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hardboiledteacozy · 9 months

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"Making a big deal out of any dish they make for you" combined with "help fix their outfit before they leave" for any combination in 4ggravate. You can pick two, three, all four, i just want to be at least a little vague for revenge.

You definitely get to be a bit vague for revenge since my own prompt was pretty vague. Wonderful prompt, btw, so thanks Alex 💜

Prompt list here

I surprisingly ended up focusing on Kavetham, though the whole thing is still 4ggravate and does involve all four of them. I tried to be brief because otherwise I would have ended up with a multichapter thing here.

Story under this readmore:

"Will you hold still for a moment?" Kaveh hisses.

His hands pull at both ends of a dark green silk tie which currently hangs listlessly around Alhaitham's neck, as though it has given up on ever getting tied. Haitham sighs, not for the first time this evening, and rolls his eyes far back enough that his head tilts back with the motion.

"I swear, you're like a petulant child sometimes," Kaveh goes on to say, but Haitham can feel the warmth rolling off his tongue, completely at odds with his words of choice. The architect's fingers find their way to Haitham's chin and hold him in place. "There, stay just like that. I'll be done in just a second."

"Why are we doing this again?" Haitham finds himself asking. He actually holds himself still this time, perhaps enjoying the way Kaveh's breath tickles his exposed neck as he leans in to do an intricate knot that will inevitably feel too tight the rest of the evening.

"It's our anniversary," Kaveh replies matter-of-factly.

"Our anniversary was two months ago."

Kaveh's hands stop, but they keep a gentle grip on Haitham's collar. This lets him know Kaveh is not done with him yet, so he does not move. He does, however, stare the man dead in the eye and cock his brow at him in silent question.

"You actually remember." It should feel insulting that Kaveh sounds so surprised, but Haitham supposes he can't blame him. It's not like they've ever made a big deal of it at any point over the years.

"How could I forget? I even cooked for you that evening."

"You mean you made that yourse-- Alhaitham! You should've said something. I thought you'd just happened to order takeout that day."

Haitham sighs, again. "I learned the recipe from the owner of the tavern because I know you like that dish. Before you say anything, Cyno was the one who did the actual talking. I don't know if he sweet-talked it out of the man or just intimidated Lambad into giving it to him. He just handed me the paper, and I simply followed the instructions."

Kaveh opens his mouth but can't seem to find the words to say, so he just closes it again. He repeats this motion a few times, lips flapping uselessly, before finally remembering he has a half-tied tie in his hands and Haitham is still waiting for him. So he pulls at the ends once again, this time to wrap the tie up in an intricate knot that contrasts beautifully with the subtle pattern on Haitham's dark suit. He then pulls him by the tie into a kiss, hoping this will convey all that he cannot bring himself to express in words right now.

"You're welcome," Haitham mumbles against his lips once Kaveh pulls back. "Now why are we doing this again? Since we've established it's clearly not our anniversary."

"Not our anniversary," Kaveh corrects him, poking Haitham in the chest and then pointing to himself. "Our anniversary." And as he says this, he draws a circle in the air to also encompass two people who are, unbeknownst to Alhaitham, currently waiting for them at a candlelit restaurant in another part of town, overlooking the moonlit bay.

"Oh," is all he can think to say.

Haitham takes a moment to think back and try to pinpoint the exact day Kaveh is referring to. It's clearly not the first time the four of them shared a bed; that happened some years ago during a shared leave where they had happened to coincide in their choice of lodgings at that lakeside resort in Fontaine. It couldn't be when they'd teamed up to overthrow the government because they weren't all together at that point yet. Perhaps Kaveh was thinking of something more mundane... And that's when it hits him.

"You mean when the four of us had that talk at the tavern last year."

"Of course."

"You've been keeping track?"

"You mean you haven't?"

Haitham ignores the jab. He takes a deliberate step back, turning around to look at himself in the mirror where Kaveh had been touching up his make-up before he saw Haitham struggling behind him.

Not bad, he thinks as he inspects Kaveh's handiwork on the tie. Having given himself time to think this through, he finally speaks, "Not keeping close enough track to consider today as significant in our relationship, or to even think of it as our shared anniversary, no. Especially not as our first one."

Kaveh steps up behind him , chin resting on his shoulder as he joins him in the contemplation of their reflection. Their eyes meet in the mirror. "Then when /would/ you consider is a good date, since you're getting pedantic about this?"

Haitham doesn't answer right away, taking the time to consider the significant times the four of them have shared together over the years. They've toed the line between casual involvement and established relationship for quite some time, perhaps never actually needing to give it a name or anything like an official status.

It wasn't until a year ago, when they had been gathered at the tavern on a regular night out, that the topic had been broached - by Kaveh, no less.

Cyno had been idly shuffling a deck, talking about the beauty of probability with Haitham, who was in turn debating with him over the use of strategy in a controlled environment. Tighnari had been lightly leaning against Haitham, partly to listen in to their conversation and partly just because it was a cool night and Haitham's cape always felt comfortably warm to the touch. Kaveh, half-finished wineglass sitting before him, had been sketching them, as much for the dynamic posture the three men had adopted as for the simple desire to capture this moment and freeze it in time, even if just in a simple drawing.

He had suddenly stopped and looked up from the sketchbook, waiting for their shared attention to focus on him before asking, "What are we?"

The ensuing debate had continued late into the night, spilling out of the tavern after closing time and back to Haitham's house.

And the rest, as they said, was history. Perhaps Kaveh was right in this regard. This simple night probably did count as their 'official' anniversary, in a way.

"I'm not being pedantic," Haitham clarifies first. "I just hadn't considered that we even needed a shared date, especially since the process itself was a lot more involved than just the four of us deciding we were together. Are we supposed to celebrate every iteration of our joint relationship?"

Kaveh shrugs and moves away, rummaging through a small lacquer box where he keeps his jewelry as he looks for the perfect accesory to go with his white suit.

"I don't see why not," he says as he reaches back to tie an emerald pendant around his neck. Haitham wordlessly grabs it from him and attaches it himself. Kaveh nods in thanks as he continues speaking. "Any excuse for a celebration is worth pursuing, isn't it?"

"Says the man who likes to lavishly spend on everything," Haitham chides him.

"This is just a one time thing. Tonight is special... Well, they're all special, but tonight is a cause for extra celebration because it was a culmination of sorts. I'm sure even you can see that."

Haitham sighs. "Alright, you've made your point, and I see where you're coming from."

Kaveh beams, and Haitham swears the room feels a little brighter than it did a moment before.

"So you agree?" Kaveh prods.

"I never said I agreed. I just said I see your point, which is not the same."

Kaveh then grumbles for some time, as though debating with himself whether to take Haitham's bait or not. Eventually, he throws both hands in the air with a huff. "You know what? Fine, I'll take that. I'm sure Nari and Cyno will agree with me anyway."

"So long as this doesn't set a precedent for how we're supposed to celebrate our respective anniversaries in the future," Haitham warns him.

"Don't worry. I'm sure you and Cyno can keep locking yourselves up in your room all day."

