$11 Off of iBank 4 – Click here to Buy iBank for only $48.99!

iBank 4 is only sale through the end of 2011. They do offer a 30 day free trial of the software, so if you hurry, you still have time to try it out before you decide if you want to flip the bill for it. And for those of you who don’t have time to run it through its paces before December 31st, they have a 90 day guarantee, so if you buy it and decide you don’t like, you can always get your money back after trying it out for 3 months.

*Update: Obviously it’s not Cyber Monday anymore (November 28th, 2011), so this deal is no longer available. Hopefully you were able to snag it while it was because YNAB doesn’t offer discounts very often. If I do see another in the future, however, I’ll be sure to post about it here.

35% Off YNAB – Click here to Buy YNAB for only $39!

YNAB doesn’t give discounts very often anymore, so here’s your chance to snag one of the best budgeting programs on the market (and my personal favorite) at a sweet discount.

For those new to YNAB (You Need a Budget), it’s one of the best budgeting softare programs that I’ve come accross. It uses the tried and true “envelope” budgeting methodology, only all your “envelopes” are digital categories in the software. It encourages you to “live a month ahead,” and helps you to plan for every dollar before you spend a dime. Having used it now for a couple of years, I can vouch for the fantastic budgeting methodology that it uses and can honestly say that YNAB is the primary reason that I have any positive balance in my bank accounts. If interested, you can read my full review of YNAB. If you don’t like it, they have a 30-day unconditional money back guarantee.

The simple fact is that we all have our different tastes, or rather, we are all in different financial situations and so we’re all a little unique in what options are “best” for each of us. Maybe even more important: We all have different levels of understanding of the various investing options. While at the gym this morning I heard Suze Orman on the TV remind everyone of the advice that we’ve probably all heard time and time again: Don’t invest in anything that you don’t understand. This is one of the reasons why simple index and mutual funds are good fits for many people: they are easier to understand than others. This is also why bonds and day trading aren’t right everyone.

Understand It, Then Invest

Those that know that I run a finance software review website, sometimes come asking me for advice on their investments. It’s not uncommon for these questions to arise, usually because of something they’ve heard on the radio or TV. “Should I start looking into investment properties?” “Should I just put everything in a savings account?” Or my personal favorite, “I got a hot tip on a new penny stock, should I buy?”

My answer always starts and ends the same way. First, I tell them I’m certainly not the one they should be asking for investment advice (but I can sure point them in the right direction for their budgeting needs)! Second, I ask them how much they know and understand the details of that specific investment vehicle. Most of the time, they don’t know squat — which is why they are asking me, who doesn’t know much more than they do!

So as Suze Orman did this morning, I remind them, as well as you, that you should never invest your hard earned money into something that you don’t completely understand. That’s how money is lost, either through dumb investment decisions, and even scams. Start simple (and maybe even end simple — there’s nothing wrong with that). And if you so desire, you can venture out into other, more volatile, waters as your understanding increases. But just remember, whatever you do, don’t eat at Ernesto’s!

If you’ve been considering trying iBank 4, today is a great time to do it while helping to support a great cause. Here’s the press release from IGG Software:

IGG SOFTWARE PLEDGES ONE-DAY SALES REVENUE TO VERMONT DISASTER RELIEF
Matching Donation Also Promised To Benefit Community Relief Efforts

(PUTNEY, VT) — In the aftermath of statewide flooding and destruction caused by Hurricane Irene, IGG Software today announced that 100% of sales revenue generated on Monday, August 29 will be donated to Vermont relief programs. Sales at both IGG’s online store and the Mac App Store will count toward the total. In addition, IGG will double that amount with a matching contribution of its own.

“IGG is a part of the Vermont community, and our community has suffered tremendous damage and loss,” said IGG president Ian Gillespie. “We’ve been given so much by Vermont, and now we’re fortunate to be able to give back.”

IGG Software, Inc. has been Vermont-based since shortly after its founding in 2003. The majority of its employees are also located in towns throughout Vermont, many of which were hit by devastating flash floods that destroyed homes, roads and bridges. Some of IGG’s team members were affected personally with significant property damage and, in one case, an emergency evacuation.

IGG’s software products include iBank 4, the leading Mac-only personal finance program; iBiz 4, a complete small business solution for time-tracking and invoicing; and iBiz Professional, a networkable package for teams in which multiple users generate billable hours.

