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u/vernazza's unnecessarily long guide to Budapest

Free 30+ page travel guide about Budapest, Hungary and bits of Central Europe. Enjoy!
Information correct as of summer 2020. If you find anything incorrect or would like to make requests, suggestions (or just want to say hi), please do that here! You should also drop by in /budapest to see past questions and to get advice from multiple people.
I would also greatly appreciate your post-trip feedbacks about whether my recommendations worked out for you or not! Restaurants, clubs can undergo radical changes and it's not always possible to keep track of every single one.
The local charity I support is the Hungarian Food Bank Association. For every €1 donated they are able to save €30 worth of perishable food and have it reach underprivileged Hungarian families. If you find this guide useful, please consider donating to them!
Some links use URL-shorteners, so I could track how many of you are using this guide. Nothing fishy waiting for you behind them.
See my suggestions in the comments below about:
===CORONA RESTRICTIONS===
The situation is subject to change momentarily, this information is current as of September 2020. Eastern Europe as a whole has largely been spared from the worst of it, including Hungary, and the risk of transmission is low.
Presently foreigners are banned from entry altogether. Exceptions are in place for people with ties to the country (family members, studies, work, those holding residence permits), and people transiting by car on designated highways.
The situation will be revised monthly, with experts saying the second peak is expected for December-January.
In the country, you need to wear a mask on public transport, inside shops, malls, cinemas, museums. You don't need to wear them inside restaurants, cafes, bars, but they must close by 23.00. Social distancing rules are in place, but largely ignored.
===END OF CORONA RESTRICTIONS===
Hungary has a continental climate with 4 seasons. Summer is the main season, a slightly less busy time to visit is April to mid-June and September to October, but the weather is less predictable. Those uncomfortable with 30+C (>85F) temperatures should visit around then as 35+C (>95F) is not uncommon in the summer. November through March has -5 to 10 (20-50F) and possibly gloomier weather – but fewer tourists.
Currency: the Hungarian Forint (HUF, Ft). Fair exchange rates for Euros is around 330-335Fts, for US Dollars around 300. Only use currency exchanges where the buy/sell spread isn't greater than 5-6Fts for these two currencies!
Citizens of 62 countries do not require a visa to enter the Schengen Area and can stay for maximum 90 days within a rolling 180-day window. See here if you don’t know what that entails. EU member countries that are not members of the Schengen Area are Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Ireland, Romania, and the United Kingdom, visits to these do not count toward your 90 days. Non-EU countries part of the Schengen Area are Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway, and Switzerland, visits to these do count toward the cap.
Because we both know you want to do your own research, use:
See the city in 4K, or with Rick Steves.
However nothing beats having a physical guidebook in your hand! Lonely Planet has the best and most recent issue.
Read up on the concept of coconut and peach cultures, as sometimes the reserved and distant behaviour of locals can be misinterpreted by ‘peach’ visitors as rudeness – nope!
This is a comprehensive itinerary, but leaves out the best museum of the city: the House of Terror, a solemn museum of the Nazi and Soviet occupation and crackdowns (get the audio guide or be prepared to peruse dozens of pamphlets). There's an attendance limit, so you might need to wait up to 30-45 minutes to get in when it's the busiest. When you are around Deák Ferenc tér, drop by in the Tourinform office (Sütő utca 2., the small street near the church) to stock up on free maps, printed guides of the city. WeLoveBudapest prints a comprehensive and free one every year around June.
I suggest 4 full days to discover Budapest, or 3 faster paced ones. Make it 5-7 if you'd like to make a few daytrips (Szentendre - open-air ethnographic museum, cobblestoned, quaint center, Esztergom - Central Europe's largest cathedral and religious center, Visegrád - medieval castle, Eger - medieval castle and wine region). Most of Hungary’s highlights can be visited in 2 weeks. For more details on countryside and international trips, see my comment below.
Meal times and habits are typical to central Europe: breakfast is usually done at home, not much of a culture of eating out in the morning. But a large number of new wave breakfast places have popped up in the past years, which offer ample opportunities for visitors, normally from 8am. Lunch is at midday, after 1pm most places are going to be fairly empty and many will stop serving lunch after 2pm. The standard time for dinner is 7pm, bookings for later than 8pm are unusual. Lots of restaurant kitchens close at 10pm (with the restaurant following suit 30-60 minutes later), finding a meal after that hour is challenging for anything other than street food.
Baths
Gellért is the most aesthetic, Széchenyi the largest and most popular among foreigners (Sparty can get crazy with lots of drinking, puking and sex going on in the pools, but it is wildly overpriced and 100% aimed at visitors). Rudas is a Turkish hamam with swimwear optional, single-gender weekdays (women-only on Tuesdays, coed and swimwear-mandatory on the weekend). Lukács is plain and personally I’m not a fan of it – tourists only visit it because it’s included free with the Budapest Card. For more details on the baths, see this.
For off the beaten path sights, ride the D11 or D12 public boat lines for a cheap alternative to paid cruises (travelcards only valid on weekdays, otherwise 700Ft), check out the Pinball Museum, Hospital in the Rock or check out this section for a lot more off the beaten path ideas.
Shopping
Hungary has the world’s highest effective VAT (=sales tax) at 27%. Non-EU/EEA tourists are eligible for VAT refund on their qualifying purchases if they complete the paperwork (min. €175 value per transaction, passport+reclaim form stamped by customs official).
The most popular and best accessible mall of the city is WestEnd on Nyugati tér. Arena Plaza is larger by floor area and carries a couple brands that can’t be found elsewhere, but is less centrally located (10min walk from Keleti train station). Don’t expect to find bargains on clothing or electronics, prices are similar to Western Europe and over North American or Asian ones.
For more information on shopping and VAT refund, see here.
Paprika Market is a decent souvenir shop in the sea of overpriced, terrible quality crap on Váci utca.
Magma Gallery for contemporary and affordable jewelry, ceramics and home decor items by local designers is just one street over on Petőfi Sándor utca.
Check out the antique bookstores alongside Múzeum körút between Astoria and Kálvin tér, some have Socialist-era posters available for sale from 30€ and up, that could be a unique gift/home decor to take home. Ecseri road flea market for more antiques, go early on Saturdays.
Hungarian cuisine is hearty and filling, with a heavy use of meats. Must-try foods are:
For authentic recipes, recommendations for recipe blogs or cookbooks, tips for cooking traditional Hungarian meals, see here
For edible souvenirs to bring home with you:
Grocery stores include Spar, Tesco, Aldi and Lidl. Avoid CBA and Coop, low quality for high prices. Small convenience stores, many 24/7, also dot the city at higher prices.
The most popular and best accessible mall of the city is WestEnd on Nyugati tér.
Alcohol is sold at every one, but some (mostly residential) districts enact a ban on the sale between 22.00-06.00. The central Pest districts don’t have such limitations in place.
Tobacco is sold at tobacconists (‘nemzeti dohánybolt’ ). These shops are also exempt from the evening alcohol sale ban if you find yourself in such a district. Flavored cigarettes are banned in Hungary, so no Black Devils or Sobranies.
Budgets (per person)
For reasonable comforts, I would suggest aiming for at least €50 per day excluding accommodation. Hotel prices significantly vary in and outside high season.
Getting around
Do not buy the Budapest Card, it is not a bargain, even if every travel blogger seems to think otherwise! You would need to visit at least 3-4 museums a day to break even and the free visit to the pretty plain Lukács Baths could mean you’d deny yourself going to the much more interesting mainstream alternatives, such as Gellért or Széchenyi. The discounted museums are second-rate and typically not what most visitors choose to hit up on their own.
Do buy a public transport travelcard, the 1, 3 or 5-day unlimited options require no validation or ID (common reasons for fines). For week-long stays, the 7-day travelcard needs an ID number and that you have the document on you at all times. Please do not try to get around by using single tickets!
The travelcards are economical (from €5/24h to €15/week) and easy to use: no validation, you just show it to the controllers. Validity starts immediately by default, or you can select a later starting date (always from midnight). 7-day and monthly passes require an ID/passport number, and you must have the ID on you whenever you travel, otherwise you risk getting fined! Groups of 4 or more can also buy the even more economical '24h group travelcard', but all persons must travel together using that.
Common reasons for fines
Ticket inspectors (must have an anonymized badge and armband) are notoriously brash, speak subpar English. Paying on the spot lets them give you a discounted fine of 8000 instead of the regular 16000 through postal order or wire transfer, they aren't looking to scam you if they offer you that. Fines are pursued internationally through collection agencies, multiplying the original amount once their fees are added.
Cheapest way to get to the city from the airport is by public transport. I suggest paying the 900Ft supplementary ticket for the 100E bus. The southern portion of the M3 subway is under reconstruction, during that period the 200E buses go beyond their usual terminus, Kőbánya-Kispest and take you to Nagyvárad tér station, where the subway runs from. The purple ticket machines at the airport and all over the city take chipped cards. Shuttle bus is a good compromise between price and comfort and depart when full or close to.
Ignore touts walking up to you offering cabs in the arrival hall, use the official Főtaxi booth immediately outside the building. Rates are centralized: flagfall 700Ft, 300Ft/km, 75Ft/min waiting. The fair price to the centre is around 7-9.000Fts. Rides inside the centre are typically under 3.000. All taxi companies have passable reputations with a few horror stories about each, Főtaxi (+36-1-222-2222), 6x6 Taxi (+36-1-666-6666), City Taxi (+36-1-211-1111) are a few. There are some stories of even company cab drivers trying to rip off naive-looking tourists, especially around train and bus stations, so consider legal Uber-alternative Taxify/Bolt (Android, iOS). Uber is banned.
Most companies have apps, but they have terrible design and might set an unchangeable pick up location 5-10 minutes away from you. It’s much better to order by phone, they have English-speaking operators. If you must use an app, choose Taxify.
Scams
Cabbies are the only ones eclipsing the ticket inspectors in notoriety. I cannot emphasize enough: DO NOT USE THE ONES WITH ‘FREELANCER’ ON THE FRONT DOORS!!! These drivers are nicknamed 'hyenas', work independently, they always have rigged meters and are known to sometimes assault customers who don’t comply with their ridiculous demands. If you hail on the street, be absolutely certain you’re getting into a company cab (logo on the front doors).
A known scam by the hyenas, fraudsters and illegal street exchangers is giving you worthless currencies with similarly high denominations as the Forint – namely the Indonesian Rupiah or the old Belarusian Ruble.
Bag handlers at the airport steal from unsecured luggage. Never put any valuables in your checked luggage!
Overly friendly, attractive women approaching you in broad daylight 'to practice their English' and taking you to scammy cafés where you'll be charged €300 for a bottle of bottom-shelf champagne are also to be avoided. Recently a Redditor reported the same happening to him through Tinder, so be very suspicious of anyone insistent on going to a particular establishment. The scam café was Hajós Café on Hajós utca. Another known scam location is Café Fidelité on Révay utca.
Otherwise general safety cautions should be exercised: watch your valuables in crowded spaces for pickpockets, be wary of overly friendly strangers approaching you and introducing the idea of going to a club or bar by their 5th sentence or of people pretending to be authority.
Policemen typically wear dark blue uniforms and white shirts , sometimes with a visibility vest and can be identified by the numbered metal badges on their chest and their separate police ID card which you can ask to inspect before complying with their orders. Scammers use fake police IDs to part you with your cash under the guise of inspecting the notes for counterfeits. Always ask to see it first: this is real, this is fake – notice where the real one has a serial number, the fake says POLICE. If the issue is anything halfway serious, ask to be escorted to the nearest police station – it will scare away scammers playing dress up.
The emergency number is 112 for police, ambulance or firefighters, there are English-speaking operators (works throughout the EU).
If you get pickpocketed, notify both the police and in case of losing your travel documents, your embassy. Thieves are usually courteous enough to leave papers near trash bins, so walk around in the neighbourhood to see if you can recover them. If you find someone else’s, hand in to the nearest police station.
Getting around
the city is easy, Budapest has one of the best public transport systems of the continent. Use Google Maps for orientation and getting around! Tickets and passes with rates are listed here.
All EU/EEA citizens aged 65+ travel for free on all Hungarian public transport, including trains, distance buses. Picture ID and administrative 0 Ft ticket required. Age 65 is not included.
Student discounts are available to full-time students in EU/EEA countries with a valid student ID. If it doesn’t have it, also carry a picture ID. EU citizenship not required, you only need to study there full-time (not applicable for exchange students unless they get ID issued). The monthly student pass (3450) is cheaper than the 72h travel card (4150) for identical benefits.
The 4 subway lines are coded by numbers and, unofficially, colour (1-yellow, 2-red, 3-blue, 4-green). The busiest, M3, is under renovation until 2021, but remains in partial operation, see details here. The entire line shuts down after 8pm and all day on weekends (replacement buses operate), and one section of the line is always out of service. For 2019 it’s the southern segment, between Kőbánya-Kispest and Nagyvárad tér. During this time the 200E airport bus will take you to the more central Nagyvárad tér stop (from where the subway runs) instead of its regular terminus of Kőbánya.
In Budapest driving is not recommended for the perpetual lack of parking spaces, congestion and because there's really no need to. If you must arrive by car, pick a hotel with parking, use the free parking lot at Kelenföld subway station, street-parking by StarPark at Podmaniczky utca at ~€8/24h, or opt for a more central location (such as one of CarE Park’s garages ) at ~20€/24h, €100/week and do not use it for getting around in the city. Public areas are metered in the entire centre, typically charging 1.5€/h with a cap of 3 hours on a ticket.
The Bubi city bike system is available for anyone’s use. The rates are very favourable (500Ft for 1-day, 1000 for 3 for the pass), but a deposit of €80 will be docked when you register and might take a few weeks to release. First 30 minutes are free, after it's 500Ft/30min on top of the daily pass' price.
Two e-car sharing systems compete in Budapest. I suggest using MOL Limo, as you can complete your licence verification remotely (do it before arrival, they might take a day or three if they are backlogged). Despite the name, the cars are tiny, automatic VW up!s, the majority electric and all automatic. Age limit 18, min. 1-year old national licence, foreign ones accepted, €20 registration fee and €0.25/min rate. Coverage includes basically every area of note to tourists in the centre, except the Castle and underground garages (as well as the airport). Expansion is planned for the future. You cannot park (leave the car) outside the coverage area, but you can drive through.
Sightseeing
The best rated tour bus company is Big Bus, Giraffe (aka. the red Hop On Hop Off ones) tends to get mixed-to-negative reviews. Segway tours also available.
Free thematic walking tours of the city depart in front of the lion fountain on Vörösmarty tér daily. A tip of 2000-2500Ft/person suggested, but they're are chill about it, you can give less if you're on a budget.
River cruises run during the day and the evening, including dinner (usually not great, save for one) or party in the latter case. The most popular is Legenda, partiers choose Boat Party.
One standout cruise is Pannónia Gastro Boat that goes above and beyond the standard quality of service of other operations and often host guest chefs from innovative countryside restaurants.
Public transport alternative is the D11 or D12 boat lines between Boráros tér going up to Népfürdő utca (or getting off at Jászai Mari tér or Margaret island 1 or 2 stops prior). Tram 2 between Jászai Mari tér and Boráros tér hugs the Danube on the Pest side and loops around the Parliament for a similarly nice experience. Seasonal operations, normally from March through October.
Money
The currency of Hungary is the Hungarian Forint (1EUR=330HUF, 1USD=300HUF in November 2019), but I’ve listed prices in Euros (€). Check for current rates here.
Don't exchange Forints at home, bring USD/EUGBP in cash or a chipped card with you – the withdrawal fee is far smaller than what you’d lose by the atrocious rates available to you at home (exception: neighbouring countries).
With cards, Visa, Mastercard are best, Maestro acceptable. Avoid Amex, Diners Club and other uncommon non-European issues.
CAD/AUD/JPY/CNY will be exchanged at slightly worse rates, but still much better than if you’d exchange Forints at home. I don't recommend bringing currencies other than the ones I've mentioned and those from neighboring countries, but if you do, Tichi Change exchanges almost every valid currency in the world at as good of a rate as you could realistically hope for.
When the ATM asks you if you want to be charged in your home currency, say no and opt for Forints or you'll lose up to 30% due to the poor conversion rate! Learn more about the rip-off of dynamic currency conversion here and steer clear of the ATMs operated by Euronet. Besides the dynamic currency conversion ripoff, they will also prompt you to withdraw ridiculously high amounts of money (equivalent of $500 or more) that you will not be able to spend in 3-4 days.
Don't exchange any money with bright orange Interchange they use ripoff rates (>30% spread). They hava e monopoly at the airport and are also present throughout the city in premium locations, such as Váci utca. Street exchange is illegal and a good way to get scammed.
Tons of fine currency exchanges around the city, the best USD and EUR rates are at Gold Change but use your eyes: the buy/sell spread shouldn’t be more than 1-3% apart for these, or 2.5-5% at banks. Exchange offices and banks do not take cards! You may only use them for ATM withdrawals.
Phones
Make sure to bring an unlocked phone, ideally a dual-SIM one.
The 3 main carriers are Vodafone, Telekom (T-Mobile) and Telenor. The best prepaid package is Telekom's Domino Fix with the 1/3/30-day unlimited 4G add-on, costing 990+9900Fts (€32) for the 30-day option. SIM cards need to be activated after purchase, so buy them at brand stores where help is available instead of supermarkets or gas stations.
Roaming fees within the EU have been abolished in 2017, you will be able to use your SIM in any EU member country, but not as if it would be local. I.e. a Vodafone Hungary-issued SIM will be roaming on Vodafone Austria’s network. Some 'reasonable' data caps remain in place, which are determined by the cost of your service.
Outside the EU there are punitive data rates. I once managed to rack up a $90 bill for 5MB by accident.
Sleep
Rates are for high season (late April through September, Christmas, NYE), might be 50+% lower on other dates
Location: if you plan on sleeping, the party district (VII., inside the ring road) should be avoided, as well as VIII. outside of it and around Keleti train station for safety reasons/because you can get nicer digs elsewhere. An under the radar gem of an area is VII. between Múzeum körút and the ring road. Buda is nowhere as dead as tourists collectively imagine it to be (especially around Széll Kálmán tér), don’t shun it if you find someplace nice there.
Eat at
For more detailed restaurant recommendations, see this comment. August visitors, check the restaurants' websites and Facebook to see if they aren't on holiday!
The quality of service is a common source of complaints, don't take it too hard if it happens to you. Tip is 10% most of the time, unless you’re really dissatisfied or find yourself absolutely elated. Many top end restaurants add a ~12% service charge to the bill, tipping on top of that is not expected, though naturally it will be appreciated.
Neither regular, nor ost fast food restaurants do refills. The only exceptions are all KFCs and a few Burger Kings.
Smoking is banned at all restaurants, bars and basically every facility open to the public. Designated smoking areas can be found outside on the street.
Try pálinka (~40% ABV fruit brandy), Unicum (herbal bitteaperitif, like Jäger), bikavér from Eger and Szekszárd (lit. ‘bull’s blood’, a full-bodied red), Tokaji aszú (similar to white Port, made of hand-picked berries with noble rot, named the "wine of kings, king of wines" from the 18th century) or fröccs (spritzer, white or red wine mixed with seltzer – a lifesaver in the summer)!
More details in the shopping section.
Or get really local and ask for ’fény’, carbonated vodka foam over raspberry syrup. You’ll see the fény (=light) at the end of the tunnel in no time!
Eat a freshly fried lángos at market halls (acceptable toppings: sour cream, garlic, cheese, perhaps ham and cabbage - certainly none of that tourist stuff with nutella, Hungarian sausage or kebab...) and fried sausage from a butcher shop such as 1951 establishment Balla Hús in Városház utca or the more contemporary Belvárosi Disznótoros eatery. The gallery of the Hold utca market hall hosts quality street food vendors, Karaván food truck yard right next to Szimpla.
Nightlife
For more detailed recommendations, including strip clubs, casinos and more, see this comment.
A casual evening
Ruin pubs
Mainstream clubs
Techno
Rock and miscellaneous
Gay bars
Get out
See train schedules on Elvira, check for buses on menetrendek.hu (this site combines bus and train schedules, but has no English version, check for the orange or blue icon on the left side to see which is which).
Daytrip options include
For multi-day excursions, including to lake Balaton and detailed information on car rental, countryside and international tourism opportunities, click here
submitted by vernazza to hungary [link] [comments]

