<$Monday, June 30, 2008$>
I Need a Better Budget
| It took me forever to figure out a way to track my personal budget electronically that my ADD-enhanced brain could handle. After trying out other people’s spreadsheets and budgeting programs, I finally found one that was simple enough to work for me. It’s just a simple, basic spreadsheet that I keep in Google Docs, and thus far, for the most part, it works. But it works for now because my finances are really pretty simple. Normally I tend to live by the rule, “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.” Just starting the process of buying a house, however, is beginning to give me a pretty good idea of how complicated my finances are about to become. So I’m thinking it might be time to consider upgrading to something a little more hard working in the budget software department. A popular one that I’ve seen a lot of people touting, but that I hadn’t yet tried, is You Need A Budget. I recently got a chance to try out a full trial version of YNAB Pro, and I’m pretty impressed. It has four categories: Register, Budget, Scheduler, and Reports. The Register section is for tracking your spending, and works just like a check register. I don’t know how good I’d be at using this feature, since I’ve never been able to get into the habit of using my actual check register. The big, ADD-friendly advantage this has, though, is that it automatically plugs the numbers into the “Spent” column of your budget and calculates your remaining balance for that category. That part’s pretty nifty, and saves enough extra steps that I might be able to get myself to do it. The Budget section is, of course, where you budget your funds. It’s pre-filled with every category you could possibly need, but just in case it missed one, it lets you add your own custom categories. It also lets you delete lines you don’t need so you can streamline your budget. For each month there are three columns – Budgeted, Spent, and Balance. Enter your budget in the first column, natch, and if you use the register properly, it does the rest for you. The only drawback of this section, from my standpoint, is that you can’t break it down into a bi-monthly budget. This has always been my biggest hang-up in trying to use budget software, as I get paid twice a month and have difficulty translating that into a one-month worksheet. The Scheduler could really come in handy for someone with ADD, or simply a tendency to forget stuff. You can schedule your payments, and when the time comes it will subtract them from your budget for you. If your bill payments are all automated, this could be really useful in keeping you from forgetting to account for a payment. Finally, the Report section is also just what the name suggests. It lets you view your spending by category pie chart or by column, and you can track your balances at a glance by a handy bar chart. To simplify things even further, you can import any existing Excel worksheets into the program, instead of having to start over from scratch (although it didn’t let me import a Google Doc spreadsheet that I had downloaded in Excel format). You can also import bank transactions directly from your bank’s web site. Overall, I think this budget software is all it’s cracked up to be. It’s streamlined, intuitive, and very ADD-friendly. I probably won’t be investing in a licensed copy unless/until they add a bi-monthly budget option, but if it already had one, I’d at the very least be willing to shell out the $20 for the basic version. In a nutshell, re: YNAB Pro: I approve. |
<$Tuesday, March 11, 2008$>
Product Love: Naked Naturals Shampoo
 I'm having a great hair day, if I do say so myself. A couple of weeks ago I was given samples of naked naturals shampoo and conditioner, and I finally remembered to take them to the gym with me this morning. Specifically, I was given awapuhi and lavender shampoo for color-treated hair. I used to color my hair pretty regularly, but it's been quite a while since I've bothered, mainly because of all the swimming I do. The chlorine can be pretty rough on my hair, though, so anything that targets any kind of chemical damage is a good thing. What's more, I've finally got the hang of putting on my swim cap (not as simple as it sounds, trust me), so between that and finding a great shampoo & conditioner, I'm planning on trying out a henna treatment sometime in the next couple of pay periods.For today, though, my hair is softer than it's been since pretty much before I started swimming. It's more manageable than it's been in a long time, too. I'm not generally one to believe claims that shampoo can magically give you better hair, but this one almost has me convinced. After a single use, my hair looks better than it has in a long time (and it smells great, too. Mmm, lavender), so I'm guessing that regular use of this stuff would give me some pretty great-looking hair. That this all natural shampoo is environmentally friendly is icing on the cake. I just wish it was available in the places I normally shop. You can buy it online directly from the source, but the MSRP of $9.00 is frankly too steep for my Suave-level budget, no matter how great the shampoo is. Walgreen's price of $7.99 is a bit more like it, and there's one right across the corner from my office. That's still more than I'd like to spend, but between coupons and watching for sales, I could probably squeeze it into the beauty budget. If and when I do start coloring my hair again, I definitely will, because I'm pretty confident that it will not only protect and strengthen my hair, but also help preserve the color longer, which will mean more time between touch-ups, which will only save me money in the long run. Labels: beauty, disclosure, green, product love, reviews, shopping |
<$Thursday, January 17, 2008$>
New Resource: Credit Exchange
| *Sponsored Post* If you have a lot of different debts, of course one of the more ideal ways to deal with it all is to consolidate them so that you only have a single payment each month. This can be easier said than done, though, especially if you have a low credit score. Credit Counseling is an attractive option for some, but those waters can be pretty murky, hiding a lot of sharks. The Credit Exchange seems more like a rescue dolphin -- okay, "murky" is starting to describe this metaphor. Anyway, they're not a debt management company, but a credit counseling and referral service. Their web site has a lot of educational tools and resources, too. I'm making pretty good progress paying off my cards with my "debt snowflake" method, but if my situation was more dire, I'd be tempted to put these folks to work for me. Labels: credit cards, debt consolidation, debt reduction, disclosure, PPP, reviews, tools |
Good News for Busty Gals
| *Sponsored Post* I'm a busty gal. That usually ends up being more of a curse than a blessing. It can be pretty hard to find full busted lingerie, for one thing. I once tried shopping at Victoria's Secret for wedding lingerie, and they didn't have a single thing in my cup size. I usually have to go to specialty stores to find things that fit, and even then, it's hard to find one-piece or paired items that fit both my top and my bottom properly. Luckily, I just discovered Biggerbras.com, where I should have no problem finding things that fit. Not only do they have sexy lingerie in my size (which I'm sure will please my husband to no end), but they also sell tops and bottoms separately--great news for anyone with ample bosoms whose ever tried shopping for swimwear that fits. They even have vintage-looking swimsuits in my size! These things aren't cheap, but I've found that lingerie--especially bras--are one thing where you usually get what you pay for. I'd rather shell out money for a quality, well-fitted bra that will last a couple of years than have to buy a new cheap bra every few months because it wears out and stops doing its job. Cheap has a way of being expensive. This is one area where quality definitely counts. Labels: disclosure, PPP, reviews, shopping |