Leon Moss

Personal Money Store has purchased 100 articles from one writer, Leon Moss. Today we are featuring Leon Moss.

About Leon

Personal Money Store found Leon, or Leon found Personal Money Store, through our Pay Per Post page. Leon has a quick wit and great sense of humor, even through a completely email relationship.

Early years

Leon has had a very interesting life. He grew up in South Africa thus writes in perfect English. He was a child spy in the Russian army in the Crimean War. He now lives in a small town in Israel about 35 miles from Jerusalem.

Recent years

Leon is a retired engineer, now working full time as an author. He writes about payday loans (of course), business, health, online gambling and short fiction. Leon enjoys old “Morse” movies on TV. For those of us unfamiliar with “Morse,” it’s a series set in Oxford, England. Morse is an irascible English detective, short tempered, gruff and very likeable.

Leon, the Painter

Leon is an accomplished painter as well. When we asked Leon to provide a photo for this article, we were very pleased that he provided this self-portrait.

Leon’s family

Leon enjoys spending time with his family. He has been married for many years. He has 3 sons, 2 in Israel and 1 in Australia and 8 grandchildren, 6 in Israel and 2 in Sydney, Australia. Leon spends time with various grandchildren and gives rides or hangs out in coffee shops writing articles on his laptop while he waits for a grandchild who is at swimming training or some other activity.

Thanks Leon, for joining our team of writers. We look forward to many more articles by Leon Moss.

Where are the Obamas staying?

The Obamas will spend about 10 days living in one of the luxury suites at the Hay-Adams Hotel, which is just across the street from the White House. The family is expected to stay in one of the hotel’s luxury suites before moving to the Blair House, which is the president’s official guest home, on Jan. 15. Then they move to the White House on Jan. 20. Lots of moving for this young family.

What is the Sidwell Friends School?

The Sidwell Friends School is a Quaker-run school— Chelsea Clinton and the Nixon sisters attended — whose philosophy includes:

Sidwell Friends School is an educational community inspired by the values of the Religious Society of Friends and guided by the Quaker belief in “That of God” in each person. We seek academically talented students of diverse cultural, racial, religious and economic backgrounds.

It seems that the size of your payday doesn’t affect enrollment, although you might need a cash advance to pay for tuition. Sidwell, by the way, gave the entire student body inauguration day off, so the Obama girls will be able to attend without missing any classes.

Children in the White House

It’s been a long time since we’ve had young children in the White House. As a matter of fact, this is the first time there will be young children in the White House since the Kennedy’s. We had the Bush daughters, but they were older when they moved in. We’ve had a child, like Chelsea Clinton and Amy Carter, but they were a child, rather than children.

The Kennedy’s

Caroline Kennedy was almost 4, and John Jr., was just an infant, when the Kennedy’s moved in to the White House on February 4, 1961. Prior to that, Americans had not seen young children in the White House in 50 years, since Theodore Roosevelt’s family lived there in the early 1900s.

Other children in the White House

Chelsea, daughter of Bill Clinton, was twelve years old when she moved into the White House. (By the way, it was during the Clinton administration that the Cash Advance industry really took off.) Amy Carter, President Jimmy Carter’s daughter, moved into the White House at the age of nine. Although the Carters had four children, the three older brothers, Jack, Jeff, and Chip, had already left the nest when the Carters moved into the White House.

What images will Obama’s family bring to us?

We all remember the images of John Jr. hiding under his father’s desk in the Oval Office. I look forward to the images we will have of these young Obama girls in the White House. And I’m looking forward to what Barack Obama will do to help each of us bring home a bigger payday, while hoping he doesn’t take away my right to a cash advance.

Extra Cash, in other words, Money.

Money is not so fun to unwrap, but any teenager will tell you that they would love extra cash. To make it fun to unwrap, you can put it in a great big box and watch them unwrap it. You can also stuff it in a balloon and blow it up. Another idea is to look online for origami patterns and fold the money into a shirt, tie or bird, then wrap it in a decorative box.

In this tough economy, any adult would appreciate certificates of deposit and savings bonds. CDs and savings bonds can be purchased at bank branches or online and, if saved, have the potential of eventually being worth more than you spent on them.

Lottery ticket.

Although usually only a dollar, there is the potential of more. It’s always fun to dream! If you need to bring a gift to an office party, this is one that everyone fights over.