Review Of Hawaii And NCL's Pride Of America

I just got back and a friend who is taking the exact same cruise and is also cost conscious asked me to give him all my lessons learned. I figured you all might benefit even if some of this information isn't strictly about cruising. I'm going to ask my travel companions to review it (first time in Hawaii and first time cruising) to see if they have anything to add.

Getting There And Getting Around

Air Fare
With Southwest now offering tickets to Hawaii, I expect the competitive market to drop prices across the board but unless you are fortunate enough to live on the west coast in a city with flights that fly direct, air fare can be pricey. I had to get 4 people there round-trip (2 from rural Maine, 1 from Louisville Kentucky and 1 from the Baltimore/D.C. area). I ended up signing up for the Chase Sapphire credit card (annual fee waived for the first year) and the Alaska Airlines credit card that gave me a buy one/take one sign up offer. My total air fare cost was $2400. Besides the credit card, there was no secret other than monitoring the prices as far in advance as possible to see what typical prices are and then striking when there was a decent sale. I would also mention following Scott's Cheap Flights on the off chance a deal becomes available for when you were already planning on traveling.
Ground Transportation
We flew into Waikiki on Tuesday (cruise started on Saturday) so I got a rental car through Autoslash. The total cost for a mid-size for 4 days was $176 and ended up being from Alamo. While I feel this was a good deal as I had four people, if you're not 100% sure you will need it - you can probably get by with an Uber, taxi or even a hop on/off bus (see excursions later). Many excursions had an option for hotel pickup/drop-off.
Probably the best deal I found was Star Taxi which only charged $25 for up to 4 people one-way to/from the cruise terminal and not much more for other locations. Call 1 hour before you need the service.
Parking
Parking is EXPENSIVE so be sure to do a lot of research if you plan on renting a vehicle.

Oahu

General In your mind, you have this idea of what Hawaii is going to be like. Oahu (specifically Honolulu/Waikiki) is not it. It is very over developed and crowded. Many places are run-down because investors have purchased the property but have chosen to wait until conditions are more favorable to develop. There is a very large homeless population in Hawaii overall but I was shocked by the number of shanty towns and abandoned vehicles doubling as homes I saw on Oahu.
Excursions
Recommendations/Notes

Pride Of America

I have to be honest, this was hands down the most expensive cruise I have taken and it was the worst cruise ship. I had a great time but there was a lot left to be desired.
Update: One thing that really stood out as being a good thing is that the room had 3 US standard outlets!!!
Why Does It Cost So Much
Hint: You should get the NCL Mobile App. It includes dinner reservations, account charges, dinner reservations, deck plans, passenger to passenger chat for an additional fee ($10 vs Carnival's $5) and other nifty features.
Observations
I was astounded by the number of first time cruisers I saw (based on their ship card color). Because so many of the employees were American, I was also surprised by how many told me that they were on their first contract and wouldn't be back. The people (both employees and passengers) were incredibly friendly and most everyone seemed to be having a good time. I didn't see long lines at guest services. I mentioned earlier how this was the worst ship I had been on - and, while true, shouldn't give you the impression that I didn't have a great time. For my traveling companions, they had nothing to compare it to and other than the entertainment - they had no complaints at all and loved it.

Day 1 & 2 Maui (overnight)

If you have ever been on a Caribbean cruise and you didn't feel like paying for an expensive excursion you could always just walk off the ship and go to a beach or a shopping district or a friendly bar - something. This is not the case in Maui. Where the Pride Of America docks there is absolutely nothing (it took 10 minutes to walk out of the port with chained link fence on both sides only to end up about another 10 minutes away from a strip mall). I do want to point out that the strip mall did have a few artisans selling things out on the sidewalk but this was far from what you will be used to at other locations.
So what to do instead?

Day 3 Hilo Hawaii

This is the first of two days on the island of Hawaii and it is on the eastern (very wet) side of the island. Normally doing two excursions in one day is a not recommended. I would make an exception here because the Botanical Gardens are not to be missed. It is a short excursion (2.5 hours), is relatively inexpensive (you can even do it on your own) and is offered at multiple times allowing you to get another excursion in.
Recommendations

Day 4 Kona Hawaii

The other side of the island is a stark contrast to Hilo as it is dry/desert climate. It is the only tender port on the cruise. Unfortunately, we didn't fare very well here on excursions but shopping and beer was good.
It has been on my bucket list to be in a real submarine and go over 100 feet to below the surface to the ocean floor. That's what 3 of us did here in Kona and while I am glad that I can now say I have done it (105'), the experience itself was underwhelming. To not interfere with the wildlife, the sub doesn't use any artificial lights nor does anything to attract the fish to your windows. This means almost everything is a monochrome blue (the color red doesn't exist at this depth for instance). It's also nearly impossible to get nice photos out the windows even though they are clear enough - just not the right conditions. Now, I met a guest back on the ship that said he had a phenomenal time on a sub that wasn't sponsored through NCL but I'm not sure what it was.
The other guest in my party decided to go on the Gold Coast & Cloud Forest excursion and was also not impressed. The gold supposedly comes from the Hawaii state fish (yellow trigger fish also known as humuhumunukunukuāpuaʻa) but apparently they haven't been plentiful enough to turn the coast gold for years. She also said if she was a coffee drinker, she probably would have enjoyed it more (they are famous for their coffee).
Recommendations

Day 5 & 6 Kauai (Overnight)

Remember how I said you have this ideal image in your head of what Hawaii is and Oahu doesn't meet it. Kauai exceeds it - I fell in love and if I ever go back, I will just fly directly here and stay on this island - it is that good.
I am not going to suggest you do anything other than exactly what I did because I couldn't possibly imagine having a better time.
Recommendations
Now, there's more to the story than just these two excursions. First, since you're overnight you can stay out as late as you want. I asked our tour guide where an affordable place to get good beer close to the ship was. She recommended The Nawiliwili Tavern (or just the Tavern). It happens to be a 2 minute walk from one of the free shuttle stops and they have great pizza, beer and pool. Secret I learned this is also where a lot of the crew from the ship hang out after they get off at 9PM so if you want to have a real conversation and ask real questions - this is the place to do it. Once the bartender realized I was into craft beer and trying all they had, she told me about a brew pub not too far up the road that I really wanted to try but ran out of time.

