Samsung Galaxy S6 Review - I'm Not Impressed

I just picked up a new Samsung Galaxy S6 3 days ago. After a few days of using the phone I'm not all that impressed. The new Samsung S6 has changed some features. Now everytime I get a new phone I always seem to hate the new layouts, and functions, we get used to something and like to stick with it.

A few changes Samsung has made is back to the tiles they used to have on the early Galaxy models. Some people like this as it acts as a task manager and allows you to close apps and web pages. This feature may actually wind up growing on me, however initially I'm not a fan.

Other things just as far as how to delete apps, how to layout your pages, etc are things I don't like. I'm also not a fan of them adding a tab for Flipboard which I hate and do not use. You can not delete it without rooting your phone, however you can turn off that page so it's not one  you flip through.

Samsung S6 Review

Samsung has also limited the number of screens or pages you have to organize and layout your apps. On prevoius models there were almost too many pages. On the new S6 however you have a home page, a Flipboard page and two other blank pages loaded with bloatware, most of which you can delete but I was surprised by how little number of pages they have. For someone who has lots of apps and doesn't want to have to flip through all apps to find one, you will probably not like this feature.

I havn't really had time to dig into all the features, more casual use, listening to some music, playing some games. I do use my phone for business but havn't had much need to use it for extensive e-mailing or anything lately.

Thus far I'm relatively unimpressed and will most likely be returning this phone and swapping it out for a Samsung Note 4. I was initially very interested in the LG Flex 2, however have heard nothing but terrible things, which is disapointing as the phone was supposed to be a great improvement over the previous LG Flex. Just incase your wondering which phone I was comming from prior to getting my S6, I had the Samsung S4 and prior to that the HTC Evo.

MBerry or Miracle Berry: My Experience & Review of Miracle Berry Tablets

This post is going to be my experience trying out MBerry tablets, also known as Miracle Berries or Miracle fruit. I'll embed a video right below of a short two minute news piece done on these berries or tablets and the taste tripping or flavor tripping parties people have to enjoy the experience together.

You may have heard the term taste tripping or flavor tripping. This refers to either eating an actual fruit or in this case a berry or in other cases some people will buy the MBerry tablets which can be found on Amazon for about $13 for a box of 12 or so.

I personally tried the tablets as opposed to the actual berry as I've heard the Berries had a very short shelf life and I was ordering them to use for a party about a week away. I ordered them on Amazon and had them delivered two days later with my prime shipping.

Myself and my girlfriend were super excited to try them. We were actually planning on using them for her birthday party as kind of a fun and different thing to do than just getting dinner or going out tot he bars. We decided before we had this big flavor tripping themed party and hyped up the experience for our friends and family; we had decided we would try them first and see if they were all they were cracked up to be.

MBerry Tablets With Assorted Fruits

After watching some more Youtube videos posted from individuals showing themselves live, actually experiencing the miracle fruit and how it transforms your tastebuds we were super psyched. You watch videos and the looks on peoples faces are priceless. People look utterly amazed, and you'll actually watch people tasting common things like a banana saying it's the best thing they've ever tasted. You'll then see people start drinking vinegar like it's soda pop saying it tastes great, sucking on lemons saying it tastes like the best lemonade they've ever tasted in their life. The miracle fruit affects your sour, bitter, and sweet sensations so things which normally would be sour are either sweet or just taste great.

After watching some Youtube videos I was convinced this was going to be an amazing experience. Upon actually trying it for myself however both myself, and my girlfriend were extremely disapointed. Our minds were definately not blown, lol, as many people on Youtube were claiming.

Things like bananas tasted pretty much like a banana. Vinegar was still disgusting. Granted maybe it had a hint of sweetness but it still tasted like vinegar and still had a bite to it. We didn't have as full a spread of foods to try as others I'd seen, however we had a pretty good selection of items to try, and nothing in my experience was that different or great.

Fruits To Try While Taste Tripping

The only thing we both really felt like changed taste dramatically was lemons and limes. Limes were incredibly sweet and tasted almost like a lime candy, but to the point of being too sweet it wasn't that good.

In the end we decided not to do a flavor or taste tripping party for her birthday as we felt it wasn't even worth the experience trying it. Also, could have nothing to do with the MBerry tablets but after we took them we both felt kind of strange and got a headache, havn't really heard of reported side effects but the whole experience was enough to say I'm not interested in trying it again.

I have about six tablets left, I'll probably wind up giving them away for free to any friends who want to try them out. Would I recommend trying them? I guess it's worth it to try it, what do you have to lose, but honestly I wasn't wowed by the experience and won't be doing it again.

Blogger Blogspot Platform SEO Tricks & Tips 2015 - Beginner Guide To SEO Your Blogspot Blog

Are you a beginner blogger? You probably got the hang of blog posting, your comfortable monetizing your blog, but have you taken the time to SEO your blog? In the past in order to SEO a Blogspot blog you had to have coding knowledge to go into the code of your theme or template and optimize your website for search engines.

Somewhat recently Google has added some new features to the Blogger platform which allow you to easily SEO your Blogger blog. Blogspot blogs are somewhat SEO'd out of the box, however there are still some small tweaks and changes you can make such as adding a description to your blog, adding custom robot text, meta tags, submitting a sitemap and more.

I know as a beginner Blogger it can be overwhelming and daunting and even scary making these changes. I often would worry I would make a mistake and mess up my blog beyond repair. These tips and tricks to SEO your Blogger blog are very easy and are explained in a step by step video walk through which you can watch below.

Whether your already blogging on Blogger or plan to in the future this is a must watch video. We'll embed the video below. If for some reason the video is not visible you can also CLICK HERE to watch the video.

Oggi Moscow Mule Copper Mug & The Moscow Mule Recipe & History

I'm a big fan of the cocktail called a Moscow Mule, a combination of Vodka, Ginger Beer and Lime. I was introduced to this tasty drink by my folks who live in Charleston, SC where the drink is understandably popular seeing as how they have humid weather and this is a crisp refreshing drink.

After falling in love with this drink I asked for a set of Copper Moscow Mule Mugs for Christmas. I got the Oggi brand from Amazon as a gift from my parents so just wanted to do a quick review as well as share the recipe and history of the Moscow Mule

My Review of Oggi Moscow Mule Copper Mugs

Mix up a classic Moscow Mule in this Oggi Moscow Mule Mug. Handcrafted from stainless steel with a copper plated exterior and a brass handle, it's the authentic way to serve up this classic vodka cocktail. Hand wash only. Not for use in the microwave. Capacity 20 oz. Create your own Moscow Mule at home: Fill your Moscow Mule Mug with ice. Add 2 ounces of vodka, half an ounce of lime juice and top with ginger beer and a sprig of mint. This mug is also ideal for enjoying cool, refreshing drinks year round. The perfect drinking companion for hot summer afternoons, the traditional copper mug becomes chilly to the touch when filled with the iced beverage of your choice.