Gift certificates.

How about a $5 gift certificate to a video rental store tied to a box of popcorn? Tying the gift certificate to a gift makes it a little more fun; however, for mailing purposes, a gift certificate is a great idea. Gift certificates can be limiting, but I was surprised to learn that my local mall offers a gift certificate which is good at all the stores and includes the movie theater and food court. Other fun gift certificate ideas are to a place like Baskin Robbins for the ice cream lover (could be attached to an ice cream scoop) or a Papa Murphy’s Pizza gift card (attached to a round pizza cutter or pizza stone.)

Subscriptions.

Subscriptions to their favorite magazine are a nice idea because they will remember you every month as the new magazine arrives. National Geographic would be great for the friend dreaming of a trip to Africa and National Geographic for kids is great for the little ones. Reader’s Digest is very popular among adults. Entertainment Weekly for your mother who watches everything the Stars do; Vanity Fair for your friend with the flair for fashion; you get the idea.

Themed gifts and baskets.

Gift Idea

Baskets can be bought at dollar stores, craft stores, even found in your garage. You can even use just saran wrap and forget the basket.

What fun to receive a basket full of fruit!

Have a friend saving to go Hawaii? Put together a box with a flower lay, macadamia nuts, a can of pineapple and maybe CD of Hawaiian music. (If it’s someone you love, you might want to include the tickets to Hawaii-but that might take a payday loan to pay for.)

How about a bird feeder and bird seed for the avid bird watcher? You could even make a bird feeder slathering a pine cone with peanut butter, roll it in birdseed and hang it from a ribbon. Be sure to have a box ready to drop it right into for wrapping.

Or for the baker, how about cake or cookie mix, frosting, cupcake holders and sprinkles tied with a bow and attach a cookie cutter?

My Italian mother would love a basket with special pasta from the refrigerator section, one of those specialty pasta sauces in the canned pasta section, Parmesan cheese, and one of those plastic pasta forks. I may even throw in a bottle of pickled peppers. My Italian mom would also love a trip to Italy, but then again, I’d have to take out a payday loan.

I think my sister would like a basket with a card game in it, like Uno, hot chocolate and marshmallows, and a box of popcorn so they can have a special family night.

I think I’ll make a breakfast basket for my friend who complains she never has time for breakfast: cereal bowls, Captain Crunch, Pop Tarts, pancake mix and syrup.

Candy.

Sees Chocolate is pretty well accepted as OK for anyone. And you can order online, have it sent, and it’s done. Chocolate covered cherries, fruitcake, divinity, chocolate kisses (mint flavored at Christmas). It’s all right at your grocery store for you to buy and wrap.

Photos.

All grandparents love photos of their children and grandchildren. Frames are relatively inexpensive, but you can even give the photo alone. Non-grandparents may not want photos of someone else’s kids, but my mother-in-law had a dog that she adored. We framed a photo of her dog for her and she loved it. Most photo places will now take your photo and turn it into a gift of some sort: a calendar, ornament, mug or mouse pad. You can even go online, upload your photo, order it and have it shipped.

Plants

You can always bring someone a poinsettia or indoor flower at this time of year. And there are Chia Pets, even an herb garden. Cut flowers make nice gifts too. No need to buy a vase, if you have a cupboard full of vases. Put a bouquet of cut flowers in a vase you already have, tie a ribbon and there you go.

For the kitchen.

There are some pretty fun things you can get for almost anyone for their kitchen.  There are crepe makers, waffle makers like you see at hotels, chocolate fountains, George Foreman grills with replaceable plates, donut makers, popcorn poppers, snow cone makers, juicers, milk shake machines, the list goes on and on.

Puzzles.

There are puzzles for every age, from 2 years to 99 (or more).  There are soft foamy ones for the little ones, thousand piece puzzles  for the big ones.  There is a puzzle that when completed, becomes a game.  There are 3-D puzzles.  There are puzzles that become globes.  You can’t lose with a puzzle.

I’m out of time.

Well, it’s time to get out there and shop. One quick minute and I’ll have an application for a payday loan completed online. A couple hours from now, the money will be in my bank account and I’ll be out shopping with this list. If you have other last-minute gift ideas, post them in the comments below so we can all help each other out. Have a great holiday season and a happy new year!

We started with our payday loans Money Blog, which we feel needed a different touch.

