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Ponzi learned a valuable lesson this week. Never buy software before you try it. If there’s no free trial available, stay away from it! Always check to see if you can find a comparable open-source or free software. You might actually find one that’s better than its paid counterpart.

Ponzi stopped by the Apple store last week, and came home with a $50.00 Screenwriting software title. Fifty dollars?! Ouch! I set out to find a free or open-source alternative, and found one quickly. The ratings for the open-source program are better than the one she bought, so I took hers back to the Apple store. I refuse to pay for software that I can get an open-source or free version of that’s just as good… or better!

Ponzi has also been wanting to start doing an inventory of our home and possessions for insurance purposes. She mentioned to me that all the software she was finding was expensive, and “ugly”. Well crud. I do NOT like ugly software. So I set out once again on my software quest.

Luckily, I came upon StuffSafe.com. This site and its services are completely free. There are two big pluses in my mind:

• Being online, it’s available no matter what Operating System you use. As long as you can get online, you can access your inventory
• Again… being online: say my house were to burn down, and my only inventory was residing on my computer. If I don’t have time to get the computer… the inventory is lost. Being online like this allows me to access the information anyway, and still keep a copy on my computer. .

With StuffSafe, there are no restrictions. You can add as many “things” as you own, as many rooms, and as many homes. You can also download and save or print customizable reports. There are options for reports by room, by house, by item type, and more!

What home inventory software do you use? Is it any good? I’m happy to look at it, but I’m warning you… if it’s ugly, I won’t use it.

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