Queercents

I have no doubt that many of us are planning our summer months right now, and one of the primary events to look forward to as the weather heats up and the exposed flesh increases in the street is the sheer avalanche of LGBT Pride parades around the country, and indeed around the world. I’m currently planning my stay in London for the Pride event there later this year, and it’s a good opportunity to share some tips and advice with you.
While there are just a few that seem to steal much of the limelight, there are of course events being held all over the planet. Whether you’re in a major capital city or not, there are events in all areas of urban sprawl from New York to Birmigham England, and there is seemingly no excuse for not being caught up in one, even accidentally!
But whichever LGBT Pride parade you’re attending (for some of us the list is long!) there are some things that all of us should know about before we go, especially when it comes to using our “queer currency” wisely!
Spending Your Queer Currency
First of all, it’s important to recognize that these events are supported by local authorities primarily because they bring a lot of tourism, or have the potential to. That might not be as true for the 500 strong street party in a rural region when compared to millions of people heading into London for Pride, but every local authority has aspirations when it comes to tourism and business.
Because of this, it is important to support the businesses that truly support the event. Almost all LGBT Pride events have a website, and almost all will have sponsorship deals with local businesses, and those businesses supporting the event will be listed there. It’s wise to make a note of those businesses which have chosen to support the event, and support them in return wherever possible.
In instances where direct support is not shown, or where sponsorship is not clear, it’s still better to support the local businesses rather than the larger national chains. The revenues generated through small business have a better chance of staying in the community, while the profits of the larger national chains are moved out of that community very quickly. You want every last £, $ or € to be seen as a benefit to the city hosting the event, and if it goes to the smaller businesses it will be counted rather than immediately extracted to “corporate HQ” before the local government has a chance to see what the event has brought in. Read the rest of this entry »

I am normally not a fan of Facebook giveaways because they normally require you to take part in some sort of social reader or app that you have too discontinue but this one was simple enough. All you have to do is LIKE their page and be entered to win. iPad’s are such amazing gadgets that I will try just about anything to have the latest and greatest. Read the rest of this entry »

Hotel rewards credit cards are a great way for any traveler to make his or her travel dollar go further. With broader earning options, more generous introductory bonuses, and lower minimums for redemption, hotel credit cards will likely prove more useful to the casual traveler than airline credit cards.

Anyone wanting to compare travel rewards credit cards must foremost consider one’s own hotel preferences. Hilton-branded cards can be used at over 3,600 hotels in the Hilton Worldwide portfolio; The Marriott Rewards Visa from Chase can be used at over 3,300 Marriott locations; The Priority Club Select Visa from Chase can be used at over 4,300 hotels in the IHG portfolio (including Intercontinental, Holiday Inn, and Crowne Plaza hotels); and, The Starwood Preferred Guest American Express card can be used at over 1,000 hotels in the Starwood portfolio (including St. Regis, W Hotels, Westin, and Sheraton hotels). If the specific hotel is unimportant, one can also compare the Marriott Rewards Visa to the Hilton and others on the bases of annual fees, signup bonuses, and methods of points accumulation, conversion, and disbursement.

Travelers seeking a card without an annual fee can consider the Hilton HHonors Visa Signature Card from Citi or the Hilton HHonors American Express card. Those willing to pay an annual fee can also consider: the Starwood Preferred Guest card from American Express, which carries a $65 annual fee; the Priority Club Select Visa from Chase, which carries a $49 fee; or, the Marriott Rewards Visa from Chase, which carries a $30 fee. It’s worth considering that these fees are waived for the first year in every case.

Every travel rewards card offers bonuses to newcomers. The Marriott Rewards Visa from Chase credits new users with 30,000 bonus points after the first purchase with the card, as well as a free night’s stay at any category 4 or less Marriott hotel. The Hilton HHonors American Express card offers 2,500 bonus points per Hilton stay made within the first 18 months, up to a maximum of 10,000 points; the HHonors Visa from Citi is more generous, offering 30,000 points after the first $600 of purchases made within the first 4 months. Chase’s Priority Club Select Visa and the Starwood Preferred Guest card from American Express both give bonus points after any initial purchase – 30,000 and 10,000, respectively.

