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My buddy Charlie at PearBudget dropped me a line to ask Get Rich Slowly readers to go try the latest version. PearBudget is a new web-based application based around the envelope system of budgeting. Charlie writes:
We’re getting ready to come out of beta (maybe a week away?). If your readers want to try PearBudget for free, now’s the time to do it! They’ll still be able to create a spending plan for free after that, but if they want to kick the tires, they’ve got a golden opportunity right now.
Charlie began work on the web version of PearBudget at about the same time I started this site. (In fact, PearBudget was the subject of one of my first posts.) I haven’t tried it myself yet, but I intend to in the future!
Here are some other interesting personal finance articles from around the web:
Julie at Wise Bread has a great article on how to buy stuff that lasts forever. As Amanda shared earlier this year, frugality doesn’t have to mean sacrificing quality. This is something I’m only just starting to learn. It’s difficult for a penny-pincher to spend a lot on something, but sometimes that’s actually the least expensive choice in the long run.
Matildaben pointed me to an AskMetafilter thread in which a user asks, “What can you do with money? I’m starting a career, and right from the beginning I want to make good financial choices, invest, et cetera so that I’m setting myself up for continued wealth rather than just wasting all my money. What resources are there to teach me how to do that?” There’s some good info.
Finally, via my friend Sally, here’s a comic briefly exploring what if television were a person? I think it’s funny. (And yes, I know I’ve shared two comics in a week. I’ll try not to let it become a habit.)
.jpg "The Money Blog Network - Improving your bottom line")
March 19th, 2008 at 7:01 pm
I love the original PearBudget, but I’m a little leery of the online version. How different is it, and when will people begin to be charged for it?
March 19th, 2008 at 7:35 pm
I also love the original PearBudget. Those guys have been working on a web based version for what seems forever, so I’m glad they’ve finally put it up. I’ll be checking it out.
March 19th, 2008 at 7:38 pm
The online version is quite different and takes a little getting used to. If you decide to change it will probably take you a little while to get the hang of it. I was a regular user of the old version and have been persevering with the new version as well.
I like the following about the new version:
1. you can more easily add and delete calegories
2. it carries over unspent amounts for irregular categories (e.g. “saving for vacation”). This allows you to regularly set aside amounts for items for which you are saving ahead
3. the new interface is much simpler than the old one for determining how you stand in a current month
On the minus side:
1. it feels a bit unpolished in parts (e.g. when editing a category, the AJAXy interface elements sometimes spill over outside the window)
2. sometimes you have to refresh the whole window to get it to properly recalculate totals e.g., after you have updated a set-aside value
On the whole I would recommend you try it out. I like the new version better even with its flaws and I think it can only improve
March 19th, 2008 at 11:02 pm
wow, i was really looking forward to the web version of pearbudget but it sucks they are going to charge to use it! there are too many free options to have to pay for one.
March 20th, 2008 at 8:25 am
I like the simple solutions. Since I’m living in Europe EURO support is important for me. That’s why I’ve choosed https://www.moneyflickr.com It’s simple and easy to use!
March 20th, 2008 at 9:44 am
I looked into Pear Budget (after reading from the start of your archives in your website).
I must say I absolutely love it. I still use Microsoft Money and Excel, but Pear Budget actually allows:
1) A very quick analysis of how I’m doing in a month.
2) The carry over in the irregular spending is a very nice feature.
3) I like the clear highlights in red of where the overspending occurs.
4) The summary on the bottom of income/expenses is very nice as well.
5) At the start, where you’re forced to categorize needs vs. discretionary spending. I like the need to force you to decide where the categories truly belong.
However, compared to Microsoft Money, it’s so much easier to use.
What I didn’t like:
1) I wish the tags would automate, like they do in Blogger. This would lead to consistent tagging.
2) The need to refresh to get the information updated.
Overall:
I hope to continue to use pear budget. If they do charge, I’ll have to debate if I want to continue to use it, or go back to my Microsoft Money/Excel spreadsheet.
March 20th, 2008 at 9:44 am
BTW: JD — I’ve gone through your entire archive (save for January and March 2008), which blocks me out. The blog is great, and gives me lots of insight into where the problems and issues are. Keep up the good work.
March 20th, 2008 at 2:16 pm
We had tried Quicken/Quicken Online and MS Money and have even tried the following programs with varying degrees of success (mostly unsuccessful): Mint; Yodlee; My Budget Planner; YNAB Excel based and Pro; Mvelopes; and most recently BudgetSimple. We have even tried many of these programs simultaneously for a month at a time to really “kick the tires”. Yes, that was a lot of work but we wanted to make sure they were working by verifying the numbers against a similar program. None of these programs worked very well. However, since we have tried PearBudget we could not be happier.
In fact, we wanted to use PearBudget when it was Excel based but since my wife’s experience with Excel was limited we didn’t actually pursue using PearBudget until it became web based. PearBudget has more than exceeded both of our expectations and we’re actually happy to begin paying for the service because it is worth every penny of the $3.00 per month! Keeping within our set budgetary categories and actually saving money in categories and being able to carry it over to the next month has been increasing in each of the two months we have used the program. It is great to use the PearBudget program in another way too. Both my wife and I can update the budget whenever we want so we are both actively involved in our financial planning before each month when we assign each dollar a place before we earn it, during the month when we actively track, and at the end of the month when we analyze our spending and try to improve upon it the next month.
Finally, it is nice to be able to e-mail the program’s developer with helpful hints and suggestions for improvement and actually get a response and see them implemented. Budgeting is so tough for so many people. PearBudget makes it so much easier.
March 20th, 2008 at 2:23 pm
Hmmm, I may be tempted to give this a try. Right now I have the Gazelle budget with Dave Ramsey’s Total Money Makeover and I think it’s great. Is there anyone who has tried both the Gazelle and Pear and could comment on the differences?
And oh, I just did a post today on making a family budget.