The redesign of the Personal Money Store Money Blog

After a long process, we made the blog easier to navigate, so that the great new content that we are bringing you about payday loans and the cash advance industry can be easier to digest and understand.

We’re also soon to be completed with our new payday loans site design, so stay tuned for that!

A New Clothing Line.
Sarah Palin drew such attention with the clothes and the shoes she wore. It was reported that Sarah spent over $150,000 on her clothes and shoes in just the first month on the campaign trail. Well, I have to admit, it worked. Everyone was talking about her clothes. Her position on the war, the economy or any issue took a backstage to what she was wearing today. Many of us found ourselves, even though we felt it to be almost wrong, waiting for Sarah to step away from the podium to see what she was wearing today. She stole the campaign style spotlight. Why not put her natural ability to use and start the “Sarah Palin Clothes Line?”

A New Eyeglass Line.

Then there were the eyeglasses. Just because she wore them, people ran out in droves, even getting payday loans, to buy the Kawasaki 704 eyeglass frames. She could start a new eyeglass line. She could call her new company the “Governor’s Glasses.”

Sarah’s Shooting Shop.
How about a hunting shop? She could sell rifles and all the gear that goes along with hunting. She could adorn the walls with photos of her standing next to the caribou or moose that she killed and could even put their heads on the walls. What about a line of Caribou Barbies to sell behind the counter?

A Talk Show Host.
There is no doubt that Sarah Palin can talk. She has charisma and she grabs our attention. Just look at the double-digit ratings gains after her appearances on “Saturday Night Live” and the “CBS Evening News.” When it came to politics, people seemed to love her or hate her — there didn’t seem to be much middle ground. Yet everyone watched her. What more do you need if you are a talk show host? The question is: does she do an Oprah-style syndicated talk show or more of a Glen Beck-like cable news show. Maybe one topic she’ll cover could ge our right to continue to have payday loans.

A Reality Television Show.
The Alaska setting as a backdrop. A pregnant teenager. Sarah Palin-the grandma, sitting on her porch with a rifle in her lap, protecting Alaska from the Russians just across the border. It has the makings for a perfect Reality TV show. Kind of the “Osbornes” meet “The Brady Bunch.” She could call it, “The Palin Bunch.”

A Book Deal.
Somewhere, someone will want to write about her life. They could call it, “I Almost was the Vice President of the United States,” or “Tina Fey Impersonated Me.”

So Many Choices.
Oh wait, Sarah Palin does have a day job, for at least the next two years. She is, after all, the Governor of Alaska. I understand there is a bridge to nowhere that needs finishing. At least in Alaska, she can continue to work to be sure Alaskan’s have the financial freedom to obtain payday loans. No matter what she chooses, I don’t believe Sarah Palin will just drift off into the sunset. As a famous actor once said, “She’ll be back.”

Today the Negative Campaign Ads End.
I am so glad the elections are today and the negative ads that hit my T.V. constantly will be over. I would rather see ads for payday loans than the negative ads this election season. My children notice the ads. They notice one candidate says one thing and his opponent says something completely opposite and they realize someone is lying. My daughter has talked to me about this and she wonders how to know who to trust. Subliminally, are we teaching our children to be negative and mean to each other and that it is o.k. to lie? Can you imagine what the unconscious effect would be on our children if the ads were full of, “What will I do for you?” rather than, “She did this,” or “He did that?”

Then I have to wonder, how can these politicians afford the advertising to constantly slam each other?

$5.3 Billion Dollars in Campaign Spending in 2008.
According to USA Today, our presidential and congressional hopefuls are expected to spend a record-breaking $5.3 billion dollars this election season. Yes, you read that right! $5.3 billion dollars! With $5.3 billion dollars at their disposal, it’s no wonder they can make so many negative ads. With the state of our economy right now, one can’t help but wonder what kind of positive affect we might have if the $5.3 billion dollars was instead put into helping individuals in our country.

While I’m still reeling about the money spent on these elections, I read further that Coca-Cola spent $2.6 billion on advertising in 2006 and American’s spent over $6 billion on Halloween, alone this year.

A New Idea for an Economic Stimulus Package.
So, I have an idea for my own economic stimulus package, so we can avoid taking out payday loans. Say next election, we don’t allow the candidates to spend anything. If they want an ad on T.V., they have to have it gifted from a television station, who then must give equal time to the other candidate. With less time on television, the candidates will have to focus on more positive campaigns. If all we see are short ads, and they are filled with negativism, we won’t vote for the candidate, I’m sure of it.