Napali Coast (still day 6)

The cruise ship leaves port early (circa 2PM) and instead of heading to Honolulu backtracks around Kauai. There is a portion of the island that's only reachable by air (helicopter) or by sea (cruise ship) and I was fortunate enough to do both. Actually, our pilot said that a few of the beaches can be reached by a hiking 11+ miles but it isn't an easy hike. In any event, this is where the opening scenes of Jurassic Park were filmed if I remember correctly - utterly gorgeous. My pilot also let me in on a little secret - that the captain times the cruise ship to sunset when the coast is all lit up in spectacular colors so be out on deck with camera ready.

Day 7 - Honolulu (Pearl Harbor & City Tour)

I made a big mistake here. I booked a late flight so I could go to Pearl Harbor and then get dropped off at the airport. We had already done the Circle Island Tour and none of the other offerings were of interest. This was a mistake for two reasons.
Reason 1: Exhaustion
After having spent 5ish days in Waikiki and then taking a 7 day cruise, we were wiped out and really didn't have the stamina to really take it all in.
Recommendations
Reason 2: Airport
If you have a late flight home, I'm sorry. All of your checked bags have to be screened by agriculture (certain plants are not allowed to leave the state) which is airline specific and unless that airline is running flights all day (looking at you Alaska), then you will have to wait for them to open before you can even check in. While you wait, there is essentially no place to eat (Starbucks and a bar that serves hot dogs for $12.50 - yes, $12.50). I recommend you keep some food with you for this reason. They do offer a baggage hold service but the prices were ridiculous (4 checked bags for 24 hours was $100). Sorry if it seems like I am whining - it was the end of a long trip and I was returning to reality.

Update: Viator

In this post, I have provided a number of links to NCL's excursions, directly to the vendor and also to Viator. Viator is part of Tripadvisor and generally speaking, you can trust the reviews. On most of the bookings, you can cancel for a full refund up to 24 hours in advance. They are competitively priced and you can usually get a discount. For instance, new customers will get offered a 10% discount off their first purchase. Companies like Ebates and TopCashBack will offer an additional 3 to 6% cash back as well. Use a credit card that gives back 2-4% on travel and it can really reduce the price. I haven't had too much trouble figuring out what vendor was being used through Viator so you could just book with them direct too and just use them as a way to find fun things to do and use the reviews to distinguish between what's good and what's not.
submitted by jgatcomb to Cruise [link] [comments]

Is this a scam? Got a call saying I won a drawing at a home showing event, which I did enter, and this is my prize

I was at the Philly Home Show a couple weeks back and entered a drawing at the event, only detailed we provided were name/numbeemail. I got a call back saying we won a package. The lady explained everything on the phone and didn’t ask for any personal details or form of payment. She said all we have to do is go to this event and listen to a timeshare presentation for 2 hours and are not obligated to buy/pay for anything, then we get a free trip to Vegas or Orlando. The hotel she told us to go to is legitimate.
How do we know if this is a scam? Is there a golden rule for knowing if you actually won something in a drawing?
Begin forwarded message:
From: "Fantasea. Resorts" [email protected] Date: January 29, 2019 at 7:46:12 PM EST To: Subject: HERE IS YOUR INVITATION FOR YOUR APPOINTMENT IN ATLANTIC CITY ON SATURDAY FEBRUARY 9TH AT 1:30 PM - NG

60 N Maine Ave., Atlantic City, NJ 08401 fantasearesorts.com
Your scheduled Presentation and Gift Pick-up is for
DAY Saturday DATE February 9th TIME 1:30 pm_
For any questions, call 609-858-0403
GIFT CODE: *******
Congratulations ******** (I blocked out my own name here)
YOUR VACATION PACKAGE AND BONUS GIFTS ARE WAITING HERE FOR YOU TO PICK UP.
LAS VEGAS OR ORLANDO VACATION · 2 Round Trip Airfare · 4 Days and 3 Nights Accommodations SHOW TICKETS · 2 Adult Tickets in Las Vegas to Blue Man Group or Mystère™ by Cirque du Soleil ®, or similar -OR- · 2 Adult Tickets in Orlando to SeaWorld or Blue Man Group or similar
SHOPPING • A Discount coupon book for The Tanger Outlets in Atlantic City (Up to $1000 in savings at over 150 stores).
SHOW TICKETS • 2 tickets to any Broadway Revue show at Resorts Hotel and Casino in Atlantic City based on availability.
MINI VACATION • An exciting 3-day/2-night stay. Good at more than 40 Different Destinations (you have one year to use it).

• Please bring this letter with you, either printed out, or on a smartphone or tablet.
• Please bring 2 forms of identification: A government picture ID such as a driver's license plus a Major Credit Card (Debit cards, Prepaid Cards, Business Type Credit Cards are not accepted as a form of identification for this promotion.)
• If married or engaged or in a significant relationship, both you and your spouse or significant other must attend the presentation together.
• One gift package per household or vehicle please.
• This is a very limited time promotion.
• Please arrive promptly for your Presentation and Gift Pick-up.
• Be ready for a fun and informative presentation and tour (120-150 minutes) about Fantasea Resorts and the renaissance of Atlantic City. During the multi-media presentation there will be light refreshments.
Any questions, please call 609-858-0403

The night before your presentation you will have the opportunity (but are not required) to stay in a Fantasea Resorts Suite based on availability.
If you already reserved your suite you can skip this section.
We have made a few of our Suites available for you to check into the night before your presentation for a special limited time promotional rate. Once you reserve your suite, your presentation time will change to the morning after you check in. Please verify your presentation time when booking your suite. The special promotional rates are as follows: Sunday thru Thursday arrivals can enjoy a 1 night stay in a studio suite for $29 plus tax or a two-night stay for $49 plus tax. Friday arrivals can enjoy 1 night for $59 plus tax or Saturday arrivals can enjoy a 1 night stay for $89 plus tax. Your room rate plus $10 per night in taxes will be collected when you make your reservation. Upon check-in, you will need leave a $50 refundable security deposit for any incidental room charges made during your stay. (During Holiday Periods, Pricing May be Higher)
If you would like to reserve a suite you must call the FantaSea Resorts Reservations Dept. at (888) 964-6050.
(This number is for booking your suite only) Hours of operation: Mon - Fri, 9:30 AM – 8:00 PM Saturday 9:30 am – 3:30 pm and Sunday Closed. Holiday hours may vary.
All reservations are on a first come first serve basis
Please have your credit card ready when you call. There will be NO additional charge to your credit card unless you fail to cancel your reservation at least 72 hours in advance, do not attend the presentation, or fail to meet the qualifications for this promotion. Your presentation time may change when booking an overnight stay. PLEASE CALL ********** TO RESERVE YOUR SUITE NOW
**Important: YOU ARE NOT REQUIRED TO STAY OVERNIGHT TO ATTEND PRESENTATION AND RECEIVE YOUR GIFTS!
FLAGSHIP RESORT 60 N Maine Avenue, Atlantic City, NJ 08401
It’s Easy Getting To FantaSea Resorts At The Flagship From New York or North Jersey: Take Garden State Parkway South to Exit 38 (Atlantic City Expressway) Follow directions below.
From Brooklyn/Staten Island: Take Verrazano Bridge to Staten Island. Stay on the Staten Island Expressway to Goethals Bridge to New Jersey. Take N.J. Turnpike South to Garden State Parkway (exit 11). Follow directions below.
From Philadelphia area: Cross Walt Whitman Bridge into New Jersey. Stay on I-76 South (North-South Expressway) to the Atlantic City Expressway. Take the Atlantic City Expressway to Atlantic City. Follow the directions below.
All Others: Take the Atlantic City Expressway to Atlantic City. Turn left on Atlantic Avenue. Go to the end of Atlantic Avenue. The 32 story Flagship Resort will be on your left. The garage might be going through some renovations, if it is not finished when you arrive please park in the lot adjacent to the building, Parking is Free. Enter the building through the front entrance and take the elevator to the 7th floor to the Welcome Center.
Present this invitation and your 2 forms of I.D at check-in desk. Enjoy your visit!

Everyone is welcome to visit FantaSea Resorts, Flagship Resort even if not eligible for this promotion. This offer is designed for credit worthy married, engaged and cohabiting couples (both parties must attend, one must be over the age of 25 ), and single persons currently working or retired with a combined annual household income of at least $40,000. Multiple families or couples who know each other are not eligible to attend presentation on the same day. Children are permitted to accompany their parents on the tour, but only a maximum of 3 children per presentation. The purpose of this advertising promotion is to acquaint you with our facilities and vacation ownership program: however, you are under no obligation to purchase and you will receive your promotional package upon completion of the presentation. Because of the value of this offer you must bring 2 forms of identification: A government picture ID such as a Driver's License plus a Major Credit Card. Debit Cards, Prepaid Cards, Business Credit Cards and Checkbooks are not acceptable forms of identification for this promotion. At Least One Party has to be a permanent US resident or a US Citizen. All Must Be Able To Read, Speak and Understand English.
2 Round Trip Airfare: Your vacation certificate must be registered within 6 months of the issue date and allows one full year from the registered date to select and complete travel. Year-round Sunday through Tuesday departures are available from major airports within the continental U.S., Calgary International, Toronto Pearson, or Vancouver International Airports, and is based on airline availability. Availability is limited during major holidays New Year’s Day, Presidents’ Day, Easter, Memorial Day, Independence Day, Labor Day, Columbus Day, Thanksgiving Day and Christmas.
Two travel dates are required a preferred and alternate; each must be at least 45 days in advance with a minimum of 30 days between the two dates selected. Reservation Deposit: Following a travel itinerary selection, the Reservation Deposit is due. Once you confirm a reservation, the government taxes, carrier and agency imposed fees are due at the time of booking. Any refundable deposit paid amount on file at the time of booking will be applied to the charges amount due at the time of booking. Charges in excess of any refundable paid deposit amount on file are owed by the traveler and must be paid at the time of booking using a valid credit or debit card. Any Refundable Reservation Deposit balance remaining after charges, will be refunded 10 days prior to travel.
The certificate for the 3 day / 2 night mini vacation is sponsored by GRAND INCENTIVES. This vacation offer is for 2 adults 21 years of age and older. Up to 2 children under the age of 18 may stay in parent's room for $10 per child. There is a $50.00 refundable room guarantee deposit required. Once your deposit is received your reservations will be processed. All reservations should be made at least 45 days in advance. All reservations are subject to availability. Driver's license required for verification of age and major bank credit card required – no debit cards. Certain Peak times and locations may be extremely limited, for example, June, July, and August. The 3 day / 2 night mini vacation does not include food, transportation, taxes, tips, telephone calls or items of personal nature. Revue Tickets: Good for (2) show tickets at Resorts Casino. Not redeemable for cash. Coupon is non-transferable. Only (1) voucher per customer Must be 21 years of age or older. May be redeemable at Resorts Casino. Based upon availability. If there is no show on the day you are here the show tickets will not be replaced with another gift. Some shows may be sold out to the general public. Check with Box Office.
The Tanger Outlet Discount Coupon: can be redeemed at the Atlantic City Tanger Outlet Shops for a Customer Discount Book with discounts at shops like Calvin Klein, Banana Republic, Gap, Guess, Izod, Polo and others.
The developer reserves the right to discontinue this promotion at its own discretion. FantaSea Resorts reserves the right to substitute gifts of equal or greater value should the indicated gifts not be available at the time of your preview. Flagship Resort Development Corp. (07-00-0009) is registered with the New Jersey Real Estate Commission and the New York State Department of Law. Registration does not constitute endorsement of the merits or value of the property. Obtain the New Jersey Public Offering Statement from the sponsor. New York residents should ask for and receive a New York Timeshare Offering Statement. This offer or any part thereof is void where prohibited by law. Employees, owners or people who have toured our facilities in the last 12 months are ineligible. Flagship Resort Development Corp. is a members of the American Resort Development Association. Promotional package is given in exchange for taking a fun and informative presentation of our resort (120-150 min). The price range of timesharing vacation plans available is $9,900 to $50,000.
THIS ADVERTISEMENT IS BEING USED FOR THE PURPOSE OF SOLICITING TIMESHARE SALES. COMPLETE OFFERING TERMS ARE IN AN OFFERING PLAN AVAILABLE FROM THE SPONSOR.

submitted by A_Shot_Away to Scams [link] [comments]

Posting here because I don't have anywhere else I can.

