Cheddar Up

Cheddar Up makes personal paybacks and group payments quick, easy...and fun. Start cheddaring up today! Check out www.CheddarUp.com.

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Local Elementary School Uses Cheddar Up – Collects 33% More and Captures 54% More Participation

We can’t think of a better time to share results like these. Spring break is coming to an end for most families and that means…sadly (and happily, depending on how you look at it), that the end of the school year is right around the corner.

As most parents can attest, the end of the year comes with a flurry of activity that requires us to weigh in…and often pay in! There are end-of-year parties, gift cards for bus drivers, and the infamous “end-of-year teacher gift.” Never was there a more perfect use for Cheddar Up than the beloved teacher gift. Let us share with you why…

Results You Can’t Ignore

At the end of 2013, Cherry Hills Village Elementary used Cheddar Up to help collect for a school-wide holiday gift for the school‘s support staff. The gift collection was well promoted to all families via the school‘s weekly e-newsletter, website and room mother communications. Families had the option to contribute by: 1) Mailing a check to the parent volunteer, or 2) Paying online quickly and easily via Cheddar Up. The school’s families embraced Cheddar Up and greatly appreciated the ease of online payment. And the increased participation numbers prove it!

Cheddar Up simplified the collection process, with nearly 70% of the contributing families paying via Cheddar Up. This allowed the parent volunteer who coordinated the collection to avoid multiple trips to the bank, spreadsheets and awkward reminders.

The best part…compared to last year, this year’s gift collection proved a: 33% increase in the amount collected and a 54% increase in family participation!

Easy paying for parents, easy collecting for schools and parent volunteers, and a bigger gift for the hardworking school staff. That’s what we call a win-win!

What’s our key takeaway? Give parents an easy way to contribute and they will! You’ve got to make it easy.

Make your teacher gifts easier this year – less time, less hassle, less awkward. Check out www.CheddarUp.com.

[cheddarup]

Simplify your Fantasy Baseball team this season with online group payments

Now that Fantasy Football season is over, you're heaving a big sigh of relief. You love Fantasy Football, and your team dominated the league this year. However, as the commissioner, it was also your responsibility to handle everyone's pay-ins, as well as the big pay-outs at the end.

Why is it that it's so hard to collect money from people who need to pay up to play Fantasy Football? Out of the goodness of your heart, you gave your second cousin a pass, and you told him you'd cover his share until he got paid in the beginning of October. Unfortunately, the beginning of October came and went, and it took an act of God for him to finally hand over the money around Thanksgiving time.

Now that it's all over, you know that Fantasy Baseball is right around the corner, and your friends are going to be counting on you to get that league up and running in a matter of days. You're not looking forward to doing the "money dance" all over again.

So, what do you do?

Fortunately, there is a quick and easy way for you to collect online group payments without having to chase everyone all over the city to get their money. Here at Cheddar Up, that's what we do. Imagine, no more awkward phone calls or text messages to your friends and family. No more covering the cost of the pay-in for your cousin only to wonder if you'll ever see that money again. With Cheddar Up, you just put in the information for the people who owe, and you let us handle the rest of these transactions for you.

It couldn't get any easier than that, right?

Don't let being the commissioner take the fun out of Fantasy Baseball. Let Cheddar Up do the dirty work for you. Check out www.cheddarup.com.

[cheddarup]

March Madness…No Longer Money Madness

With March Madness starting up soon (March 18!), there will soon be a whole lot of friendly betting between friends. You are looking forward to the games, but thinking back to last year makes you a little less excited about the post-game money madness. After all, it was only last month when you finally got the last of the money owed to you from the 2013 tournament. Maybe scrambling around to finally get your money even has you considering foregoing the bets and just enjoying the games minus the potential monetary gain.

Instead of skipping the friendly wagers associated with the game this year, consider using Cheddar Up. With Cheddar Up, you can keep track of who owes you money and who you still need to pay back. Friendly email reminders can be sent weekly – or you can change the frequency – to remind people they need to pay you back for their outrageous guesses when their brackets turn out to be completely wrong.

Of course, Cheddar Up is also a great option to use if someone else should happen to have the group’s winning brackets, and you end up having to pay that person. Cheddar Up can be used to pay the tab to the winner and can be used to remind you to pay back the winner.

There are a few things you should know about Cheddar Up. First, if you pay through PayPal or through your bank account through PayPal, there are no usage fees. Second, you can also pay through Cheddar Up using a debit or credit card, but there will be a small processing fee. This fee is paid by the person paying the tab. Third, if someone pays you in-person or otherwise offline, there are features to allow you to record this payment so the person will NOT continue to receive reminders to pay. Fourth, and probably best of all, there is no membership fee or usage fee to use the service. It is free!

