“It’s in the way that you use it,

It comes and it goes.

It’s in the way that you use it,

Boy don’t you know.”

-Eric Clapton, It’s in the Way That You Use it.

For months I’ve been trying to find the right solution to tracking my finances. Like most, I’m on a tight budget, and every penny counts. I cannot afford to bounce a check, and must make sure there’s enough money in my account to cover my bills. I need a simple way to make and track a budget. I’ve looked at Quicken, Mint.com, spreadsheets, and more. There is so much variety of software, and each can be used in so many different ways. All I know is, I stopped carrying a checkbook because I rarely write checks. But I do have a smartphone (Blackberry), and perhaps that will afford me a way to stay on top of my money wherever I go. To that end, I have begun a trial of SplashMoney for BlackBerry, by SplashData.

SplashMoney comes with a desktop component and a BlackBerry component. From their website:

Manage your money anytime, anywhere. Connect to your online bank from your desktop computer or wireless handheld and download transactions directly into SplashMoney. Create budgets and then track and analyze your spending with customizable reports and charts. Synchronize your handheld with your desktop computer to stay on top of your finances whether you’re at home, on the road, or in the office. Includes free desktop companion software for Windows.

Installation

Installation is pretty straight forward on both the desktop and handheld. But you must enter a registration code or trial code in both.

Setup

SplashMoney can handle many accounts. Setup is simple. Just go to File, New Account, and describe the account in the associated boxes. I set up a checking, savings and credit card account quickly and easily.  It can handle many types of currencies.

SplashMoney does more than keep a running list of your transactions. It features reports and budgets so you can see where your money is going. A transaction not only includes fields such as Date, Payee and amount, but also category, class, memo and type. Let’s look a bit more closely at these.

Categories such as groceries, rent, car payment and dining help you determine budgets. The program comes with several pre-defined categories, but you can easily change them. You can also have sub-categories. With a few months’ worth of data you can see where your money is headed, and create budgets to help you make better money decisions. If, for example, your dining category is eating a huge percentage of your pay, it’s easier to spot that trend when you look over a months’ worth of data than if you just scroll through your check register.

The Type field includes Check, debit, deposit, ATM and any other types you’d like to add.

I cannot remember what I did a week ago, and if I didn’t write memos in each transaction, then I’d be completely clueless. The key to success in budgeting is to be diligent. I carry my BlackBerry everywhere, and every time I make a transaction I immediately enter it. It’s become second nature.

Class comes pre-loaded with Personal and Business types.

Lastly, Status determines if a transaction has cleared your bank. This is very handy for reconciliation.

As you can see, the software allows for flexibility and customization. In fact, it even lets you split transactions among different categories. Nice.

Data

So how do we enter data into SplashMoney? There are many ways. The simplest is to add each individual transaction into your handheld, then sync with the desktop. Or you can import bank transactions into your desktop and sync to your handheld. Or do both. Like the Clapton song I referenced earlier, it’s in the way that you use it. I prefer to never sync the handheld to the desktop. I like to import data from my bank into the desktop, and reconcile that to my handheld.

In theory SplashMoney lets you import your bank data automatically by connecting to your bank from either your handheld or the desktop. I couldn’t get this to work, though I didn’t try very hard. Also in theory, you can import CSV files to the desktop. This I tried very hard to do and was very unsuccessful and frustrated. I contacted support and they were quite nice, attentive and tried hard, but ultimately it wouldn’t work.

You can also import QIF and OFX files. This worked wonderfully. I wanted to import the entire year’s worth of transactions, and from that make reports and budgets. Unfortunately, my bank only lets me download the last three months’ worth of transaction, so I’m a bit out of luck there. But at least I have something to work with.

Reports

SplashMoney has a simple to use system for viewing your data. You can choose the dates, organize by category and choose your account. Want to see how much you spent on dining last month? No problem. Though the reports are perhaps not as sophisticated as what you may see in Quicken, they are easy to use and give you straight forward answers.

Budgets

This is a wonderful section of this versatile software. I find that allocating a specific amount to each category really helps me stay focused on how I’m spending my money, and more importantly how I’m saving my money. And as with all the other features of SplashMoney, budgeting is very simple to set up. You choose a particular category from the Budget tab, then a dialog box pops up and asks you to enter an amount. Easy.