My Parents surprised me with this mug as a Christmas gift. I had always mentioned when we'd be out for drinks how I wanted one of these, but we could never seem to find them in stores. The mug is solid, heavy duty, and sharp looking. Makes for the perfect vessel for a Moscow Mule or Dark and Stormy.

Moscow Mule Recipe
Moscow Mule
Ingredients:
– 1 1/4 oz Smirnoff vodka
– 3 oz. ginger beer
– 1 tsp. sugar syrup
– 1/4 oz. lime juice
– 1 sprig mint
– 1 slice lime
In a copper mug, pour vodka over ice. Add sugar syrup and lime juice. Top with ginger beer and stir. Garnish with mint sprig and lime slice.

* Personally I leave out the sugar syrup or simple syrup as I don't like overly sweet drinks and find the Ginger Beer itself adds plenty of sweetness. I also opt specifically for Crabbies Brand Ginger Beer as it's the only one I feel like adds the right taste.

The History Of The Moscow Mule

History of Moscow Mule:

The story of the Moscow Mule begins in 1939 when a nearly brokeRussian ex-pat, Rudolph Kunett, sold the Smirnoff brand to John Martin, head of G.F. Heublein & Bros.  Eventually John Martin used the Moscow Mule to help promote vodka to bars across the US and this helped fuel the mainstream acceptance of vodka as the preferred white spirit, replacing gin.

John Martin long claimed that he invented the Moscow Mule along with his friend, Jack Morgan, owner of the olde-English style pub named the Cock’n’Bull, located on Hollywood’s Sunset Strip.  The Cock’n’Bull had a house brand of ginger beer bottled in stoneware crocks.  Martin and Moran claimed that a fit of “inventive genius” led them to combine their respective products.  More likely, is the story told by Morgan’s head bartender, Wes Price, who maintained that the drink was fashioned sometime in 1941 in an effort to offload otherwise unsellable goods.

They ordered specially engraved copper mugs and Martin set off to market it in the bars around the country. He bought one of the first Polaroid cameras and asked barmen to pose with a Moscow Mule copper mug and a bottle of Smirnoff vodka. Then he would leave one copy of the photo at the bar and take a second copy to the bar next door to show them that their competitors were selling their concoction. Between 1947 and 1950, thanks to their invention, Smirnoff vodka case columns more than tripled and nearly doubled in 1951.

In particular, the drink caught on with the Hollywood crowd until 1950 when not unlike a few Hollywood screenwriters, Smirnoff and its flagship drink, the Moscow Mule, took heat for the Russian association.  Assuming that Smirnoff was a Russian import, unionized bartenders in New York announced a Moscow Mule boycott, refusing to “shove slave labor liquor across the wood in any American saloon.”

Smirnoff rushed to testify that its vodka was not, and never had been a member of the Communist Party.  In support, Walter Winchell wrote in 1951, “The Moscow Mule is US made, so don’t be political when you’re thirsty.  Three are enough, however, to make you wanna fight pro-Communists.”

Sadly, popularity of the beverage faded in the 1960s with the era of the groovy new disco scene and the intitaitive by the Smirnoff marketing department to re-name the drink the “Smirnoff Mule.”  However, the Moscow Mule has recently enjoyed a resurgence, mostly at upscale establishments that have taken the trouble to acquire the copper mugs for proper presentation.

How To Watch Showbox, Youtube, Netflix From Your Phone To TV For Only $9.99

If you're anything like me you like watching movies, tv shows, and videos on your phone while you're at work or on the go. When you're at home however you probably would prefer to watch on a larger screen on your tv. Though you can typically watch Netflix and other shows on your television some apps like Showbox are only available on your phone. So how do you get it to play on your television?

If you have a smart tv, its as easy as just using the mirroring feature. For those of us without newer smart tv's however there's another way. For just $9.99 you can pickup something called an MHL to HDMI converter. This allows you to plug your phone into an HDMI cable which hooks up to your tv.

This device is available on Amazon.Com for $9.99 and at Tiger Direct / CompUSA for $12.99. Personally I picked mine up at CompUSA as I was anxious to watch season two of Boardwalk Empire and didn't want to wait two days for my prime shipping to arrive but if you want to save a few bucks or don't have a TigerDirect in your area go with Amazon.Com. Links below...

MHL To HDMI Converter - Amazon - $9.99

MHL TO HDMI Converter - TigerDirect - $12.99

This device really is simple to use. I was worried about having to do some confusing things in my phones settings or having to go into developer options. Nope, it really is as simple as plug and play. If you happen to get a small screen in the middle of your television screen it just means your phone is in portrait mode, tip it sideways and allow the screen to rotate and you are now in landscape mode and should have a full screen. This is HDMI so the picture is incredible.

I have one beef with this device and I'm not sure if it's a flaw in my device or whether I'm doing something wrong. The plug which connects to your phone goes in the charging port. Unlike plugging your phone into a laptop for example an HDMI cable transmits video from your phone to your tv, but doesn't charge your phone. This means your phone battery will be dead by the time a movie is about to end. The makers of this device thought of this and added a power charger to the size of this device as you can probably see in the photo above. The problem I'm having however is that it doesn't seem to charge my phone while I'm watching a show or movies so unfortunately at this time I'm able to watch about 3 episodes of Boardwalk Empire before my phone dies. I need to call the company Inveo and find out if I have a faulty device or if I'm doing something wrong but I've yet to figure that out. Otherwise I love this device and makes watching movies and shows much more pleasant

Above is the particular device I had and like. I just saw a new product on the market which also comes with a remote. I havn't tested it out myself, however it seems to have decent reviews.

Earn Cash Back, Frequent Flyer Miles, Or CC Rewards With BlueBird & Vanilla Reload Cards

Okay, so this isn't as good as the US Mint Credit Card Hack from a few years ago but a quick easy way to make some money or rack up some rewards or frequent flyer miles. In this post we will teach you how to rack up credit card rewards, frequent flyer miles, or make an extra $200 a month with Cash Back from a Wells Fargo 5% Cash Back card or other cash back cards.

This doesn't take much time, less than an hour. After that maybe a half hour a month recurring to do this each month. This doesn't take much time or money but you can earn free vacations or even cash back. There are however 4 requirements you will need to meet...

The Requirements...

1. Must have a social security number and reside in the USA.
2. Must have good credit, preferably 720 or higher, though possible to get other cards with lower scores.
3. Checking account or savings account with "BillPay" or "ACH Transfer" ability
4. Need to have a CVS, Walgreens, 711, or other stores that sell "cash cards" and can be reloaded with a credit card.

What To Do...

1. Apply for a Wells Fargo 5% Cash Back Credit Card...

This card gives you 5% cash back for grocery, drug store, gas, and a few other purchases for six months. This card is meant for those with higher credit scores. There are some other cash back cards and you can earn credit card rewards, miles or points on but make sure it's a high earning card. If you have a card that does not offer good rewards you will actually wind up losing money due to the few fees that are involved in buying the reloads and paying bills as often time paying bills with cards adds a small surcharge. If you're denied by Wells Fargo applying online you can call on the phone and generally get a quicker decision. Once you have confirmation you've been accepted to the card you can move on to the next step.