So I am the kind of person that tends to keep all my problems to myself because I don't really want to bother anyone else with them, but as a result I sort of bottled everything up and I kind of just want to vent. Can't tell my friends because they are kind of part of the problem and I don't want them to see some of the other people in my/their life differently. I'll try to summarize as best I can, but most of what I'll be typing has led up to my current state of mind. I'm also not sure what exactly I'm expecting by posting here, but I sort of just want to say my problems out loud and maybe that will make me feel better. With that in mind, lets give this a try.
-----Backstory----
So starting from the beginning, my Mom and Dad got married pretty young (19-20 respectively) and had already had a daughter together (lets say K) and I was born 3 years later. My Dad was in the Navy so he was out to sea for months at a time and my Mom was trying her best to support us working as a nurse. Anyway when I was about 4, the divorced on good terms; Mom, K, and I moved in with my grandparents and Dad continued to be in the Navy, but would pass up promotions and such in order to be stationed within about 6 hours of us. My sister and I would also get to spend a few holidays with him and a whole month and a half with him during the summer. My Mom also started dating during this time and when I was about 6, she accidentally got pregnant with my sister T with her boyfriend (they didn't stay together, but he still was a part of T's life).
This is kind of when my problems started in my life. 2 years after this when I was 8, K was hit by a car while crossing the street and died shortly after. For obvious reasons, my Mom was an emotional wreck and my grandparents were doing everything they could to take care of both my Mom and T to the best of their abilities. I was a pretty well behaved kid so for the most part no one really payed attention to me and my grandparents figured the best idea was to give me chores to keep me busy. I didn't complain as I had at least some grasp of what was happening around me and knew that T needed more attention. Meanwhile in school, they made an announcement and my classmates and teachers didn't really react the way I hoped looking back on it (I had only joined the school that year, so I wouldn't really say friends yet; each grade had one class btw). The teachers tried to give me extra attention and my classmates kind of left me alone, as they didn't really want to interact with the kid the teachers were watching. One of my friends (B) and I joke that we met in third grade and became friends in 6th grade. Anyway over time this became the new normal.
My Mom eventually started dating again and eventually married a guy named S when I was in 6th-7th grade. He had a pretty good job from what I could tell, or at least wasn't hurting for money. They bought a pretty big house (like 4 bedroom, two floor house with a basement so not huge) and for a long time things were pretty good. For most of my high school years, there was usually a big party on weekends T was at her father's house. I found out that they did this on purpose because they didn't want T to see them and all their friends getting shit-faced drunk, but I was good to have around because I would usually be on clean-up before the party was even over. Half the time I didn't even take part in the parties and instead would just hang in my room. This was mainly because I found out when entering high school that I had very little social grace (probably from being surrounded by the same 13 classmates from grade 3-8). Some of my friends from middle school followed me to high school, like B, but he was much more successful in meeting new people. During days we didn't have lunch together, I was pretty much by myself and maybe only had a handful of people that I could call friends (none of which I keep in contact with aside from a message or two on Facebook). B would come over to the house on weekends or during parties and hang out with my M and S, plus all their friends (S had a son that is 10 years older then me, so the age range for these parties was like 25-50).
Anyway after graduation I moved to a dorm for college and started my first year, but I ran into problems at the end of my first term. When I went to pick classes, I found out my tuition hadn't been paid. The money for my college was supposedly from when my sister was killed, but according to my Mom, the account the money was in had been closed because it was part of a legal matter. My Mom was helping my Uncle get on his feet and had co-signed a bank account, but he over-drafted the account by a lot and fell off the map, so they started taking money from her account (the one with the college money). After reporting this, the account was closed so I had no money. My Mom convinced me to take out a student loan and we would pay it off when the account was opened, so I did for my first two years.
During these years, the housing bubble collapsed, my step-dad S lost his job after two of his coworkers strong-armed his friend/boss out of his own company, firing S in the process, my sister who had gotten everything she wanted growing up while I always asked for little so more focus could be on her (a habit I never broke from when she was 2), found out she had a drinking problem and kept dating abusive boyfriend after abusive boyfriend. As a result I sabotaged my student loan for year three, moved back home, and started a job that payed well (good base pay and hours, no benefits). Also found out shortly after my Mom's car was repossessed and the bills were piling up that S hadn't been paying his share of the taxes and because M/S were married, they started taking their combined taxes from my Mom as he technically didn't have a job. He was also hiding the fact he didn't pay any of the bills/loans they had. Mom and S for divorced shortly after for obvious reasons. My sister in an effort to get clean moved with her dad down to Missouri (things didn't really improve, but she is better now at least. Not great, but better). I didn't really have any money saved up and moved in with my Mom in a small row-home.
---Backstory over-----
So here is where things get worse. Because my Mom had a pretty high paying job and tons of benefits with her work, the original deal was that I would give her $600 a month toward rent/utilities/ect each month. I was currently trying to pay off two years worth of student loans by myself ($40,000 total). I was also trying to save up enough money to maybe rent a small apartment in the near future. Within the first year of living there, I already saw problems. I was getting calls from our landlord ever few days saying we hadn't payed rent for the previous month. I would give my Mom money to pay the bills and then a week later the power would get shut off, which I would then pay again. There were times the landlord would drive up (they didn't live in the state) to collect themselves, I would think we were screwed, yet my Mom would walk in the door with a big stack of money like she just robbed a bank or something. Also because my Mom's name was on my bank account (she opened it for me when I was 15), she always knew exactly how much money I had and would claim she didn't mean to see it when checking her bank statement, but then would ask for more money shortly after pay day. I also looked at some of her text messages and found out she borrowed a ton of money (don't know how much) from one of her oldest friends and then ghosted her. I also got my own account as a result.
B and I were also friends during this time. Because we grew up together, we shared a lot of the same friends which were mostly his friends. These friends as it turns out also included most of my family. While I don't hold it against him, he is a naturally social person. I found out he was invited to things I never even knew about. When he turned 21, he would hang out at bars or casino's with my parents, older step-brother and his friends, and I never even got an invite most of the time (usually saw pictures on facebook). He was also usually the life of the party growing up and would be hanging out with everyone out back while I was inside cleaning up. The rest of my extended family are also very social people and avid partiers. Growing up it always felt like watching people that knew all the dance moves to a song and when I stepped up to try, kind of tripped on my feet and fell in the punch bowl. For a while I sort of just gave up and had been telling myself since high school that I'm probably going to die alone, maybe I'll have a dog or something. It also doesn't help that my Mom constantly jokes about when she is going to have grandkids.
Anyway a few years ago we are still in the same house, but one of my Mom's co-workers (A) broke up with her boyfriend and he kicked her out of the house. We had a loft we weren't using and we ran it past the landlord, who agreed but charged us an extra $200 in rent, but A was going to pitch in $500 for rent every month. She was about my age, three years younger (she was 25, I was 28 at the time), and I found out we both enjoyed similar movies. My Mom was also trying to egg me on in maybe asking her out and I didn't want to push too hard as she just broke up with a longtime boyfriend. Didn't really matter as my Mom and her would hang out after work most nights so A and I didn't really talk too much anyway. After about two months of my Mom pushing for me to ask her out, I woke up one night to hear the unmistakable sound of them having sex (at first I thought my Mom was just masturbating, but then later I heard both of them talking in the bathroom). Honestly it hurt, a lot. Not only did someone else find my family more enjoyable, but my Mom who was about twice as old as A, had a better shot of dating A then I did. Obviously I had no plans on even asking out A at this point and when I told my Mom I heard her (we're both adults), she told me it was a mistake and it wouldn't happen again (it did). A year later my Mom stated dating a guy from work (D) and I thought it would be the end of it. My Mom always had a rule that when dating, she would only ever have sex with one person and she would break up with that one person before having sex with someone else. Well it didn't stop, she was having sex with both of them, sometimes all three at the same time. Not only was it a small house and it woke me up, but D was a real dickhead in general. Most of the people I know can't stand the guy and only tolerate him because he is dating my Mom. Also B doesn't know about this and he became good friends with A. They would go to events in the area together or would make food they found online together (not a metaphor). I also introduced B to one of my best friends from work and honestly they get along so well that I usually just stay out of their conversations. However A, B, friend from work, and I all think D is a dickhead, except my Mom who says he can be very sweet.
Over the past year I barely even see anyone anymore. My Mom, D, and A usually will do things during the week or stay at D's house overnight as it is a bit closer to their work (they work at the same place). I only see them on Wednesday night for trivia and my Mom/A on Thursday night to eat at my grandmother's house. I work during the day and B works at night so we rarely see each other as much, but we still talk. Aside from that, I'm basically left alone. However the bills keep piling up. Over the years we have lived here, I've pretty much taken over every household bill (power, water, cable, phone, ect), on top of a $600 student loan payment that never seems to get any smaller. I even pay for the car insurence on her car, which is technically my old car (my dad sold me his car cheap when he got a new one).
Two months ago my landlord showed up at my house and claimed we hadn't paid rent in four months and she was planning on evicting us. I had repeatedly called my Mom leading up to this meeting about the calls I was getting a week before this meeting and told her to go to the bank to get some kind of record. She shows up saying that she stopped on the way home and were going to start an investigation, but didn't bring home any paperwork to prove it. My landlord told us we needed to mail her a cashier check for all the owed money by June 3rd or she would start the eviction process and take us to court. While she was there I used pretty much all my cash refund I had left and most of my paycheck to pay off an entire month's rent and spent very little in the checks that followed. About 5 days before all the money was due, Mom told me the investigation showed they put two rent checks in the wrong account and had returned it to her, plus that Friday was payday and as far as I knew my Mom told me it was in the mail. Last week however a policeman showed up at my door with a court date from my landlord for all the money we owed her, which is next week.
Honestly I just don't really know what to do anymore. My mom is basically a terrible person and I can't trust a single word out of her mouth. I'm basically by myself all the time, which is almost as bad as being around the people close to me. Money is constantly on my mind as I won't go out and do anything because I never know when the money for a movie ticket may be needed for a bill of some kind. On top of all that, I may get kicked out of my own home and it doesn't even feel like anyone but me cares because no one but me will lose anything if we are.
Update 7/11: So our court date was today. My mom had a few papers on the table (none of them looked like anything from the bank) and I'm actually somewhat relieved as if my mom has been lying, I'll finally hear the truth. If she hasn't been lying, then my faith would be restored. About two minutes for we have to leave, my mom slips down the stairs and can't walk. I call the court to ask what my options are, which is basically "bring your paperwork to the district courthouse and file for an appeal." So because I had to drive her to the hospital ER, we missed our trial which in theory means that my landlord wins the case by default (if my traffic court experience is anything to go by). So if a judge decides that a medical emergency isn't grounds for an appeal, that means I've pretty much lost everything by default without ever knowing how much of her stories are true. Not to mention that because I just assume everything my mom tells me is a lie at this point, I'm now incredibly suspicious that she fell on purpose just so she wouldn't have to go to court. Honestly I was ready for all this to finally be over one way or another, but I couldn't even get that satisfaction.
submitted by Darkcloud1111 to offmychest [link] [comments]

I have been a matched betting enthusiast for years and now I am teaching it for free to everyone.

Hey beermoneyukers!
After years working in my 9-5 job as a website developer for a large corporation I decided I could not face selling my soul any longer lols and packed in my job.
Since then, I had a stint working as a freelancer whilst also making a healthy side income via matched betting. And over the past 9 months I’ve been building a website that teaches people how to do the same.
There are a lot of websites out there that teach matched betting, but most require a monthly subscription and most have long articles that can be a bit dry and hard to follow.
So instead, I built a website, Team Profit, that:
  Is completely free
  Uses animated video guides to teach people (link)
  Has infographics to accompany all video guides
  Provides step by step guides for 25+ bookmaker offer which will make you £600+ risk free (link)
I have amended the video script over 50 times to try to make it as concise and helpful as possible, hopefully they are a good watch!
Any feedback on the videos, guides, blog or anything else, please let me know, I spend every day adding new content and improving existing content.
If you are thinking of learning matched betting and making £600+ risk free, please check it out!
www.teamprofit.com
 
MEGA FAQs GUIDE TO MATCHED BETTING
 
The video guides I posted above will teach you everything about matched betting.
However, I figure no harm in me writing down everything I know about matched betting in an FAQ style layout. Hopefully this will be useful to you.
I have tried to answer every question as concise as possible / no rambling :D
I have split the FAQs into the following sections:
 
INTRODUCTION
1) What exactly is matched betting and how I do make money risk free?
2) How popular is matched betting?
3) Does it involve gambling?
4) How much money will I need to start?
5) How much time will it take me to learn matched betting?
 
OFFERS & YOUR PROFIT
1) How much money can I make matched betting from the welcome offers (new customer only)?
2) How much is a free bet worth in actual cash profit?
3) After I have finished the Welcome Offers, how much money can I make matched betting each month from Daily Offers (existing customer offers)?
4) What type of Daily Offers are available?
 
BOOKMAKERS AND BETTING EXCHANGES
1) Which bookmakers have the best welcome offers?
2) Which bookmakers have the best offers for existing customers?
3) What is mug betting?
4) What is a betting exchange?
5) How do we use a betting exchange?
 
ADDRESSING COMMON CONCERNS
1) How sustainable is matched betting?
2) Will it impact my credit rating?
3) Do the bookmakers have terms to stop customers from withdrawing?
4) Do I need to know about sports?
 
WHICH WEBSITES TEACH MATCHED BETTING - YOUR OPTIONS
1) Where can you learn matched betting?
 
ADDITIONAL FAQS
1) Depositing and withdrawing
2) Sending identification documents
Any questions that haven’t been answered please add a comment and I’ll add the FAQ and answer.
 
INTRODUCTION
 
1) What exactly is matched betting and how I do make money risk free?
There are more than 25 online bookmakers in the UK. In order to attract new customers, they each offer free bets, known as ‘Welcome Offers’.
In total they offer over £800 in free bets to new customers.
In order to receive the free bet, bookmakers require you to place your first bet. An example offer is ‘Bet £5, Get £20 free bet’.
The risk is that you could lose both the £5 bet (your own cash) and the £20 free bet.
By using a technique called matched betting, we remove this risk.
This is because we match our first £5 bet on the bookmaker with a £5 bet on a betting exchange on the opposite outcome (this is known as a ‘lay bet’).
For example, we bet £5 on Man Utd to win on the bookmaker, and £5 on Man Utd not to win on the betting exchange.
As we have now bet on all outcomes, regardless of whether Man Utd win, draw or lose, we will neither win nor lose money. However, we have received the £20 free bet!
With the £20 free bet, we can now repeat this process by betting on say Liverpool to win on the bookmaker and Liverpool not to win.
This time, because we are using a £20 free bet but our winnings are paid out in cash, we will always make a profit.
We repeat this process for 25+ bookmakers, one by one. In total we can convert the £800+ in free bets to over £600+ in actual cash profit, in very little time at all.
 