The budgeting section could be improved if it allowed you to set up a budget for each month. Here’s why. Some months have four pay periods, others have five. This affects how much you receive in pay and how much you may pay out. Currently the software only lets you set up a budget for “this month”. Also, it doesn’t give advanced options such as carrying over your budget categories where you spent less than the allotted amount.

Security

SplashMoney features state of the art blowfish encryption.

Conclusion

SplashMoney is not the most feature-rich software out there. It’s not the cheapest. But it is simple to set up and use, provides you with the information you need, and best of all, can be carried with you at all times via a handheld. I have grown to depend upon it. Whenever I use my debit card, I take an extra 10 seconds to enter the transaction into my BlackBerry, and I always know my balance and budget.

Deposits

-Secure

-Easy to set up and use

-provides all the financial information you need

-Provides budgeting and reconciliation

Withdrawals

-The reporting is a bit simple

-Could benefit from more budgeting features

-Problems importing CSV files and connecting to my bank

SplashMoney is $29.95 and comes with a free trial.

Above: Sue the Dinosaur wears a Blackhawks Jersey in front of the Field Museum.

Above: Museum Campus

The concert started with a mini movie starring the members of the group and showed them experimenting with different sounds for their band.  They tried playing polka, but that didn’t sound right, and when they did find their “sound”, it lead to the opening song of the show, “The Spirit of the Radio”, which quickly engaged the excited audience.

I was scared to bring a camera b/c the tickets specifically say they’re not allowed.  Fortunately, nobody checked me.  In fact, tons of people had cameras.

The show started at 7:30pm and as dusk fell, it gave us a beautiful view of the city (Sears Tower below – I refuse to say Willis Tower)and led to a wonderful light show.

The stage featured a huge screen behind the band that showed movie snippets and the band members playing.  Off to either side were another pair of smaller screens.

In the first set they played newer songs.  Their “Time Machine” would dial up a year and they would then play a song from that time period. 

Rush has experimented with different sounds throughout their career and it was fascinating to ride through the Time Machine and experience their prowess and amazing repertoire.  Though I’m not a huge fan of several of the songs in the first set, such as Time Stand Still, Presto and Leave that thing Alone, they sounded fantastic.  Many think of Rush is a very serious band, others as some kind of heavy metal; but they are neither.  They are a fun-loving progressive rock band, and they smiled often and engaged the fans with their sense of humor and amazing musicianship.  The set ended on a high note with Freewill, Marathon, and an excellent rendition of Subdivisions. 

After a 20 minute break, the band played the entire Moving Pictures album.  The crowd stood the entire time, singing along and playing their air instruments.

The highlight of the show occurred when this famous image appeared on the screen:

They played 2112 to screaming fans and finished the second set with a driving rendition of Far Cry.  Moments later they returned for a blistering encore and as they left, another movie appeared on the screen, featuring Paul Rudd and Jason Segel, reprising their roles from, “I Love You, Man”.   I won’t give it away, but we had fun watching it.

This show was a Time Machine for me as well.  I saw three old friends at the show and it brought back memories of grade school and high school.  One of these friends and I used to trade albums In high school Spanish.  We’d record them onto cassette and swap with other people.  One day he brought in 2112.  Noticing the Starman symbol, I asked, “Hey, is this some kind of satanic rock music?”  I had no clue.  But I listened, fascinated, and was hooked.  And almost 30 years later I am still a huge fan.

I almost never write checks.  I mainly use my debit card and rarely even carry my checkbook with me.  Keeping track of my transactions is very important to me and I found a very simple solution.  I always carry my BlackBerry with me, and Mobile Checkbook by Mobatech has created a simple, yet very effective solution for tracking my accounts.

Description

Mobile Checkbook is a personal checkbook that goes wherever you go.  It not only tracks your checking, it supports an unlimited number of accounts, and many currencies, including US Dollar, Pound Sterling, Euro, Indian Rupee and more.

The Interface

This software is so easy to use that my first reaction was that it was too simplistic.  But I’ve been using it for so long that I’ve come to appreciate and depend on its simplicity.

The software comes preloaded with a checking, savings and credit card account.  It’s very easy to rename accounts, add or delete accounts.

Adding a new transaction is very straight forward.  Click your account (checking, savings etc) then choose withdrawal or deposit.