2. Apply for American Express Bluebird Card:

You can often buy a starter pack at Walmart for a few bucks, but it's just as easy to buy one online and wait for it in the mail, shouldn't take longer than a week max. This card doesn't pull your credit for an approval so you won't have your soft credit dinged any points as you would applying for a real credit card. You do however need a social security number, probably due to Frank/Dodd and Anti-Money Laundering Policies but you're credit won't be pulled and you won't be dinged. It basically just allows them to validate your identity.

3. Now that you have the Wells Fargo Card and the Bluebird card in your possession go to any one of the stores that qualify as a drugstore, gas station, or grocery store and buy Vanilla Reload cards with your 5% Wells Fargo Credit Card. It's important that these are Vanilla Reload cards and NOT One Vanilla, My Vanilla or any other variations of the Vanilla brand. You may want to find a store which sells these cards prior to getting all this setup. The card should look like the pic below...

The Vanilla Reload cards are reload packs. They allow you to put cash onto many prepaid and other debit cards. They do have a $3.95 charge per card and you can only load a max of $500 on each card. The tough part is locating a gas station, drug store, or grocery store that allows you to purchase the Vanilla Reload cards with Credit Cards. Many of them will only accept cash or will take a card but only debit. Once you find a location which will allow you to use credit cards buy them with your Wells Fargo 5% cash back card.

It will depend on your credit limit and how much a store will sell you. Buy as many as you can up, you max out at $5,000 per month.

4. Now you have Vanilla Reload cards. Visit VanillaReload.Com adn enter the unique 10 digit PIN number into the box. You will find it on the back of the Vanilla Reload card after you scratch it off like a lotto ticket. After doing this enter your 15 digit BlueBird card number. BlueBird will allow $5,000 per month to be loaded and a $1,000 daily limit. This will take you a min of 5 days to accomplish.

5. You now have $5,000 loaded onto your BlueBird card. Go to the "settings" tab on the upper right hand corner and link it to your bank account. You can do this as soon as you get your card as well. Once it's linked you can transfer the entire $5,000 from your BlueBird account that you recieved by buying the Vanilla Reloads to your bank using the "Withdraw Funds" link/feature.

*Some people have been shut down either by Bluebird or their Credit Card company by doing the direct transfer of funds to your bank account. To fly under the radar you may want to instead use your BlueBird card to pay bills, pay your taxes. Though many bills will not allow you to pay with a Credit Card most will allow you to pay with a debit card for a small fee of $3 or $3 vs 2% or 3% which is generally waht you'll be charged to pay bills by card, if they allow payment by credit card at all. It's up to you if you want to take the easy/lazy way and transfer to the bank or if you want to pay your rent and other bills with the debit card.

6. Last step here. Now you have $5,000 in your bank account. Use Billpay or ACH to pay off the $5,039.50 balance on your Wells Fargo 5% cash back card. The reason your paying $5039.50, even though you only loaded $5,000 is because you pay $3.95 per load. This is also why you want to make sure you have a card where points are at least valued at a penny or more, because you're paying about 0.8 cents per mile you earn. If you have a poor earning card you will lose money. If you have a good earning card you will be earning about 0.2 cents per Dollar spent and come out ahead. This is what you will have completed...

1. $5,039.50 Charged on Wells Fargo 5% Cash Back Card for Vanilla Reloads.
2. $5,000 moved from Vanilla reloads to BlueBird.
3. $5,0000 moved from Bluebird to bank account.
4. $5039.50 moved from bank account to pay off Wells Fargo 5% Credit Card.

You're now left with...

1. $5,039.50 credit card balance paid off.
2. 5% rebate of $5,039.50 which comes to $251.98, subtract the $39.50 you paid for 10 Vanilla Reload cards.

Total Monthly Gain: $212.48

Couple Other Things To Consider...

1. No reason to, but don't inform the cashier you are buying the Vanilla Reload cards for what you are doing. If they realize it's easy money they may hoard the cards for themselves.

2. Finding these cards can be a challenge. I'm surprised how hard it is to find these cards. I do find them at a few different CVS locations near my home though. If you get a rapport with a cashier they will sometimes save the cards for you when they come in, be nice and bring them a coffee or something.

3. Not sure how this is taxed if at all. You should do your own research. I'm under the impression this is considered a discount and not taxable income but I suppose all income earned is ordinary income at the least.

4. This sounds somewhat complicated but it's very easy and simple. This type of earning is referred to as arbitrage. It normally takes me 2 minutes to drive to the CVS by my home and buy $5,000 worht of cards. A couple minutes everyday for each reload. Basically less than an hours worth of work for $212.48. Do you make that at your job? the toughest part will be locating the cards and a store who sells them.

Wrapping Up:

Your not gonna get rich off this but at the same time hard to not take advantage of $1,275 over a 6 month period with basically 2 hours worth of work.

Ever Wondered How To Make Money Off Your Twitter Account?

Whether your a blogger, an affiliate marketer or just like to have fun on Twitter and have a decent following, were' all looking to make money right? You've built a pretty good Twitter following, and your Tweeting anyway so why not make money doing it?

Sponsored Tweets is a great way to monetize your Twitter platform by running ads for various advertisers. Did you know Kim Kardashian reportedly makes $12,000 per Tweet? Well sure you and I aren't Kim K but that doesn't mean we can't make some money by promoting certain advertisers.

Wanna find out more info? CLICK HERE!!!!

Bitcoins For Absolute Beginners, How To Buy Bitcoins

Bitcoins are all the rage in the media these days. You've probably been inundated with stories about Bitcoins used on Black Markets, the rise in the value of Bitcoins, articles about the theft of Bitcoins. Maybe you have an interest in Bitcoins or other Crypto currencies. It can be confusing knowing where to start or even just wrapping your head around the idea of Bitcoins, what are they, how do you hold them, how do you buy them, and how are they used. In this article we are going to explain Bitcoins to you in a way which is easy to understand. Tell you how to hold Bitcoins, how to send and receive Bitcoins, and how and where to purchase Bitcoins with US Dollars. I don't claim to be the foremost expert on Bitcoins but I have done a lot of research, have been using them for a while, and had a hard time understanding them myself so I feel I can explain them in a way which is easy to understand for absolute beginners.

What Are Bitcoins?

I won't get into the whole history of Bitcoins and who created them, there's plenty of places to research that if your interested. I just want to explain what Bitcoins are and how they work. Bitcoins are a virtual electronic currency. They are not a tangible or physical thing you can hold. You can't have a Bitcoin or a note in your pocket, it's strictly electronic and strictly online.

Bitcoins are what's referred to as a Crypto Currency. There are a number of competitors out there like Litecoins, Feather Coins, Crypt Coins, and many more. Bitcoins are by far the most valuable and also the most widely accepted and well known. If you have an interest in the other crypto currencies and want to diversify and hold a bit of each you generally have to buy Bitcoins first and then you can go to an exchange and swap those for Lite Coins or Feather Coins or Peer Coins or any other coins you want.