Points can also be accumulated through everyday spending. American Express’ Starwood Preferred Guest card gives 2 points for every dollar spent, with a 2-3 point bonus for every dollar spent at hotels and resorts in the program; its HHonors card gives 6 points for every dollar spent on Hilton bookings, groceries and gas, and 3 points are awarded for every dollar spent elsewhere. Chase gives 3 points for every dollar spent at a Marriott hotel with its Marriott Rewards Visa, and 1 point for every other dollar charged to the card; its Priority Club Select Visa gives 5 points per dollar spent at any IHG hotel, 2 for every dollar spent on gas, groceries, or dining, and 1 point per dollar for all other purchases. The HHonors Visa Signature card from Citi gives 6 points per dollar spent on Hilton bookings, 3 points per dollar for groceries and gas, and 2 points per dollar for everything else.

Regardless of which card you choose, the key to maximizing rewards is using the card as often as possible. Make use of your travel rewards card at every opportunity, and you’ll earn a free night’s stay in no time at all.

In this day and age, families are formed in many different ways. Whether you are gay, straight, single, or one half of a couple, you are able to have a child. True, you need both a male and a female, for both sperm and an egg. However, it doesn’t matter if you are in a relationship that doesn’t have both. Luckily, there are quite a few ways a lesbian couple can have a child. The paths from conception to delivery can vary, and so do the costs. From conceiving at home, to conceiving with a doctor, it’s important to see each method and the associated costs to help in your decision as to how you wish to proceed.

The most important decision that needs to be made up front is deciding which partner will be carrying the pregnancy. If there is a known fertility problem with one partner, the costs are likely to go up as specialists will likely have to medically help to obtain a pregnancy using drugs along with medical procedures. Once pregnant, insurance can be the difference between paying hundreds and paying thousands, just for the pregnancy and delivery itself. The average cost for prenatal care and delivery can be around $10,000 without insurance to pay a bulk of it. That is assuming it is an uncomplicated single baby pregnancy.

A few options for conceiving a child include home inseminations, IUIs, or even IVF. When doing home inseminations, many will choose to have vials sent from a sperm bank. You can also choose to use a known donor, a friend, but will need a contract in place if you go this route. You will need a lawyer no matter what since you need a pre-birth order, but will definitely need one to protect you from any possible future custody issues with a known donor. This will cost anywhere from a couple thousand to quite a few thousand so shop around and find someone knowledgeable, not just someone with the lowest price. With a sperm bank, you are able to pick your donor, have the vial shipped to your house, and inseminate at home during ovulation. There is usually a fee for the tank you will need that is around $500-$700 and is refundable. Average cost for using a sperm bank is around $500-$1,000 per cycle, and includes the sperm vials and shipping. In order to time your ovulation for artificial insemination, you will also need ovulation tests to pinpoint the best days. You can get around 100 of these tests on various sites for about $30.
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It’s been awhile since we brought back our Celebrity Ten Money Questions and lately it seems we have had many from the nightlife and music business including Chris Ryan. This month we had the opportunity to interview Jonny McGovern known as the Gay Pimp while he is promoting his exciting new album “The Gayest of All Time.” Read more here on our sister blog about the new music video.

1. Don’t you think there should be laws against texting while dancing?
Yes there should! Unless I need to text my friend about sumpthin REAL important.
2. You sing of Verizon, T-mobile, and Sprint.. Who do you use?
Actually AT&T
3. What is your favorite credit card or does a gay pimp pay in cash only? Cash Only Baby!
4. What mobile personal finance applications do you use? None. When my wallet is empty I don’t spend no money.
5. What is the one personal item that you always splurge on?
Haircuts and Beard trims every 2 weeks to keep lookin fresh.
6. What is the one thing that you feel is always overpriced? Coffee but it doesn’t stop me from buying it. Read the rest of this entry »

Summer is nearly here and it’s time to begin planning summer vacation. With gas at an all time high, it may be wise to consider a gas card – unless you’ve budgeted a few extra hundred dollars aside. If not, and you opt for the gas card, be warned there are many options. When deciding which is best suited for your personal needs, one should first determine which factors are most influential. This article will review some of the best gas cards available on the market by lowest fees, best introductory APR offers, lowest APR, and most rewards on gas purchases. We will compare the Shell Master Card, Discover More Card, Chase Freedom Card, Blue Cash Everyday from American Express, Citi Thank You Preferred Rewards Card, and Capital One’s Cash Rewards Cards for excellent and average credit.