It has become second nature for me to whip out my phone at the counter, pay the cashier and enter my transaction.  I always know what my balance is.  That’s comforting.  Entering transactions takes seconds. 

Features

I have several recurring transactions that I need to track, including paychecks, rent and a car payment.  Those are easy to set up.

Recurring transactions can be set up for deposits or withdrawals that are weekly, biweekly, monthly, quarterly or annually.  And they can be modified at any time.  That means, if my boss wants to give me a raise it would be easy for me to make that change.

Transaction lists for any of your accounts show all the transactions you have stored.

Notice the checkmarks in front of some transactions.  Those have been reconciled.  Also, there are two recurring items shown in the screenshot above, for cable and paycheck.

Version 4 brought a wonderful and very needed feature; reconciliation. 

You can choose to hide reconciled transactions, and you can purge old transactions as well.  You’ll notice, once you’ve entered many transactions, that the program becomes slow.  BlackBerry’s don’t have the fastest processors, so purging old transactions is helpful.  This doesn’t affect your balance.

Mobile Checkbook also shows you your available balance, cleared balance and the difference between the two.

Want to transfer money between accounts?  No problem.

Export your transactions in either XLS (Excel) or QIF (Quicken) with ease.  Just enter your email address and send it to yourself.

Customer Service

In a word; awesome!  I’ve had issues and they have always responded quickly.

Security

Mobile Checkbook 4 allows you to enter a PIN for security.  I have no idea how strong this security is, but then the software doesn’t contain your account numbers or bank names, and you can purge old transactions, so this program is not in need of great security.

What’s Missing?

Mobile Checkbook seems to be the perfect checkbook, doesn’t it?  It’s simple, convenient, and performs the most important functions of a checkbook.  But the tradeoff for simplicity and convenience is that many features are missing.  These include:

No recurring transactions between accounts.  If I want to transfer a set amount of money every week from checking to savings, I must do it manually.

No budgeting. 

Does not connect to your bank account and automatically download transactions.

No importing of transactions.  You must enter an initial balance then enter all your transactions. 

No desktop component to synchronize to.

Limited customization.  I want my check register to be on top and savings to be second, but changing the order of accounts is unavailable.

No backup.  However, I faithfully backup my BlackBerry to my computer every day.

No categories.  Transactions only include date, payee, amount and memo.

No reports.

No search. 

Are these deal breakers?  Not for me.  My fear is that a full featured program would take up a lot of memory and resources.  I have desktop software to do my reporting, download transactions, budget etc.  I appreciate the simplicity and straight-forwardness of Mobile Checkbook.  For me, the BlackBerry screen is too small for viewing reports, graphs and stuff I’d rather do on my desktop.  I would like to see a couple things added to the software, however.  I think Search is an important tool.  And I want to customize my screen.  And finally, I’d like the ability to schedule recurring transactions between accounts.

Price

Normally it’s $9.99, but it’s on sale now for $5.99.

Pros:

Simple

Straight forward interface

Includes the important features but is not bogged down by tons of extras

Allows for very quick transaction input

Great customer service

Low price

Cons:

No scheduled transfers between accounts

No search

Limited customization

Conclusion

Mobatech is always working on a new version.  Version 4 added tons of improvements.  They have created a simple, straight forward program that includes only the most important features most people would want for an on-the-go checkbook.  I highly recommend Mobile Checkbook 4.

Just as suddenly, a large limo/van pulled up next to the police cars, effectively blocking off the drive for all traffic, including those wishing to park in our building.  Curiosity brought a huge throng of people over, all with cameras out and ready to photograph whatever excitement would follow.  Next thing I know, the van door opens and out pops Andrew Ladd of the Blackhawks, holding the Stanley Cup up high for all to see.

I just bought a new camera, but it was upstairs.  I had no chance to get it and was stuck taking photos w/my BlackBerry.

The Hawks stayed for about 15 minutes and allowed us all to take photos.  We cheered for them, clapped and showed them our appreciation.  They then left and went to their next destination.  They stopped at many popular hang-outs and did the same thing.

Views

The software features two views, list view and tree view.  List view, pictured below, allows you to choose a category, type or use Find to quickly pull up what you need.  Tree view skips the Types field and displays just the categories.  Both views feature a search bar to quickly get the info you need.