Some unique things about Bitcoins is it's not a currency of a country like we generally think of currency. It's basically the currency of the internet, though more and more brick and mortar stores, restaurants, and shops are now accepting them.

Bitcoin transactions cannot be reversed. If you send to the wrong address there is no calling them back. It's argued this is both good and bad. It's good in the sense people can't open a Paypal case or do a credit card chargeback and wind up keeping someone's product or service and getting their cash back. It can also be a downside in that if you send to the wrong address or put a decimal in the wrong place there's no reversing a transaction. Some people view this as a positive, others claim any legit banking system needs a way to reverse mistakes. Many sites which accept Bitcoins however use an escrow service so Bitcoins are held until both parties are satisfied with a transaction.

I know it can be hard to wrap your head around the idea of Bitcoins but it's really no different than sending money via Paypal or online banking, it's actually much simpler than you think. The confusing parts can be how do I hold Bitcoins if there's no physical coins. You can't put them in your pocket or a safe in your house for example. Also, how do I send and receive Bitcoins as well as how do I buy them. These things can be confusing to a newbie so we'll address those below.

How Do I Hold Bitcoins?

You can hold your Bitcoins either through a third party service like Coinbase, which just happens to be a place you can buy Bitcoins from your bank account as well as hold them. There's also other third party services out there which you can buy Bitcoins from and which can also serve as Bitcoin wallets. Another way to hold Bitcoins is in a paper wallet. A paper wallet is basically a program you download onto your computer which is on your computers hard drive, NOT online. This is a more secure way of holding your Bitcoins and you have more control of them.

CoinBase is a great place to buy and maybe keep a small amount of Bitcoins in, however I would not recommend keeping your holdings in a third party online wallet. If they are hacked or seized by the Government or anything you potentially lose your Bitcoins. In a Bitcoin wallet you have a wallet on your computers hard drive which is encrypted and password protected where you can hold Bitcoins.

One confusing thing is you don't really setup an account with a paper wallet like you do with a site like Bitcoin. I had a hard time understanding this. With most things you have to setup an account which is hard to change, your locked into a username and email, etc. With a paper Bitcoin wallet literally within one click you create a new wallet and can easily add or delete wallets. Technically you could use a different wallet for every single transaction you do. You add a name to your wallet, you have the option of adding a password, and you can also keep the details on a zip drive for safe keeping. The paper Bitcoin wallet may seem confusing at first but it's actually a very simple menu and very simple to use.

Each wallet has a unique address which is basically random letters and numbers. Your wallet also has a QR code which can be scanned to send you Bitcoins as well.

I would recommend having an account with Coinbase or a similar site as well as a paperwallet which you'll actually use to store your Bitcoins. Next we'll address how to send and receive Bitcoins.

How To Send & Receive Bitcoins?

It's actually surprisingly simple. Either from a paper wallet or an online wallet it's very easy to send Bitcoins. Most people use the actual address vs the QR Code but both are options for you. The nice thing because transactions aren't reversible wallets have a copy to clipboard feature and don't allow you to highlite, copy and paste as you could leave off a letter. They basically force you to be accurate in getting your Bitcoin address to give to someone else. If you want to receive money all you do is give them your address, they send to you and within a minute or a few minutes you receive the Bitcoins.

If you want to send Bitcoins all you need is that persons Bitcoin address, click send Bitcoins, and paste in their Bitcoin address. Whether through an online wallet or a paper wallet this is very easy and straight forward.

Where To Buy Bitcoins?

Many people wonder, where do I buy Bitcoins? It's actually somewhat difficult to buy Bitcoins. Nobody wants to accept Paypal or Credit Cards understandably because once you give away the Bitcoins you cannot get them back and some bad people could do credit card chargebacks or Paypal disputes, get their cash back and they have your Bitcoins.

There are a few sellers on eBay and some on other sites who will take Paypal but it's generally at a huge markup and in small amounts like $50 or less.

I'm going to share with you my favorite and easiest ways to buy Bitcoins. These methods are what I consider to be more reputable sites or people or more secure ways of buying them as well as the easiest.




CoinBase.Com
Coin Base is a known and trusted supplier of Bitcoins. It's one of the few if not the only place you can buy directly from your bank account. Some people don't like the idea of linking a bank account but the site is very secure and in addition to having a password by default it's setup to send you a text message at each login which you have to verify a code. It's a pretty secure system in my opinion.

You link a bank account and can transfer Bitcoins easily with a relatively small fee, the only downside it's about a week for the coins to clear to your wallet. This is probably the easiest and most straightforward way for a newbie to buy Bitcoins. Even if you'd prefer to buy on Bitlocal or Craigslist or something give these guys a try if even for a small amount just so you can get your feet wet and figure out how to transfer from CoinBase to your paper wallet. Also, though it doesn't have to be CoinBase you will need Coin Base or another site to convert your coins back to dollars unless you want to sell to an individual on Craigslist or something like that.



LocalBitCoins.Com
This site basically connects buyers and sellers. You can buy from and sell to people remotely and deposit money directly into their bank account. Some users accept bankwires or Moneygram or Western Union. It's basically setup on an escrow system so the Coins are held until the seller can provide you with a secret code. Once they provide this to you, you know they sent the Bitcoins.

You can also meetup with people locally and pay cash, they do allow their escrow system to be used for this as well. You'd basically meet someone at a Starbucks or McDonalds, and hand over cash once they provide you with the secret code.

This is a bit more complicated in that if you don't know what your doing and run into a bad seller being face to face they could offer to help you with your wallet or something like that and return the coins to them or screw you over. I think most people are good but don't do anything besides use the escrow system which is setup. I'd recommend having completed a few Bitcoin transactions sending and receiving before using this site.

I find this site to be somewhat overpriced. When Bitcoins were at $1,000 people were asking for upwards of $1200. You could do better on CoinBase.Com than those prices. That said you can find some good deals in person occasionally.

Craigslist
Yep, no special accounts, no codes, just regular sales like buying an X-Box or a couch on Craigslist. Look at your local Craigslist site, search for Bitcoins and you'll see a number of people selling them. You can work the transaction however you'd like but generally you'd meetup at a safe trusted place where you have access to internet. You'd give the person cash and they would transfer Bitcoins to your wallet at an agreed upon price or rate. Again, I'd recommend having a few transactions under your belt so you know what to expect before doing this.

Meetups
Bitcoin Meetups are kind of a cool concept. Just like people have meetups for people with pets or Bulldog owners or people who play chess or ride motorcycles. There are meetups for people into Bitcoins. It's basically a community, you can go network with people. Oftentimes there's a weekly or monthly meetup at a bar or coffee shop. You can buy from others and sell to others. I like this method as it's kind of a community with regulars. If someone rips you off they will probably see you or others in the group again making it less likely to happen. You can also ask advice and help from others.