"And Tighnari will still be perfectly content not even acknowledging the date beyond sending a flower and a simple homemade dish," Haitham agrees with a curt nod. "Where are we going now anyway? You wouldn't have made me dress up like this just to head to the tavern."

"It's a surprise," Kaveh sing-songs.

Haitham makes a face at that. He does not like surprises. He does not like having to deviate from his usual routine. Kaveh is more than aware of this fact, so he's quick to amend. "Don't worry, it's just going to be us four, and the place is quiet. Nari and I scouted out the site beforehand to make sure you'd be comfortable."

"I trust you," Haitham nods, and Kaveh knows this encompasses all of you. He looks visibly less distraught too, which feels like a victory. Kaveh is confident he might even convince Haitham to repeat this every year, if he plays his cards right.

Haitham goes to fetch his keys, wallet, and book, stuffing them inside his belt pouch before opening the front door. No turning back now. "Fine then, let's go."

Kaveh is in the process of grabbing his own set of keys when a thought belatedly occurs to him.

"...Wait. Does this mean you've had Lambad's recipe in your possession for two months, and you haven't let me have it yet?"

"We're going to be late."

"Alhaitham!"

The two men step out into the night, softly bickering all the way to the restaurant. Here, at the only occupied table, one of the two men opens his eyes, one long ear twitching.

"They're here," Tighnari states.

"Did you h-ear them coming already?" Cyno asks with a grin.

Tighnari masterfully manages to avoid even acknowledging the pun. "They're talking about hummus, apparently."

"And they say romance is dead."

This actually earns Cyno a chuckle from Tighnari, but their conversation is cut short as they spot Haitham and Kaveh approaching. Nari waves at them and sees Kaveh visibly perk up as he spots them sitting at the table.

"Sorry for the wait," Kaveh greets them. "We ran into a little problem."

"I hope you two have bean well," Cyno replies, getting up to kiss the two in greeting.

"You heard us talking about hummus, didn't you?" Haitham states as much as he asks.

"I have no idea what you're talking about," is all Cyno will offer.

As Haitham sits at the table and regards the three men before him, he feels something tugging in his chest, and the feeling only intensifies as both Cyno and Nari reach for his hand and give it a gentle squeeze to welcome him.

As they raise their glasses and toast to the four of them, to whatever it is they have cultivated here, Haitham admits one thing to himself, albeit privately. Perhaps Kaveh was right in this regard. Perhaps some things are worth celebrating, if only as a culmination of their existence.

#jay writes #jay's genshin tag #kavetham #4ggravate #tag you're it #thank you Alex as ever #also this one went straight from my Google Keep notes to the post so I hope I didn't leave any typos #almost forgot to add the link to the list whoops

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365daysofsasuhina · 5 years

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[ 365 Days of SasuHina || Day Two Hundred: Follow the ___ ] [ Uchiha Sasuke, Hyūga Hinata ] [ SasuHina, vulgarity ] [ Verse: Best Years of Your Life] [ AO3 Link ]

“So, are you ready?”

Looking up from her tablet as Sasuke slides into the seat opposite her, Hinata blinks, hand half reaching for her tea. “...ready for...what, exactly?”

“I thought we were going furniture shopping today. Remember?”

Another blink...and then she perks up. “...oh! I totally forgot! I’m sorry, I’ve just been so scatterbrained as of late -”

“It’s fine,” Sasuke assures her with a wave of a hand. “It’s just getting a little old eating breakfast at a folding table with plastic lawn chairs.”

The Hyūga goes a pretty shade of pink. “I...I know, I just…”

“I’m teasing you, Hina.”

“...you’re mean.”

“You’re just more adaptable than me. It’s been driving me nuts since day one, but you hardly seem to notice.”

Shoulders lift in a shrug. “...I guess I don’t. So long as it functions, I don’t really mind what something looks like.”

“Which is weird, because your bedroom back home was done up really cute.”

“W-well…” A glance aside. “That was...different. I was there for my whole life. And it was my space. This is our space.”

At that, Sasuke’s mouth slowly curls into a grin. “...yeah. Guess it is, huh?”

Suddenly bashful, Hinata’s face ducks, smiling. “...mhm…”

“Which means,” he goes on, “that we should put a little money and elbow grease into prettying it up, huh?”

“...you’re right. Let me just finish my breakfast, and we can go.”

“Sounds good.”

As Hinata sips her coffee, Sasuke starts gathering up what they’ll need: primarily a list of what all they’ve decided to add or replace, his wallet, car keys...and a flyer that came in the mail for some new store with decently-priced furniture.

Perfect.

Shepherding his fiance into the car, he makes his way into the denser part of the city, GPS telling him what turns to take when.

“So...most of this is going to be things we put together, right?” Hinata asks as they walk toward the doors.

“I think so, yeah. Cheaper that way. Someday we’ll have big fancy couches and tables and...whatever. But for right now, we’ll hit up the basics so it looks like decent folk are living there, huh?”

Hinata snickers into a hand, following him in.

“All right, so…” Sasuke whips out the list. “We need...a new kitchen table.”

“Mhm.”

“At least two chairs.”

“I still think we should do four.”

“Yeah, I agree. Four chairs. And...a table for the living room. So far the couches are holding up okay.”

“Maybe we could see if they have, um...those covers? That go over the couch?”

“...a good idea,” Sasuke amends, scribbling that down. “That means we’ll have to pick a color…”

“Why not just something close to what we have?”

“...Hinata, one is hunter green, and the other is administrative carpet blue,” Sasuke counters dryly.

“...you have a point.”

They look for the covers first, pleased to find a matched set in a pretty beige. “Think those will fit?” he asks, holding one up.

“I think so…? I could always try adjusting them.”

“All right, I’ll take your word for it.”

Nearby they find a coffee table at a decent price: a pale wood that, oddly enough, matches the covers they found.

“...I think they did that on purpose.”

“I wouldn’t doubt it.”

Then...to the kitchen department.

“Oh Sasuke, look!”

Glancing up from a display, he follows Hinata’s pointing hand.

“Isn’t it cute?”

It’s something called a breakfast nook, according to the accompanying sign. There’s a table, L-shaped seat, and a bench that sits along the other side.

“See? It’ll fit right in the corner! I bet that way, we’ll use a little less space!”

Sasuke gives his chin a thoughtful rub. She does have a point. “...I guess that makes sense. Doesn’t look too hard to put together. And technically it could probably seat five, which is better than the four we planned for.”

Looking almost starry eyed, Hinata gives her best puppy dog look. “Can we get it?”

“...all right, all right. It’s a good compromise.”

“Yay!”

Adding the (rather large) box to their flatbed cart, they take their current round of purchases to the counter, Sasuke at the ready with the coupons from the flyer. A savings of over fifty bucks later, they pack their spoils into the back of the car, and head for home.

And now...comes the tricky part.

Hauling everything into the little house, they start by trying out the couch covers. Tucking and tugging, they manage to get it looking...rather nice.

