Tag Archives: Money

Say Goodbye to Cash

lollapalooza

Okay, so maybe this only applies to those attending Lollapalooza this summer. It isn’t officially time to rid ourselves of those green bills just yet. But, that does seem like a reality we are getting even closer to.

It was just announced that attendees of the three day music festival will be given wristbands to replace their wallets. Festival attendees will log their credit card information into a system and receive a bracelet using near-field connectivity technology allowing them to touch their wrist to the screen, enter a pin number and make a payment at all vendors. The wristband also function as the entry ticket for attendees so there is no way around not having one.

This is a great move forward for mobile payment systems. Not only does it make it easier for concert goers not to have to worry about carrying cash and credit cards around with them, but it’s a great sign for the future uses of devices like smartwatches. We could be approaching a time where something like a wristband will completely replace the credit card and leave cash even further behind in the dust.

What Sparks our Fire: Seeing an organization take advantage of new technologies and paving the way for innovative payment gateways at music festivals.

Where do you see the future of payments going?

A Cup of Coffee or a Trip to Paris?

Coffee-Infographic

It seems like a pretty easy decision. But when you break it down, it’s actually a bit more challenging. Who wouldn’t pick a trip to Paris in a heartbeat? When you look at what you would have to pass up for that, it makes the decision a little more difficult.

The above infographic from ValuePenguin demonstrates how much money can be saved by brewing coffee at home instead of purchasing a cup everyday on the way to work. It is pretty amazing when you look at the numbers laid out to see how much more a cup of coffee from Starbucks can be compared to using a Keurig or a drip coffee machine. But, as I look at my large iced coffee I picked before coming into the office, I still doubt I will be able to completely drop this luxury from my life. Even if that means 20 years from now that money could go towards tickets to the Super Bowl.

What Sparks our Fire: A look at how much we are truly spending on our coffee addiction.

Will you switch to brewing your coffee at home?

Can You Spot Me $5?

Splitting a cab just got so much easier.

The app Venmo has grown rapidly in popularity over the past few years and is making waves in how we handle money between friends. For years we have been spotting our friends, and trusting they’ll pay us back. Now you don’t have to go through awkwardly reminding them they owe you $8 for the cab you split in the summer of ’13, and can simply charge them. The app allows you to connect to a bank, debit card, or credit card to then collect and charge your Facebook friends and email contacts.

As someone who prefers to pay for most things by card, I rarely carry cash on me. I’ve been using Venmo ever more frequently to help not only keep track of what I owe my friends, but to easily pay them back.

Not to mention, the comments provide much needed comic relief on a rainy day like today.

What Sparks Our Fire: A quick and easy way to spot our friends and get paid back.

Would you use Venmo to pay and charge your friends?