BitInstant.Com
This is one of my favorites and a very easy way to buy Bitcoins. Unfortunately their site is currently down and it doesn't seem like a fix is comming anytime real soon. Basically how this site works, it finds a local store in your area which does Money Gram, basically a Walmart, 711, or CVS. You decide how many Bitcoins you want, they work out the conversion and then have you put in your zipcode where you can see stores in your area. You select one that you will go to, to pay, you then will print out a sheet of paper showing how many Bitcoins you get for the price and how much money you need to send via Money Gram. You bring that paper into the Walmart, 711, or CVS and pay the Money Gram bill. The coins are then sent to your wallet once you make payment. This is very easy and a good way for beginnners, fees aren't the best but it's not terrible and you get your coins in a timely fashion.

Wrapping Up

Well I hope  that gives you a better idea of what Bitcoins are as well as helping you to wrap your head around the concept. We explained Bitcoins and what they are, how to send them and receive them, and the best places to buy as well as how to do so.

This isn't the most complete guide around but I wanted to give you something which wasn't too long, which was concise and gave you all the essentials you need. If you have any questions please ask in the comments section below.

Bissel Heavy Duty Vaccum Cleaner - Better Than Dyson 1/4 Of The Price

I've been on the hunt for a new vaccum for about a year and that's not even an exageration. I've probably been out vaccum shopping over a dozen times and everytime I'm in a big box store like Target, Walmart, or Home Depot I can't help but wander down the vacuum isle and see they have to offer.

m for about a year and that's not even an exageration. I've probably been out vaccum shopping over a dozen times and everytime I'm in a big box store like Target, Walmart, or Home Depot I can't help but wander down the vacuum isle and see they have to offer.
I finally decided on the Bissel Heavy Duty vacuum cleaner and could not be happier. Vacuums are certainly not the most exciting thing or most exciting purchase one could possibly make so the fact I'm sitting down writing a blog post to praise this vacuum should say something.

I'm a young professional in my late 20's so buying a household appliance like a vacuum cleaner that costs hundreds of dollars is certainly high on my to do list nor my things I want to spend my hard earned money on list, but none the less it's something I needed. With a large house, two dogs, and a girlfriend who is allergic to my two dogs it was a must I get a good vacuum.

I've been a homeowner for a number of years but none the less I'm not especially experienced at buying vacuums. It had also been pounded into my head by commercials as well as reading forums that a Dyson vacuum or at the very least a Shark vacuum was the only way to go. I've seen some demonstrations of the Dyson vacuum  at Costco and though impressive I really have a hard time wrapping my head around paying $500-$700 for a vacuum, even if it is a long term investment. People do rave about their Dysons but I hear just as many complaints from people saying they went and bought a $100 Hoover and it cleaned just as well if not better or that the motor of the Dyson is strong but the cheap plastic parts break before the motor even has a chance to breakdown.

I had considered Hoover Wind Tunnel vacuums as I've read rave reviews but I had a Hoover Windtunnel T Series bagged vacuum my mother had bought me as a homewarming present shortly after buying my first house and the thing was terrible. I also used a friends high end Kenmore vacuum and that was junk as well.

Well I finally was walking through Walmart and saw some deals on marked down vacuums. I was deciding between a Eureka that claimed it was better than the Dyson at a fraction of the price but both Walmart reviews and Amazon reviews said otherwise with only three stars. I then stumbled upon this Bissel Heavy Duty.

This wasn't one of the vacuums I had been considering or had researched but it looked sturdy, it claimed to be better than the Dyson and not only did I like that it was called heavy duty but it also seemed heavy duty. My problem with the Hoovers was how light they are. I know some people value light weightness as it's easier to carry around, to store, etc. I even have seen the Hoover heavy duty marked down points on reviews for being heavy but I like a heavy vacuum. To me personally heavy means quality.

You can also tell just by using this vacuum, by touching it, by looking at it, and by pushing it that it's much better quality design and materials than other vacuums on the market. Rather than just having cheap light plastic wheels it has heavier duty plastic wheels, but they are also covered in rubber for better traction and better quality design.

I really can't say enough good stuff about this vacuum. It picked up tons dirt out of the carpet, my carpets are a totally different color after using this vacuum. This was also my first bagless vacuum and it was amazing seeing how much dirt and hair were in the cannister even after just doing half of a room.

This vacuum comes with a few tools as well, a brush, a crevice tool, and an upholstery brush. Though this vacuum is not marketed specifically as a pet vacuum or as having a pet upholstery brush, this brush was absolutely amazing at removing pet hair from couches, pillows, blankets and even clothes.

At first I was a little worried the brushes on the upholstery tool weren't very stiff they were relatively soft. I realie this is because it actually works like a whipping motion whipping pet hair off your upholstery and sucking it all up. I had spent hours with other upholstery tools and brushes working hard and trying to get pet hair with no avail, this tool quickly and easily removed literally every last hair.

Using it as an upright vacuum it actually fluffs my carpet, I can see the beater brush working. Though it doesn't necessarily get EVERY last hair, it does do an amazing job. Previously even after vacuuming I still had a layer of a dog hair carpet on top of my regular carpet. After using this vacuum you can see the occasional hair still in the carpet but you can actually pick  out individual hairs here and there as opposed to seeing the entire carpet covered in a layer of dog hair.

Emptying the vacuum is relatively easy. I love how the Dyson vacuum has a one button push to empty the canister. The bisselisn't quite that easy, however it is just a tab that drops the bottom of the cannister out and empties the vacuum. My one complain is you do have to stick your hand or a brush or something in to clear out all the dust, junk and hair, however that's only a small complaint.

I really coudln't be anymore thrilled with this vacuum. I had considered some of the lift off or liftaway models which are trying to copy the Shark Navigator liftaway. It is a cool feature but the most snap off and removable parts the more likely something is to break and I also worry about how strong the seals are and how strong the suction will be with all these snap off and moveable parts so I stayed away from the Shark as well as the Bissel Lift Off Pet vacuum which had worese reviews than the heavy duty vacuum.

This Bissel Heavy Duty vacuum normally retails for $179, however Walmart had it marked down to $149. I was hoping to get something for $99 but am glad I spent the extra $49 and was thrilled with the performance of this vacuum.

It sounds corny to say but it's actually fun to vacuum with this vacuum. I'm sure the novelty will wear off soon enough, but it's actually a good feeling cleaning and actually seeing things get clean. With my old vacuum I never had that clean feeling or crisp look this Bissel Heavy Duty vacuum gives my carpets. At about a quarter of the price of a Dyson this vacuum is AWESOME and I've been recommending it to everyone I know.

Now in fairness I've only had this vacuum for a few days so the test as far as reliablility is yet to be seen but as far as cleaning effectiveness I don't think it can be beat, definately not at this price point.

Which Webhosting Service Is Best For Wordpress? Which Is Easiest For Newbies?

