Comments on: The Good And Bad Of Microsoft Money And Quicken – And Why I Usually Point People Towards A Spreadsheet Instead http://www.thesimpledollar.com/2007/09/11/the-good-and-bad-of-microsoft-money-and-quicken-and-why-i-usually-point-people-towards-a-spreadsheet-instead/ Simple, applicable personal finance advice for the modern world Sun, 22 Nov 2009 01:08:33 -0800 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.8.4 hourly 1 By: R.W.K. http://www.thesimpledollar.com/2007/09/11/the-good-and-bad-of-microsoft-money-and-quicken-and-why-i-usually-point-people-towards-a-spreadsheet-instead/comment-page-2/#comment-695181 R.W.K. Fri, 12 Jun 2009 22:13:04 +0000 http://www.thesimpledollar.com/2007/09/11/the-good-and-bad-of-microsoft-money-and-quicken-and-why-i-usually-point-people-towards-a-spreadsheet-instead/#comment-695181 A late reply to an old biased article. I have used Money for years, and am angry at Microsoft for the new reason of them not continuing it. I have no idea what the author of this article is talking about as far as having to put up with ads. In Money, I have not had any problems. Then again, I have always paid for mine, and not just tried to get around things by using a free copy. In the real version, you don't have to put up with ads. All those comments were was another way to rail against microsoft and put things in a negative light. The program is/was very easy to use. And for all those that complain that it takes too much of their time, then they are using it wrong. If I had to add it up, the total could still be expressed in minutes for the time I spend downloading/updating accounts. And don't be a smartbut about it -- Well, 5 wasted hours is 300 minutes!!!! --- no dummy, I mean I spend less than 15 minutes a month with updates, and I update Money almost every day. Everyone likes to talk bad about the big machine that microsoft is. Money worked, and it did the job PERFECTLY for me. I have used it since it first came out. I am very upset to see it discontinued. A late reply to an old biased article. I have used Money for years, and am angry at Microsoft for the new reason of them not continuing it. I have no idea what the author of this article is talking about as far as having to put up with ads. In Money, I have not had any problems. Then again, I have always paid for mine, and not just tried to get around things by using a free copy. In the real version, you don’t have to put up with ads. All those comments were was another way to rail against microsoft and put things in a negative light.

The program is/was very easy to use. And for all those that complain that it takes too much of their time, then they are using it wrong. If I had to add it up, the total could still be expressed in minutes for the time I spend downloading/updating accounts. And don’t be a smartbut about it — Well, 5 wasted hours is 300 minutes!!!! — no dummy, I mean I spend less than 15 minutes a month with updates, and I update Money almost every day.

Everyone likes to talk bad about the big machine that microsoft is.

Money worked, and it did the job PERFECTLY for me. I have used it since it first came out. I am very upset to see it discontinued.

]]> By: L. Rosado http://www.thesimpledollar.com/2007/09/11/the-good-and-bad-of-microsoft-money-and-quicken-and-why-i-usually-point-people-towards-a-spreadsheet-instead/comment-page-2/#comment-253492 L. Rosado Fri, 25 Apr 2008 16:22:00 +0000 http://www.thesimpledollar.com/2007/09/11/the-good-and-bad-of-microsoft-money-and-quicken-and-why-i-usually-point-people-towards-a-spreadsheet-instead/#comment-253492 I like the layout of Quicken, the vibrant colors, you can add post it notes to calendar and register, multiple attachments vs. 1 in Money, but I use Acrobat to turn all the multiple attachments to 1 file. The password vault needs work on Quicken, it dumps them on me from time to time. Setting up online payees takes more time and repetition than Money. Quicken has too many places that seem out of line with the rest, legacy from prior versions. With Money I can use any type of Pocket pc software and update my accounts on the go, then when I get back home I just connect my pc and my desktop is updated without having to open up money, money also autodownloads and reconciles automatically. With qucken I can't change data once uploaded from my pocket pc. I also have to open Quicken to accept the online downloads, pocket pc uploads then close quicken and update my ppc, too much work. I'm staying with money. The bills is way much better than quicken. I'm not rich, I might fall behind on my bills, with money I can insert the amount due for any month without disturbing the rest, not with quicken you change 1, you've change them all. Too many other things to mention, Quicken might be the de-facto standard, but with Money I can worry less about my finances, it's automated with my pocket pc. I like the layout of Quicken, the vibrant colors, you can add post it notes to calendar and register, multiple attachments vs. 1 in Money, but I use Acrobat to turn all the multiple attachments to 1 file. The password vault needs work on Quicken, it dumps them on me from time to time. Setting up online payees takes more time and repetition than Money. Quicken has too many places that seem out of line with the rest, legacy from prior versions. With Money I can use any type of Pocket pc software and update my accounts on the go, then when I get back home I just connect my pc and my desktop is updated without having to open up money, money also autodownloads and reconciles automatically. With qucken I can’t change data once uploaded from my pocket pc. I also have to open Quicken to accept the online downloads, pocket pc uploads then close quicken and update my ppc, too much work. I’m staying with money. The bills is way much better than quicken. I’m not rich, I might fall behind on my bills, with money I can insert the amount due for any month without disturbing the rest, not with quicken you change 1, you’ve change them all. Too many other things to mention, Quicken might be the de-facto standard, but with Money I can worry less about my finances, it’s automated with my pocket pc.

