Really … sexy … budgeting(‽)
When you set out to create a budgeting program, there are a number of words that you don’t really expect people to use when describing it. Sure — you’d love for people to describe it as “easy,” or “clear,” or even “kind of fun.” But last week, we were pleasantly surprised by a review of PearBudget that described it as sexy, fun, and delicious, among other things.
Squawkfox is a blogger in Canada (can we just say? we love Canada!) whose goal is “to make personal finance & frugality very sexy, delicious, and fun!” She writes about budgeting, personal finance in general, lifehacks, and productivity. She has a fun, natural writing style, and her blog’s design is absolutely fantastic (the gray / black / red / white color palette is my all time favorite, and her layout is really clean). So a review from her (regardless of the content) would be great. But the review of PearBudget she posted the other day was outstanding.
For example:
PearBudget is a stunning piece of ripe fruit. The user interface is clean and delicious. The husband and wife team (Charlie and Sarah Park) behind this slick application really know a thing or two about designing smart user interfaces. The setup of my own budget plan was easy given the straightforward wizard and the awesome documentation. Too many times a product is released with rotten user instructions and FAQs. This is not the case with PearBudget as the product documentation is wickedly awesome.
She also makes a good point: “Perhaps PearBudget could use a dashboard to contain and separate various ‘account management’ features such as file download, settings, and account deletion.” We’ve been talking about ways that we could make the interface even easier, especially in terms of account information. (Like, did you know that PearBudget prints beautifully, without needing a “printer-friendly” page?) We’ve also been talking about the need for an “at a glance” dashboard … maybe we’ll find a good way to combine those.
Anyway, we really appreciated Squawkfox’s review, and wanted to point out her blog and encourage you to go check it out. It’s a relatively new blog (she started it in January), but it has all the makings of a top personal finance resource. We’re excited that she reviewed PearBudget, and we’re thrilled at how much she liked it.
And if you want a sexy budget of your own, you can get started with PearBudget right now.