So how do you go about choosing the best Wordpress hosting service? Webhosting though oftentimes overlooked is a key feature of running a website. There are tons of hosting options out there available to you. Shared, Free, Dedicated Servers, VPS, and managed Wordpress hosting are some of the options available to you.

As a beginner this can be overwhelming, especially if you are comming from Blogger where you didn't even have to worry about buying your own domain or providing your own hosting, Google did it all for you.

As a beginner sometimes the wrong decision can come back to haunt you later on down the road. In this post we will cover some things that Wordpress requires, things you should think about when choosing a web hosting service. We'll also share a few recommended hosting companies for your Wordpress blog, these are especially good for a beginner as they either have great customer support or one click Wordpress setup on the host.

Free Credit Card Miles For Buying Presidential Coins From The Mint - The U.S. Mint Finally Caught On & The Program Is Over

The US Government and un-intended consequences, the story repeats itself once again.

You know how the government is always comming up with a stupid solution to a problem, however the solution either creates more problems or a problem that is worse than the origional problem they set out to solve? Well they have done it once again.

Some people make a hobby and even some financial gain out of amassing credit card rewards points which can be good for travel, merchandise, or even cash back. Well, people caught onto a way to earn big credit card rewards points through a stupid program the U.S. Mint had put together.

CheckPoints Another Twist On Checking In - Which Do You Like...CheckPoints, FourSquare, TopGuest, ShopKick?

Okay so maybe you've checked out some of the others Shopkick, Foursquare, etc, etc, etc

Introducing You To CheckPoints



A company called CheckPoints has just come out with yet another "check in" location based application. With this new smart phone application you are rewarded for scanning the barcodes of your favorite products while shopping. You just use your phones camera to scan the barcodes of products while shopping. You can also earn points just by "checking in" at stores or restaurants you are visiting.

These product scans earn you points which can then be redeemed for prizes. Some of the other location based programs give you "tokens" or other meaningless online trinkets you can trade with others but really who cares about worthless tokens and trinkets. The beauty of CheckPoints is that you earn cold hard cash. Well not cash persay but gift cards to your favorite stores or points to buy some of your favorite products.

These are good prizes too!!! Amazon Gift Cards, Apple Gift Cards, Frequent Flyer Miles, Tablet PC's, Ipods, and even Video Games like the Nintendo Wii.

How Does CheckPoints Differ From ShopKick & Others...

CheckPoints wasn't the first on the scene so maybe you started out with Foursquare, ShopKick or one of the other location based apps.

Similar to Shopkick and others users use their smartphone's camera to scan product barcodes at retailers and in turn those scans turn into points which are later turned into prizes.

That's about all these different apps have in common. With Shopkick for example, consumers get points for checking in as well as scanning items as with CheckPoints. However to verify that someone has actually checked in and isn't just sitting in the comfort of their living room "fake" checking in at places; with ShopKick; retailers must install special equipment in their store to determine if a user of the app is physically present in the store and not just fake checking in to earn points.

Though I suppose Shopkick keeps users honest, the downside is that it limits the number and scope of businesses who will partner with ShopKick. Not all stores may want an outside company installing equipment in their stores and smaller retailers may not be interesting enough to ShopKick to make the investment of putting their equipment in that location.

So Why Should I Check In?

Does this sort of interaction appeal to you? It probably depends on what kind of "check-in" app user you are. I tried out Foursquare as personally I didn't like how it was a more personal based check in system. With CheckPoints though obviously someone is monitoring your behavior as a consumer, it's not being made known to other individuals using the program where you are at every moment of the day.

With FourSquare however, you can see others checking in which I personally don't like. I had deleted my Foursqaure app a while back but was recently sitting at a bar / restaurant with a buddy of mine and he opened up his Foursquare app and noticed "The Mayor" was at the bar.

The Mayor of Chicago Rahm Emanuel you ask? No not the mayor of the city, "The Mayor" of the bar.

If your not familiar with Foursquare the people and/or person who attends a certain place the most becomes "The Mayor" of that location.

This is the type of thing which turns me off to Foursquare. I don't necessarily want my friends or family knowing where I am all the time let alone a stranger at a bar sitting in the booth behind me.

Some app users do enjoy the more social or personal aspect of apps like Foursquare, Brightkite, and Gowalla which award you with titles, stamples and pointless virtual rewards that mean nothing. Personally it doesn't do much for me.

The one thing I will say about Foursquare that I do enjoy is they seem to have more restaurants and retailers pushing special virtual coupons and promotions. I was at Houlihans the other day and I believe you got a free appetizer for Checking in on Foursquare. CheckPoints on the other hand doesn't have as many if any instant free offers however the points you earn that go towards prizes tend to be better than the other apps.

Many people like myself however "don't get" Foursquare. Maybe in the same way your still wondering "What the hell is the point of Twitter?"

Personally I find more value in things like CheckPoints and Topguest which give automatic rewards to frequent travelers in the form of free miles and discount hotel deals. The appeal of real rewards for disclosing my location holds much more appeal than meaningless titles, badges, stamps and whatever other crap some of these other apps are offering.

It basically boils down to "What's in it for me?" Personally I don't feel there is enough of a return to warrant the privacy invasion of the app as well as my friends knowing where I am at every moment of the day. I prefer getting points that can be used more broadly with online and offline brands as well as making charity donations.

What Do You Think?

Do you use one of these location based check in apps? Which ones do you use and which is your favorite? It will be interesting to see if "Checking In" will be the next big thing in mobile rewards or whether it will remain a niche thing as so many other location baed services are. What are your thoughts?

As an intersting side note, I already see "CheckPoint Cheat" websites comming out where people post pictures of the barcodes and you can scan them from the comfort of your couch off your computer earning points while watching tv rather than actually being in the store walking the isles hunting down these products. 

Open Your Own Cafe Press Store - No Cost Way To Start Your Own Business Quickly & Easily

Looking for a quick way to start your own business at no cost to yourself?

CafePress is the place to become entrepreneur, and own your own t-shirt store quickly and easily.  All you need is a computer, Internet connection, and a preferably though not necessary a graphics program and your up and running.

Check back in a day or two and we'll have a full run down of what a CafePress store is and how to start one for free. We'll also discuss some alternatives to CafePress such as Zazzzle, Spreadshirt, and others. We will compare the various shop options, as well as the pro's and cons of each.

We'll also discuss how to price your items. The way CafePress works each item has a base price upon which you can talk on a % as a commission you can select the dollar amount.

If your serious about operating a t-shirt business and have a steady flow of customers CafePres probably isn't the way to go as you can get better pricing and keep more profit for yourself finding your own printing and handling the printing and shipping yourself. However just starting up you can try out some of your designs or phrases on t-shirts and see if they sell.

Review: In The Market For A New Credit Card? The Apple Vacations World Points MasterCard Gives You $100 Towards Your Next Apple Vacation

If your thinking about getting a new credit card and are unsure which card to pick with so many different cards out there with Airline Miles, Cash Back, and Travel Bonuses you're not sure which card to get.