The retail price of iBank 4 is $59.99; licensed users of iBank 3 can upgrade for $29.99. iBank 4 requires Mac OS X 10.5.8 or higher, is Lion-ready, and will run on Macs using either Intel or PowerPC processors. The latest version can be downloaded at http://www.iggsoftware.com/ibank, where there is also access to a growing library of iBank 4 video tutorials.

iBiz 4 sells for $39.99, and upgrades are $19.99. iBiz Pro retails for $99.99 and includes one license for iBiz 4 Server and two licenses for iBiz 4 Client. IGG offers free trial downloads, free support and a 90-day unconditional guarantee on direct purchases from the IGG web store.

iBank 4 and iBiz 4 are also available on the Mac App Store. iBank 4 has been a number-one selling finance app, as well as the top-grossing finance app, since the launch of the Mac App Store in January.

IGG Software, Inc., was founded in 2003 by developer Ian Gillespie to offer intuitive, elegant and powerful applications for individuals and small business. Based in Putney, Vermont, its flagship products are iBank, for personal finance management, and iBiz, for time-tracking and billing. For further information, review licenses, or to schedule interviews with Ian Gillespie or Chief Architect James Gillespie, please contact IGG Marketing Director Scott Marc Becker: scott@iggsoftware.com.

***Update: I was told that total sales revenue for this day was $14,080, so with their matching pledge (and a little extra), IGG Software donated a total of $30,000 to the Vermont flood relief efforts. Pretty cool stuff. I applaud their charitable giving and encourage many other companies to follow suit.

—————————————————————————————————————————————————
BEFORE UPDATING TO MAC OS X 10.7 LION: users of all versions of Quicken for Mac (prior to Quicken Essentials) MUST export their data so that they may import it to new software, whether Essentials, iBank 4, or any other app.

~Scott Marc Becker
Marketing Director
www.iggsoftware.com
—————————————————————————————————————————————————

So, for those that are still using Quicken for Mac, consider yourself warned. Be sure to export first, or you could lose a lot of previous data.

This is great news for all those YNAB users out there. The only thing better than using YNAB that I can think of, would be to have YNAB in your pocket at all times. With the introduction of this app, YNAB users will be able to have all their budget balances and transactions as they stand in line at the checkout counter (imagine how this will help with impulse purchase decisions).

Now I’ve played with the beta version of the app, and it was looking very nice! I’ve yet to download the official release of the app, but will do so soon and post a full review of the app here. So stick around and I’ll have the complete review of the app so you can see everything that it has to offer!

*Update: Version 1.5 has now been released so the discount is no longer available.

And in case you were wondering, you can upgrade to 1.5 for free if you purchase version 1.4 at the discount.  Also, if you want to give MoneyWell a whirl before you buy, they have a full-feature trial that you can download.  The only limitation to the trial is a 200 transaction limit, which should give plenty of time to get a feel for the application.  You can download the trial here.

For those new to MoneyWell, it uses the effective envelope budgeting method (only rather than envelopes, MoneyWell uses buckets – get it? Well = Buckets).  The software is solid and is sure to help with your finances if you use it consistently.  You can read the full MoneyWell review here.

It was Thursday.  Someone came into her work wearing a cute coat from Nordstrom’s.  She got off work, went to the (fairly expensive) clothing store, and bought herself a coat.  And if you knew my wife, this is totally abnormal behavior.  She’s always felt a strong sense of guilt for buying things for her that we didn’t need.  But she didn’t feel the least bit of guilt that day.  Why?  Because we follow a budget.  And in that budget we include a little something called “Fun Money.”

In our budget, among many others, we have two categories: “His Fun Money” and “Her Fun Money.”  We take this fun money rather seriously.  We can use our respective fun money funds for absolutely whatever we want, without having to give any explanation at all.  We budget a mere $15 per month into each of these two categories.  Our budget software uses envelope budgeting so any amount that we don’t spend in a category during one month gets rolled over into the next month.  This way we can “save up” in categories for Vacations, Car Repair, Insurance, and yes, even Fun Money.

I think this a practice that everyone should incorporate into their budgets.  It allows you save up money (even just a little each month) and use it for those things that you want, but that normally wouldn’t “fit in the budget.”  Too often, if you don’t budget for “fun” like this, something always comes along that you “really” want and you end up going over your monthly budget to get it.  You need to budget for fun and entertainment or else you’ll soon grow to hate your budget and all the restrictions that it stands for.  But a budget isn’t a restriction — a budget is a tool to help you afford the things you really need and want.

So when my wife said “I love fun money!” while modeling her new (and I’ll admit, very cute) coat, what she was really saying was “I love our budget!”  Try it out.  Make sure to budget for fun and you’ll soon find that your budget is your best friend.

Giveaway Winner Announced!

