realtruelove Posted October 24, 2008 Share Posted October 24, 2008 I'm looking to track income and expenses and create a budget. What does TBD recommend? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stl Bills Posted October 24, 2008 Share Posted October 24, 2008 I'm looking to track income and expenses and create a budget. What does TBD recommend? Microsoft Money is a pretty good program. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
/dev/null Posted October 25, 2008 Share Posted October 25, 2008 The human brain and personal responsibility Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
realtruelove Posted October 25, 2008 Author Share Posted October 25, 2008 How about Quicken? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Dean Posted October 25, 2008 Share Posted October 25, 2008 How about Quicken? I have many clients who use it, and seem to like it. There are free alternatives that I hear good things about, too. Here's one of them: http://www.gnucash.org/ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/GnuCash Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WVUFootball29 Posted October 25, 2008 Share Posted October 25, 2008 The human brain and personal responsibility That no longer exists this day and age... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DC Tom Posted October 25, 2008 Share Posted October 25, 2008 I've used MS Money and Quicken. Quicken is the gold standard. It also sucks moose balls (seriously, I've never seen such buggy software). And MS Money, unbelievably, is worse. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kegtapr Posted October 25, 2008 Share Posted October 25, 2008 I tried Quicken but never kept up to date with it. I found creating a spreadsheet in Excel was the best (and cheapest assuming you have office) solution. You can even find templetes online. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
realtruelove Posted October 25, 2008 Author Share Posted October 25, 2008 I've used MS Money and Quicken. Quicken is the gold standard. It also sucks moose balls (seriously, I've never seen such buggy software). And MS Money, unbelievably, is worse. Have you ever heard of Moneydance? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Dean Posted October 25, 2008 Share Posted October 25, 2008 Have you ever heard of Moneydance? Is that the software the Sundowner uses? Maybe it is hardware. hmmmm Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fezmid Posted October 25, 2008 Share Posted October 25, 2008 I use Quicken and love it -- but don't love that they force you to buy a new version every 2 years. MS Money does the same thing. If you think that you can use a spreadsheet, then you're not using the full power of the software. Quicken (and Money) integrate with financial institutions so you can literally click a button and download all of your transactions. Very simple. You can also use it to track spending on certain categories - for example, how much did you spend eating out for lunch over the past 3 months compared to the same period last year? Stuff like that. I'm a huge fan - and track everything with it, including money that travels in and out of my wallet. I'm a bit fanatical, but I love being able to see where every penny goes and it helps you curtail your spending by identifying waste. It's had a few bugs here and there, but overall it's been relatively stable. That said, I would've been happy to still be using the 2002 version. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chilly Posted October 25, 2008 Share Posted October 25, 2008 I'm a bit fanatical, You work for Rackspace? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DC Tom Posted October 25, 2008 Share Posted October 25, 2008 If you think that you can use a spreadsheet, then you're not using the full power of the software. Quicken (and Money) integrate with financial institutions so you can literally click a button and download all of your transactions. Very simple. Otherwise I'd use a spreadsheet. That's a very important feature when you're wife's as fiscally responsible as Congress. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
realtruelove Posted October 25, 2008 Author Share Posted October 25, 2008 I use Quicken and love it -- but don't love that they force you to buy a new version every 2 years. MS Money does the same thing. If you think that you can use a spreadsheet, then you're not using the full power of the software. Quicken (and Money) integrate with financial institutions so you can literally click a button and download all of your transactions. Very simple. You can also use it to track spending on certain categories - for example, how much did you spend eating out for lunch over the past 3 months compared to the same period last year? Stuff like that. I'm a huge fan - and track everything with it, including money that travels in and out of my wallet. I'm a bit fanatical, but I love being able to see where every penny goes and it helps you curtail your spending by identifying waste. It's had a few bugs here and there, but overall it's been relatively stable. That said, I would've been happy to still be using the 2002 version. What version do you use? Do you have the bill pay option? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
/dev/null Posted October 25, 2008 Share Posted October 25, 2008 That no longer exists this day and age... That's because we live in such a Great Society Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kegtapr Posted October 25, 2008 Share Posted October 25, 2008 If you think that you can use a spreadsheet, then you're not using the full power of the software. Quicken (and Money) integrate with financial institutions so you can literally click a button and download all of your transactions. Very simple. That's exactly why I went to a spreadsheet. I found myself downloading my bank info, then never balancing it. It was way to easy to just trust the software. Oh look, another pretty graph....nap time. If you're lazy like me, forcing yourself to take a more manual approach can be a good thing. My accounts have been perfectly balanced since I started and I feel I'm controling my finances better then I ever did with Quicken. One way works for one person, another way for others. Plus, if your goal is to help reduce spending, not paying for upgrades every two years is a good place to start. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JoeFerguson Posted October 25, 2008 Share Posted October 25, 2008 yodlee.com Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fezmid Posted October 25, 2008 Share Posted October 25, 2008 What version do you use? Do you have the bill pay option? I use Quicken Deluxe 2008. That's exactly why I went to a spreadsheet. I found myself downloading my bank info, then never balancing it. It was way to easy to just trust the software. Oh look, another pretty graph....nap time. If you're lazy like me, forcing yourself to take a more manual approach can be a good thing. My accounts have been perfectly balanced since I started and I feel I'm controling my finances better then I ever did with Quicken. One way works for one person, another way for others. Plus, if your goal is to help reduce spending, not paying for upgrades every two years is a good place to start. Well, if you spend a couple of minutes every day, you don't have to worry about just blindly trusting the downloads. I check the credit card almost every day, so there's only 4-8 transactions I need to review and it makes it simple to tell if it's a legit purchase or not (and I have found a few bank errors in the past). It's much more accurate than a spreadsheet because you don't have to worry about mistyping your data into the spreadsheet either. Typos would be my biggest concern with a spreadsheet. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kegtapr Posted October 25, 2008 Share Posted October 25, 2008 I use Quicken Deluxe 2008. Well, if you spend a couple of minutes every day, you don't have to worry about just blindly trusting the downloads. I check the credit card almost every day, so there's only 4-8 transactions I need to review and it makes it simple to tell if it's a legit purchase or not (and I have found a few bank errors in the past). It's much more accurate than a spreadsheet because you don't have to worry about mistyping your data into the spreadsheet either. Typos would be my biggest concern with a spreadsheet. What part of my post did you fail to read? I said 1. My accounts have been perfectly balanced and 2. One way works for one person, another way for others. I'm not debating that Quicken works for people. I'm offering an alternative. This guy was looking for advice and there are different ways to go. ...and DirectTV sucks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fan in San Diego Posted October 25, 2008 Share Posted October 25, 2008 I recommend a shoebox and a mattress. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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