“...it’s all going to move the second someone sits on it,” Sasuke observes, making Hinata jerk in realization.

“...well, yeah...but until then, it looks nice…?”

He just snorts.

The coffee table is next. Laying out all the pieces and checking them against the instructions, Hinata confirms they have everything listed in the handbook. “Actually...we’ve got a few spare screws.”

“That’s going in the random stuff drawer. You never know when they might come in handy.”

Hinata takes charge of the booklet, carefully calling out each step and watching with eagle eyes as Sasuke obeys. Somehow, they make it through with minimal mishaps (they get two pieces mixed around, but thankfully it only took a few screws being removed and redone to remedy).

Standing it along the newly-clothed couches, Sasuke takes a step back and observes. “...I think...it looks good.”

“Mhm! I’ll have to get some coasters so nothing leaves a mark on it.”

“Good plan.”

They then take a break for lunch, reminiscing about how it should be their last meal with the folding table.

“I guess we can always use this stuff if we have, like...a party or something,” Hinata notes.

Sasuke perks a brow. “...are we the sort to have parties?”

“...well, it could happen.”

“...uh huh.”

With full bellies, they then turn to tackle the last beast. Tape cut and box flawed open, they stare at the contents.

“...that’s a lot of pieces,” Hinata murmurs.

“Mhm. Okay, let’s see if everything is here.” Taking out the parts and checking their sticker labels, Sasuke watches as Hinata crosses them off her list.

“...um…”

“What?”

“There isn’t another D-2?”

“...uh…” Shuffling some styrofoam, he checks the bottom of the now-empty box. “...nope.”

“Aw, s-shoot…” Nibbling the cap of her pen, Hinata says, “That’s the other leg of the bench.”

“...well, we’ll skip that for now. I’ll go in after work tomorrow and see if they can get me a spare.”

“Okay.”

The missing piece, however...is a bit of an omen.

Trying to tug open one of the bags of screws, Sasuke’s hands slip as the plastic suddenly gives way, and the pieces go scattering all over the kitchen. Blinking, he looks to Hinata, who stares back.

“...well, shit.”

Ten minutes are spent gathering them back up, ending up having to get a yardstick to fish out those that flew under the fridge and oven.

That alone puts Sasuke into the beginnings of a bad mood.

“Okay, so then that connects into E-4…”

“...E-4?”

“Mhm,” Hinata hums, staring at the book.

“...that doesn’t look right.”

“Well, that’s what it s-says.”

Holding the pieces together, Sasuke’s brows furrow. “...no.”

“...no?”

“No!”

“...but we have to follow the -?”

“Does that look right to you?”

Blinking, Hinata shuffles over to take a peek. After a moment of consideration...she snorts.

“...what?!”

“Sasuke…”

Fuming, he waits for her to stop giggling.

“It...it’s upside down,” she manages to say, pointing.

Brow furrowing, he looks back...blinks...then turns it over.

A perfect fit.

Scowling, his patience frays as Hinata giggles again, collapsing against him. “...I’m gonna holler. This is the most obnoxious thing I’ve ever had to do in my life.”

Taking a breath after her laughing fit, Hinata looks up to him. “...want to take a break?”

“No. I want to get this done, so we can stop worrying about it.”

“I’m not worrying about it.”

“This nook thing was your idea,” he reminds her, shooting her a look that just makes her snort again.

“I know...I’m sorry.”

“Hn…”

“Will you forgive me when we finish it?”

“...I guess we’ll find out.”

By some grace, they manage to finish the table and the longer seat, propping them up in the corner of the kitchen Hinata had envisioned.

...it fits perfectly.

“...all right. I’ll get a spare part tomorrow. And then...we’re never doing this again,” Sasuke mutters, jostling as Hinata leans against him.

“Sasuke…”

“...hm?”

Giving a sheepish, amused smile, she offers, “...I love you.”

“Tch...you’re lucky I love you too. If anyone else tried to get me to do this, I’d’ve shoved them in the box and tossed them in the dumpster.” As she breaks into another giggle fit, he stubbornly fights a smile.

“That’s fair. How about we go out for dinner, okay? I think we better wait to use this until your temper cools.”

“...yeah. I agree.”

.oOo.

Well...this is super random, but I had a LOT of fun writing it xD I think most of us know the pain and anguish that is putting together furniture that comes in a box. Oddly enough, I have one I've been putting off for like...a month. Whoops. Maybe tomorrow...? I can see Sasuke as being That Guy that starts out calm...but just...starts getting more and more frustrated. Hinata, on the other hand...just laughs things off. Which makes for a rather interesting combo, haha! Aaanyway...oof, two hundred days. And so far, with just one late day. None skipped. HOLY cow. And that's with several other projects running concurrently! I won't lie, some nights I feel pretty burnt out, but...overall this has been one heck of a ride. We're past the halfway point, and to our second of three hundred piece milestones. Part of me is eager for it to be over, and the rest I know will be sad when it is, but! For now, we keep on truckin'! Thanks, as always, for reading <3

#sasuhina #uchiha sasuke #hyūga hinata #vulgarity //#best years of your life [ au ]#365daysofsasuhina

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its-annanguyen · 6 years

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Final Thoughts on Experience

INTRODUCTION

As a Bachelor of Applied Science candidate, I am more focused on the interface design aspect, mainly dealing with web + mobile design & development. I enjoy creating digital arts with a combination of computer programming in HTML/CSS. My hope is to become a UI/UX developer at a high-tech company like Google, Amazon, or even Yelp. That is why I am thankful to have interned at One Wave Designs during the summer of 2018 from June 1st to August 31st as a Web Design & Development Intern.

INTERNSHIP PROCESS

Learning Experience

As a Yelp Elitist, I searched up the “Best Web Design Company” on Yelp, in which One Wave Designs popped up as the first search with a 5-star rating! I gave it a shot and emailed the President/CEO/Owner of the company, Paul. He responded back asking for my resume and portfolio where I finally got a response a month later that I got the internship position!

During my time as an intern, I was responsible for mainly 3 things: web design & development, layout concepts, and SEOs. I mainly worked on 8 projects in 10 weeks. I learned that SEOs (Search Engine Optimization) is very important in web development because websites with good SEOs will always appear at the top of the search list depending on keywords that you use. For instance, if I were to type “Hawaii Web Design” in Google Search, One Wave Designs will be the first to pop up under all the other Google ads search. I learned how to hyperlink emails (mailto:) and phone numbers (tel:), which are also important factors in SEOs. Hierarchy, or the way you order the sizes of the header and texts, also matters too. When you’re adding images or links, it’s good to add a title or alt texts to increase SEO keyword searches. Lastly, saving/uploading images that are 200K or less is great for websites because it loads a lot faster.

I learned how to use 2 types of content management system (CMS), DNN Software and WordPress. I am very familiar with WordPress, it was my first time hearing about DNN. Unfortunately, though, DNN is not used as often anymore and non-developers are shifting to easy CMS like WordPress.I really liked using DNN because of how much coding is involved, whereas WordPress is almost dragging-and-dropping... this is more ideal for non-coders.