What Could a City do to Improve its Economy with ½ Million Dollars?
If we took the $5.3 billion spent on campaigning and divided that between every single American citizen (approximately 300 million), we would each get less than $20. That’s not enough to make a dent in the economic problems. But what if we took the $5.3 billion and divided that between 20,000 cities (19,354 cities according to the U.S. Census Bureau). Each city would get $265,000 to work to improve the economy of their city. While we’re at it, each individual could donate $10 of the $20 they spent on Halloween each year to the economic stimulus in their city. This would give each city an additional $150,000. And last, we could all agree to drink Coca-Cola so they don’t have to advertise and they could donate their $2.6 billion to our country’s economy. This is an additional $130,000 per city. Total per city would be $545,000 per city. Every city has different needs so each city would look at what would best stimulate the economy of their city with ½ million dollars. Stimulating the economy of each individual city would thereby stimulate the national economy.

We would be using that money in a more responsible fashion. And the man in this picture, holding this sign, might not have to take out payday loans or stand on the corner to run for president.

Food Storage

I have to admit, I have pretty-much been coasting through the current economic crisis, taking out installment loans whenever necessary. Although my heart goes out to those people who are struggling, we personally hadn’t been one of those who had lost their homes, lost money in the stock market, or lost their jobs. But then, last week, the reality of all of it hit home.

First, although his job was safe, half of my husband’s company was laid off. That same day, my daughter’s husband lost his job and a close friend told me she had received a 60 day notice that her company would be closing and she would be out of work. Another friend, a real estate broker, had to close the doors on her business and she had to go to work as a receptionist in someone else’s office. Still another friend’s brother lost thousands of dollars just this week in the stock market and had to take out installment loans just to get by. To top things off, my daughter called and told me her husband’s company, Micron, is laying off 1500 employees by Christmas.

We Need to Prepare for an Emergency

We had a family meeting and decided that we need to set in place some safeguards and prepare, just in case things get worse before they get better. We also decided not to get installment loans to do this, rather do it in an economical fashion. But how do you prepare for the worst? We decided that our family would concentrate on the following four areas:

1. Build a Three-Month Supply of Food

Build a supply of food that is part of your normal, daily diet. One way to do this is to purchase a few extra items each week. Store canned foods with high liquid content, dry mixes, and foods that do not require refrigeration, cooking, or water, as much as possible. (Note: Be sure to include a manual can opener.) First start building a one-week supply of food, then gradually increase your store of food until you have a three month supply. Be sure to rotate this food regularly to avoid spoilage.

2. Store Drinking Water

Store drinking water. If you go even one day without water, you can be suffering. You should store at least one gallon of water per person per day. A two week supply should be the minimum.

3. Live Within your Means and Build a Financial Reserve

It’s time to cut back. When you buy anything, decide if you really need to have it. Can you instead put that money into food or water to store or can you put it into a financial reserve? Save a little money each week.

4. Grow your friendships

When the crisis hits, nothing will be more important than how prepared you are and how strong your friendships are. If September 11, 2001 was the worst day in American history, September 12th surely was the best. September 12th, 2001, we saw more compassion in one day than any day any of us can remember. Churches filled up, neighbors said hi to one-another, families came together, we called everyone we loved just to say hi,we hugged strangers. Don’t wait for the big catastrophe; reconnect with each other now.

Don’t take out installment loans or go into debt to purchase your three-month supply of food, your drinking water or to build a financial reserve. But do what you can, as fast as you can. With these tips, if a crisis hits, you will at least have food, water, money and friends.

Do Cinderella, Dorothy and Sarah Palin have something in common? Have they all used payday loans?

Cinderella's glass slippers

Cinderella was a sweet-innocent young woman who was unjustly treated by her wicked step-mother and step-sisters. Cinderella was forced to do all the cooking, cleaning and laundry. She was never allowed to go anywhere fun. One day, the Prince invited all the maidens in the land to a ball so he could choose a wife. Although Cinderella was invited, her step-mother and step-sisters refused to allow her to go. But, with the help of her Fairy Godmother, Cinderella got the chance to go to the ball in a beautiful gown, and she danced the night away with the Prince. But, the spell on her gown was only good until midnight, so when the clock struck midnight, she had to run back home, or risk being discovered as the poorly dressed girl that she was. As she ran down the stairs, one of her glass slippers slipped off of her foot and was left behind. Luckily for her, the prince found the glass slipper and ultimately found her, because of it. No payday loans needed.