]]> By: thomas http://www.thesimpledollar.com/2007/09/11/the-good-and-bad-of-microsoft-money-and-quicken-and-why-i-usually-point-people-towards-a-spreadsheet-instead/comment-page-2/#comment-229937 thomas Tue, 08 Apr 2008 07:11:29 +0000 http://www.thesimpledollar.com/2007/09/11/the-good-and-bad-of-microsoft-money-and-quicken-and-why-i-usually-point-people-towards-a-spreadsheet-instead/#comment-229937 I bought quicken 2008 deluxe 3 weeks ago and I am fed up with it. For one I can't download my bank info onto quicken and when I try tech support for solutions nothing gets solved. So tonight I tried MS Money Plus trial version and right off the bat my bank account was downloaded and all the info was there. I owned MS Money about 10 years ago and loved it.....so now I will try the trial period and see what happens. But for now i'm happy with it......time will tell. I bought quicken 2008 deluxe 3 weeks ago and I am fed up with it. For one I can’t download my bank info onto quicken and when I try tech support for solutions nothing gets solved. So tonight I tried MS Money Plus trial version and right off the bat my bank account was downloaded and all the info was there. I owned MS Money about 10 years ago and loved it…..so now I will try the trial period and see what happens. But for now i’m happy with it……time will tell.

]]> By: mw http://www.thesimpledollar.com/2007/09/11/the-good-and-bad-of-microsoft-money-and-quicken-and-why-i-usually-point-people-towards-a-spreadsheet-instead/comment-page-2/#comment-71788 mw Sat, 15 Sep 2007 19:57:04 +0000 http://www.thesimpledollar.com/2007/09/11/the-good-and-bad-of-microsoft-money-and-quicken-and-why-i-usually-point-people-towards-a-spreadsheet-instead/#comment-71788 Neither Quicken or Money are my ideals for budget tracking. The best for that, that I've used, was the old Managing your Money which treated budgeted money cumulatively, just like you would in the envelope system. There are now some interesting looking free/shareware programs that do that. However, I still use Quicken, but because it has the best investment tracking software I've seen in an integrated finance package. That is, there is good investment tracking software and good banking/budgeting software, but rarely do the twain meet. Once you get out of the paying off debts stage, and into the building up assets stage, this becomes more critical. Just having something that can handle a partial sale on a taxable mutual fund account that uses the average cost basis method, then remembers that you have to use the same method for any future sales, is worth gold. Neither Quicken or Money are my ideals for budget tracking. The best for that, that I’ve used, was the old Managing your Money which treated budgeted money cumulatively, just like you would in the envelope system. There are now some interesting looking free/shareware programs that do that.

However, I still use Quicken, but because it has the best investment tracking software I’ve seen in an integrated finance package. That is, there is good investment tracking software and good banking/budgeting software, but rarely do the twain meet.

Once you get out of the paying off debts stage, and into the building up assets stage, this becomes more critical. Just having something that can handle a partial sale on a taxable mutual fund account that uses the average cost basis method, then remembers that you have to use the same method for any future sales, is worth gold.