I learned how to use an FTP (File Transfer Protocol) software called FileZilla. This allows me to be flexible and customize a website through HTML/CSS coding. Basically, I can manipulate a style of the website by changing up the codes - which can only be done by FTPing and coding. It’s very confusing to explain and understand... I never heard anything like it before until I interned here! After taking web design & development course here at UHWO, I learned that it’s always a smart idea to make copies of the original files that I’ll be editing incase I mess up the codings. Don’t want to repeat that mistake again because there was a time where I had to reset the entire website and build it from scratch. :(

Layout concepts were the MOST STRESSFUL projects I had to do when I interned here. I honestly kind of dreaded it. Paul hated doing layout concepts too! Which explains why I always worked on them instead of him. These 4 software helped me a great deal when I had to make layout concepts/drafts for potential clients:

WhatTheFont.com

Google Fonts

Pantone Color Picker

iStockPhoto.com

WhatTheFont.com allowed me to upload a screenshot of a word so that it can identify the font types for me. Once it generates a few options of fonts, I’d download them (for free) using Google Fonts. Fonts that I find on Google Fonts are great for websites because it doesn’t have to be embedded. Another thing with the web is determining the color, so that’s why I always use the color picker on the Pantone website. Lastly, copyrights and permissions on images/videos/etc. are always questionable. That’s why I always look up stock photos on iStock since we have a subscription with them anyways.

Discoveries

I feel like I’ve grown as a person over the years. I used to be so shy and quiet, never being the first person to speak or raise my hand. Through this internship among other things, I learned how to speak up and ask questions when I needed to. If this is an unpaid internship that I am devoting much of my time to, I EXPECT to learn quite a few things. It never hurts to ask questions because that’s how you learn -- this is my motto. I learned that I am not that great at criticisms or taking in constructive feedback. I want to learn how to be more patient because there were times I’d get super annoyed when my supervisors would tell me what to do when I’m already doing it or will do it. Also, seeing how much projects I’ve done in such a short time span, I discovered that I am a very quick self-learner. As Paul mentioned, every client will have different expectations when it comes to building their website, which is why he couldn’t help/guide me as much as he should’ve. But in a field like web design/development, everything to customizable and flexible, so there’s never just “one way” to work on every single project.

Sample Work

Here’s a GIF image I found that totally speaks to me when it comes to designing layout concepts: the struggle with making the sizes exact. I was able to learn what the difference is between changing an “image size” and a “canvas size” on Photoshop because of this!

CONCLUSION

I wouldn’t mind working in a place similar to my internship~ I mean, I accepted a job position with One Wave Designs after finishing up my internship hours so that says something :D until this day (December) I am still with them. After 6 months, I learned a lot from working at a small yet successful company. There’s sooOoOoOoo much stress that comes with it. There were several times when Paul would dump a handful of projects on me despite my limited schedule and time constraint. I would lose my cool with him at times, and that’s where I reached my boiling point and told him I had enough. That’s when I discovered how much courage I had. Just a few days ago, I turned in a 30-day resignation letter to him, planning to resign by the end of this year since my last semester of college will be a stressful one yet. After Paul received my letter, he decided to give me a freelance position and allowed me to work whenever I can and work from home instead of in the office (lolol). This is what I’ve always wanted!

To conclude, it was a great experience interning here, but it was even better when I actually got paid. Sometimes I would question whether the amount of work I’m doing would even equate to how much I was getting paid by the hour. Ultimately, I was in it for the long run to build my experience and resume. I finally learned when/where to draw the line, which I should’ve done a lot sooner.

In the end, I learned that it’s good to build relationships with others and never be afraid to ask questions. Since I showed a lot of dedication and commitment when working here, I was able to earn Paul’s trust and was able to get things my way most of the time. I take internship experience very seriously. I’m here to learn so I’m not afraid to ask questions when I need to.

Whoops, forgot to add my presentation slides here: CM 390 Presentation

#journal

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guitarboard42-blog · 5 years

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Mel’s Holiday Gift Guide: All New Games! Plus a Quick List of Old Faves!

Is this the best day of the year or what?!?

I’m posting these annual gift guides a few weeks earlier than normal this year because a) so many of you have asked for them to go up before Thanksgiving and b) I love ya. In fact, I’m posting this game gift guide today, a gift guide for kids tomorrow, and a his + hers + kitchen gift guide on Saturday. Whoop!

These gift guides (especially the games edition!) are some of my favorite posts to put together! If this is your first glimpse at one of my gift guides, none of the items I’m waxing poetic about are sponsored. They are just things that our family loves and that we’ve bought ourselves or been gifted from family or friends.

Disclaimer: most of the links below are Amazon affiliate links (where I’ve purchased these games), but feel free to shop around for the best deal!

Here’s a quick link to all the gift guides I’ve posted over the years.

And here are past GAME gift guides: Game Gift Guide 2015 Game Gift Guide 2016 Game Gift Guide 2017

Also, below the post is a list of some of our favorite games of all time (that I’ve posted in the past and are still going strong in our house today). As always, I love knowing YOUR favorite games, too, so leave any fabulous recommendations in the comments!

1. Double Ditto: this super simple (easy to explain) game provided at least 20 hours of entertainment at several family reunions/gatherings this summer. It’s fun to play with older kids , but the most fun was staying up super late playing with the adults. This is one of my favorite group games to play around the table!

2. Scrambled States of America Game: I bought this game on a whim a couple months ago when my kids were going through a geography phase (that actually is eternal and ongoing), and it is a hit! I have to admit I like playing it just as much as the kids. My 6-year old usually needs to be on a team with someone, but the other kids do great (it helps if everyone playing is within a few years of each other’s ages for fair play).

3. Chameleon: another great group game, this was also the hit at my family reunion this summer. My friend, Deb, told me about it earlier this year saying her extended family had played it for hours. Same with us! The quick thinking and inevitable mess ups make it super hilarious and fun. This is definitely a mid-teen and older game (my younger kids have trouble catching on and aren’t as sneaky as they need to be at pretending to know the right clue).

4. Dragonwood: this game was recommended by several of you last year in the game gift guide comment thread, and we love it! This is an oft-played Sunday evening game. It’s clever and strategic and gets the ol’ brain working but easy enough to play for kids about 7+.

5. Pass the Pigs: my grandma always had this game at her house when we were growing up and would visit in the summers. I totally forgot about it until my sister bought a set and I was reminded how quirky and fun and fast and entertaining this game is. It’s a favorite of our whole family. We don’t always follow the exact rules – we go around the table and add up our points based on our pig roll. I love that the whole family can get in on this one.

6. Outfoxed: perfect for those younger game-playing kids, if you are a fan of Hoot Owl Hoot (a huge favorite here), you’ll love this cooperative game that’s great for younger kids, but if you have good-natured teenagers, they actually have a pretty good time playing with their younger sis. 🙂 My sister introduced me to this game; her family of five love it, too. 7. Pit: another childhood favorite, my kids get just as excited (and so dang loud) playing this game as I did growing up. We love it for a good whole family game. All the kids (ages 6 to 14) and of course, me and Brian, get in on the action. Our good friends gifted us this game for a past Christmas, and I’m so glad they did!

