of the ordinary on your return. Typically with an in person audit, the IRS will set up a time to meet with you and let you know ahead of time what documents they need to review.

A list of frequently asked tax audit questions can be found here: http://www.walletpop.com/2011/01/03/tax-audit-frequently-asked-questions/