]]> By: Fabulously Broke http://www.thesimpledollar.com/2007/09/11/the-good-and-bad-of-microsoft-money-and-quicken-and-why-i-usually-point-people-towards-a-spreadsheet-instead/comment-page-1/#comment-71787 Fabulously Broke Sat, 15 Sep 2007 19:46:49 +0000 http://www.thesimpledollar.com/2007/09/11/the-good-and-bad-of-microsoft-money-and-quicken-and-why-i-usually-point-people-towards-a-spreadsheet-instead/#comment-71787 I found the same things you did Trent.. I didn't like using Money or Quicken (It's not very accomodating to Canadians), and it didn't offer me the level of detail I needed (separating personal/business). Lorax: You can make Excel do anything (except automatically download financial data), if you know how. It's just more complicated and time consuming to set it up. Me, I just stick to my <a href="http://fabulouslybrokeinthecity.blogspot.com/2007/09/managing-my-pennies.html" rel="nofollow">5 excel sheets that show me exactly what I need to know</a> on a regular basis. I found the same things you did Trent.. I didn’t like using Money or Quicken (It’s not very accomodating to Canadians), and it didn’t offer me the level of detail I needed (separating personal/business).

Lorax: You can make Excel do anything (except automatically download financial data), if you know how. It’s just more complicated and time consuming to set it up.

Me, I just stick to my 5 excel sheets that show me exactly what I need to know on a regular basis.

]]> By: lorax http://www.thesimpledollar.com/2007/09/11/the-good-and-bad-of-microsoft-money-and-quicken-and-why-i-usually-point-people-towards-a-spreadsheet-instead/comment-page-1/#comment-70889 lorax Thu, 13 Sep 2007 23:01:17 +0000 http://www.thesimpledollar.com/2007/09/11/the-good-and-bad-of-microsoft-money-and-quicken-and-why-i-usually-point-people-towards-a-spreadsheet-instead/#comment-70889 re: spreadsheet vs Quicken/Moneydance 1) spreadsheets don't download financial data 2) spreadsheets don't have charts that drill into transactions 3) spreadsheets don't create a wide variety of rollups or reports re: spreadsheet vs Quicken/Moneydance

1) spreadsheets don’t download financial data
2) spreadsheets don’t have charts that drill into transactions
3) spreadsheets don’t create a wide variety of rollups or reports

]]> By: Bob T http://www.thesimpledollar.com/2007/09/11/the-good-and-bad-of-microsoft-money-and-quicken-and-why-i-usually-point-people-towards-a-spreadsheet-instead/comment-page-1/#comment-70482 Bob T Thu, 13 Sep 2007 02:40:13 +0000 http://www.thesimpledollar.com/2007/09/11/the-good-and-bad-of-microsoft-money-and-quicken-and-why-i-usually-point-people-towards-a-spreadsheet-instead/#comment-70482 I used to be a Quicken user and got a lot out of it. When I switched to Linux, I continued to use it with Wine and Win4Lin. Then I upgraded my system and couldn't reinstall it - my license key no longer worked. No help from Intuit. I will never let my data be held hostage by a software company again. I've been using spreadsheets and recently tried GnuCash again. I've found it does everything I need and am making greater progress since I started with it. I used to be a Quicken user and got a lot out of it. When I switched to Linux, I continued to use it with Wine and Win4Lin. Then I upgraded my system and couldn’t reinstall it – my license key no longer worked. No help from Intuit. I will never let my data be held hostage by a software company again.

I’ve been using spreadsheets and recently tried GnuCash again. I’ve found it does everything I need and am making greater progress since I started with it.

]]> By: Joanne Reed http://www.thesimpledollar.com/2007/09/11/the-good-and-bad-of-microsoft-money-and-quicken-and-why-i-usually-point-people-towards-a-spreadsheet-instead/comment-page-1/#comment-70419 Joanne Reed Wed, 12 Sep 2007 23:47:52 +0000 http://www.thesimpledollar.com/2007/09/11/the-good-and-bad-of-microsoft-money-and-quicken-and-why-i-usually-point-people-towards-a-spreadsheet-instead/#comment-70419 Katie, sorry I didn't get back to you sooner about how I budget with EXCEL. My budget is divided into fixed and variable expenses. I set the budget yearly based on last years fixed bill and the set amounts I wish to spend on variables (ie 150.00 per week on food, cleaning products and personal hygiene products). After all bills are divided by 52, I have a set amount that has to be transferred weekly from my business account to ING so these expenses are covered. From ING I withdraw and pay these bills on line. I charge everything possible on credit cards which I pay every month on time in full so I receive cash back (1.5 - 3%). My savings and investments are regarded as fixed expenses and are automatically withdrawn monthly by the mutual fund companies. This all works for me because my income flow fluxuates wildly but at any point I can look at my account and know how many weeks worths of expenses I have. If the account builds up too much (it is no fee but no interest) then I take an extra draw and regard it as savings. I think the confusion is that these programs track money flow and checking etc...(I used quickpro for awhile) but a my budget lets me know I am covered weekly for expenses that may only actually occur bi annually. Katie, sorry I didn’t get back to you sooner about how I budget with EXCEL.
My budget is divided into fixed and variable expenses. I set the budget yearly based on last years fixed bill and the set amounts I wish to spend on variables (ie 150.00 per week on food, cleaning products and personal hygiene products). After all bills are divided by 52, I have a set amount that has to be transferred weekly from my business account to ING so these expenses are covered. From ING I withdraw and pay these bills on line. I charge everything possible on credit cards which I pay every month on time in full so I receive cash back (1.5 – 3%). My savings and investments are regarded as fixed expenses and are automatically withdrawn monthly by the mutual fund companies. This all works for me because my income flow fluxuates wildly but at any point I can look at my account and know how many weeks worths of expenses I have. If the account builds up too much (it is no fee but no interest) then I take an extra draw and regard it as savings.
I think the confusion is that these programs track money flow and checking etc…(I used quickpro for awhile) but a my budget lets me know I am covered weekly for expenses that may only actually occur bi annually.