One card to consider may be the Apple Vacations World Points Master Card. In addition to getting a $50 gift card upon signing up you also get a voucher for $100 off your next Apple Vacations Trip that includes Airfair and Hotel. Below is a picture of the voucher.

Don't Get Burned by Ebay's Flawed Policy on Local Pick-Up Auctions!!!

Don’t Get Burned by Ebay’s Flawed Policy on Local Pick-up Auctions!!!

Whether you’re a casual eBay seller, run an eBay store, or are an auction hunter who attends storage unit auctions and re-sells your goods on eBay it’s critical you read this article to keep from getting burned by one of eBay’s most flawed policies.

If you’ve been selling on eBay for any period of time, it will probably come as no surprise to you that eBay heavily favors buyers in disputes. I’ll stop just short of saying that eBay automatically gives buyers their money back no matter what…lol.

I don’t necessarily like this as a seller I understand that with a site like eBay buyers have to have confidence that they will not only get items they buy but will get items that are in good condition and accurately described. If not people won’t shop on eBay, eBay won’t have a business, and you as a seller won’t have a business, so I understand eBay favoring buyers to a point.

Before I get into my story let me first tell you about eBay’s flawed policy on local pick-up items or items you will deliver. Ebay forces you to accept Pay Pal on all auctions, even local pick-up or delivery auctions. Ebay as I’m sure you know also AUTOMATICALLY rules in the favor of a buyer if they claim they never received an item and you can’t provide a tracking number.

So what does this mean in the case of local pick-up items? It means that whether a car, motorcycle, or piece of furniture if a buyer pays you through Pay Pal and you deliver the item in person and that buyer decides to open a claim with Pay Pal or eBay claiming they didn’t receive that item eBay will ask you for a tracking number.

Obviously there is no tracking number since you either delivered the item or had it picked up. Ebay will automatically refund that buyers money for your item and the buyer will keep your item meaning not only did you get burned on the money but you no longer have that high dollar item.

Ebay also has no other policies in place to protect the seller from this happening. If eBay allowed all local pick-up and delivery items to be cash pick-up only there wouldn’t be a problem, however since eBay forces you to accept Pay Pal payments you as a seller are required to offer a payment method that leaves you open to being burned EVERY SINGLE TIME. Ebay also doesn’t allow you to request or solicit a cash payment over Pay Pal in your listing either. You can list that way but if someone reports your listing it will be taken down immediately and believe me, someone will report your listing.

I’ll tell you about a recent experience I had. I found an end table in a storage unit I recently bought at auction. It had a cast iron base and marble top so it didn’t make sense to ship the item as it was both heavy and bulky and would have cost a fortune to ship.

I listed the item on eBay for $300, I had one bidder and the item wound up selling. Upon winning the auction the buyer sent me a message through eBay and asked if I could deliver the table. I had no problem with this and agreed.

I assumed the buyer would be cash since we were meeting up in person but the buyer immediately paid via Pay Pal. I didn’t like this as A. it was going to cost me $13 in Pay Pal fees which weren’t necessary since we were meeting up; B. Pay Pal has a $500 per month with-drawl limit which I was closed to reaching; and most importantly; C. Pay Pal offers no protection for the seller.

If this buyer claimed I never delivered the table to him eBay would ask me for a tracking number. I would have no tracking number to provide the seller with so eBay would not only give the money back to the buyer but he would also still have my table.

I politely e-mailed the buyer and asked if they would mind paying cash for these reasons. I thought the buyer would agree to this as I was going to give him a discount for any inconvenience this caused and also since I had been a good guy and offered to borrow a truck from a buddy and deliver the table.

The buyer shot me back a short message saying only “we only pay for items on eBay via Pay Pal.” I sent another message again stating my reasons why I preferred a cash deal and also explained how if the item were an electronic or something I could understand wanting Pay Pal protection but with a table you just don’t need it.

I told the buyer he could inspect the table before paying me and if he wasn’t happy we didn’t have to go through with the deal; no hard feelings. The buyer continued being difficult and refusing to do anything besides Pay Pal. He also said I shouldn’t have offered Pay Pal if I didn’t want to accept payment though it. Though this may be true eBay forces you to offer Pay Pal, yet offers no protection to the seller when they accept Pay Pal.

I then requested the transaction be cancelled because myself and the buyer couldn’t come to terms. The buyer then gets to decide whether to accept this, if they do the transaction is cancelled and the seller is charged no final value fees since an item wasn’t sold. Well just to be a jerk the buyer declined this to try to stick me with the final value fee as well which wound up being $30. This essentially meant eBay charged me $30 and I didn’t make a sale.

I contacted eBay through their chat customer service option. I spoke to a guy about the situation and after some back and forth he agreed to take away the $27 fee. By the way, several weeks later I have yet to have that credited to my account.

Before we ended our conversation I asked the customer service person I was speaking to what I could do in the future to protect myself from getting scammed by buyers when accepting Pay Pal on local pick-up items. He had nothing to say and essentially said there was no way for a seller to protect themselves.

After pressing this issue and explaining how ridiculous it is to force buyers to accept a payment method that allows them to be scammed he had a suggestion for me.

Are you ready for this…

He suggested I take a picture of myself handing the table to the buyer. This is ludicrous on so many levels. First I’m sure a buyer is going to wonder why this stranger I met on the internet wants to take pictures of me. Second, I would never be able to get anyone at eBay’s customer service or dispute center to actually look at a picture but even if I could what does that prove?

Ebay does not know what the buyer looks like. I could just as easily take a photo of me giving the table to a buddy of mine, it proves nothing. Ebay also in their terms and conditions states that even if you have a signed form from the buyer stating they took delivery of the item that is satisfactory proof the buyer has the item in the case of a dispute.

The long and short of it is if you accept Pay Pal on items you don’t ship, which by the way tend to be the higher dollar items you can’t afford to get scammed on, eBay offers no protection to you as a seller.

Ebay needs to come up with some way to remedy this. My suggestion was that eBay come up with some type of system that gives the buyer a code when they purchase an item to be picked up. Upon receiving delivery of the item the buyer would give the seller that code. The seller could then either enter that code into eBay’s website when they got home; or better yet text that code in and get a verification that it’s the correct code the buyer gave. This would be a way of proving that the buyer took delivery of the item.

This is a HUGE flaw eBay has and needs to remedy. Either they need to offer some type of protection to sellers accepting Pay Pal. They need to allow a seller to not offer Pay Pal on local pick-up items, or they need to allow sellers to request cash only as a payment option.

I mentioned this to the customer service rep I spoke with though he wasn’t interested in hearing this or passing it on to his supervisors.

If you’re an eBay seller keep this in mind when listing auctions that require local pick-up or delivery. Better yet, contact eBay and let them know they need to remedy this situation. Generally items that can’t be shipped are bigger ticket items that a seller can’t afford to lose both the money and the product on.

Have you had a bad experience with accepting Pay Pal for local pick-up or delivery sales on eBay? Do you have any suggestions on how a seller can protect him or herself? If so we’d love to here from you. Leave a comment below the article or if you’d like to write a guest blog post shoot us an e-mail.

