…and it’s all small stuff

Posted on May 14, 2012 by terra

When it comes to saving money, there are various strategies you can put into place. Like a science experiment, the first step in saving money is knowing where you’re money is currently going.

Finding out where you’re at sounds simple, but it can be challenging. Why? Because once you know, the drive to change will kick you in the rear.

It’s important to continue enjoy your life while you cutting down on spending. Falling off the money-tracking wagon is a lot like eating a whole pizza after 6 weeks on the Special K diet. You might start out thinking, “Hmmm, this cereal is pretty good.” But at some point you’re going to want pepperoni.

Tracking spending habits can lead to a rapid decline is the amount of cash that gets used on small, fun items, like a fruit smoothy from a coffee shop.

That’s why it was so exciting to find this recipe “Fruitastic Summer Smoothie Blast“. An average smoothy from a coffee shop or fast food joint is around $4.00. Crafting your own smoothy at home is under a dollar.

As you balance your budget, its important to keep your life balanced as well. There are reasons why you do what you do. Ask yourself if you just love the taste of smoothies. If that’s the case, save yourself a bundle, and make them at home.

But what if the reason you adore smoothies is the atmosphere of your local coffee shop? It’s perfectly reasonable to go out and support the businesses you admire and enjoy.

I once read the book “Don’t Sweat the Small Stuff…and it’s all small stuff.” And while the book offers up many good ideas, I’m not sure that it is all small stuff.

Meaning? Have a slice of pizza, now and then, it’s all about balance.

How often is “now and then”?

That’s up to you

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When iOS (5.1) Attacks! Part II Update

Posted on May 3, 2012 by Keith Gugliotto

Quick update on the issue where iPhones and iPads with iOS 5.1 display generic chapter names (see: When iOS (5.1) Attacks! Part II). We bumped our bug report at Apple last week but the ticket is still open and unassigned, meaning it’s not being addressed – at least for the time being. Bummer. We’ll check in again in a couple of months and let you know if Apple’s had time to look into it!

Update: No joy with iOS 5.1.1.

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Teach Our Children About Money

Posted on April 26, 2012 by terra

April is financial literacy month. What does it mean to be financially literate? The PBS program, Your Life, Your Money defined the term as “the ability to use knowledge and skills to manage financial resources effectively for a lifetime of financial well-being.”

One of the ways we can help increase financial literacy is give children an earlier financial education. “You don’t teach your young children to brush their teeth at age 18.” Susan Beacham, of Money Savvy Generation, told USA Today. And she’s right. Most of us learned how to brush our teeth before heading off to Kindergarden.

When did we first learn about money? Some of us didn’t learn about managing our expenses until we moved out on our own.

Others watched their parents argue about bills, and picked up a habit of avoiding budgeting. According to USA Today, “…parents, not teachers, have the greatest influence on a child’s financial literacy.” Basically, your kids are watching your every move. No pressure, right? Rest assured that no father, mother, grandparent, uncle or aunt is perfect. Still, as a trusted adult in the life of a child it is your job to be the best example you can be. Sometimes, this even means letting a child know when you have made mistakes and what you are doing to correct them.

We want our children and grandchildren to have a better life. Isn’t that the American dream, to improve, to become more than what you were born into? Yet, what does it mean to have “a better life”?

I believe that a better life means so much more than buying things for our children. The greatest gift we can give our children is knowledge.

Let’s teach our children about money.

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Get your fix with CheckBook Pro 2.3.2

Posted on April 23, 2012 by Keith Gugliotto

CheckBook Pro 2.3.2 (and its little brother, CheckBook 2.3.2) include fixes for Schedules, adjustments to the nuts & bolts of switching and sharing Accounts files, QIF Import enhancements and more. Updates are free if you’ve already got a license and value-priced if you’re on the fence – just how you like it!

CheckBook starts at US $14.95 and CheckBook Pro, featuring Smart Folders and Account Summaries for all Accounts at once, is just US $24.95. Mac App Store shoppers, look in the Updates section on the Store around Thursday or Friday. Everyone else, click the “Check For Updates” option in your CheckBook or CheckBook Pro menu and get your update right now!

More Info…

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TurboTax Doesn’t Devour Babies But It Will Happily Eat Your Cash

Posted on April 16, 2012 by Keith Gugliotto

It’s Tax Day Eve in these here United States of America, when we’re painfully reminded there’s a tab running for smooth roads, clean water and cheap fuel – not to mention some primo political reality TV. For some, Tax Day is a welcome end to months of anguish, for others, a nightmare of tax liability. It may also be the worst workday of the year for many a brave postal worker. Speaking of, have you hugged a postal worker recently? You should. They also like fresh-baked cookies. Anyway, I was getting to how, this year, I helped a close friend get through 30 agonized minutes of tax prep during which they lost $56.

Thing is, they were due $38.