]]> By: Katie http://www.thesimpledollar.com/2007/09/11/the-good-and-bad-of-microsoft-money-and-quicken-and-why-i-usually-point-people-towards-a-spreadsheet-instead/comment-page-1/#comment-70299 Katie Wed, 12 Sep 2007 20:39:24 +0000 http://www.thesimpledollar.com/2007/09/11/the-good-and-bad-of-microsoft-money-and-quicken-and-why-i-usually-point-people-towards-a-spreadsheet-instead/#comment-70299 I'm one of those who inquired about using Excel. I know how to use Excel-from Chart to Pivot Tables. But there's a reason that personal finance programs have developed--entering every transaction by hand on Excel would be a lot of work. Tracking net worth, not that bad, but really I can add up the 5 main accounts (Spending Account, Vanguard, 401k, mortgage and Student loans) that constitute net worth in my head quickly and daily if I want, so I don't really need Excel for it. I’m one of those who inquired about using Excel. I know how to use Excel-from Chart to Pivot Tables. But there’s a reason that personal finance programs have developed–entering every transaction by hand on Excel would be a lot of work. Tracking net worth, not that bad, but really I can add up the 5 main accounts (Spending Account, Vanguard, 401k, mortgage and Student loans) that constitute net worth in my head quickly and daily if I want, so I don’t really need Excel for it.

]]> By: acwang http://www.thesimpledollar.com/2007/09/11/the-good-and-bad-of-microsoft-money-and-quicken-and-why-i-usually-point-people-towards-a-spreadsheet-instead/comment-page-1/#comment-70291 acwang Wed, 12 Sep 2007 20:17:19 +0000 http://www.thesimpledollar.com/2007/09/11/the-good-and-bad-of-microsoft-money-and-quicken-and-why-i-usually-point-people-towards-a-spreadsheet-instead/#comment-70291 t was the opposite experience for me. I initially used the spreadsheet to maintain my accounts. but it became too much work where I have to spend 2 hours per week. Plus the work where I keep all my receipts and review it. Now, I use my credit card (which I pay off every month) to pay for all my purchase. This way, I have instant "spending" trail. I dont need to keep the receipts anymore and enter the transaction manually. And I link all my online accounts to Quicken. It now only takes me 30 minutes to download the transactions and monitor my expenses. Regarding the "cost" of the constant upgrade cycle... 30 dollars (for basic version) every 3 years. Cmon, it cost less than than a video game or 2 fastfood meals. Quicken or Money are great tools and could help tremendously in organizing your finances. t was the opposite experience for me. I initially used the spreadsheet to maintain my accounts. but it became too much work where I have to spend 2 hours per week. Plus the work where I keep all my receipts and review it.

Now, I use my credit card (which I pay off every month) to pay for all my purchase. This way, I have instant “spending” trail. I dont need to keep the receipts anymore and enter the transaction manually. And I link all my online accounts to Quicken. It now only takes me 30 minutes to download the transactions and monitor my expenses.

Regarding the “cost” of the constant upgrade cycle… 30 dollars (for basic version) every 3 years. Cmon, it cost less than than a video game or 2 fastfood meals. Quicken or Money are great tools and could help tremendously in organizing your finances.