LOW FEES
If you don’t like the idea of paying to use a gas card, good news, all but one of these cards have no annual fees. The sole culprit is the Capital One Cash Rewards Card for average credit with a $39 annual fee. Still, it isn’t unusual for cards willing to accept those of us without perfect credit to charge such fees.

INTRODUCTORY APR
The introductory APR is often the deal breaker for many. If you acquire a gas card shortly before taking your summer vacation you may be able to pay no interest on all gas purchases made during the vacation. The Discover More Card offers such a promotion, charging 0% APR for the first fifteen months. That’s right! Discover gives you over a year to repay before charging you. The Blue Cash Everyday charges 0% APR for twelve months on purchases – another fantastic feature. The Capital One Cash Rewards cards for excellent and average credit charge 0% APR until March 2013 and December 2012 respectively. This isn’t bad, but it’s definitely not the best promotion available. Neither the Chase Freedom Card nor the Citi Thank You Preferred Rewards Card offer introductory APR promotions. Instead the Chase card will give you a $100 to $200 cash bonus after you make $500 in purchases in three months. Citi will give you 250,000 points after you spend a whopping $2000 in three months. Those points can then be redeemed for a $250 gift card.

REWARDS ON GAS PURCHASES
The Shell Master Card will give you 5% cash back on Shell gas. But if you can’t find a Shell gas station, expect to receive just 0.5% cashback. If there are no Shell gas stations along your route, a Discover or Chase card may be the better bet. Both give 5% cash back on gas purchases from July through and including September. Blue Cash Everyday offers 2% cash back at gas stations. Both Capital One cards give 1% cash back per dollar spent on all transactions. Instead of cash back, Citi gives points which can be redeemed for rewards, giving one point per dollar spent.
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We just sent in a text for this free offer from Tide. There has been quite a few Tide offers lately including a few for their new Tide Pod’s product. Today’s happens to be cleaner for the washing machine. All you have to do for this is text TIDE to 467467. You will then get a text back and it will ask you your birthdate then phone number and it will search your address. Then boom you have you some free Tide Washing Machine cleaner. Read the rest of this entry »

That big day in April is lurking around the corner and no it is not April 13th it is the day you pay your dues to the IRS. If you want to put yourself in an even worse mood you may not want to look at this calculator. With this cool app you can find out how many millionaires pay a lower effective tax rate than you. This is a calculator that can either tell you are paying too much in taxes or need a new accountant. Better yet, it may be saying you might need to get out and vote this next election. All you have to do is enter your Wages and Salary and Federal Income Tax Paid or select your tax rate. It was too big to put on the homepage of our site but click more to view. Read the rest of this entry »

Another exciting contest going on today especially if you are a Madonna fan. How about a front row ticket to see The Madonna World Tour 2012 in New York City? Enter here. See this site for a list of the tour dates and ways to buy the best seats. It is the Queen you want to make sure you get the best seats in the house. It is no fun having to look through binoculars to see a concert.

If you are a regular at the Gay Days Disney event in Orlando you may have already received this email. I received this email today where all you have to do is fill out a form online to enter a VIP Gay Days Orlando Trip from Hilton Hotels and Resorts. If you are a Hilton HHonors member already all you have to do is click the link and SIGN IN and you are automatically registered. Simple as this to get in the action of a VIP tickets to Gay Days Orlando (two passes), roundtrip airfare for two, two 4-Day Disney theme park Park Hopper passes, and six nights at Hilton Orlando and more. If you have not had the luxury of attending such an event you must do it in your lifetime it is one of the best each year and it seems to get bigger and better every year. They have days at the Disney parks for all of us LGBT Family and the pool parties at the Hilton Doubletree include a Girls at Gay Days, Bears, and main pool where everyone joins in on the fun. Before you get to Orlando to check-in your hotel make sure you have this Hilton Credit Card in hand so you can get 5x earnings on the bill and earn more free nights.
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