2) How popular is matched betting?
Matched betting isn’t new and has been around since at least 2005.
However, it is only since 2015 that it has really increased in popularity due to the rise of websites teaching matched betting. You can see this trend here: Google Trends Link
By looking at the various matched betting sites popularity, a reasonable estimate is at least 25,000 people in the UK are matched betters. You can see a review of sites that teach matched betting in the ‘Which websites teach matched betting?’ section below.
 
3) Does it involving gambling?
This is the most common assumption with matched betting. You’d be forgiven for thinking that it did involve gambling simply because the name ‘matched betting’ would suggest it did.
However, matched betting does not involve gambling, you will never be risking a penny.
Because we are always covering the opposite outcome occurring, there is never any risk we will lose money. Furthermore, we still receive the free bets which we will where we make our profit.
The profitability and risk free nature of matched betting has been reviewed in the Daily Telegraph and the Guardian
 
4) How much will I need to start?
You can start with as little as you want, however the lowest I would recommend starting with would be £25.
With £25, you can start your first bookmaker welcome offer and make a deposit into your first betting exchange, meaning you can start making a profit.
For more details, see this Starting with £25 guide.
The downside, with only £25 you are restricted by having to wait for withdrawals before you can move onto the next offer.
Therefore, I would say an optimal amount to have available for your cash flow would be in the region of £200 as this allows you to complete multiple welcome offers simultaneously.
 
5) How long will it take me to learn matched betting?
To learn the principles of matched betting, it will take up to 20 minutes.
To become familiar with completing your first offer, I would set aside another 30-60 minutes so you can take your time and ensure you are completing it correctly.
For example, the video guides on Team Profit last a total of 21 minutes (8 minutes for the explainers videos and 13 minutes to watch the step-by-step real time example). Although they last just 21 minutes, some users watch certain parts of the video again to become comfortable with the process.
It is very much recommended to avoid trying to learn matched betting by yourself. There are thousands of experienced matched betters who can help you. For more details on this, see the ‘Which Websites Teach Matched Betting’ section.
If you need any help anytime, please do comment in this Reddit thread and I’ll help you out.
 
OFFERS
 
1)How much money can I make matched betting from the welcome offers (new customer only)?
From the welcome offer, you can make approximately £1,000 cash profit.
There are 25+ bookmaker offers available on sports for at least £600 profit. These are relatively straightforward offers and good value in terms of time to complete. It would take around 12 hours to complete these offers, which works around £40 / hour tax free. You can complete them over any time period you like.
There are at least another 5 bookmaker offers, such as Bet365 and BetVictor, though these require more time, you could make around £100 to £200. They require more time because the bookmaker requires you to bet many more times before you can withdraw.
Plus 20+ offers across casino and bingo, though some are not risk free and typically take more time to complete, but you should be able to make at least £200 profit from these offers.
So overall, there is an easy £600 profit risk free, then up to another £400 if it’s worth your time to do them.
 
2) How much is a free bet worth in actual cash profit?
A £10 free bet is worth between £5 to £8 in actual cash profit.
The reason for the range is because the higher odds you choose for your free bet, the more actual cash profit you will make.
For example, if you bet on a football team with odds of 2.0, the £10 free bet will convert to around £5 cash profit. Whereas if you bet on a football team that is unlikely to win, with odds of say 6.0, the £10 free bet will convert to around £8 cash profit.
Note though, the higher odds you choose, the more you will need in your betting exchange account in case the bet wins. For a detailed explanation with examples, read this free bet profit article.
 
3) After I have finished the Welcome Offers, how much money can I make matched betting each month (from existing customer offers)?
Anywhere from £100 to £1,000+ per month.
Bookmakers continue to run free bet offers to retain their customers, I refer to these as Daily Offers.
Daily Offers are typically less valuable than the welcome offers but still worth completing.
For example, rather than ‘Bet £5 Get £20’ that they offer to new customers, they may instead run ‘Bet £20 Get £10’ and on a particular football match.
I would say for people with a day job, aiming for between £300 to £500 a month is realistic. In terms of time required, for every hour you spend, you should make around £30 tax free.
So to make £300 a month, expect to spend around 2-3 hours a week. I’d say to earn more than this, you will likely need to accept a lower hourly rate and do some of the low value offers too.
If you are looking to make £1,000+, I’d expect you would have to be near full time and also be fortunate to keep your enough of your bookmaker accounts open for 12+ month period (what is mugging bet FAQ below).
 
4) What type of offers are available for existing customers?
 
Easy offers:
The most common easy offer on football matches is Bet £20 Get £10 free bet. Many bookmakers run this offer, though it will usually be on a particular football match.
The most common easy offer on horse racing is usually on SkyBet, who will run simple offers such as ‘Get £25 free bet if your horse comes 2nd or 3rd’.
There are also easy casino offers, such as ‘£5 risk free’, where you spin on slots and hope to win, if you don’t they’ll refund up to £5 of losses.
These offers can make you up to £300 per month (or £500 on a good month with European football) and are easy for those with a day job.
 
Harder offers:
If you are looking to make more than £300 to £500 a month, then you will need to spend time on Saturday’s completing horse racing offers on Channel 4 racing and during the week too, though Saturday’s are the most profitable.
Plus you will need to do more advanced offers such as football accumulator refunds, each way offers, though I will leave these aside given they could have their own separate thread :p
If you’d like to understand where you can learn more about these offers, see ‘Which sites teach matched betting?’ FAQ below.
 
BOOKMAKERS AND BETTING EXCHANGE
 
1) Which bookmakers have the best welcome offers?
 
There are 3 formats of bookmakers welcome offers.
 
‘Bet £X Get £Y free bet’ - these are the most straightforward. Simply place your first bet and receive a free bet.
This format of welcome offer, ranging from Bet £5 Get £20 to Bet £50 Get £50, is available on Coral, SkyBet, BetBright, Betfred, Paddy Power, BetStars, William Hill, Stan James, Betway, Ladbrokes, TitanBet, 32Red and MarathonBet.
 
‘Refunds’ (also known as Risk Free offers) - these are similar to Bet £X Get £Y free bet. The only difference is you only receive your free bet if your first bet loses, hence I refer to these offers are refund offers.
This format of welcome offer is, ranging from £10 to £50 refunds, is available on Bwin, Dafabet, UniBet, Totesport, 188Bet, SuperLenny, Genting and 888Sport.
 
‘Multi Bets’ - these welcome offers require multiple bets to be placed before receiving your reward. It can take form of a bonus which requires to bet £X amount until you can withdraw any winnings, or the form of a cash reward once you have bet £X amount.
This format of welcome offer is available on Bet365, BetVictor and some other bookmakers, however they often require such a large amount of betting that I haven’t included them in this list.
The quickest to complete are the Bet £X Get £Y due to their simplicity, then the next best are the ‘Refunds’ offers.
The Multi Bet offers can be very valuable (e.g. Bet£365’s offer is worth over £150 profit risk free) but can also require much larger deposits in order to place the bookmaker bets and lay these bets in your Exchange.
 
For details of each bookmaker offer, see this Welcome Offer List & Guides
 
2) Which bookmakers have the best offers for existing customers?
 
Bookmakers vary in their level of generosity to existing customers. This is a little subjective, but in my opinion, this is the ranking of bookmakers for existing customers:
 
Best: Bet365
Bet365 run a £50 Risk Free offer most months (sometimes twice a month during popular football months) which is worth £35. It is very quick to complete (less than 10 minutes) so for £35 to £70, or around £500 a year, it is a great offer.
Plus they have one of the best horse racing offers, up to a £50 risk free bet if your pick a winning horse with high odds. This is a profitable offer worth around £20-£30 a week, or up to £1,000 to £1,500 a year.
 
Second Best: SkyBet
SkyBet run regular £5 to £25 free bet offers on horse racing and football, plus regular £5 risk free offers in SkyVegas.
 
Third & Fourth Best: Coral and Paddy Power
Both these sites run regular horse racing, price boosts and football offers (Bet £20 Get £10 in particular), at least £20 to to be made on every week from these two sites.
 
Good: William Hill, Ladbrokes, BetStars, Stan James, Betway, Bwin, Betfred, Totesport, 188Bet, 888, BetVictor
All these bookmakers run offer(s) each week so it’s worth ensuring you have completed the welcome offer for each of these sites so you can take advantage of their daily offers for existing customers.
 
3) What is mug betting?
If you are only ever betting when you receive an offer, the bookmaker will no longer allow your account to receive free bet offers (this is known as being ‘gubbed’).
To get around this, you should place ‘mug’ bets. ‘Mug’ bets are simply bets that a ‘mug’ punter would place. Mug bets include £1 accumulators (betting on several teams to win) and betting on favourites without an offer.
Most advice suggests that for every offer you receive, you should place 2-3 mug bets.
If you are gubbed, it does kinda suck when you receive the email, as you can no longer profit from the bookmaker’s offers.
It is also becoming increasingly common as bookmakers are noticing more suspected matched bettors, due to its increasing popularity. My advice is to make money whilst you can and take sensible precautions to try to keep your account active.
For more details, see this Mug Betting article
 
4) What is a betting exchange?
A betting exchange is a marketplace for customers to bet between each other on the outcome of particular events. This differs from a traditional bookmaker because an exchange also gives you the ability to be the bookmaker yourself and take bets from other exchange users.
Standard bookmakers generate profit by offering odds that are in their favour. Betting exchanges explained in terms of how they generate revenue is they charge a commission on any winnings a player receives.
The two market leading betting exchanges are, Betfair and Smarkets.
For more details, Betting Exchanges Comparison.
 
5) How we use betting exchanges?
When matched betting, a betting exchange is used to place our lay bets (the opposite bet to our trigger bet). So when we place the trigger bet with the bookmaker on one outcome to release the initial free bet, we must also cover the opposite outcome so that if the bookmaker bet does lose we still win on the lay bet - making it risk free!
Similarly when we are placing the free bet bet with the bookmaker we then lay off that bet using the exchange and because we’re using a free bet but being paid out in cash, this is how we turn free bets into withdrawable cash.
We only ever use betting exchanges for lay bets.
 
ADDRESSING COMMON CONCERNS
 
1) How sustainable is matched betting?
Matched betting over the past 6-9 months has become harder. Most bookmakers have realised they are thousands of matched betters taking advantage of their offers and so have either reduced the generosity of their offers or have made the daily offers more complicated.
However, there is still intense competition between the bookmakers, meaning they will always run special offers to an extent.
By spending a few hours a week, you can still make £300 to £500 a month, whereas in past year(s) this figure could have been £500 to £800.
The biggest issue matched betters face is being ‘gubbed’. As explained in the mug betting FAQ, this is when a bookmaker restricts you from receiving free bets and bonuses.
There are various theories as to how a particular bookmaker decides to to gub a customer. Reasons include taking up too many offers, winning a high % of bets, withdrawing regularly, placing bets far in advance or at irregular times.
The truth is nobody really knows precisely why people gubbed. However, you can expect to get gubbed at some point from a particular bookmaker, it may be 2 months, it may be 2 years, it is hard to know.
I really think though that everyone can make up to £1,000 from the Welcome Offers and at least £300 to £500 a month without any problems. I think the issues comes when you are making £1,000+ every month which sooner or later bookmakers will catch up that you are taking up a lot of offers.
Having said this, some people say they have been making £1,000+ every month for years, so maybe it is possible if you are using a wide variety of bookmakers and consistently placing mug bets.
 
2) Will it impact my credit rating?
Having betting activity on your bank statement does not impact your credit rating.
The only thing to be wary of when making betting deposits and withdrawals is that it can affect your application for a mortgage. So if you’re planning on applying for a mortgage in the near future then I’d recommend using a separate bank account to that which you’ll be applying for the mortgage with.
 
3) Do the bookmakers have terms to stop customers from withdrawing?
The vast majority of welcome offers do not have any withdrawal restrictions.
A handful of welcome offers do but this will be state in the terms and conditions. It is much easier though to use a matched betting website as they will clearly highlight the key terms of each offer (see ‘Which websites teach matched betting’ section below).
Casino offers will almost always have withdrawal restrictions, however for the matched betting welcome offers we are focusing on sports betting.
 
4) Do I need to know about sports?
Not at all! You do not need a sports background or have any sort of betting knowledge, many matched betters do not know anything about sport or betting before learning matched betting.
You may learn matched betting a little faster if you have sports betting experience but it really isn't important at all.
 
WHICH WEBSITE TEACH MATCHED BETTING - YOUR OPTIONS
 
There are 30+ websites that three key stages to matched betting:
Stage 1) Learning matched betting
Stage 2) Completing the Welcome Offers (for new customers)
Stage 3) Profiting in the long term from Daily Offers (for existing customers)
Below I have tried to cover the main sites that will help you with each of these stages.
 
In summary, I may be biased :p but I think the:
Stage 1) and Stage 2) best approach is to use TeamProfit.com
Stage 3) Join a paid membership site, either OddsMonkey.com, ProfitAccumulator.co.uk or ProfitMaximiser.co.uk to continue to make money from the Daily Offers.
 