]]> By: Jim Kane http://www.thesimpledollar.com/2007/09/11/the-good-and-bad-of-microsoft-money-and-quicken-and-why-i-usually-point-people-towards-a-spreadsheet-instead/comment-page-1/#comment-70241 Jim Kane Wed, 12 Sep 2007 18:25:57 +0000 http://www.thesimpledollar.com/2007/09/11/the-good-and-bad-of-microsoft-money-and-quicken-and-why-i-usually-point-people-towards-a-spreadsheet-instead/#comment-70241 I'll throw in my vote for MoneyDance. We just switched to it from Quicken 2003 (on VirtualPC, blech) and so far it's fine. Once I figured out how to use subaccounts as a replacement for savings goals, I was golden. It's $30 and they have a free trial. I’ll throw in my vote for MoneyDance. We just switched to it from Quicken 2003 (on VirtualPC, blech) and so far it’s fine. Once I figured out how to use subaccounts as a replacement for savings goals, I was golden. It’s $30 and they have a free trial.

]]> By: Crys http://www.thesimpledollar.com/2007/09/11/the-good-and-bad-of-microsoft-money-and-quicken-and-why-i-usually-point-people-towards-a-spreadsheet-instead/comment-page-1/#comment-70206 Crys Wed, 12 Sep 2007 16:46:28 +0000 http://www.thesimpledollar.com/2007/09/11/the-good-and-bad-of-microsoft-money-and-quicken-and-why-i-usually-point-people-towards-a-spreadsheet-instead/#comment-70206 I have to disagree. Simply because I use a copy of MS Money 2001 that came with an old Dell I had bought back then. I've used it for the past 2 years, maybe spend 5 minutes top entering in transactions for that week and giving a glance at this months spendings to keep myself update and aware. And I've never updated nor had ads pop up. It lets me know when I have a bill due, which works great for me, and is still very compatible with my new home-built system with Win XP. I don't know about the newer versions. But I like my old version because it's simple, straight-forward, and not convoluted :) I have to disagree. Simply because I use a copy of MS Money 2001 that came with an old Dell I had bought back then. I’ve used it for the past 2 years, maybe spend 5 minutes top entering in transactions for that week and giving a glance at this months spendings to keep myself update and aware. And I’ve never updated nor had ads pop up. It lets me know when I have a bill due, which works great for me, and is still very compatible with my new home-built system with Win XP.

I don’t know about the newer versions. But I like my old version because it’s simple, straight-forward, and not convoluted :)

]]> By: lillith http://www.thesimpledollar.com/2007/09/11/the-good-and-bad-of-microsoft-money-and-quicken-and-why-i-usually-point-people-towards-a-spreadsheet-instead/comment-page-1/#comment-70198 lillith Wed, 12 Sep 2007 16:17:20 +0000 http://www.thesimpledollar.com/2007/09/11/the-good-and-bad-of-microsoft-money-and-quicken-and-why-i-usually-point-people-towards-a-spreadsheet-instead/#comment-70198 this post was so validating to me! i've also gone the spreadsheet route after many frustrating attempts to get things to reconcile using money and quicken. i am much happier, and know where my finances are instead of pulling my hair out over things that didn't download right, duplicates, etc. i was using excel, but now use google documents (so much better, as it is right there online able to be accessed anywhere, and integrated right with my mail, calander, etc, where i do all my daily stuff). i just keep the same constant expenses every month, and make a "copied" spreadsheet each month in advance, so that i can see my projected budget. i add in anything unexpected, or that i need to save for in increments, as i go along monthly. i can make notes as well, and if something clears the bank i just go in and write "cleared" instead of having to download my bank file, and hope it matches. of course i do have the extra step of having to go back and forth between my bank and the doc, but the accuracy is worth it compared to the financial software experiences i have had. it is also helpful to write your expected balance available for spending on a white-board or some are where you see it every day, so you know where you are. this post was so validating to me! i’ve also gone the spreadsheet route after many frustrating attempts to get things to reconcile using money and quicken. i am much happier, and know where my finances are instead of pulling my hair out over things that didn’t download right, duplicates, etc.

i was using excel, but now use google documents (so much better, as it is right there online able to be accessed anywhere, and integrated right with my mail, calander, etc, where i do all my daily stuff).

i just keep the same constant expenses every month, and make a “copied” spreadsheet each month in advance, so that i can see my projected budget. i add in anything unexpected, or that i need to save for in increments, as i go along monthly. i can make notes as well, and if something clears the bank i just go in and write “cleared” instead of having to download my bank file, and hope it matches. of course i do have the extra step of having to go back and forth between my bank and the doc, but the accuracy is worth it compared to the financial software experiences i have had.

it is also helpful to write your expected balance available for spending on a white-board or some are where you see it every day, so you know where you are.