So…let the wagers begin. Good luck!

[cheddarup]

Collecting Money Just Got Fun…as Fun as a Fairytale

Now that collecting money just got fun, paying your share is almost as enchanting as a fairytale. In fact, quick and easy online payments could revise some of our favorite childhood stories.

Goldilocks and the Three Bears: What kind of lesson is this for children? Goldilocks breaks into the bears’ home, eats their porridge, messes up their beds, and destroys a chair. Then, when they come in and catch her, she runs off screaming instead of paying for the damages.

With Cheddar Up, Goldilocks could do the right thing and request a tab from the bears to at least pay for the ruined furniture. That’s a much better lesson for kids.

Jack and the Beanstalk: You’re bound to run into trouble if you accept magic beans as payment, especially when you’re down to your last cow. Jack found out the hard way that he made a bad deal when he got tricked out of his family’s prime asset.

With a secure online payment method, you’ll get paid in real cash. None of that magic bean stuff. We can understand how it might be tempting to get paid directly in cheese, but really, cash is safer.

Red Riding Hood: We’re not disputing that the wood cutter is a hero, but the timing is a little unfortunate. He shows up only after the wolf has eaten Grandma and possibly Red herself depending on what version you read.

With online payments, the wood cutter could create a tab. Since he’s walking around the forest saving people, he might as well take Grandma her lunch and have Red’s parents pay him back. The word of mouth will even help him develop a business delivering firewood, meals, and door to door wolf security.

Cheddar Up will create happy endings for all of your paybacks and group transactions…from chipping in on the soccer coach gift to collecting field trip fees for your local school.

[cheddarup]

5 Last-Minute Spring Break Trips All Within Colorado

This post is a shout out to all of our local Coloradans… With spring break now upon us, if you haven’t already booked a trip you might be thinking that you will now be forced to crawl the walls with your children. But the beauty of living in Colorado is that we have so many amazing options all within a short drive. We’ve put together a quick-hit list of some local adventures that are not only sure to pass the time, but will also remind you of just how lucky we are to live in this great state!

Cañon City

Royal Gorge Bridge & Park – This area suffered catastrophic fire damage during the summer of 2013.  However, starting March 15th, 2014, just in time for Spring Break, they are offering discounted weekend tours.  If you can only take off for a couple of days, this might be the perfect opportunity to check out the Royal Gorge.  If you have any daredevils in the family, be sure to try the Skycoaster.

Alamosa

Sand Dunes – These huge expanses of sand provide hours of entertainment for the whole family.  The spring can have varied weather, but on a good day, bring the beach gear and hang out while the kids play in Medano Creek.  Sandboarding and sledding are a blast!

Colorado Gators Reptile Park – Alligators in Colorado?  Yes!  Up close and personal, you’ll get to see gators like you’ve never seen them before.  You can even get your photo holding a cute little baby gator.

UFO Watchtower – If alligators aren’t enough, check out the UFO watchtower.  Aliens have landed.

Sand Dunes Swimming Pool – Hot springs, anyone?

Durango

Mesa Verde National Park – About an hour and a half from Durango is Mesa Verde.  Climb down wood ladders to kivas and walk around Spruce Tree House.

Durango & Silverton Narrow Gauge Train – This round trip ride will take up the better part of a day, but it is well worth it.

Brew Pubs – Durango is well known for its many brew pubs.  Even if you have children, you can make time to taste a few unique brews in the evening.

Trimble Hot Springs – Hot springs, anyone?

Ouray

Box Canyon – This series of metal walkways through the canyon is out of this world, and it’s easy enough for the whole family to tackle.

Cascade Falls – A great, natural hike for the whole family.

Red Mountain Pass – The drive to Ouray from the south takes you over Red Mountain Pass, showcasing some of the most incredible views in the state.

Hot Springs – Hot springs, anyone?

Glenwood Springs

Glenwood Hot Springs – Hot springs, anyone?

Glenwood Caverns Adventure Park – Ride a gondola to the top, then ride the alpine coaster over and over again.  Take the cave tour and try not to get stuck in the Speleobox.  Plus, experience 4D movies and laser tag.  Plan to spend most of the day up here.

Hotel Glenwood Springs – We love this hotel.  It’s right next to the gondola and they have an indoor pool with a slide for the kids.  They offer discounts to the hot springs and to the Caverns.

If you can’t pick just one place, go from hot spring to hot spring and make it a circle trip.  Invite another family or some friends and use Cheddar Up to split the expenses.