8. Kanoodle: this simple, fun, little game would make a great stocking stuffer! Easy to play, I like that it is a single player game – and it’s great for challenging those brain cells (young and old). I often find my kids playing this on Sunday mornings (or when they are avoiding bedtimes).

9. Gravity Maze: I think I mentioned this in a quick post earlier this year about what we were doing to maintain sanity in the summer, and this gravity marble run game was a huge hit. My kids pulled it out (and the roller coaster game below) and played it almost every day. It’s a thinking game…that is super fun, too. Gotta love that!

10. ThinkFun Roller Coaster: like I mentioned above, this roller coaster game and the marble run game made summer days bearable and fun. The premise of both games is pretty similar – there are cards (ranging from easy to difficult) that give clues and then whoever is playing tries to complete the challenge.

11. Solitaire Chess: my kids love to play chess (Brian made them a homemade chess board last year for Christmas with playing pieces put together out of nuts and bolts, and they play it almost every Sunday morning)…but this solitaire version is perfect for those times when they can’t find a willing chess opponent. It’s creative and fun, and I’ve even found myself playing it for a few minutes here and there (my chess skills are rusty and need a little brushing up).

12. Happy Salmon: another fast paced, super easy game, the biggest disclaimer with this game is that it’s loud and chaotic. Needless to say, my kids love it! It is also pretty easy for all ages in our family to play and have fun (even if more often than not, someone gets an elbow to the face when a High 5 goes awry).

13. BrainBox Around the World: I love this game so much! Another geography type game, this one also relies heavily on memory skills. We don’t play it as an official “game” so much as a fun trivia activity (it makes a GREAT car game).

14. Catchphrase: another blast from the past, we recently introduced our kids to this game (and this new and improved Taboo game – did anyone else play and love these games??). It’s nearly impossible to find the original versions of either of these, but we love the new and improved ones. The new catchphrase doesn’t have as many categories as I remember the original one having, but it’s still fun. Both games require teams, so keep that in mind – great for convincing teenagers that playing games (not on their phones) CAN be fun. 🙂

15. Bocce Ball: Brian grew up playing Bocce ball (and lawn darts, although after his brother had to go to the ER twice in a week for a lawn dart gone wrong, I think they got rid of that game)…and this summer we bought a set (bocce ball, not lawn darts, haha) to play as a family. It has been super fun, although some of us are a tad more competitive than others. Ahem.

*Even though it’s pretty much impossible for my game-loving soul to choose all-time favorites, here are some games that amid all the others are still getting played constantly at our house. We have a lot of other favorites not on this list (or up above in this year’s guide), so remember to check out the past gift guides for all the others. If it isn’t obvious already, we are obsessed with games!*

6 Nimmt (probably my favorite card game of all time) Cover Your Assets Bold Enchanted Forest Qwixx Reverse Charades Battle of the UFOs (we will never, ever get tired of this one-of-a-kind game) Telestrations Mastermind (Cam and Brian literally play this every Sunday and a couple times during the week; Cam is shockingly good) Flimsee (one of our all-time favorite backyard games) Code Names (another game that will never, ever get old)

Disclaimer: I am a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for me to earn fees by linking to Amazon.com and affiliated sites.

Source: https://www.melskitchencafe.com/mels-holiday-gift-guide-all-new-games/

#read more #see more #check it out #interesting #learn more

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lazy-safetastic-13 · 7 years

Text

Series Masterlist

All right guys, I hear ya! X3

Here are the stories: (More than a drabble or a one-shot, I’ll count as a ‘Series’)

I’ll have to put it under a cut because it seems long and I don’t want to flood your dashboards with a long ass post. ^~^”)

[Kustard]

A Snake and a Curse: 1 2 3 4 5

No summary can be inputted due to possible spoilers. This is technically a long one-shot.

[Complete] A Snow Tiger: 1&2 3 4

In which Red buys a snow tiger to take care of.

[Fellcest/Fellbros]

The Soul: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9

Due to circumstances that was completely Alphys’ fault, Sans had reverted back to a child. Of a four year old with memories before the skeleton met Papyrus.

Blind Faith: 1 2 3 4 5 6

Out of everything that could’ve happened to him, out of all the shit he’d been through, it was plain to see that the universe said one big whooping, “Fuck you,” to him. To which Sans opened his eyes … only to be met by darkness.

I’m Your Brother: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11

“Sans!” The aforementioned skeleton looked up to find his brother glaring at him, again. What did he NOT do this time.

[Complete] A Guardian Angel: 1 2 3

Uf!Paps (Boss) became a fallen angel, and Uf!Sans (Red) is the little demon that he couldn’t help falling for.

{Collab done with @riceflowerrabbit with part 2 as their comic}

[SpicyCinaroll]

An Angel and a Devil: 1 2 3 4

Uf!Sans as an angel and Ut!Paps as the devil. Complete opposites; both in species and personalities, and this is their tale. {Note to self: write more chapters for more content}

You’re my Brother: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8.1

(Yandere)Ut!Paps cares very much for his brother. So, so much. And it’s just proper for a brother to make sure that his brother understood this. Even if he has to discipline him.

[General - No Pairs]

[Complete] The Nine-Tailed Fox: 0 1 2 2.5

Small Uf!Sans is a nine-tailed fox adopted by the UT!bros as their pet. This is simply drabbles of their daily lives.

(Considered complete as I only tend to add more if inspiration strikes. Otherwise, not much heavy plot thinking on my end and just enjoy the fluff. ^^”))

(Tentatively adding this with numbers but not sure if it will be continued or in pending at the moment) In the Countries of:

{Kustard} Spades: 1

{Fellcest} Hearts: 1

{Spicycinaroll} Diamonds: 1

[Coming Soon]

{Kustard}

Unfettered: 1

Tentatively having no summary

(Just realized that I had already posted chapter 1 in the past. ^^”) So almost forgot to add this one.

However, this will not be updated as it is in the Coming Soon section. But because I’ve already had chapter 1 posted, I needed to add this in here as a future series work)

This was much more tedious than I expected. O-o”) Welp, my computer crashed 3 times so that’s probably why. I can’t even. Orz Saving at every 15 mins interval. lol I cry. ;v;)

Anyway, let me know if there are any problems with the links and/or if I missed anything by messaging me or through an ask to inform me. :)

This list will be continually updated, and I will reblog it when there is enough updates worthy for reblogging.