Congratulations to David Ganeway for winning the FREE copy of YNAB Pro!  Using random.org, comment #16 was chosen as the winner.  You can see the screenshot of the random number generator here:

The giveaway received a lot of entries, many of which stated an important need and sincere desire to use YNAB.  If you’re one of the many who didn’t win the giveaway, you can still get YNAB Pro (and a free upgrade to YNAB 3 when it’s released) for a great deal:

For those that didn’t win, YNAB is offering a 10% discount for a limited time!

Click here to automatically enter coupon code “pfsr” and receive 10% off of YNAB Pro.

Buy now and save even more if you plan on purchasing YNAB 3:  YNAB 3 will sell for $59.95 when it’s released.  But if you buy YNAB Pro now with the 10% discount, you’ll only pay $44.95.  Since you can upgrade to YNAB 3 for FREE, you’ll save 25% by purchasing YNAB Pro now.

Most users report that they save much, much more in the first month of using YNAB than they spent on the actual software.  And if, for whatever reason, you’re not totally satisfied with YNAB Pro, you can always get a full refund within 30 days of your purchase.

Thanks to all those that entered!

What is YNAB Pro?

YNAB Pro is budgeting software built around the “YNAB Methodology” to help you take control of your money.   The very simple, yet extremely effective, software helps you to focus on the money management tasks that actually make a difference in how you spend, save, and plan for your money.  You can read the full YNAB Pro review here.

How to Enter

To enter the contest, all you have to do is leave a comment below stating briefly why you would like to win YNAB Pro or why you think a budget is important.  Be sure to enter your email address in the comment form so I can notify you if you win.

Extra Entries

If you would like, you can also earn extra entries in the contest by doing the following:

• 1 Extra Entry: For each promotion of this site on a social media website (Twitter, StumbleUpon, digg, Facebook, a forum, etc.).  Simply enter an additional comment for each one and state where you posted it.
• 1 Extra Entry: For subscribing to our RSS feed.
• 3 Extra Entries: For blogging about this contest and linking to this site.  Be sure to enter 3 additional comments.

Giveaway Details

1. Each eligible comment below will count as one entry in the giveaway.
2. The winner will be drawn at random using the comment number.
3. Winner will be notified by email, so be sure to provide a valid email address.
4. Deadline: All entries must be submitted by October 30th, 2009 by midnight.  The winner will be announced on Halloween day (in the afternoon/evening)! If the winner hasn’t responded within 3 days, we’ll run the selection process again.
5. The winner will receive YNAB Pro for FREE (a $49.95 value) as well as a FREE upgrade to YNAB 3 when it’s released later this year (2009).

Good luck with the Giveaway!

If you’re not sure if you want to read the whole 2,539 word MoneyWell review, this post will introduce you to the software and give you a general summary of the full review.

MoneyWell is personal finance software built for the Mac.  And like most software for the Mac, MoneyWell feels very solid and bug free.  The company who brings you MoneyWell, No Thirst Software LLC, is a small, yet reputable company.  The software is backed by a good 60-day money back guarantee and also offers a free trial (up to 200 transactions).  So either way, you should be covered if you find you don’t like the software afterall.

MoneyWell’s Single Window

MoneyWell uses a single-window interface to display all of your finance data including past transactions, bucket (or envelope) amounts, graphs displaying your cash flow, and an area to enter transaction details.  A picture is worth a thousand words and their screenshot (from their website) probably shows it best:

Envelope Bucket Budgeting

What I like about MoneyWell is that it uses the time-tested budgeting methodology knows as “envelope” budgeting.  Of course, MoneyWell puts it’s own twist on it and uses buckets, rather that envelopes, but the idea and theory is still the same.  Those who have used envelope budgeting can attest to the true effectiveness of the system.  It helps you to prioritize spending and savings habits and encourages you to think through exactly where you money needs to go throughout the month.  I’ve used it for years and will never go back.

The MoneyWell software is fairly intuitive, allowing someone new to the application to learn it fairly quickly.  One of most notable features is that it allows you to connect directly to your bank to import transactions.  This is something that most envelope budgeting programs don’t yet do.

Overall, I thought MoneyWell was a nice piece of software.  There were little things that I thought could be done differently or better (for example, I personally was wanting a little more options in terms of graphs and reports, but I didn’t think it was a deal breaker), but I’m sure that those that use the system will find that it helps them to better manage their finances.

The cost is $49.99, but it has a free trial.  So give it a spin and see if it meets your needs.

If you’d like to read the full MoneyWell review and walkthrough, you can find it here.

*A big thanks goes out to those who featured the MoneyWell related posts on their websites.  The full MoneyWell review was featured on AllFinancalMatters.com and this summary was featured on YesIAmCheap.com.