Tree view:

Click on an item to expand it:

Any time you expand a view in Tree view, the software asks you to confirm your action.  I wish it would just expand when I click the plus sign.  List view doesn’t make you take this extra step.

To see the detail of a particular card, click on it, then press “detail”.

Categories and Types

Categories are used to group related records such as business, and personal records.  Types act as templates for inputting information.  A little complicated?  I agree, but it works.  A credit card template will have different information than a website login, and types allow you to define what information goes into the templates that you create.  You can use both to narrow down the items you are looking for.  For example, you may have web logins for work and for personal use.  Choose the Personal category, then choose Web Logins under Types and you will only see work logins.

And here’s the Business category with Web Logins:

Data

Your data is stored on “cards”.  The program has many built-in templates that you can modify, or you can create your own.  I am shopping for a new home in the city of Chicago, and to make it easy to find streets while I’m on the go I created a Streets template, downloaded tons of street information and put it into my template.

Find State Street:

See detailed view:

This streets template simply includes the street name, and it’s location.  Once you start using SplashID you will find many uses for it.  Our company carries hundreds of products, and each product has multiple prices, so I made a category for our products that I can quickly pull up while with customers.  I also keep track of my credit cards, memberships, logins, and many other things.  In fact, SplashID provides over 20 card templates for bank accounts, birthdays, calling cards, credit cards, domains and many more.

Import

Using this software is quite easy, but the key is getting data INTO SplashID.  Fortunately, this is not difficult either, as long as you have the desktop component.  If you’ve ever imported a comma delimted file (CSV) into Excel, then you can import data into SplashID.  As you can see below, you can import data with other data types as well, including from other wallet programs.  Obviously, you can also add individual cards as well.

Security

The most important reason to get SplashID is to have a secure home for your passwords and private information.  This is where SplashID shines.  You need only memorize one password to use SplashID, then you can access your many stored passwords.  According to their website, SplashID uses, “Unbreakable AES and 256-bit Blowfish encryption.”  You can’t beat that. 

Instead of using the same passwords for all your needs, you should use a different password for every need.  SplashID helps you by using their automatic password generator that will give you unguessable passwords.

SplashID has a mask/unmask feature that hides your passwords from those looking over your shoulder.  A masked password such as this: ****** will unmask into your password.

Desktop Companion Software

The desktop software performs all the same tasks as the BlackBerry, plus a few more such as importing.  I won’t go into much detail, but the following screenshots should give you an idea of what the desktop is about.

Category view:

Detail view:

Double panel shows types on the left and items on the right.

The triple panel shows the same as above and adds a detail screen at the far right.

Other Features

From the SplashID website:

Key Features:

• Enhanced security – AES and Blowfish encryption, auto lockout after 10 failed attempts, password strength meter, and password hint option
• Desktop web browser plugin with web form autofill (Safari and Internet Explorer)
• Attach files to records for secure retrieval at a later date
• Add custom icons to records from any image file (48×48 PNG recommended)
• Smart Types (Most Viewed, Recently Modified, & Recently Viewed) help you get to your most popular records faster.
• Sync multiple SplashID databases (with other version 5 BlackBerry databases only)
• Enhanced Lookup feature instantly displays relevant results as you type
• Email and share securely encrypted SplashID files to other users
• Toolbars give you button features where they are needed the most
• Updated icon set with enhanced high resolution graphics
• Unlimited number of customizable record types and categories for storing all kinds of confidential information (usernames, passwords, bank accounts, credit cards, registrations, insurance, prescriptions, and more)
• Synchronize data between your BlackBerry and your Windows or Mac desktop using the included desktop software, via USB or Wi-Fi (if available). Mac sync is Wi-Fi only.
• Automatic password generator – for generating random hacker-safe passwords based on user criteria
• Complete backup and restore feature
• Set URL field in your records to deliver you to the correct address every time — completely defeats phishing
• Sequential backup system

Cost

The software for your BlackBerry and the desktop companion run $29.95.  Not cheap, but once you start using it you will get addicted.

Conclusion

It ain’t cheap.  But if you want a simple, portable way to have all your important data at your fingertips, this is a great investment.  It’s very flexible in that it lets you customize your data, it gives you a way to import tons of data at once, and it’s quite easy to use.  Most importantly, it is extremely secure. 