#Masterlist #for Series #kustard #fellcest #fellbros #spicycinaroll

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themoneybuff-blog · 5 years

Text

The pros and cons of Personal Capital

If you've read money blogs over the past five years, you've heard about Personal Capital. Personal Capital is a free money-tracking tool with a beautiful interface and gasp no advertising. (One of my big complains about Mint is that it shoves ads in your face.) Many of my friends and colleagues promote the hell out of Personal Capital because the company pays good money when people sign up. (And yes, links to Personal Capital in this review absolutely put money in my pocket. But any Personal Capital link you see anywhere on the web puts money in somebody's pocket.) I sometimes wonder, though, if any of my pals actually uses Personal Capital, you know? All of their reviews are glowing. While I like Personal Capital, I've been frustrated by the app in the past. Even today, I find that it's not as useful as I'd like. What are my issues with Personal Capital? For a long time, I was frustrated trying to get Personal Capital to connect to my accounts. It still won't connect to my credit union, but that's fine. I can enter my balance manually. It was frustrating, though, that for years I couldn't get Personal Capital to connect to my Fidelity investment accounts. They work nowbut I'm always worried that they won't. The app still won't connect to my Capital One credit card and hasn't for over a year, which I find mind-blowing.

Personal Capital, as an app, isn't robust enough to replace something like Quicken or You Need a Budget. The latter tools allow you to track and manage your money on a transaction by transaction level. Okay, maybe you can track your transactions, but you can't do anything meaningful with them, the same way you could with Quicken or YNAB.The phone calls! My god, the phone calls! Here's a not-so-secret secret: The Personal Capital app while beautiful and useful is actually bait. It's a lure. Its aim is to attract high net-worth users to connect their accounts. When they do, Personal Capital (the company) begins a phone campaign in an attempt to recruit the users as clients. Personal Capital isn't actually an app company; it's a wealth-management company. They want people with lots of money to sign up. (I can't comment on whether this is a good deal or not. I don't want a financial advisor. I ignore all of the calls from Personal Capital.)

Personal Capital has pretty reports, but there aren't enough of them. My copy of Quicken 2007 ugly as it is has 23 different reports and 10 different graphs. (Plus, you can customize many more.) Personal Capital has maybenine ways to look at your money? (I can't tell for sure.)The security is over the top. I suppose I should be happy about this, but I'm not. It feels like I'm constantly having to verify my identity via email or text message. Some of my other accounts make me do this occasionally, but it feels like Personal Capital does this multiple times per week. That's crazy! Now, these complaints aside, here's a confession: I've been using the Personal Capital app for 5+ years. For real. I can't remember when I started, but I do remember being cranky because a Personal Capital rep didn't know who I was at Fincon 2013 in St. Louis. I use your app, I told him. And I have a big blog. (I wince now at the thought of my arrogance.) Despite the drawbacks, there must be something to it. Right? Today using my current financial situation let's look at the pros and cons of Personal Capital. Quicken 2007 vs. Personal Capital As regular readers know, I'm an old fogey. My money management tool of choice is an antiquated copy of Quicken for Mac 2007. This tool is so important to me, in fact, that I'm currently refusing to update my system software to the latest version (Mac OS Mojave) because I'm afraid it'll break Quicken. (Other user experiences are mixed.) How important is Quicken 2007 to me? No joke: I would buy a used Mac laptop just to run that software. As much as I love Quicken, it has its drawbacks. One of those is that it's a pre-mobile app. Quicken 2007 is almost as old as this blog. It came out roughly one year before the first iPhone. (Get Rich Slowly launched on 15 April 2006. I can't find a release date for Quicken 2007, but it was available by at least 30 August 2006. The iPhone launched on 29 June 2007.) If I want to interact with Quicken, I have to sit down at my desktop computer. Because I'm a nerd, I'm attached to my mobile devices. I have an iPad. And an iPhone. And an Apple Watch. (Why isn't it an iWatch? I don't know. Apple doesn't give a fig about consistency.) I want to be able to track my money from my mobile devices. Trust me: I've tried tons of other mobile apps. I don't really like any of them. I do, however, like Personal Capitalwarts and all. I would never ever use it as my only money management tool, but as one piece of a bigger package, it'a actually kind of awesome. Personal Capital is the only mobile money management app that I use. There are others out there, sure, but for my needs, Personal Capital fills a nicheand fills it well. Personal Capital as Daily Money Tracker I use Personal Capital as a daily tracker. Quicken 2007 is my actual go-to tool for entering and analyzing my data, but Personal Capital is what I've used for the past five years to check on my accounts to make sure everything is okay. Believe it or not, Personal Capital has saved my bacon several times. What? My credit card payment is due today? Whoops! I'd better go pay it. Wait! What's this strange charge on my account? That's not me. Let me call my bank. Whoa! I forgot to pay my garbage bill. I'd better handle that when I get home. Because Personal Capital connects to (most of) my accounts, I'm able to look at everything from a unified dashboard. I don't have to log in to each credit card and bank account to verify everything. I can do it from one place. (Okay, not my credit union. I still have to go check that separately.) Here, for instance, is a look at my recent transactions. (I have no idea what the graph is tracking. I'm not sure I care.)

When I shared my financial situation recently, a few readers wondered why I don't count my business finances when tracking my entire money picture. Well, in Personal Capital I do. Because I can connect the app to both personal and business accounts, I can get an idea of the Big Picture. Here you can see that most of my expenses for January so far have been blog related.

I'll admit, it's very nice to have a single app where I can view all of my recent transactions, both personal and business. Although I only take action on this info maybe twice per year, it sets my mind at ease. It takes thirty seconds of my time each day, but that's thirty seconds I'm happy to spend. Personal Capital as Investment Tracker Honestly, though, Personal Capital isn't meant to be a daily money-management tool. For that, I'd use something like You Need a Budget. Personal Capital is specifically designed to monitor your investments. Because of this, the Personal Capital app has a variety of tools to help investors. First up, there's the plain ol' portfolio view:

Nothing special here, right? You get a list of your investments and a graph of their performance over the past 90 days. Nothing special, but still easier for me than logging into the Fidelity website (or app). (As a passive investor, though, I don't actually look at investment performance that often. I might check it once per weekbut a couple of times per month is more likely.) You can also get a breakdown of your asset allocation:

The Personal Capital app also offers something interesting something I think Vanguard and Fidelity should offer. They have a tool that analyzes the fees on your investment accounts. As you probably know, fees are one of the top drags on the average investor's performance. Too many suckers pay 1% or 2% per year (or more!) in mutual fund costs. Index funds have risen to prominence because they promise management fees of 0.20% or 0.10% (or lower). Personal Capital makes it clear just how much you're paying in fees.

In my case, I'm doing fairly well except in my rollover IRA. But I'm okay with that. That rollover IRA is 100% invested in a real-estate investment trust (or REIT), and those carry higher expense ratios. (True story: That REIT is actually my highest performing investment over the past decade!) Personal Capital's Retirement Calculator All of these other features are great, but there's one main reason I continue to use Personal Capital: its retirement calculator. As I mentioned the other day, I hate most retirement calculators. They're overly simplistic. Their assumptions are bogus. They're designed to get users to save more than they need. The Personal Capital retirement calculator isn't the best tool on the market we'll look at two better tools during the next week but it's pretty damn good for something that's free and built into an otherwise useful app. This section is going to be the biggest part of this review, and it's going to contain plenty of screenshots. You've been warned. First up, here's a look at my own personal financial situation as of this morning. (Sorry for the mute notification in the middle of the screenshot. My bad. Not sure why I was muting my iPad, but I can't fix it now.)

