This is one of the only coupon codes out there. Any others will be for the same deal ($6 off) as this is the only way that coupon codes are distributed for YNAB. Trust me, I looked.
Use this coupon code to save $6 off the cost of YNAB: LKV894Q (Click the code to be transferred to YNAB and have the discount automatically applied).
Updated — Google Apps Free – It’s Still Here, Just Hidden — Haha, J/K
Recently, Google announced that they would be discontinuing the Google Apps Standard (Free) Edition of their Google Apps platform. This was kind of lame to hear, especially since Google seems to be so big on offering free stuff to personal/non-profit users. Luckily, I had already created my domains and had them setup on Google apps long before this “discontinuation”, so my account was grandfathered in. In fact, one of my accounts was created back when they offered 50 users in the Google Apps Standard Edition and I have apparently been allowed to keep those 50 licenses for that domain.
At any rate, I am posting because I have recently discovered that it appears Google Apps Standard (Free) Edition still exists. It is just slightly hidden. The trick is to sign up for a Google Apps Business Edition 30 Day Trial. Before your 30 day trial is up, Go into your domain settings and attempt to Cancel your Google Apps account. You will need to not have any users & all market place apps need to be removed as well in order to do be able to get the Cancel option. Upon attempting to cancel your account, you will be presented with 2 options: 1) Downgrade your account to a Google Apps Standard (Free) account — allows no more than 10 users & limits some of the Google Apps functionality, but perfect for those who just need good free webmail service with a custom domain & 1-10 users. Or option 2) Cancel the account immediately.
So for those of you who were wanting to take advantage of Google services with your own custom domain without the cost that businesses pay, this is how you do it. I have not actually gone through these steps. I just happened to notice the option when I was deleting some sub domains for one of my customers so that they could be re-added to their primary Google Apps domain. I did not take the time to test the Google Apps Standard option, but it is there.
Update (4/21/2013 1:57AM): I just attempted to setup a new domain with Google Apps following my method above. Unfortunately it doesn’t seem to work. The accounts I was toying with must have been grandfathered in to have the ability to downgrade while still in their 30 day trial period. But it appears that new domains do not have the options to become Google Apps Standard accounts period. This is unfortunate, but Outlook.com offers a solution for free (and up to 50 users). See my next post here: Outlook.com & Custom Domains
Outlook.com & Custom Domains
I just posted about Google Apps Standard Edition and how it is still available. But what about those of you who might need more users? Perhaps you are running a small neighborhood organization and would like to setup email service for a custom domain & allow more than 10 users to use the service. Perhaps you would even like those people to be able to sign themselves up instead of administratively adding them all. Outlook.com may be the better option for you.
Until tonight, I didn’t even realize that Outlook.com offered a free custom domain option. The setup is pretty much exactly like that of Google Apps’, but you get everything through the new Outlook-like web interface. There is also the ability to sync your mail account, calendars, and contacts to your Windows 8 PC and most mobile devices including Windows 8 Phone, Android, and iPhone/iPad. Another benefit is the ability to create up to 50 users (versus 10 in Google Apps).
When you begin the domain setup, you will have to sign into an already existing Windows Live account (or create a new Windows Live account under the new domain) that will be used as the administrating account for the domain. If you have multiple domains, I believe you should be able to use the same administrative account to manage all of them.
To setup your custom domain with use on Outlook.com mail service, go to http://domains.live.com to begin the domain setup & verification.
You Need A Budget (YNAB)
So I was stumbling on Friday night when I came across this website called You Need A Budget (Visit Home Page). They offer a program called YNAB 4. This is a financial program like none other that I have seen.
I originally began with Microsoft Money back in about 2005 or so. At some point I switched over to using Quicken (a few different versions over the years). Here lately I have been using Mint.com since it really requires that I do nothing more than login and verify the categorization of transactions. But this program has been the one that has filled that need for a financial program. The difference with this one over all of the others? It focuses on budgeting the money that you have and requires you to dynamically manage your budget. In addition to the software (which, frankly, is really easy to use) they also offer [free] live webinars offering introductory and how-to courses, online monitored forums, and other support options. The software is easily syn-cable to other PCs and Android/iPhone devices (via Dropbox and built-in app integration).
I actually took their first webinar, the Introduction to YNAB course, this afternoon. It was taught by Malisa Davis. She was an excellent presenter, went over all of the basics required to use YNAB, and gave plenty of examples to get everyone started. It was a rather large group of people, yet she addressed most everyone’s questions when possible with a Q&A at the end of the session. This, by far, is the financial program that I have been looking for all along.
Unfortunately, there is a cost. The Desktop software (for Mac/PC) is $60 and the app for Android is $4.99. I immediately purchased the Android App, but I am still running the offered 34 day trial for my PC application. I am pretty much already decided on purchasing this software and have already included it in my budget for the following month. If nothing else, it has definately helped motivate and inspire me to start managing my money differently than I have been, as it does not prove to be working my way. Enjoy this program, and please let me know how it works for you and your experience with it. Thanks for reading.
You Need A Budget (YNAB): Visit Home Page
Use this link to get $6 off your purchase: http://ynab.refr.cc/LKV894Q
Protect Your Google Data From Yourself!
Are you one of the many users who has embraced the Google Cloud? If so, then you probably have a lot of data out there that is important to keep. Especially after an accidental deletion. Did you know that Google offers no built-in restore function for your calendar? Once you delete an event, it’s gone. What if some kind of a syncing glitch happens with Outlook and causes your calendar to delete? Or what if you accidentally sync in the wrong direction with a new empty calendar. oops. Now what?
Spanning Backup offers a solution. Integrated, online, incremental and daily backups. With a very simple setup (just sign in with your Google account and authorize Spanning Backup to access your account), you can enable backups for your Google account. These backups allow you to restore data from Google Calendar, Google Contacts, Gmail, Google Drive, and Google Sites from any point (daily) in time–at least since your first backup of course.
You just have to check it out, here is there website: http://www.spanning.com
They offer a 14-day free trial, no credit card required. After 14-days you can purchase a license, or your account will just be deleted if you decide to not use it after all. If you decide to purchase, be sure to use my link or coupon code below to receive $5 off the annual price of $40 — only $35 per year — The coupon code continues to apply each year!