As our title suggests, this month 1DayLater has more fresh stuff than your milkman! You've given some great suggestions for improvements and we've tried our best to deliver...

Timers

"Looking forward to having 'timers' back" - Heather Baxter (Genie)

This was easily one of the most requested features. 1DayLater now lets you create a handy timer for any activity that has "minutes", "hours" or "days" as a Unit. Keeping time is now simple and enjoyable.

...and for our brothers and sisters across the water, we have included some foreign translations too. Here's one of the more unusual looking ones!

You can now create timers in over 20 different languages, including Polish, Spanish, German and Italian. Bueno!

Super Satisfying Updates

"I want users to know exactly how much value they are logging" - Paul King (1DayLater)

If logging activities wasn't satisfying enough before, you now get a real-time "blip" that shows the value of your logged activity

These totals provide a useful "snapshot" of the health of your business, making sure that cashflow is always fresh in your mind.

Invoice Tokens

"How do I know when I've earned more Invoice Tokens?" - Ashleigh Gibson

Excellent point! There is now a handy icon on your dashboard, that displays how many Invoice Tokens you have left.

We've included this for users who want to take advantage of 1DayLater's referal scheme, to earn new Invoice Tokens - http://new.1daylater.com/refer

Premium Discounts

"Are discount codes from the old 1DayLater valid for the new one?" - Anonymous user (Feedback Forum)

Yes they are. You can also get a 10% discount (that can be redeemed at any time) by Liking our Facebook page - http://facebook.com/1daylater

Like our Facebook page for discounts and regular updates

As always, we are keen to hear any suggestions you have. Also, be prepared for the occasional bug while we are still in Beta :)

If you are newly married, saving up for a big expense or trying to claw your way out of debt, then managing a tight budget could be the answer to your problems. With money-related stress affecting us all at some point in our lives, it's great to know that there 6 practical tips that can help us through the hard times.

1) Maximize Your Savings

Figure out how much money you can realistically save each month from your budget. Set up a standing order to deposit this into a savings account each month. This will serve as a handy buffer if you fall into any difficulties later on.

2) Use cash for essentials

Taking a pen and paper, work out exactly how much money you need for your everyday living costs (eating, travelling expenses etc). At the start of each week, withdraw this amount and divide it equally into paper envelopes. Name each one: "Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday" to serve as a reminder.

Just remember not to use your card as this is the quickest way to lose track!

3) Ditch your "bad habits"

If you're a smoker or a drinker, alchohol and cigarettes are an obvious expense to cut from your spending. This could be a great opportunity to make some positive changes to your health as well as reaching your financial goals. Other bad habits like gambling can go too!

4) Pay down your credit card debt

The high interest rates on credit cards make them one of the worst forms of debt. But there are some logical steps that you can take to pay them back effectively and quickly:

Focus on the credit card with the highest rate of interest.

Pay back as much as you can each month without getting yourself into further difficulty.

Pay the minimum balance on any remaining cards - this will stop you from getting any bank charges.

5) Track your Money

The biggest hurdle to overcome in making a budget work is self-discipline. Once you've been budgeting for a few weeks it can be easy to fall back into old habits. Keeping track of your daily spending is a great motivator and can give you an early warning sign if any expenses. Track your money with 1DayLater

6) Analyse your spending habits

You've tracked your spending habits, now its time to make some practical use of this knowledge. Figure out if any of your expenses can be reduced or removed completely. Are you spending a lot of money on restaurant food each month? Could you be saving money on gas? (check out our earlier blog article on finding the cheapest gas prices in your area)

Lastly, don't lose faith!

Been recently involved in a programme operated by CDC which included a 'mentoring' stage.  

All very useful, but best that you make sure that you understand what you want to get from it before you start out.  If it isn't working then make sure you try to understand why before you get out of it - is it a personality clash or that you are really following the wrong rabbit down the wrong hole.  Thankfully it has worked to date and will continue to work for me.  Thank you Paul @1daylater

One really useful trick I've learned today is mapping out your network (thanks Wendy).  It works like this...

1) take a piece of paper and a load of coloured pencils (crayons if you are especially artistic) put you/your business in a circle in the middle of the paper.

2) put around it people directly or indirectly involved with your business 

3) add to it networks/relationships that you are involved with that are of relevance to the business

4) label each person with a status based on your current relationship with them in relation to your business - either as a positive, negative or neutral.

5) then label with a tick those people you regularly communicate with, and put a x against those whom you do not regularly communicate with.

6) Take a damn good look at what you've just drawn (it will be a bit of a mess, so look closely)

7) Zen time...

a) Think about where you need to improve communication those whom you need to communicate with more.  

b) Think about where you need to look to improve negative or neutral relationships and retain positive relationships.  

c) Also think about where you need to 'exit' relationships.

Result - a nice little action list to keep you busy for a while.