Based on my current situation $736,170 in liquid investments and roughly $60,000 of annual expenses Personal Capital says I'll run out of money at 62. This doesn't differ much from other retirement calculators I've looked at. But here is where Personal Capital gets fun (and the reason I'm obsessed with it). Do you see those + signs across from Investment Events and Spending Goals? If you click on those, you can add new events. (And if you click on existing events, you can modify those.) This means you can tweak your parameters over and over and over again. What if, for instance, I decreased my spending from $60,000 per year to $42,000 per year? (This is my aim for 2019.)

Well, look at that. If I re-embrace frugality, my money will likely last until I'm 72 instead of 62. Nice! And now that I'm back to work at the box factory, what if I stay there for ten years and earn $20,000 annually?

Holy cats! As you can see, working part-time makes a ginormous difference. If I reduce my spending to $3500 per month while earning $20,000 per year, I'm golden. I shouldn't run out of money before my projected age of demise. (Even in a worst-case scenario, my money would last until age 67.) And if I end up with an inheritance? Party time!

Okay, maybe I'm getting a little too out of control there. Let's dial things back. Let's get rid of the inheritance and bring my spending back to current levels. If I work part-time for ten years, what then?

Hm. Not enough to get me to where I want to go, is it? (Plus, I was muting the sound again. What the heck?) Okay, what if I decide to sell this house at some point in the next ten years. What then?

Okay, not bad. That makes me wonder, though, what if I did not decide to go back to work for the family business. What then?

Well, I guess that's not bad, but it's not nearly as good as if I'm bringing in some sort of income. Okay, let's look at the ultimate optimistic scenario. Let's say I trim my spending from $60,000 per year to $42,000 per year. Let's assume I spend the next decade at the box factory earning $20,000 per year. Let's assume that my mother dies in ten years or so and leaves me an inheritance. Let's assume that Kim and I sell this place after increasing frustration with the never-ending repairs, then move into a rented apartment. After all those assumptions, what does my future look like?

But that's a future that's far too rosy than the one I think lies ahead. You get the point, though. Even without the app's other features, I'd love Personal Capital just for its retirement calculator. It's more fun and flexible than 95% of the other retirement calculators on the market. (As I mentioned, we'll take a peek at the 5% that are better over the next few days.) The Bottom Line I have been using Personal Capital for five years now. It's nowhere near a complete money-management tool, and I know that. But I don't care. I don't expect it to be the biggest and bestest. I accept it for what it is. Personal Capital is great at a few things: Monitoring your money on a daily basis.Tracking (and analyzing) your investment portfolio.Playing with various retirement scenarios. If you're not interested in these three tasks, Personal Capital probably isn't right for you. If you want a lot of detail and analysis, Personal Capital probably isn't right for you. If you have a lot of money invested and don't want people to pester you with phone calls, Personal Capital probably isn't right for you. For everyone else, though, Personal Capital is a useful (if imperfect) tool. If you decide to use it, just be aware of its limitations. As I say, I've been using it for five years. It's not my top tool, but it's the one I access most often. That's worth something, I guess. I'm curious, though. Many GRS readers must also be using Personal Capital. What are your experiences like? Do you recommend it? What are your favorite features? What do you not like? Would you recommend Personal Capital to a friend?

Author: J.D. Roth In 2006, J.D. founded Get Rich Slowly to document his quest to get out of debt. Over time, he learned how to save and how to invest. Today, he's managed to reach early retirement! He wants to help you master your money and your life. No scams. No gimmicks. Just smart money advice to help you reach your goals. https://www.getrichslowly.org/personal-capital/

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heavenfemale07-blog · 5 years

Text

Mel’s Holiday Gift Guide: All New Games! Plus a Quick List of Old Faves!

Is this the best day of the year or what?!?

Disclaimer: most of the links below are Amazon affiliate links (where I’ve purchased these games), but feel free to shop around for the best deal!

Here’s a quick link to all the gift guides I’ve posted over the years.

And here are past GAME gift guides: Game Gift Guide 2015 Game Gift Guide 2016 Game Gift Guide 2017

Source: https://www.melskitchencafe.com/mels-holiday-gift-guide-all-new-games/

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andrewdburton · 5 years

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The pros and cons of Personal Capital

If you've read money blogs over the past five years, you've heard about Personal Capital. Personal Capital is a free money-tracking tool with a beautiful interface and — gasp — no advertising. (One of my big complains about Mint is that it shoves ads in your face.)

Many of my friends and colleagues promote the hell out of Personal Capital because the company pays good money when people sign up. (And yes, links to Personal Capital in this review absolutely put money in my pocket. But any Personal Capital link you see anywhere on the web puts money in somebody's pocket.)

I sometimes wonder, though, if any of my pals actually uses Personal Capital, you know? All of their reviews are glowing. While I like Personal Capital, I've been frustrated by the app in the past. Even today, I find that it's not as useful as I'd like.

What are my issues with Personal Capital?

For a long time, I was frustrated trying to get Personal Capital to connect to my accounts. It still won't connect to my credit union, but that's fine. I can enter my balance manually. It was frustrating, though, that for years I couldn't get Personal Capital to connect to my Fidelity investment accounts. They work now…but I'm always worried that they won't. The app still won't connect to my Capital One credit card — and hasn't for over a year, which I find mind-blowing.

The phone calls! My god, the phone calls! Here's a not-so-secret secret: The Personal Capital app — while beautiful and useful — is actually bait. It's a lure. Its aim is to attract high net-worth users to connect their accounts. When they do, Personal Capital (the company) begins a phone campaign in an attempt to recruit the users as clients. Personal Capital isn't actually an app company; it's a wealth-management company. They want people with lots of money to sign up. (I can't comment on whether this is a good deal or not. I don't want a financial advisor. I ignore all of the calls from Personal Capital.)

Personal Capital has pretty reports, but there aren't enough of them. My copy of Quicken 2007 — ugly as it is — has 23 different reports and 10 different graphs. (Plus, you can customize many more.) Personal Capital has maybe…nine ways to look at your money? (I can't tell for sure.)

The security is over the top. I suppose I should be happy about this, but I'm not. It feels like I'm constantly having to verify my identity via email or text message. Some of my other accounts make me do this occasionally, but it feels like Personal Capital does this multiple times per week. That's crazy!

Now, these complaints aside, here's a confession: I've been using the Personal Capital app for 5+ years. For real. I can't remember when I started, but I do remember being cranky because a Personal Capital rep didn't know who I was at Fincon 2013 in St. Louis. “I use your app,” I told him. “And I have a big blog.” (I wince now at the thought of my arrogance.)

Despite the drawbacks, there must be something to it. Right? Today — using my current financial situation — let's look at the pros and cons of Personal Capital.

