We had a great first day at Macworld! Its amazing to be able to connect with Audiobook Builder and CheckBook Pro users, and to be able to our demo our products in person. Many times, current users were doing my job for me, explaining to curious Macworld goers how much of a difference CheckBook Pro had made in their day to day money management. The same was true of Audiobook Builder users, its so nice to shake the hands of people who truly enjoy having their audiobooks organized. We are so glad our products are bringing as much joy to others as they do to us!

I will be posting some pictures later today…

Happy Macworld | iWorld, everyone! It’s a special week and we have some very special pricing for you:

Audiobook Builder: $4.99 (50% off $9.99)
CheckBook: $11.99 (20% off $14.99)
CheckBook Pro: $14.99 (40% off $24.99)
Griddle: Free
ViddyUp!: Free

Are you coming to the show?  We’ll be in spaces 228-5 and 228-7 in the OS X Zone, showing off Audiobook Builder and CheckBook Pro. We’d love to see you so come visit with us!

Right before the ball drops, many of us take out a pen and paper and try and nail down a few resolutions for the new year. If one of your resolutions for 2012 is finance related here are three simple tips to help you succeed.

Track Your Money

LifeHacker, which hit one out of the park in a recent article about talking with a friend or family member about creating a budget, boiled down the  concept of budgeting down to making sure you have more coming in than going out. The first step to changing your financial habits is to start tracking. You can track your money a number of different ways, but I am biased towards a friendly personal finance manager called CheckBook Pro.

Cut Back In Multiple Areas

Like crash-dieting, it can be tempting to set unrealistic financial goals. Deciding never to go out to eat again or not to buy anything beyond the bare essentials may look amazing on paper, but often prove unachievable in practice. Instead, look at your bills individually with a critical eye. Can you exist with a few less minutes on your cell phone plan? How about one less night out this month? Spreading your financial cuts across several areas of your life will make the changes less noticeable and therefore less painful…making it more likely that you will succeed.

Ask Friends or Family for Support

People are social creatures. Just saying your goal out loud will increase the odds that it will turn into a reality. Let your friends and/or family know about your financial goals. While talking about money can be similar to talking about farts, it doesn’t have to be rude if you approach the topic in the right way. Many of us are sensitive about our financial decisions, make sure your friend knows that this goal is about you…and not some backward way of letting them know that you think they need to change. Be solution oriented when talking about your goals. For example: ask your friends or family to get together and make meals in bulk and then freeze them. Don’t just complain about money. This only leads your friends and/or family to worry about you.

Bonus Tip: Get Back Up!

New Years Resolutions are often broken. While its fun to start the year with some exciting ideals, remember that you are only human. If (or most likely when) you slip up in tracking your money, or in finding areas to make the cuts, or if you have trouble finding the support you seek…Press On! Change doesn’t happen overnight, but with persistence and determination your financial goals can and will be realized.

Happy New Years from all of us at Splasm Software!!!

The end of the year is rapidly approaching, as the holidays come and go we’ll soon find ourselves setting up some goals for The New Year as well as getting our books in order for Tax Time.

For CheckBook Pro users, this time of year means printing up Summaries. Although the default settings for Debits & Deposits are red and green, users may find it useful to change the colors when doing an extensive amount of printing. Or anytime, truly, sometimes its fun to change it up!

To change the color of Debits & Deposits in CheckBook Pro:

1. Click on “Summary” at the bottom menu. Once you are in Summaries…
2. Click on “CheckBook Pro” at the top left of your screen.
3. In the drop down menu select “Preferences”
4. Click on the Red square and a color wheel will appear.
5. Choose the colors you want!

As always, let us know if you have any questions or concerns! We love CheckBook Pro and want users to get all they can out of this amazing app

The frenzied pace of the holidays can be daunting. Whether it be last minute shopping, packing up to visit relatives, or cleaning the house so they can stay with you…this time of year sends our minds into overdrive. Let’s have more fun this Christmas. Really! What are some key ways to ease the tension and increase the jolly? Here are three suggestions:

Discover The Moment

We step out of our comfort zone and do twice as much as normal in preparation for the big event. While its important to get our plans together, remember to take a step back and rejoin the present. Even if its only for a few seconds. Take a deep breath in, and count 1……2……3. Then, exhale 1……2……3…..4……5…..6. Afterwards, look around and find one beautiful thing nearby. It could be the way the light reflects off a shoe, the color of the cashier’s eyes, or the warm smile of grandmother as she spots the perfect gift.

Prioritize

Many of us wish we could do more, especially this time of year. Maybe you’d like to bake a sugar cookies for a party of 50 or dust off your drill bits and craft a dollhouse for a little one. Just keep in mind the time, energy, and expense that will go into each present or party plan that is dancing around in your mind. Santa isn’t that only one who needs a list. Sit down and list all of your holiday plans and gift ideas. Then, spend at least an hour deciding which are the top priorities. Realize that you are only human, and try to settle on a list that is just a little less than what you believe is possible (this will leave some margin for error).

Accept Them As They Are

Aunt Mary will ask you why you haven’t settled down yet. Uncle Frank will make it a point to tell you that tattoos are a waste of money. No matter how much you love your family, there will always be some degree of discomfort at holiday gatherings. Just remind yourself that you do love them. And they are not going to be around forever. So smile, drink some egg nog, and know that prying questions and strong opinions are sometimes ways that people show they care.

Neighborhoods are lit up, songs about Santa fill your ears, and your checking account is barely over the beating it took feeding the fam at Thanksgiving. While its great to show our loved ones how much they mean to us, out of control spending is not the way to do it. Here are some tips to stay within your budget without coming off as a modern day Scrooge.

1. Pay attention. Friends complain to each other. On the phone, over coffee, while running on the treadmill we chat about the day to day challenges in our lives. Listen for the items that would make your loved one’s day a little bit easier. A friend of mine once gave me a meat thermometer as a gift. I was thrilled. I got something I needed and was touched by my friend’s thoughtfulness.
2. Save throughout the year. Planning ahead is a budget’s best friend. But its already the holiday season, what now? Well…
3. Set realistic expectations. If funds are low this year scale back. Realize that a batch of homemade cookies can mean as much as a store bought gift.
4. Resist the urge to buy on credit. There is not going to be a better time to shell out your hard earned cash. Be kind to the future you that does not want to get stuck in a rut paying 20% extra for the things you are buying now.
5. Stay on budget shopping for kids. Parents want to make the holidays special. Seeing children smile, hearing their laughter as they open presents under the tree is exciting and fun. Its easy to rationalize overspending as something that’s needed to make a child happy. In reality, children are happiest when you are happy…and its hard to be jolly when debt is looming overhead. Plus, children are always watching and learning from the adults in their life. Setting a good example financially is a gift that will never get old or broken.