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Should Budget for ‘You Need a Budget’?

Do you need You Need A Budget? While that might seem like a typo (or some kind of obscure Zen koan), we’re simply posing a question regarding the app called You Need A Budget, which we’ll call YNAB (like they do) from here on out to eliminate any confusion. YNAB does pretty much only one thing – help you create a budget and stick to it – and it does it really well. But is it worth its relatively steep annual fee? Let’s take a look. After installing YNAB, you’ll be asked to connect your banking and credit accounts if you’d like. Doing so lets the app pull in all of your financial transactions which can then be assigned to different spending categories. If you aren’t comfortable handing over this information, you can also enter transactions manually, although the company uses some pretty serious encryption algorithms, so security doesn’t seem like an issue. In either event, you can initially assign transactions to any of the app’s five categories: immediate obligations; true expenses; ...
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Here’s How to Turn Your Mac Desktop into a Weather Window

Remember the old days when you used to have to go outside to see what the weather was like? Well, Weather Dock, a desktop app for Mac, eliminates that need by placing a handy little icon in your dock that can show you the current conditions, or a range of other information.  Of course, nothing beats getting a little bit of fresh air to find out what the weather outside your window is like. But if that’s simply not practical, Weather Dock is a great stand-in. Once you download it from the Mac App Store, it automatically appears in your dock. Allow it to know your location and it will instantly bring up the current weather conditions. Depending on the number of icons in your dock, this can be a bit difficult to see, as more dock apps makes each icon a bit smaller, but still, you should be able to at least be able to see the current temperature at a glance. Weather Wizard Things get really interesting when you click on the icon, though. Do so and you’ll be presented with a colorful...
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Mint Personal Finance: The Only Accounting Tool You Need

  Thanks to ever-advancing technology, it’s become easier than ever to keep track of your personal finances using a wide range of software solutions, apps, and cloud-based programs. One service that consistently stands out in this space is Getting Started When you fire up Mint for the first time, you are asked to add any accounts you are interested in tracking. These include checking, savings, investment and credit card accounts. To link an account, you simply enter the login details for each and the software does the rest, bringing your transactions directly into the Mint interface. While it might sound a bit scary to turn over those credentials to a third party, the software takes extra precautions to safeguard your data, including storing login details in a separate database protected with multi-layer encryption. Mint is also owned by Intuit, the same company that owns TurboTax and QuickBooks, so they’re no strangers in handling and protecting sensitive data – and they are ce...
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WikiCamps: Worth A Try

There are almost as many travel apps out there as there are travel destinations. In general, they all do some things well, and some things not so well. WikiCamps is certainly in the same, erm, camp. With a focus on – you guessed it – camping, the app can help you find nearby places to pitch your tent, park your RV, or take in some local sites. And while it can certainly be helpful, the app also suffers from so not-so-great features that might make it not worth paying to own it. Free Trial Like many apps, WikiCamps comes with a 14-day free trial. After that, it costs a one-time payment of $1.99 for lifetime access. The free trial period is well worth it because you can try out different destinations to see just how well it will work for you. Many users report a lack of data on local attractions and campsites, while our tests were data rich, so it might just depend on where you’re looking. It seems WikiCamps has a strong following in Australia, so the crowd-sourced information it relie...
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Roadtrippers: Get Outta Town

Most travelers these days use their phones to navigate. Perform a simple Google search on an address, and a detailed map with voice directions, nearby attractions, gas stations, restaurants, hotels and more is just a tap away. Still, there are companies that build additional features into mapping to try to stand apart from the reliable, but maybe not-so-sexy Google Maps. Wayze and Tripit are two examples, while Roadtrippers is still another. So is it worth adding Roadtrippers to your crowded app drawer? Maybe. Nearby The major benefit of Roadtrippers is its friendly, easy-to-navigate interface. When opening the app, you can tap the “Nearby” button and you’ll be presented with large icons ranging from “Breakfast” to “Take a Walk.” Tap one of those and you’ll see what’s in your location in that category on a map. Tap further and you’ll get a description of the destination along with reviews and hours of operation, if available. In our tests, the app provided useful information just abo...
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Sygic Travel: Enhanced Mapping

Sygic Travel Map is a competitor in the map and navigation space. While Google Maps tends to reign supreme in this category, Sygic has tried to distinguish itself by offering features that make it more traveler friendly. But most of the stand-apart features require a subscription, so functionality in the free version of the software remains limited. Still, it might be a good place to start to see if an alternative navigation tool is right for you. Free Version In the free version of Sygic Travel Maps, you’ll have the option of either exploring a map of your immediate area or planning a trip. Exploring will take you to a map overview dotted with small icons and images. Click on one of these, and you discover an interesting attraction such as a park, historic monument, museum, movie theater and more. The icons will also lead you to nearby hotels, restaurants, supermarkets, train routes and bus stops. It is by no means exhaustive, but definitely clues you in to lots of destinations in ...
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Pick Pixlr For Your Pics

If you’ve been hesitant to dive into the world of photo editing beyond applying simple filters in Instagram, you might want to check out Pixlr. It’s a truly powerful online photo editing software program with loads of options that never overwhelm you with their complexity. The result is that even those new to the world of photo editing can get started fast, greatly improve or change their photos, and have fun doing so. Oh, and the best part? The program is completely free. Pick a Pixlr path Getting started with Pixlr begins with choosing either Pixler X, which is a more basic and easy-to-use version of the software, or Pixler E, which provides more tools, but might be a bit much for those new to photo editing. Both versions are free. Next, simply open a photo, which you can do by either navigating to one stored on your device, or by entering a URL for a web-based image. Alternatively, you can start from scratch by selecting from one of Pixlr’s many blank templates which include hand...
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