A week ago Friday, my iMac G5 started having power problems. As in...it would just lose power while it was running and ultimately the power wouldn't even last through the boot-up process. I spent a good deal of time on Saturday troubleshooting via phone with a product specialist (shout out to Joe Murphy from Apple) and we thought the problem was the UPS and not my iMac. By Sunday morning we were proven wrong. Due to some miscommunication and some poor timing, my iMac didn't get to the Apple store for repair until Wednesday. They estimated 7-10 days total to replace the logic board and the internal power supply.
Not only does this mean I will be without my computer essentially for two consecutive weekends, but also my first few days of vacation next week which will be spent at home. After returning from the rest of my vacation, I will have to immediately travel for business for the remainder of that week.
All this is to say that I will have been without access to the bulk of my financial data for three weeks by the time this odyssey is all over and it's making me crazy. My plans to use some of my vacation time to further hone our financial plans are in disarray. I could go on about what I am prevented from doing by the loss of time with my computer, but I've already exhausted this topic with my friends and family ;)
I am sure there are lessons to be learned here about how i can make my financial data more "mobile" etc, but I'll ponder those at another time. The fact of the matter is that the way I use the computer (via Quicken and spreadsheets basically) greatly helps me achieve what I want to with my personal finance goals. It's not for everyone, but it IS what works for me. And it's interesting to be plunged into near "darkness" and I gotta tell you...it sucks.
But to quote an overly used catchphrase that my coworkers and I are currently mocking: "It is what it is"
Bummer, that would drive me nuts too. I think if you save your Quicken data file onto a USB drive or something, you could load it up on someone else's Mac if they have Quicken installed. I recently realized how distraught I would be if I lost my Quicken data, which is on my never-backed-up iBook, so I've started saving it on a USB keychain thingie that I happened to get from work.
ReplyDeleteI am also a big fan of Pocket Quicken for Palm devices. It is very stripped down, but you can still run little reports like how many transactions and how much you spent in a category or to a payee, and see your net worth and balances in all accounts, etc.
Hope your computer comes back soon!
That is *exactly* my plan for the future :) I run Quicken 2005 for Windows inside Virtual PC and I even have a small capacity (and tres cute!) "USB keychain thingie" to devote to this sacred purpose.
ReplyDeleteThe extra layer of obfuscation might be a small hassle, but being able to access my data either on my old PC or using LaLa's Virtual PC wins hands down.
iBooks rule...ours is what is saving my patootie right now as I surf and post. bought it used for a grrreat price a few years back and it's an integral part of our household.
Pocket Quicken....I love all things pocket sized...gotta go check it out ;)
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
ReplyDelete