Agendus’ Calendar:

Calendar Pro:

If these pictures are not enough to make you get Calendar Pro right away, consider the following.  I had an issue with duplicate entries on my Calendar Pro calendar. 

I went to their forums and asked for assistance.  I received expert help quickly and they solved my problem.  It turns out that my calendar was drawing from several other calendars (ie Facebook, Yahoo and Outlook) and they showed me how to eliminate the other calendars.

Calendar Pro is $14.95 and worth every penny. 

My needs are simple.  I don’t want an online poker game b/c my Touch is not always connected to the internet.  I want the game to be challenging, have decent graphics, and have as many computer players as possible.  Birdsoft’s Texas Hold’em for Windows Mobile is one of my favorites.  The poker game on my BlackBerry, called Texas Hold’em King 2 by Magmic, is also a good example.  The game features a tournament mode with 5000 players.  Though the AI is not the greatest, and the graphics are limited by the tiny BlackBerry screen, it’s a pretty good game that can last a long time and is challenging.  Both games feature a career mode that tracks your winnings to date.  I want something like that but with the graphics and user interface that an iPhone can provide.

I was about to buy THTouch Poker, but when I read the reviews, one stuck out.  It was written by the author of Theta Poker.  Basically it said the game was decent, but the user interface was a bit odd, and the AI wasn’t great, then it went on to explain why Theta Poker is better.  I thought it odd that one game developer could review another’s and rip it, then advertise their own game.  Apparently Apple did too, b/c I can’t find his review anymore.  Nevertheless, he made some appealing arguments so I changed my mind and plunked down $5 for Theta.

Theta Poker offers a game with up to 300 opponents.  Players start with $1000, and the blinds are $10/$20.   You can decide how many players per table in the settings.  You can also change the background and the cards, but where the Apple game is so beautiful, this is the polar opposite.  It’s just plain ugly.  But if the AI is good and it’s fun to play, I can live with that.  In fact, at the Theta Poker website it says,

“While other poker games focus on eye candy, THETA Poker was built from the ground up specifically for the iPhone and iPod touch with an emphasis on playability, playing ability, and customizability. If you prefer to spend your time watching fancy animation, you have better choices. But if you want to get better at playing Texas Hold ‘Em, THETA Poker is the game for you.”

So let’s take a closer look at the game.

Settings and Options

At the top left corner you can see there are 289 players remaining, and I’m ranked 212.  I have $810 and a bad Q3 offsuit hand.  The top right features the letter “i”, for information.  This contains settings, such as game type (tournament, practice, ring game and shootout), your statistics, background colors, card colors, help and About. 

While playing, you can also get a recap of the game play, which you can email.  I have to admit that’s kind of cool, though I can’t see why I’d do that.

The game can be played in either portrait or landscape, and both are equally fugly.

The game settings allow for much customization.  You can decide how many players are in the tournament, with a maximum of 300, starting stack, ante size, players per table, computer skill and more.  You can make the game play fast or slow, pause after each hand, and skip to the end of the hand when you fold.  Indeed, the settings were well thought out.

Game Controls

The user interface is simple to use and quite intuitive.  To call simply tap your cards.  To fold you push your cards to the center and let go.  To raise, just touch the Theta icon to the right of your cards.  That brings up the following dialog box:

Just choose the amount you want to raise, or press “Other” to enter a custom amount.

Game Play

I’ve set the AI at a moderate skill level.  At first, the game play is fairly slow.  It seems as though one player in every hand makes a raise, and hands are rarely played out to completion as other players fold.  Rather quickly players are eliminated and the blinds change every 12 hands (unless you change the settings).  So if you don’t start winning hands fairly regularly you’ll find yourself vulnerable as other players start raising to the point that you might as well go all in.  Combine this with players making raises that are 4 and 5 times the big blind or more, then others going over the top, and suddenly it seems that every hand forces you to dig deep into your stack just to call.  With blinds at $30/$60 and a chip stack of $1500, you can find yourself either folding good starting hands or going all in.  The computer players are relentless.  Virtually every hand is raised, and with so few going to completion, it’s difficult to get a feel whether players are bluffing. 

As players are eliminated from your table, new ones come in.  Your objective is to make it to the final table.  Easier said than done.

