parenting peacefully since 2006

Posts Tagged ‘review

23 Feb, 2010

Pear Budget

Posted by: blissfule In: Perth

A scientist and an engineer fall in love, get married, create a budget.
 
Fast-forward ten years later, and our budget-tracking spreadsheet has at least 50 different categories. Despite this level of detail, I have no real idea of where we stand unless I look at our bank account balance.
 

photo my mum took of my dad with a pear at Apple FunPark
 
Pear Budget stood out as an alternative to our spreadsheet madness, and I signed up for a free 30-day trial in December which convinced me to purchase a full year of online service. Here are a few reasons why I love it so far:
  1. super easy to enter (and edit) expenses and income - I admit I now enjoy entering receipts
  2. convenient "tags" field to add notes - much easier than adding a comment to a cell in Excel
  3. you never have to press a "save" button or worry about backing up any files
  4. enter that month's income and that month's expenses - if you purchase something you've saved for before starting Pear Budget, you can put in a receipt with a negative amount to show that you already had the money saved
  5. owners Charlie and Sarah are very responsive and love to answer questions - they really do want to make it easy to keep track of your budget
I will continue testing this online budgeting service to see if it stands up to real life, irregular expenses and all. Stay tuned for a more thorough review in a few months. If you have any questions you'd like me to try to answer as I'm poking around, just let me know.
 
Please note, this is not a compensated review, just a product I like.
 

16 Feb, 2010

Nikki likes the LIKEaBIKE

Posted by: blissfule In: Perth

Robin asked for a review of the LIKEaBIKE we bought our children for Christmas.
 
 
The short answer is that the LIKEaBIKE is fantastic! A stress-free child-led introduction to cycling.
 
 
Nikki gained confidence by riding around and around the living room. Then one day she asked to take her LIKEaBIKE outside.
 
She practiced in the back garden, and later I shot some video as she maneuvered around a parking lot, down a grassy hill, and along a wetlands trail.
 
 
This short clip shows her riding, turning wide circles, and stopping.
 
Please note, this is not a compensated review, just a product I like.
 

about

Blissful E is about parenting peacefully, sustainably, joyfully, and with a view toward maximizing long-term benefits for the entire family.
 
I believe that the more wisely we invest in the early years of our children's lives, the greater the benefits for us and them as they grow.
 
Look around, share your thoughts, and grow with us!

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