It can be a birder’s life list, a guide to getting out stains, a moving checklist, recipies, and more. This is one of those ‘wonder programs’ that can do so much that any review of it will certainly miss something special. You can indicate coupons, taxable goods, and more in the editable data entry fields. You can even organize your shopping list by store if you’ve set the data up that way. Once you make the list, you just check what you need and go. SplashShopper offers a variety of starter lists, and can also import lists from HandyShopper and CSV-formatted files, which is handy (partly because there are a ton of HandyShopper lists!) You can apply the same idea to other lists as well- books? List what you want, then fill in the collection one shelf at a time. This produces a list that is much more useful to you. Reviewing recipes and menus and think of an ingredient? Add it. You can always add other stuff whenever you wish- saw something at the store you may want next time? Add it. Next trip, add what you need this time- the stuff you got last time will already be there! After a couple months, your list is pretty much the stuff you actually use. Type in your current shopping list, just the stuff you need. The smart person’s method (or so I have been told) is to start small. So, the dumb way to do this- the way I always try to do it- is to sit down and enter all of the spices you can think of, then all the fresh fruit, fresh produce, meats… do you list each type of apple separately, or just ‘apples’? Do bagged apples get their own entry?It can drive you whacko. and a checkbox which is usually used for things you need to get. You see, at its heart, a list manager is a simple database- a list of items with a couple of fields of data- categories, stores, prices, etc. I had forgotten the Golden Rule of list managers- start simple and add. I foolishly tried to start with the stuff I buy at work, and got bored. The one Achilles heel in ANY list manager is setting up the lists in the first place. Unlike SplashMoney, it is not quite as simple to set up. Like SplashMoney, it has a desktop interface that makes things easier. It can track your shopping needs, wish lists, and serve as a collection manager (what do you have, what do you want?) for anything from books to wine. SplashShopper is actually a list manager. – Helps even people like me manage their money better I bought SplashMoney a few years ago, and it was one of the smartest things I have ever purchased. Remember- it handles charge accounts just as easily as checking and savings!. I also do ‘placeholding’- enter a transaction that I am thinking about doing with an estimated amount, then tweak it after I make the purchase. Using the budgeting tool, you can set a limit and instantly see where you stand with it. As for the holiday tie-in, there are a lot of little details help- the ability to add memos to each transaction, the ability to set categories and sub-categories like Christmas Gifts, and a subcategory for each person or group. – If I am unsure of an amount, I can enter an estimate and easily correct it later.Īlthough I do not use it as such, it could handle a typical family’s finances easily. I use it to manage my personal spending account rather than the family account, and it keeps me to the penny. I do not show it, but the entries to KingSize and NewEgg automatically change the amounts in those accounts as well! I appreciate that I can record a transaction quickly enough that I can usually do it before I leave the store! It is not quite a ‘e-check’ format, but is intitive and fast. The interface on the Palm is a simple ‘fill-in-the-blanks’ format. The desktop element makes setting it up easy, it can download transaction information from many banks (there is a list of them on the site linked above), can manage many kinds of accounts, shows you a range of reports, auto-fills the forms, and uses encrytion to protect your data. Many do things I don’t need and mock me for not needing them. Some take forever to set up, others are annoying to actually use. I hate using most financial software- evil pieces of code that seem to rejoice in reminding me of my fiscal folly. I am horrible at managing my money- I mean really horrible.
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