FREE SITES:
 
TeamProfit.com (link)
I really believe Team Profit is the best site to learn matched betting and complete the welcome offers, but compare us to the other sites and see what you think!
Learn matched betting with animated videos (link)
25+ Welcome Offers using the step by step guides (link)
A free Facebook group to provide help to you anytime you need (link).
 
MoneySavingExpert.com (link)
The advantage of MoneySavingExpert is the sheer volume of content, covering all aspects of matched betting.
The disadvantage of MoneySavingExpert it is not well structured as it is just one forum with a long lists of posts so it takes quite a while to find relevant threads and miss key information.
 
MatchedBettingBlog.com (link)
The advantage of MatchedBettingBlog is the clear layout of the daily offers posted each day for with step by step instructions. It’s a good site to check to avoid missing the best and easier daily offers. The forum community also helps to post additional offers on top of those listed on the homepage, and also provides general advice on completing daily offers.
The disadvantage of MatchedBettingBlog is it is relatively limited in terms of teaching matched betting and does not provide a clear list of welcome offers. Also, for those looking to make £500+ every month, it doesn’t provide any software to help with the more advanced types of matched betting with daily offers, such as horse racing refunds and accumulator refunds, that the paid member sites offer.
Additional free matched betting sites include:
Matchedbettingfree.co.uk (link) (Reddit thread link)
Freebets4all.com (link)
 
PAID SITES:
 
Paid sites usually charge £15 to £25 a month.
In return, they will teach matched betting, provide list of welcome offers and provide daily offers too. Additionally, most paid sites will also provide software that helps to make you more money plus save you time.
 
OddsMonkey.com (link | non)
OddsMonkey charge £15 per month or £150 per year.
They are the most well known provider of matched betting software. Earlier this year, they added the full range of matched betting services, so now they provide all of the below:
Tutorial articles
Welcome offer step by step guides
Daily offers calendar
Software: OddsMatcher, Horse Racing Refunds, Tennis Refunds, range of calculators and spreadsheet
Forum
The advantage of OddsMonkey is the exceptional value. They have the best range of software and tools for matched betters to maximise their profits, are consistently bringing up new tools at no added cost. At only £15 per month it is one of the best options to consider.
The only disadvantage is the forum is not as busy as the next two options, ProfitAccumulator and Profit Maximiser. Though the forum is still a sufficiently active to ensure any questions have you are answered quickly.
 
Profit Accumulator (Link - Chazmer87's I don't have one | non)
Profit Accumulator charge £23 per month or £150 per year
Profit Accumulator helped to bring matched betting to the main stream with a highly active community. There are clear similarities between OddsMonkey and Profit Accumulator in terms of their high standard of software and offers.
The advantage of Profit Accumulator is their very active community. There is a great deal of advice in virtually every aspect of matched betting and the information is all well structured. Plus they have a very good offers coverage.
The only disadvantage to Profit Accumulator is the higher cost. The membership itself is £23 per month, plus their version of the Horse Racing Refunds software is £10 per month, or £115 a year. So in total you are paying £33 per month versus OddsMonkey’s £15 per month.
 
Profit Maximiser (Link | non)
Profit Maximiser is run by the original matched betting guru Mike Cruickshank.
Mike has been building software for matched betters for many years and has a very active Facebook Group.
Each piece of software is sold separately, I believe the below is accurate, each have their own £1 free trials:
Bonus Bagging £27 plus VAT - provides a list of all welcome offers and teaching (Link | non)
Profit Maximiser £97 plus VAT - provides all daily offers (Link | non)
Each Way Sniper £47 plus VAT - provides a horse racing betting system (Link)
Accumulator Generator £149 plus VAT - provides a football betting system (Link)
I believe Mike may have a couple more tools, if so I’ll edit this post if you could please comment / send me a message.
The advantage of Mike’s products is that there is no monthly recurring fee, so if you intend to do this for many months, it may work out profitable to do so. Plus from what I understand their Facebook Group finds some lucrative casino loophole offers faster than other matched betting providers.
The disadvantage of Mike’s products is that you have to buy each product separately rather than having it all within one simple account. Additionally, the total cost if you were to buy all 4 above listed products is £320 + VAT (total cost £384) whereas you could receive all these tools for £15 per month from Oddsmonkey. Having said that, Mike’s products do come with a £1 free trial, just be careful to cancel before the trial ends if you don’t want to continue.
Additional free matched betting sites include: Yes Bets link
Pure Profit link
 
ADDITIONAL
 
1) Depositing and withdrawing
To ensure you qualify for the Welcome Offer, use a bank card to deposit into your newly set up bookmaker account. Most sites will allow Paypal too though check the terms and conditions.
If you use Skrill or Neteller, typically you will not qualify for the Welcome Offer (bookmakers have this rule to prevent fraud) but you can check the terms and conditions.
Withdrawing is easy, you should receive your funds within 1-3 working days depending on the bookmaker.
 
2) Sending identification documents
Occasionally, bookmakers may require to send in identification documents (passport or drivers licence for example) and a copy of your bank card. This is to prevent fraud. This usually happens if you are not listed on the Electoral Roll or there is a difference between your home address and billing address. Simply take a photo of the documents they ask for and email them back.
 
THAT COMPLETES THE MEGA FAQ GUIDE TO MATCHED BETTING!
 
If you have any questions, comments or suggestions, please do post a comment thanks!
 
submitted by greenmachine9 to beermoneyuk [link] [comments]

The Week In Review: Suburban News of the Past Week (8/28/16)