Quicken 2007 vs. Personal Capital

As regular readers know, I'm an old fogey. My money management tool of choice is an antiquated copy of Quicken for Mac 2007. This tool is so important to me, in fact, that I'm currently refusing to update my system software to the latest version (Mac OS Mojave) because I'm afraid it'll break Quicken. (Other user experiences are mixed.) How important is Quicken 2007 to me? No joke: I would buy a used Mac laptop just to run that software.

As much as I love Quicken, it has its drawbacks. One of those is that it's a pre-mobile app. Quicken 2007 is almost as old as this blog. It came out roughly one year before the first iPhone. (Get Rich Slowly launched on 15 April 2006. I can't find a release date for Quicken 2007, but it was available by at least 30 August 2006. The iPhone launched on 29 June 2007.) If I want to interact with Quicken, I have to sit down at my desktop computer.

Because I'm a nerd, I'm attached to my mobile devices. I have an iPad. And an iPhone. And an Apple Watch. (Why isn't it an iWatch? I don't know. Apple doesn't give a fig about consistency.) I want to be able to track my money from my mobile devices.

Trust me: I've tried tons of other mobile apps. I don't really like any of them. I do, however, like Personal Capital…warts and all. I would never ever use it as my only money management tool, but as one piece of a bigger package, it'a actually kind of awesome.

Personal Capital is the only mobile money management app that I use. There are others out there, sure, but for my needs, Personal Capital fills a niche…and fills it well.

Personal Capital as Daily Money Tracker

I use Personal Capital as a daily tracker. Quicken 2007 is my actual go-to tool for entering and analyzing my data, but Personal Capital is what I've used for the past five years to check on my accounts to make sure everything is okay.

Believe it or not, Personal Capital has saved my bacon several times. What? My credit card payment is due today? Whoops! I'd better go pay it. Wait! What's this strange charge on my account? That's not me. Let me call my bank. Whoa! I forgot to pay my garbage bill. I'd better handle that when I get home.

Because Personal Capital connects to (most of) my accounts, I'm able to look at everything from a unified dashboard. I don't have to log in to each credit card and bank account to verify everything. I can do it from one place. (Okay, not my credit union. I still have to go check that separately.)

Here, for instance, is a look at my recent transactions. (I have no idea what the graph is tracking. I'm not sure I care.)

Personal Capital as Investment Tracker

Honestly, though, Personal Capital isn't meant to be a daily money-management tool. For that, I'd use something like You Need a Budget. Personal Capital is specifically designed to monitor your investments. Because of this, the Personal Capital app has a variety of tools to help investors.

First up, there's the plain ol' portfolio view:

(As a passive investor, though, I don't actually look at investment performance that often. I might check it once per week…but a couple of times per month is more likely.)

You can also get a breakdown of your asset allocation:

The Personal Capital app also offers something interesting — something I think Vanguard and Fidelity should offer. They have a tool that analyzes the fees on your investment accounts. As you probably know, fees are one of the top drags on the average investor's performance. Too many suckers pay 1% or 2% per year (or more!) in mutual fund costs. Index funds have risen to prominence because they promise management fees of 0.20% or 0.10% (or lower).

Personal Capital makes it clear just how much you're paying in fees.

Personal Capital's Retirement Calculator

All of these other features are great, but there's one main reason I continue to use Personal Capital: its retirement calculator.

As I mentioned the other day, I hate most retirement calculators. They're overly simplistic. Their assumptions are bogus. They're designed to get users to save more than they need.

The Personal Capital retirement calculator isn't the best tool on the market — we'll look at two better tools during the next week — but it's pretty damn good for something that's free and built into an otherwise useful app.

This section is going to be the biggest part of this review, and it's going to contain plenty of screenshots. You've been warned.

First up, here's a look at my own personal financial situation as of this morning. (Sorry for the “mute” notification in the middle of the screenshot. My bad. Not sure why I was muting my iPad, but I can't fix it now.)

Based on my current situation — $736,170 in liquid investments and roughly $60,000 of annual expenses — Personal Capital says I'll run out of money at 62. This doesn't differ much from other retirement calculators I've looked at.

But here is where Personal Capital gets fun (and the reason I'm obsessed with it). Do you see those + signs across from Investment Events and Spending Goals? If you click on those, you can add new events. (And if you click on existing events, you can modify those.) This means you can tweak your parameters over and over and over again.

What if, for instance, I decreased my spending from $60,000 per year to $42,000 per year? (This is my aim for 2019.)

Well, look at that. If I re-embrace frugality, my money will likely last until I'm 72 instead of 62. Nice!

And now that I'm back to work at the box factory, what if I stay there for ten years and earn $20,000 annually?

Holy cats! As you can see, working part-time makes a ginormous difference. If I reduce my spending to $3500 per month while earning $20,000 per year, I'm golden. I shouldn't run out of money before my projected age of demise. (Even in a “worst-case scenario”, my money would last until age 67.)

And if I end up with an inheritance? Party time!

Hm. Not enough to get me to where I want to go, is it? (Plus, I was muting the sound again. What the heck?) Okay, what if I decide to sell this house at some point in the next ten years. What then?

Okay, not bad. That makes me wonder, though, what if I did not decide to go back to work for the family business. What then?

Well, I guess that's not bad, but it's not nearly as good as if I'm bringing in some sort of income.

Okay, let's look at the ultimate optimistic scenario. Let's say I trim my spending from $60,000 per year to $42,000 per year. Let's assume I spend the next decade at the box factory earning $20,000 per year. Let's assume that my mother dies in ten years or so and leaves me an inheritance. Let's assume that Kim and I sell this place after increasing frustration with the never-ending repairs, then move into a rented apartment.

After all those assumptions, what does my future look like?

But that's a future that's far too rosy than the one I think lies ahead.

You get the point, though. Even without the app's other features, I'd love Personal Capital just for its retirement calculator. It's more fun and flexible than 95% of the other retirement calculators on the market. (As I mentioned, we'll take a peek at the 5% that are better over the next few days.)

The Bottom Line

I have been using Personal Capital for five years now. It's nowhere near a complete money-management tool, and I know that. But I don't care. I don't expect it to be the biggest and bestest. I accept it for what it is.

Personal Capital is great at a few things:

Monitoring your money on a daily basis.

Tracking (and analyzing) your investment portfolio.

Playing with various retirement scenarios.

If you're not interested in these three tasks, Personal Capital probably isn't right for you. If you want a lot of detail and analysis, Personal Capital probably isn't right for you. If you have a lot of money invested and don't want people to pester you with phone calls, Personal Capital probably isn't right for you.

For everyone else, though, Personal Capital is a useful (if imperfect) tool. If you decide to use it, just be aware of its limitations. As I say, I've been using it for five years. It's not my top tool, but it's the one I access most often. That's worth something, I guess.

I'm curious, though. Many GRS readers must also be using Personal Capital. What are your experiences like? Do you recommend it? What are your favorite features? What do you not like? Would you recommend Personal Capital to a friend?

The post The pros and cons of Personal Capital appeared first on Get Rich Slowly.

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