Dorothy and the Ruby Slippers

Dorothy's ruby slippers

Dorothy lived on a farm in Kansas with her Aunty Em and Uncle Henry, but dreamed of a better place, somewhere over the rainbow. After being swept away by a tornado, Dorothy and her dog Toto were transported to the magical Land of Oz. After spending some time in Oz, Dorothy realized how much home really meant to her, and tried, with the help of a scarecrow, tin man and cowardly lion to find her way back home. Finally, she discovered, with the help of Glinda, the Good Witch of the North, that she had always had the power to return home. All she had to do was click her ruby slippers together and repeat, “There’s no place like home” and she, indeed, arrived home, without the help of payday loans.

Sarah Palin’s Shoes

Sarah Palin

Sarah Palin is the Governor of Alaska as well as the Republican Party’s Vice Presidential nominee. Palin was a member of the Wasilla, Alaska city council from 1992 to 1996 and was Mayor of Wasilla from 1996 to 2002. She chaired the Alaska Oil and Gas Conservation Commission from 2003 to 2004. She was elected governor of Alaska in November 2006. She is the youngest person to have been elected to the position, and is Alaska’s first female governor. She is the mother of 5, including a child with Down’s syndrome. In spite of all of her life experience, the American people seem to be more interested in the shoes Palin is wearing today rather than what her stance is on the issues. Almost one million people have written articles about Palin’s shoes, according to Google. What Sarah Palin’s stance is on the economy, government spending, or payday loans, we may never know, but what we will know for sure is what color shoes Sarah was wearing at today’s press conference.

So, back to the original question; what do Cinderella, Dorothy and Sarah Palin have in common? Have they all taken out payday loans?  No.   They all discovered that a good pair of shoes can change your life.

What do no fax payday loans have to do with Hillary’s orange pantsuit? I’ll explain.

It seems to me that women in politics these days must have a very large budget for clothing. At the Democratic National Convention last week, Hillary Clinton wore an orange pantsuit. There are many reasons she may have decided to wear an orange pantsuit. Whatever the reason, it did grab attention. When I did a search on Google for “Hillary’s orange pantsuit,” I got 67,200 hits. A lot of people are talking about her choice in clothing. So how much does that orange pantsuit cost? According to careerfashion.wordpress.com, Hillary gets her pantsuits at Yves Saint Laurent. When I went to the Yves Saint Laurent website, I could only find one black suit jacket (sorry, no orange) for $2440.00 (more than the amount I could receive with no fax payday loans).

Maybe Hillary shops at Saks Fifth Avenue, an upscale American department store headquartered in New York City (where she serves as Senator). When I went online to Saks, I again only found the jackets to the pantsuits and they ranged in price from $365 all the way up to $2670.00.

Not to be outdone, at the Republican National convention, Sarah Palin wore red shoes. This grabbed even more attention than Hillary’s pantsuit, at 156,000 hits when I put “Sarah Palin’s red shoes” into Google. According to the palm tree pundit, Sarah bought these shoes at Zappos (http://zeta.zappos.com/product/7357893/color/585) for $134.10.

Is this something most women can afford? If you can afford them, and you would love an orange pantsuit, I say, “Go for it.” Notice the word, “love.” Would a regular woman like you and me, put this pantsuit or these shoes on a credit card or take out no fax payday loans? This may not be the responsible use of our money. Before buying clothing like the candidates wear, I would first determine if I really “love” the red shoes (they are really cute, aren’t they?) or the orange pantsuit. Next, do I really “need” either of them? Maybe I really do love and need the red shoes to go with an outfit I have. Then, can I save up enough money for the purchase before buying the red shoes, and then should I buy them somewhere more affordable than Saks Fifth Avenue, Yves Saint Laurent or even Zappos?

I suppose if I need to get a lot of attention, maybe if I’m running for some sort of office, the purchase of this kind of clothing may be a necessity as will no fax payday loans. I guess you’ll have to decide.  As a side note, think about this: have you even heard one thing about what Barack Obama or John McCain were wearing at those same conventions?