In the game I’m playing right now, I have $890, there are 265 players left, I’m ranked 194.  The blinds are $20/$40 and I have A-9 off suit.  It’s a decent staring hand.  The first player raises to $200, or 5 times the big blind.  One calls and one folds.  It’s up to me.  Do I call?  That’s 22.5% of my chips.  Hmmmm.  And if I call, what do I do if someone reraises me?  I call.  Four of us are in the hand and the flop is KK8.  The first player raises to $410.  I have to fold.  The winner had 8-10 off suit.  Now the blinds are $30/$60 and I have only $690.  So the big blind is almost 10% of my stack, making me a short stack.  A few hands later I’m the big blind with a pair of 10′s.  The dealer raises to $240.  I might as well go all in.   The raiser folds.  Pfew.  This game is about wild swings.  A few more hands pass and I have A-10 of hearts.  It’s raised from $60 to $210.  I call and the flop gives me two more hearts.  My lone opponent bets $410.  If I call and don’t hit a flush I’m dead.  But I hit it and find my opponent had Q-9 offsuit.  Why is he raising 3.5 times the blind to begin with, especially since his stack is only $1000?   The next hand is raised to 5 times the big blind and I fold.  Crazy. 

I find myself folding, folding, folding; waiting for a good hand b/c I don’t want to risk a huge percentage of my stack.  I’ve played in many home games and a few casino tournaments, and I’ve never seen such aggressive play. 

I have A-K offsuit, $2210, and am ranked 5th out of 239 players.  I’m in a good spot, right?  The blinds are now $40/$80 and I have a great hand.  But the player before me raises all in to $490.  I should call and do.  But two more players go all in and I have to call another $110.  I just put in 26% of my stack.  I hit an Ace and win.  And now I see what my opponents had:

As you can see in the photo above, my opponents went all in with horrible hands and forced me to put a huge percentage of my chips in.  And with three opponents it’s easy to lose a hand like this. 

Making the right poker moves should reduce risk and increase the likelihood of wins, but the blinds are always very high in comparison to your chip stack and the raises are insane.  Poker players consider you a “short stack” if your chip stack is only 10 times the blind.  But no matter how far I’ve gotten in this game, and I’ve been in the top 10 a few times before being eliminated, I’ve never had more than 50 times the big blind.  Similarly, a raise before the flop is usually three times the big blind.  Higher raises do occur in real games, but they are not the norm as they are in this game.  Regardless, the huge raises and pressure your opponents put on you overtake any skill you may possess and turns this game into a lottery.  If you have the right number you win, otherwise you lose.   I’m going to try to adjust the blind schedule, and that may help.  But the players will still make outrageous monster raises.

Conclusion

I really want to like this game, but ultimately it’s less Hold’em Poker than Bingo.  Luck takes precedence over skill.  However, a few improvements can turn this game into a winner.  Have the computer players raise in realistic amounts, and raise when they have at least decent hands.  Improve the graphics.  Then improve the graphics even more.  Do you remember the old Atari home game console?  They had better graphics. 

When I bought the iPod Touch I was very excited about the 200,000 available apps.  And even more so about the many poker apps.  Unfortunately, I have yet to find a good one.  But Theta Poker has a chance to be good.  A few improvements can make a huge difference.   I hope the author keeps working on the program and listens to his customers.

Pros

- It’s possibly the best poker app

- excellent customization settings

- Lot’s of potential to become a great game

Cons

- No Career Mode

- Fugly graphics

- Overly aggressive computer opponents

- Unrealistic raises, especially with bad starting hands.

Below is a photo of my car.  Check out the placard on the left.  Life is good.

I don’t plan on writing every day.  In fact, I have no plan.  But when the tech mood strikes, which seems to be more often as of late, I’ll share my thoughts.  Hope you keep visiting my site.

Here’s a great, free Windows utility.  WizMouse gives you the ability to scroll in windows in which you do not have focus.  As long as your mouse is over a particular window, even if it’s a background program, you have the ability to scroll.  This beats the heck out of having to click on windows to get the focus, then scrolling, then returning to another window by clicking on it.

The free program comes with several options including startup with Windows, changing the size and activity of snapping zones or using hotkeys.  It’s easy to use and makes your computing life more convenient.