Wait. This friend paid $56 when they were supposed to get $38?

Yep.

But…but…where did the money go?

Good question. Thanks for being so helpful, playing along like this!

The answer is two compound words that so many know and trust, and nowhere near enough fear: TurboTax Online. Skip a ways down if arithmetic makes you violently ill:

Friend was due $42 from the state, minus $4 owed to the Fed. That’s $38.

TurboTax Deluxe Online, which claims to maximize deductions so you get the biggest refund, is $49.95 for the Fed. Add $39.95 to file a state return with TurboTax Online. That’s almost $90.

Friend didn’t have their checkbook handy so they paid a $3.95 fee to send that $4 to the Fed by debit card. Now we’re just shy of $94.

So, $94 owed to Intuit and $4 owed to the Fed is $98. Subtract the $42 refund from the state and my friend was out $56.

Double take.

I know, right?!?

That’s $94 to Intuit, $4 to our government. Total: $98. My friend already had $42 coming from the state so they only had to chip in an extra $56.

Gosh. Why on Earth would someone do that?

Honestly…I don’t know. Tax time is sheer torture for most folks, so finding out that they could end it all for just $56 more was probably a relief. I, on the other hand (and, quite ironically, in anguish over someone else’s taxes), begged to let me show them how to file on paper and get that $38 refund.

See, my friend had no deductions to claim. Not a one. Zero. They’re single, childless, live in an apartment and only work one job. They also don’t invest or collect interest income. In other words, a perfect fit for filing the simplest paper forms in 30 minutes or less. And TurboTax blissfully ate my friend’s $98, neither saving time nor finding anything they could deduct. It wasn’t even polite enough to suggest that since it was completely worthless in my friend’s case maybe it would be so kind as to not charge them. It just kept eating. And there I sat, helpless, as my friend gave that money away. Not to a government, not to a charity or worthy cause, but to Intuit, TurboTax’s owner and master.

?!?!? o.O

Yeah. So listen. If you don’t own a house, don’t have kids, don’t invest and don’t work more than one job:

You don’t need TurboTax.

Really?

You heard me. It takes about the same amount of time to file on paper and you’ll save yourself a small pile of cash. And it’s easier than you think. You copy numbers from your W-2 form and do a little adding, subtracting and multiplying. Use a calculator and round everything to the nearest dollar – then it’s almost too easy. Get Federal form 1040-EZ at http://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/f1040ez.pdf (instructions at http://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/i1040ez.pdf). Find your state’s form and instructions with Google or just about any other web search engine. Don’t forget to put a stamp on each envelope…and you’re done.

And there’s one additional benefit I forgot to mention: File on paper and you won’t be asked, repeatedly, repeatedly, repeatedly, to try any of Intuit’s other services. I’m sure these services work well for some but when I go out for dinner I don’t want my waiter to offer me tomorrow’s breakfast every time he stops by my table, with no way to tell him STOP. I’m eating – I mean, filing my taxes – here!

It’s really that easy? Wow. Is any of this official tax advice, legal or otherwise?

Nope. You’re on your own!

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Tips & Tricks: CheckBook Pro’s Optional Passwords – Emphasis on the ‘Optional’

Posted on April 4, 2012 by allan

Passwords are great. Well, most of the time…

In CheckBook Pro (and its little brother CheckBook), passwords serve as a casual deterrent to help protect your personal Account information from prying eyes. But…sometimes passwords can be more trouble than they’re worth. Like when you’re trying to get into the application and the password you’re typing in just doesn’t seem to take. Well, there are a couple of things to remember when this happens:

First off, since CheckBook Pro’s passwords are cAsE-SeNSItIvE, you’ll need to be very sure you’re typing in the exact case as when you created the password. So, capitalize what’s necessary and leave the rest in lowercase. Now, this is where that pesky Caps Lock key on your keyboard can be your worst enemy. Get in the habit of looking for that little dot of green light on the Caps Lock key each time you go to type your password into CheckBook Pro. That way NOT EVERYTHING GETS CAPITALIZED .

Actually, if you find that your memory isn’t what it used to be, why not try forgetting about the passwords altogether? After all, they’re completely optional. So the option is waved alluringly in front of your face when you open up CheckBook Pro for the first time – don’t feel obligated to fill in those fields. It’s perfectly respectable to rely on your Mac’s password to protect your CheckBook Pro Accounts data. Just make sure your Mac isn’t setup to login automatically and that it requires a password when unattended.

To remove an unwanted Account password in CheckBook Pro, click on the Account menu at the top of the screen. Next, choose ‘Edit Account…’ from the list of options. A sheet with several options will appear. Clear the black dots from the fields labeled ‘Optional Password’ and ‘Re-type Password’. Hit OK and the password will be gone forever.

Good luck and enjoy CheckBook Pro with or without a password!