Product Review of the UTG Messenger Bag by Leapers

Review of The UTG Tactical Messenger Bag

 

Here at RulesForRebels.Com in addition to all things business from time to time we like to do a product review or lifestyle feature so today were bringing you a review of the UTG Tactical Messenger Bag by Leapers.

If your anything like me you like the product sections in magazines like GQ, Maxim, and FHM, but probably have little use for a $2,000 GPS unit that will help you climb Everest. I know I have no plans to summit anytime soon.

Here however, we have a useful and affordable product recommendation and review for you. It’s the UTG Tactical Messenger Bag.

Are you constantly on the run? Never able to find your phone, lighter, cigarettes, phone charger, MP3 player? If so this bag is perfect for you.

Smaller and easier to carry around than a full size backpack but tons of storage and a great EDC (every day carry) bag. It’s the perfect medium between a full size backpack and one of these dainty little man purses that hold a wallet and cell phone.

If your friends are anything like mine they probably have a laundry list of not so PC names to call you if they ever saw you carrying a “purse.”  Probably not the case with this bag since it’s also marketed as a concealed carry bag and has a rougher more tactical look to it. It definitely won’t be mistaken for a “European Carryall.”

This bag is almost an exact replica of the Maxpedition Fatboy bag, which can sell for 3x the price of this bag. I don’t own a Maxpedition bag however I have heard from others who own both that this is nearly the same quality for a fraction of the price.

This bag would be useful for pretty much everyone. Whether just an everyday bag to carry around your gadgets, a range bag, or a photography bag this bag does it all.

I personally enjoy using this bag when riding my motorcycle. I don’t have saddle bags and it’s neither comfortable or safe riding with your pockets full of crap so this is a great bag to carry around everything I need while out riding.

This would also make a great work bag if your constantly in and out of your car or in and out of places. I can see this working great for a truck driver who’s constantly in and out of his truck or a home inspector who needs to carry around a few tools, notebooks, measuring tape and other tools.
 

The bag can be purchased at a variety of places. We have it here at RulesforRebels.Com if you take a look at the Amazon widget on the right side of the screen.

It can also be picked up at the Cheaper Than Dirt website, Amazon, or EBay where I picked up this particular bag from Ebay user military_warehouse.

I would highly recommend this user, the bag was packaged nicely, arrived quickly and I got it for a great price. I also received a coupon for 10% off my next order as well. If you’d like the coupon leave a comment or e-mail me and I’ll send you the 10% off coupon so you can pick up this bag for yourself.

In full disclosure I make 3% off Amazon items you buy from my widget. On this bag that would be a whole 0.60 cents so I’m not going to steer you wrong for a little kickback. I also have no affiliation or affiliate program with military warehouse was just happy with the products I bought from them.

Now let’s get to the bag. This is smaller than a backpack so easier to carry around but holds a decent amount of stuff unlike these dainty little wallet/cell phone holder purses you see sold on eBay, Amazon, and other sites.

 

This bag isn’t quite big enough to hold a full size laptop but would easily fit a kindle or mini laptop. It also holds a ton of other gear. If your planning on using it as a range bag it can hold upwards of 30 pounds of ammo, guns, accessories, glasses, etc.

I was really wanting a Maxpedition Fatboy but couldn’t justify the hefty price. I’m sure the MaxP’s are really nice but as I mentioned, from what I’ve heard this is nearly the same quality for a fraction of the price.

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This is extremely functional for an EDC. Overall I am quite pleased. The item is large enough to carry a kindle, water bottle, blackberry, MP3 player, charging accessories for all your devices, wallet, camera, sunglasses, sunscreen, rain shell, cigarettes, lighter, you get the idea.

It’s an ample EDC in almost any environment. I have only had mine for a few weeks but plan on this lasting for a while and at the price you could buy several of these before equaling the price of a Maxpedition bag.

I don’t want to bore you going into depth and describing all the pockets and the multiple uses for them but visit our Youtube Channel Rulesforrebels and you can see pictures and a video of the bag. There’s also some pictures of the bag being worn, I haven’t seen any other videos or reviews of that and I know I was very interested in seeing how the bag is worn, how it fits, etc.

I will give you just a quick rundown of the bag though. There’s tons of hooks and Velcro on the outside where you could attach a watch, compass, or another bag. I can only see using these to say “Look, I’ve got a bag, attached to my bag, and it has another bag in it.” Aside from being able to say that I don’t see a lot of functionality to this but hey maybe some people do.

The pocket on top is perfect for sunglasses, motorcycle riding glasses or range safety glasses if you use this as a range bag. The side pocket is great for keeping pens, cell phone, mp3 player, etc.

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The water bottle pouch holds a 32oz water bottle and has a metal grommet at the bottom which is nice is your water bottle spills or sweats the water can drain out.

There’s the conceal carry pouch with Velcro inside to hold a Velcro holster. There’s also a front pocket above the release to open the bag that’s perfect to keep a wallet in.

Open the bag and you have a sleeve to hold a small book or other things. You have a zip pocket with a second key clamp in addition to the one on the strap. You also have some nylon webbing to organize things in this pocket. The main pouch has a draw string enclosure to keep things from falling out of your bag.

The nice thing about this bag is the small size however this also limits you somewhat in what you can carry. It’s by no means a full size back pack but you can keep a change of clothes if you roll them. This pouch would also carry a kindle or a mini notebook laptop.
Just to give you an idea of the size I had a tough time fitting a magazine in there. It fit but I had to have the magazine going diagonal direction because the height of a magazine is too tall to sit in there and for the pouch to still close.

There’s a similar bag on the market you can find on Amazon called the Tactical Hipster. When I first saw this product I thought hipster meant hipster as those urban dwellers. You know, the ones who wear the tight nut hugger jeans, Chuck Taylor Converse All Stars, grow a beard, and drink Paps Blue Ribbon and Old Style even though they don’t like them but because it’s a hip thing to do.

Yeah it doesn’t refer to that kind of hipster, I believe its called the hipster because the bag actually sits on your hip. I mention this because this is how the UTG Tactical Messenger bag sits.

It sits on your right hip. This is nice as it’s comfortable, the bag is in your view so it’s harder to steal from you like someone could from a backpack. It’s also a perfect position for the bag to sit for me while riding motorcycles.

The quick release works nice with the bag position as you can easily hit the quick release buckle to release the bag and get stuff out of it rather than trying to swing it over your head which can be a pain in the winter when your bundled up.

With Christmas right around the corner this bag would make a great gift. The price point is excellent as well incase your in a gift draw type thing with family or friends where the maximum you can spend is around $25. This bag after shipping and everything is pretty much $28 or a few bucks less regardless of where you buy it.

Check out our Youtube Channel Rulesforrebels for a video review. Do you have this bag? Do you like it? Do you have this and a Maxpedition bag? If so how do they compare? Were always interested in hearing from you so leave a comment or e-mail us!!!