Sunday:
NORTH:
· 1. First U.S. Olympic rhythmic-gymnastics team trained in Deerfield (Chicago Tribune)
· 2. Skokie woman chosen to be part of GOP presidential nominee Donald Trump's National Hispanic Advisory Council (Chicago Sun-Times)
WEST:
· 3. New addition to Glenbard West High School in Glen Ellyn sets stage for school's future (Daily Herald)
· 4. Cicero man killed in shooting in Cicero (CBS 2)
SOUTHWEST:
· 5. Person tackles Plainfield man who robbed Bolingbrook Bingo hall of $4,000 at knifepoint before robber gets away (ABC 7)
SOUTH:
· 6. Lansing: Little Calumet River levee-improvement project stalled because 11 residents haven't signed off on easement agreements (Northwest Indiana Times)
NORTHWEST INDIANA:
· 7. Cancer Resource Centre in Munster offers healing garden for meditation, reflection(Northwest Indiana Times)
· 8. Merrillville looking into partnership with Gary Public Transportation Corp. that would provide shuttles to connect town's residents with existing bus routes (Northwest Indiana Times)
· 9. Man fatally shot after fight that started at Hammond bar (CBS 2)
· 10. Gary Redevelopment Commission selects East Chicago native to paint mural with the theme of 'resurgence' (Chicago Tribune/Gary Post-Tribune)
· 11. Munster resident pens book in hopes of saving elephants (Northwest Indiana Times)
· 12. Former Gary mayoral candidate sues city, Redevelopment Commission over deal with MaiaCo LLC (Northwest Indiana Times)
· 13. Municipalities, including Michigan City, call for citizen panel to draw legislative district lines (Northwest Indiana Times)
Monday:
NORTH:
· 14. U.S. Sen. Mark Kirk says President Obama 'acting like drug-dealer-in-chief' in response to question about money paid to Iran, release of hostages (NBC 5)
· 15. Glenview police search for man who tried to lure several children into his car (FOX 32)
· 16. Alleged victim files medical-malpractice lawsuit against Wilmette doctor whom she claims provided prescription medications in exchange for sex while she was 17-years-old (Chicago Sun-Times)
· 17. Skokie police arrest four people in connection with several car burglaries that took place Sunday, Aug. 21 (Chicago Sun-Times)
NORTHWEST:
· 18. 18-year-old charged with stabbing man at Woodstock house party (FOX 32)
· 19. Arlington Heights Elementary School District 25 to spend about $600,000 to buy laptops for all of its middle-school students (Daily Herald)
· 20. Bartlett village administrator to retire next January after 35 years on the job (Daily Herald)
· 21. Driver of SUV seriously injured when semi truck runs red light on Route 176 in Crystal Lake (Daily Herald)
· 22. Des Plaines Subway restaurant robbed of more than $400 at 3 a.m. Sunday (Daily Herald)
WEST:
· 23. Fire at Oakbrook Terrace motel causes evacuation; one person injured (CBS 2)
· 24. Rosemont swears in original 'Incredible Hulk' actor Lou Ferrigno as honorary public-safety officer during Wizard World Chicago (ABC 7)
· 25. Car lands 200 feet off road following crash in Batavia; driver extricated from vehicle (Chicago Sun-Times)
· 26. Dow Furniture in North Aurora closing (Daily Herald)
· 27. Fox Valley Wildlife Center reports goose recovering after group of Batavia High School students attacked it (Daily Herald)
· 28. Soldier from Maywood dies in Food Hood, Texas, barracks (CBS 2/Associated Press)
· 29. DuPage Public Safety Communications (DuComm) may move to DuPage County Complex in 2018 (Daily Herald)
· 30. 14 people taken to hospital after gas leak at Sugar Grove chemical distributor (Daily Herald)
· 31. New Jersey-based Strategic Properties of North America buys Briarbrook Village apartments in Wheaton for $50 million (Crain's Chicago Business)
SOUTHWEST:
· 32. Cyclist critically injured after being hit by car in Chicago Ridge; driver being questioned (CBS 2)
· 33. Pregnant Florida woman moves in with mother in Orland Park to avoid Zika virus (CBS 2)
· 34. 28-year-old Crest Hill man convicted of possession of child pornography, given three years probation, must register as sex offender for life (Chicago Tribune)
SOUTH:
· 35. Police, SWAT team engage in 8-hour standoff on Monday at Park Forest home where they thought burglary suspects were; suspects remain at large (CBS 2)
NORTHWEST INDIANA:
· 36. Airports across Northwest Indiana fighting economic head winds, drop in licensed pilots (Northwest Indiana Times)
· 37. Lake County deputy rescues dog from burning car in Gary (Northwest Indiana Times)
· 38. Crete man arrested in Dyer after high-speed chase that followed attempted traffic stop in Cedar Lake (Northwest Indiana Times)
· 39. Michigan City-based NW Indiana Gay Straight Coalition aims to improve relations with LGBT community, reduce gun violence (Northwest Indiana Times)
· 40. Northwest Indiana communities witness decrease in homicide rate (Chicago Tribune/Gary Post-Tribune)
· 41. East Chicago police seek hit-and-run driver who injured ArcelorMittal worker on his way to work (Northwest Indiana Times)
Tuesday:
NORTH:
· 42. Libertyville-Vernon Hills Area High School District 128 to look for places to cut after board approves $98.3 million budget (Daily Herald)
· 43. Fourth-grade teacher at Skokie school uses rap video to introduce himself to his students (NBC 5)
· 44. Would-be smash-and-grab burglary of Libertyville gun shop thwarted by weapons not being on sales floor (Chicago Tribune/Libertyville Review)
· 45. Manager of Northbrook beauty salon, daughter narrowly missed being hit by car that crashed into salon's front door (Chicago Tribune/Northbrook Star)
· 46. Armed robber gets away cash, cigarettes during robbery at Libertyville gas station (Chicago Sun-Times)
NORTHWEST:
· 47. West Dundee approves downtown special taxing district despite business owners' objections (Daily Herald)
· 48. 87-year-old Arlington Heights man charged with battery for using pepper spray on officers sent to check on his well-being (Chicago Tribune/Arlington Heights Post)
· 49. Carpentersville launches interactive shopping/marketing tool on village website (Daily Herald)
· 50. Sears Holdings reopens Des Plaines Kmart (Daily Herald)
WEST:
· 51. Special census to be conducted in North Aurora beginning Sept. 1 (Daily Herald)
· 52. Wheaton City Council reducing plans for downtown improvements, while debating bond sales (Daily Herald)
· 53. Darien man struck and killed by train on Metra BNSF line in Hinsdale (Chicago Tribune/The Doings)
· 54. Man robs Addison bank (ABC 7)
· 55. Clarendon Hills cyclist struck and killed in Hinsdale (Chicago Sun-Times)
· 56. Aurora man dies as result of rollover accident in Virgil Township (Kane County) (Chicago Sun-Times)
· 57. Glen Ellyn Elementary School District 41 has busing problems on first day of school (Daily Herald)
· 58. Elk Grove Village gives Marino's Wood Fire Restaurant permission for outdoor dining (Daily Herald)
· 59. Kane County Sheriff's Office reinstates school-resource officers in Kaneland, Burlington Central high schools (Daily Herald)
· 60. Head of Choose DuPage urges better use of public transit, bicycles as way to boost county's job market (Crain's Chicago Business)
SOUTHWEST:
· 61. Woman reunited with doctors, nurses who saved her life 10 years ago at Oak Lawn hospital, where she now also works (NBC 5)
NORTHWEST INDIANA:
· 62. Taltree Arboretum & Gardens in Valparaiso euthanizes 4-year-old 16-pound Giant Chinchilla rabbit after it gets sick (Northwest Indiana Times)
· 63. Woman from East Chicago, man from Hammond charged with child endangerment after leaving infants in car while they were gambling at casino (Northwest Indiana Times)
· 64. Crown Point considers pay hikes for non-elected employees, incentives for police officers to live in city (Northwest Indiana Times)
· 65. Split decision forces choice of new Portage Township School member to courts (Northwest Indiana Times)
· 66. Hobart may create program to encourage businesses to invest in green infrastructure (Northwest Indiana Times)
· 67. NIPSCO plans to shutter coal-fired generation station in Chesterton by 2018, much of Wheatfield facility by 2023 (Northwest Indiana Times)
· 68. Porter County Board rejects wheel tax to generate money for road/bridge projects; moves $5.5 million into rainy-day fund (Northwest Indiana Times)
· 69. Fugitive from LaPorte County leads officers on chase; found in cubby hole underneath plywood door in his home (Northwest Indiana Times)
REGIONAL
· 70. Indiana shore drawing Chicago-area commuters away from the big city (Chicago Tribune)
Wednesday:
NORTH:
· 71. Morton Grove, Wheeling men plead guilty to defrauding schools of $33 million of tutoring funds (CBS 2)
· 72. Highland Park extends contract with embattled red-light-camera firm Redflex Traffic Systems to give police time to find a replacement (Chicago Tribune/Highland Park News)
· 73. Two people arrested after drug lab discovered in Waukegan apartment during eviction (Chicago Sun-Times)
· 74. Lincolnshire-Prairie View School District 103 OKs budget, which includes additions at two schools (Daily Herald)
· 75. Island Lake Village Board to consider raising mayor's salary to $25,000, tops in Lake County (Daily Herald)
NORTHWEST:
· 76. Former Crystal Lake resident pleads guilty to drug-induced homicide in death of McHenry mother (Chicago Tribune)
· 77. Streamwood teen accused of running over his father three times with a car during fight with relatives in Chicago (Chicago Sun-Times)
· 78. Law going into effect in 2017 would allow Elgin Area Unit School District U-46 CEO to also serve as district's superintendent (Daily Herald)
· 79. Illinois Department of Transportation agrees to $4 million in funding for proposed U.S. 14 underpass beneath Canadian National Railroad tracks in Barrington (Daily Herald)
WEST:
· 80. Forest Park-based Nadeau's Ice Sculptures turns ice into works of art (WGN TV)
· 81. Engineering firm: Batavia needs larger stormwater pipes, to invest more in culvert maintenance to resolve flooding problems on city's southeast side (Daily Herald)
· 82. Naperville launches program to help police officers, firefighters, members of the military, reservists, veterans, health-care and EMS workers, teachers with real-estate financing (Daily Herald)
· 83. One person killed in car crash in Maywood (NBC 5)
· 84. DuPage judge orders release of dash-cam video related to Lisle man's claim Naperville police tried to run him over during a protest (Chicago Tribune)
· 85. Bloomingdale to reduce telecommunications tax from 5 percent to 3 percent (Daily Herald)
· 86. Aurora activists upset about using non-local artists for blues mural, which they say doesn't represent the city or its connection to the style of music (Daily Herald)
· 87. Atlanta-based T5 Data Centers acquires former Forsythe Technologies building in Elk Grove Village for new data center (Crain's Chicago Business)
SOUTHWEST:
· 88. Actor Nick Offerman to visit Minooka High School on Oct. 23 as part of book tour (Chicago Tribune)
SOUTH:
· 89. Man shot outside house in Flossmoor (Chicago Sun-Times)
· 90. Child struck by car in Merrionette Park (FOX 32)
NORTHWEST INDIANA:
· 91. Thieves steal more than $1,000 worth of razor blades in less than four minutes at Chesterton CVS store (NBC 5)
· 92. Northwest Indiana's unemployment rate drops to 5.8 percent in July (Northwest Indiana Times)
· 93. Highland town officials want new municipal building, citing numerous condition issues with current facilty (Northwest Indiana Times)
· 94. East Chicago man accused of stealing cologne from Hobart's Southlake Mall, attempted to carjack a woman leaving the mall (Northwest Indiana Times)
· 95. Gary police seek man in connection with bank robbery (Northwest Indiana Times)
REGIONAL
· 96. Illinois legislator introduces bill to protect parks, sensitive properties from Pokémon GO players (ABC 7)
Thursday:
NORTH:
· 97. Northwestern University unearths 1954 time capsule inside institution's library (CBS 2)
· 98. Lake County coroner appeals removal from ballot to Illinois Supreme Court (Chicago Tribune/Lake County News-Sun)
· 99. Zion man charged with multiple felonies in fatal May 13 car crash in Graylake (Chicago Tribune/Lake County News-Sun)
· 100. Woman convicted of Deerfield toddler's death at Lincolnshire daycare facility to get new trial (Chicago Tribune)
· 101. Wheeling man charged with criminal aggravated sexual assault, predatory criminal sexual assault of two children from his neighborhood (Daily Herald)
· 102. Fox Waterway Agency struggling to deal with sediment in Chain of Lakes, Fox River (Chicago Tribune/Lake County News-Sun)
· 103. Prairie Grove police officer on trial for DUI following crash that wrecked village-owned vehicle (Chicago Tribune)
· 104. Mundelein Parks & Recreation District to borrow $4 million to replace Chalet at Keith Mione Community Park with larger multi-use facility (Daily Herald)
NORTHWEST:
· 105. Former Rosati's Pizza building on Route 31 in Carpentersville to be torn down; village hopes it will spur further redevelopment (Daily Herald)
· 106. Imam of Elgin Islamic center pleads guilty to sexual abuse of student, must register as a sex offender (CBS 2)
· 107. Bartlett family battles Canadian National Railroad over fallen trees, branches that damaged their fence (NBC 5)
· 108. Pennsylvania woman charged with filing false rape/battery report in Schaumburg; Rolling Meadows man charged with trespassing in same incident (FOX 32)
· 109. Executive director of Schaumburg Township District Library to retire at year's end (Daily Herald)
· 110. Rivers Casino donates $5,000 to help bring traveling Vietnam Veterans Memorial Wall to Des Plaines (Daily Herald)
WEST:
· 111. Environmental activists claim Cicero-based Tough Cuts Inc. is allowing construction rubble to creep into Chicago Sanitary and Shipping Canal, threatening wildlife (CBS 2)
· 112. Pizza-delivery driver robbed at gunpoint in Willowbrook (CBS 2)
· 113. Terror suspect from Hillside deemed unfit to stand trial; sent to psychiatric facility for treatment (CBS 2/Chicago Sun-Times)
· 114. Aurora mayor to step down from post in October due to cancer, treatment (ABC 7)
· 115. Gas leak closes South Finley Road in Lombard (ABC 7)
· 116. DuPage judge rules against Hinsdale in attempt to remove sculpture from couple's yard (ABC 7)
· 117. Batavia aldermen indicate willingness to demolish historic First Baptist Church to make way for redevelopment (Daily Herald)
SOUTHWEST:
· 118. Tickets go on sale for Freaky Deaky 2016 Halloween festival at Toyota Park in Bridgeview (CBS 2)
SOUTH:
· 119. Homeless man wanted for fatal shooting in Harvey arrested in Virginia (CBS 2)
· 120. Hammond man believed to have robbed Lansing Goodwill store dies in car crash on Ridge Road (Chicago Sun-Times)
· 121. 20-year-old man shot to death in Flossmoor (Chicago Tribune/Daily Southtown)
· 122. Midlothian bank robbed (Chicago Sun-Times)
NORTHWEST INDIANA:
· 123. Man killed by semi trailer on I-80/94 near Lake Station after exiting his pickup, which was involved in a crash with another vehicle (FOX 32)
· 124. Vote on East Chicago homeless shelter postponed after city planner says dry-cleaning business was located on proposed site (Northwest Indiana Times)
· 125. Portage Rotary Club looking to rebuild after membership dwindles to one person (Northwest Indiana Times)
Friday:
NORTH:
· 126. Waukegan man charged with drug-induced homicide in Antioch man's death (Chicago Sun-Times)
· 127. U-Haul pulls out of Lake Zurich; Life Storage Inc. has eye on same property (Daily Herald)
· 128. Fox Lake pension board to await outcome of Melody Gliniewicz's criminal trial before making decision on late husband's pension (Daily Herald)
· 129. Two carjackings reported overnight in Evanston (CBS 2)
· 130. Waukegan School District 60 to replace pipes, water fountains in areas serving preschoolers, kindergarteners (Chicago Tribune/Lake County News-Sun)
NORTHWEST:
· 131. Lemonade Brigade raising money for McHenry County girl who crawled into a hot car and passed out, suffering heat injuries (CBS 2)
· 132. Schaumburg woman convicted of killing her severely-disabled daughter granted bond, could be freed (Chicago Tribune)
· 133. Elgin councilman objects to city's sale of parking lots to St. Joseph Catholic Church without putting the properties on the market first (Daily Herald)
· 134. St. Louis-based Capstone Development Group buys The Tower Building in Elgin after two years of negotiations (Daily Herald)
· 135. Two men jailed for crimes in Woodstock now charged with burglary in Union (CBS 2)
· 136. Elgin-based Nick's Pizza & Pub plans expansion into Chicago (NBC 5)
· 137. Referendum on ballot to decide fate of proposed early-learning center in Mount Prospect-based River Trails School District 26 (Daily Herald)
· 138. Palatine-Schaumburg High School District 211 schedules parent open houses for Thursday, Sept. 1 (Daily Herald)
· 139. Elgin Community College lays off 15 employees, considers other cuts in face of state funding shortfalls (Daily Herald)
· 140. Taxpayers question referendum seeking $130 million for construction put forward by Palatine Elementary School District 15 (Daily Herald)
WEST:
· 141. Naperville 'salt spa' shuts down suddenly, leaving cystic-fibrosis patients out money and nowhere to go(CBS 2)
· 142. Fenton High School District 100 board, teachers reach pact, holding off on cost-of-living increases for two years, but giving them raises based on experience, education (Daily Herald)
· 143. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar discusses social action during book-promotion appearance at North Central College in Naperville (Daily Herald)
· 144. Residents raise concerns about intersection of Oak Street and Ravine Road following cyclist's death (ABC 7)
· 145. Batavia police: Investigation shows teens didn't attack goose at Batavia High School corn boil (Chicago Tribune/Aurora Beacon-News)
· 146. No injuries reported when bus rolls over on Roosevelt Road in West Chicago (Chicago Sun-Times)
· 147. Elk Grove Park District demolishes buildings at Community Athletic Fields to make way for new facilities (Daily Herald)
SOUTHWEST:
· 148. Lockport man pleads guilty to domestic abuse, sentenced to 9 years in prison (FOX 32)
· 149. Darien woman become first DuPage County person with West Nile virus in 2016 (Daily Herald)
SOUTH:
· 150. Car struck by bullets on I-57 in Matteson (CBS 2)
· 151. Dolton man in custody in Lansing now charged with multiple armed robberies in Hammond (Chicago Sun-Times)
NORTHWEST INDIANA:
· 152. Semi-truck driver from LaPorte killed in crash with three other vehicles on I-80/94 near Hammond (Northwest Indiana Times)
· 153. Security guard in Gary hit with hammer, robbed of bag containing gun (Northwest Indiana Times)
· 154. Lowell, Tri-Creek School Corp. to partner on school resource officer (Northwest Indiana Times)
REGIONAL
· 155. Cook County assessor refunds $6.1 million to municipalities collected because of 'erroneous' exemptions (NBC 5)
Saturday:
NORTH:
· 156. Woman killed in high-speed, head-on crash on Golf Road in Morton Grove (WGN TV)
· 157. Firefighters rescue group of teens from Deerfield water tower (WGN TV)
· 158. North Chicago police arrest suspect in Waukegan home invasion that left disabled man injured (Chicago Tribune/Lake County News-Sun)
· 159. Extensive restoration work under way at St. Paul the Apostle Church in Gurnee (Daily Herald)
NORTHWEST:
· 160. Governor signs into law bill spawned by fight over Crystal Lake South High School bleachers (Chicago Tribune)
WEST:
· 161. Aurora to review liquor license for Latin American Club where man died in Aug. 1 shooting (Chicago Tribune/Aurora Beacon-News)
· 162. Naperville opens $24 million Fort Hill Activity Center (Chicago Tribune/Naperville Sun)
SOUTHWEST:
· 163. Oak Lawn mothers/teachers create one-of-a-kind books that teach kids acceptance, confidence, kindness, respect (ABC 7)
· 164. Joliet man charged with grooming Mokena boy for sex via e-mail (CBS 2)
SOUTH:
· 165. Cook County State's Attorney's Office investigating case where lawyer who posed as judge at Markham courthouse (Chicago Tribune)
NORTHWEST INDIANA:
· 166. Lowell girl who found abandoned baby in family's back yard to appear on 'The Steve Harvey Show' on Oct. 4 (Northwest Indiana Times)
· 167. South Haven man charged with molesting a child now facing child-porn charges (Northwest Indiana Times)
· 168. St. John swears in first female police officer (Northwest Indiana Times)
· 169. Merrillville warns residents to lock Dumpsters after Waste Management threatens to cut off garbage collection because of illegal dumping (Northwest Indiana Times)
submitted by emememaker73 to ChicagoSuburbs [link] [comments]

The Frugal Mayor's Guide to Inner Peace. or: Freedom from Freemium Frustration.

Playing BuildIt can be great fun, but some aspects of the game can be extremely frustrating, so I've written this guide to share how I've eliminated aspects of the game which detracted from the fun. Avoid the common headaches and hassles that many Mayors encounter and also avoid spending real money along the way. Eliminating frustration is the key here, and it requires the Three Ps of Success: Planning allows you to avoid surprises and predict future needs, Production keeps the cashflow and upgrades moving, and Patience is required as this is not the fastest way to build a massive city! I've played for some time now and have a city of 300k, and I made all the newb mistakes and have dealt with the GTHQ debacle more times than I'd like to admit. This guide is meant as a brief introduction to each aspect of the game, for more in-depth information check out SCBuildIt. Don't hesitate to do things your own way and disregard something you don't agree with, but please let me know how I can improve, it makes us all better. Now here's my plan for playing frustration free:
1) EXPAND. Your first job after completing the tutorial is to completely expand your map and storage to their max. Do nothing else until this done. WARNING, ACHTUNG, CUIDADO - NEVER SELL EXPANSION ITEMS! Coins pop up occasionally offering to buy expansion items like dozer and storage parts, DO NOT DO IT! Keep them, open up the whole map and expand your storage to the maximum of 250 as fast as you can. Don't buy any new utilities, parks, or services during this time, you want to keep your growth to a minimum. Don't lay any new residential lots than you can support at this point, just upgrade the ones you have, but stay below a population of 10,000. Use your factories to produce goods for sale and building upgrades. Keep your storage as empty as possible so you have room for your expansion items. - When a residential building is ready for upgrade, look at what it wants. If it's asking for something you can't make or the request seems unreasonable, don't be afraid to ask to have the blueprints remade. It will eventually get you a cheaper upgrade and you won't have to interrupt your production cycle to make extras of something. - When you have fully expanded the map and storage, sell your excess expansion items for full price to make even more money and supply all the people who foolishly sold them (like me!).
2) ROADS. Here is where I differ most from the other guides. Everything has to be connected by roads and all roads must be connected, but too many curves and intersections cause traffic jams, so the most logical approach is to use just one road and avoid intersections altogether. You may need to rearrange things in order to do the road layout and sims may leave, but that's okay, they'll move back in quickly enough when you're done. There are a variety of ways to do this, but each of them is the same in premise: Starting from the on ramp to the highway, build one long continuous road that weaves around your whole map, making sure that you leave a 4 space gap in between every perpendicular section to allow space for all the buildings. How you do this is up to you, a zig zag or a spiral or any geometric pattern you like is possible, so long as there is space for any building and you keep every section as long as possible. Don't cross any streets or connect the end of the last stretch of road to anything. AllYourBlocks has an excellent video on the subject Here.
3) COVERAGE. Now you can place services to provide optimal coverage without overlap, THEN put residential buildings according to where you have room to fit them in coverage zones. Remember that only half a zone needs coverage, and roads and non-residential buildings don't need any coverage at all, so be careful about where you place hospitals, police, parks, landmarks, stores, etc. If you plan well, you can insert one service into the gaps of another and create good overlapping coverage zones. You can't avoid covering some buildings you don't need covered, so be smart about it. i.e., don't put a university someplace where it will have fire, police, or health coverage since it has a huge footprint and eats up valuable coverage for your residential buildings. The best policy is to place specializations (education, transportation, entertainment, gambling, landmarks) outside coverage areas but sometimes the population boost is worth taking a bite out of a coverage area. Small parks take up very little space, so they have less impact on your coverage zone and can be used to fill in gaps and provide a population boost. Parks are not required, but your sims will be happier. - Always save up for the highest tier services and utilities*, since they almost always give you better coverage for your money. It takes 4 medium police stations to equal one large police station's coverage, but it will cost you $3000 more to buy the 4 smaller ones than one big one, plus a large police station takes up half the area of 4 mediums together. With this method, all your cash is being saved to buy infrastructure so it shouldn't affect much else in the game and you'll be able to buy the best much more quickly than otherwise. Keep in mind that even if you start with tier 1 services and think to bulldoze them for a refund after you upgrade, half the money you spent on them is gone. It's better to keep them and use the smaller service buildings elsewhere until you have space concerns. NOTE: It is better to have Sims move out until you have saved enough to buy the large services than to spend the money on smaller, stopgap services. As soon as you place your service, Sims will move in. Do not let the fear of losing tax revenue deter you from the plan, there are faster ways to make money than taxes and it takes no time at all for people to move in once they have what they want or need. *The most obvious exception to this rule is with Electricity. Solar Farms cost only $22k, but provide 35 buildings with power. By comparison, a Fusion plant costs $90k and only provides for 75 buildings, so for the price of one fusion plant you can buy 4 solar farms, have nearly twice the power and save $2000 to boot.
4) PRODUCTION. Do NOT use the GTHQ to buy products. I cannot stress this point enough. The GTHQ is the single biggest source of frustration in this game and until it is working properly I recommend staying away from it. If you so desire to use the GTHQ, I recommend you use it as more of a sight-seeing tour than a means to gather items you may want. Expansion items are very hard to come by most of the time, and you'll spend countless hours trying to buy them. Every hour you spend in the GTHQ is dozens of wasted chances to get free expansion items from thought bubbles. Produce your own goods. This is the absolute #1 best way to save money. It costs nothing to manufacture your own products, so why buy them from someone else? The cost of buying a store is quickly repaid in savings from no longer buying those products at the GTHQ, so be sure to set aside money to buy them as they become available. As you gain levels, your sims will demand more from you for upgrades, and these items can cost hundreds or thousands each. The cost to purchase everything you need to upgrade one building can cost a whole day in taxes or more, and you'll spend a fair amount of time tracking it all down at the GTHQ, so instead spend that time producing the items and buy yourself a nice park with the savings as a reward. - You never know what your sims will want for upgrades, so keep at least two or three of everything on hand so everything runs smoothly. If you find certain items piling up in storage, cut back on production of those items and sell your excess. Remember the point of your City Storage is to stockpile items for upgrading and expanding. Anything you plan on selling should be moved to the Trade Center as soon as possible. - When producing items to be used in your stores to make other products, leave them floating above the factory until you need them. This frees up your storage space for more important items and keeps you from running into the Production Paradox of needing, say, steel to make nails but not having enough room in storage to put the steel in there to make them. Your only recourse at that point is to sell something you needed to make room for the raw materials which will immediately be used anyway, thus leaving space for the items you just sold. Hence the Paradox.
5) SALES. Sell excess goods in the Trade Center, or dedicate some factories to producing stuff just for that purpose. When placing items for sale at the Trade Center, fill as many spots as you can before advertising anything, this way anyone seeing an ad will also see all the other goods you have for sale when they visit your Trade Center. When you have filled all your spots, advertise the LAST item on the shelf because people usually buy items from the top left hand side first, meaning your advertised item will remain behind and you'll get extra "free" advertising for all your goods. This works best if you sell all of one kind of item at a time. Always sell at the maximum price unless you are supplying friends. Steel and Nails give you the quickest and highest return. I can fill my store with steel x10 since it takes only a few minutes to fill the shelves and it sells rather quickly. I make on average $700 every 5 minutes or so, which is at least 10 times what you make from taxes alone. If you can produce faster than you sell, convert excess steel to nails for a slightly better margin. Don't worry about selling high-ticket items unless you need to make room in your City Storage, they take far longer to make and the return on your time investment isn't nearly as good as quick turn around items like steel and nails. Produce only fast turn around items (30 mins or less) during the day to keep your Trade Depot supplied, but before bed set all your factories to produce slow turn around items like Animal Feed, Electrical Components and Textiles. Similarly, have your stores produce the quickest items first and the longest last so you don't have to wait 4 hours for your 5 minute nails to be ready. Plan out what materials are required to make a final product and work backwards through the stores to map out quantities and assign priority to certain items so that you don't accidentally use the textiles you were saving for flour bags on upgrading a house. Keeping track of what you have and what you are making will make this much easier if you don't have a photographic memory.
6) NETWORK. Make as many friends as possible and use your connections to form trade networks. In this way, you can still buy goods you can't produce on short notice (like for a cargo shipment) and sell things others might need. When selling to friends be sure you don't advertise so someone else doesn't swoop in and steal the sale. Utilizing your social network connections is much more efficient than the GTHQ because you can put in requests for specific items and you know the items will be there when you go to get them. If one of your friends isn't producing, unfriend them and find a new one. Obviously, this would only apply to people whom you friend solely for SimCity BuildIt, not your real friends nor family.
7) SPECIALIZE! Been shipping cargo off? Had a few meteors destroy parts of your city? So you have golden keys, but don't know what to do with them? Specializations offer a little flair and potentially huge population boosts to your city. Choose whichever you like, they all do the same thing which is increase population. Education is the first to become available, and the university has a 50% boost over an enormous 22x22 area (the largest of all the specializations), so it's always a smart choice (pun intended). Gambling, when it becomes available, offers good population boosts in a small footprint, so if space is your concern save your keys and buy bunches of the luxurious casinos. Generally speaking, don't buy the most expensive specialization, get the one just below it. More often than not you'll get the same coverage and boost at a reduced price. Don't bother with any of the lesser specializations unless they are required (i.e., universities require a high school). The Peaceful Path and the Row of Trees are the two best used parks for boost to area and size of area vs price. The former goes great in between two buildings where a coverage gap can occur, and the latter goes perfectly behind 3x2 government and other buildings.
7) RELAX. The original SimCity games were slow-paced, relaxing games to play. With the same mindset, the newest iteration can be enjoyed in the same way. When approached with patience, BuildIt can provide countless hours of city building fun and the major flaws avoided.
I hope this guide proves useful to some of you and I would love to hear what you think of it. Happy building!
submitted by MarcusDrakus to SCBuildIt [link] [comments]

do casinos cash tax refund checks video

8 Things To Never Do In A Casino! - YouTube Stimulus Check Frequently Asked Questions - YouTube How I do my UK tax return! - YouTube Fake check scam continues to confuse consumers - YouTube How long do I have to cash my tax refund check? - YouTube BEST WAYS TO SPEND YOUR TAX REFUND CHECK (To Grow Cash ... RETURN OF KONG MEGAWAYS BIG WIN! How long do I have to cash my tax refund check? - YouTube How To Earn The Most Cash From Your Online Casino Bonuses

Checks are easy to forge and casinos don’t like to be fobbed off, so fewer casinos offer this as an option nowadays. That, and the fact that literally no one writes checks out anymore. No, and the Western will cash it and let you spin a wheel to win a free beer or another prize. Most legitimate casinos will not cash payroll checks, so I am not sure about tax refunds checks. Checks issued by the U.S. Treasury (such as federal tax refund checks) are void one year after the issue date. That means you may have to contact the IRS for a reissue if you find an old refund Individuals who do not have a bank account can cash their Federal tax refund checks another way. They can visit a check cashing store, use the check cashing desk at a retail store or have the refund placed on a prepaid debit card. It's even possible to sign the check over to a family member. They accept government, payroll, and tax refund checks up to $2,000. You may also cash two-party checks up to $500. Kmart charges a fee, but it's much lower than many other retail outlets. Food Lion: Food Lion cashes payroll checks and tax refund checks up to $1,000. They also cash rebate checks and traveler's checks (up to $499.99). They do The only types of checks we cannot cash are personal checks. Cash limits and the costs to you. As of 2018, we have a check cashing limit of $5,000, although we increase this limit to $7,500 from January to April of each year. Our check cashing fees are $4 for any checks up to $1,000. For checks between $1,001 and $5,000, the fee is $8. Some banks won't cash unless you have an account with them. Wal-Mart will cash any govornment or payroll check up to a thousand dollars and there fee is only $3. Otherwise there are places like check express or you can try some payday loan places. Casinos will also cash your check with a proper ID. Every bank will have different terms and requirements to cash checks that are tied to its institution. The most foolproof option is to call ahead and ask about its policy and fees. You’ll need 1-2 forms of valid ID to confirm the check is yours, so make sure to bring a driver’s license, passport, or another government-issued ID card. Casinos have various ways of paying winners. Generally, if the winnings are $25,000 or less, winners can choose between cash or check. If the winnings are larger, the options may change depending on the location of the casino and the game gambled upon. IRS Tax Tip 2019-49, April 29, 2019 Federal law requires a person to report cash transactions of more than $10,000 to the IRS. Here are some facts about reporting these payments. Who’s covered For purposes of cash payments, a “person” is defined as an individual, company, corporation, partnership, association, trust or estate. For example:

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8 Things To Never Do In A Casino! - YouTube

Most casinos which offer free spins actually enforce win limits and wagering requirements on them like they do with any other bonus. Only a few casinos allow you to have free spins which are ... Matthew Pillmore discusses the best ways to spend your tax refund check in order to grow your cash flow position. Matt details six financially smart choices ... Please do not imitate what we do as a means to make money. Gambling is highly addictive so make sure you always gamble with money you can afford to lose, and always take advantage of responsible ... How to tell whether or not check is real. ABC15 is your destination for Arizona breaking news, weather, traffic, streaming video and in-depth coverage to kee... Where To Cash Tax Refund Check • How long do I have to cash my tax refund check?Laura S. Harris (2020, December 13.) How long do I have to cash my tax refund... Welcome back to another UK tax return video! I'm taking you through another UK Self Assessment Tax Return for the 2017/18 Tax Year, tax payments due by 31 Ja... This is your stimulus check update to answer your FAQs. This is for the third stimulus package that passed under the Trump Administration. This is the stimul... 00:00 - How long do I have to cash my tax refund check?00:34 - What happens if a check is never cashed?01:07 - Do checks expire if not cashed?01:39 - How do ... Steve and Matt Bourie, from the American Casino Guide, discuss 8 things to never do in a casino. They explain why you should never do these eight things and,...

do casinos cash tax refund checks

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