]]> By: crankywench http://www.thesimpledollar.com/2007/09/11/the-good-and-bad-of-microsoft-money-and-quicken-and-why-i-usually-point-people-towards-a-spreadsheet-instead/comment-page-1/#comment-70194 crankywench Wed, 12 Sep 2007 16:08:02 +0000 http://www.thesimpledollar.com/2007/09/11/the-good-and-bad-of-microsoft-money-and-quicken-and-why-i-usually-point-people-towards-a-spreadsheet-instead/#comment-70194 Agreeing with @Wendy with regards to Moneydance. It's a Java-based application, and can be used on Windows, Macs and Linux/Unix operating systems. Love it! Agreeing with @Wendy with regards to Moneydance. It’s a Java-based application, and can be used on Windows, Macs and Linux/Unix operating systems. Love it!

]]> By: JoshH http://www.thesimpledollar.com/2007/09/11/the-good-and-bad-of-microsoft-money-and-quicken-and-why-i-usually-point-people-towards-a-spreadsheet-instead/comment-page-1/#comment-70137 JoshH Wed, 12 Sep 2007 14:26:08 +0000 http://www.thesimpledollar.com/2007/09/11/the-good-and-bad-of-microsoft-money-and-quicken-and-why-i-usually-point-people-towards-a-spreadsheet-instead/#comment-70137 If banks were smart they'd incorporate Quicken, Money, X OSS, etc into their online banking format. We already trust them with our online banking and bill pay, it seems a natural extension to add the budgeting and tracking slices of the pie. Does anyone have a bank doing that now? Mine (usbank) doesn't. Of course the banks that sign agreements with Quicken and Microsoft wouldn't get their kickbacks then?? Hard to say. If banks were smart they’d incorporate Quicken, Money, X OSS, etc into their online banking format. We already trust them with our online banking and bill pay, it seems a natural extension to add the budgeting and tracking slices of the pie. Does anyone have a bank doing that now? Mine (usbank) doesn’t.

Of course the banks that sign agreements with Quicken and Microsoft wouldn’t get their kickbacks then??

Hard to say.

]]> By: Yoojin http://www.thesimpledollar.com/2007/09/11/the-good-and-bad-of-microsoft-money-and-quicken-and-why-i-usually-point-people-towards-a-spreadsheet-instead/comment-page-1/#comment-70131 Yoojin Wed, 12 Sep 2007 14:08:33 +0000 http://www.thesimpledollar.com/2007/09/11/the-good-and-bad-of-microsoft-money-and-quicken-and-why-i-usually-point-people-towards-a-spreadsheet-instead/#comment-70131 For me buying Quicken was one the best investments I made. Yes, I took me half a day to set up everything, but since then it takes me just a few minutes to download everything. I used to have my own excel file but I think Quicken saves me a lot of time and visualize my expenses very easy. And I like playing with spreadsheets and these kind of softwares, so it's fun time for me. Most of all, my finance is in a much better shape after tracking my expenses with it. For me buying Quicken was one the best investments I made. Yes, I took me half a day to set up everything, but since then it takes me just a few minutes to download everything. I used to have my own excel file but I think Quicken saves me a lot of time and visualize my expenses very easy. And I like playing with spreadsheets and these kind of softwares, so it’s fun time for me.

Most of all, my finance is in a much better shape after tracking my expenses with it.

]]> By: Oliver Aaltonen http://www.thesimpledollar.com/2007/09/11/the-good-and-bad-of-microsoft-money-and-quicken-and-why-i-usually-point-people-towards-a-spreadsheet-instead/comment-page-1/#comment-70125 Oliver Aaltonen Wed, 12 Sep 2007 13:49:29 +0000 http://www.thesimpledollar.com/2007/09/11/the-good-and-bad-of-microsoft-money-and-quicken-and-why-i-usually-point-people-towards-a-spreadsheet-instead/#comment-70125 I've tried both Quicken and Money and both were needlessly complicated. I settled on the online solution Mvelopes, which costs a bit month-to-month, but is dead simple to use and encourages the envelope spending approach to budgeting. The web application is high quality, they offer 24x7 live online support, and connect to thousands of financial institutions -- probably using the Yodlee backend system -- to automatically pull in your transactions for quick categorization. There are quite a few up and comers to watch out for as well... Mint for one. I’ve tried both Quicken and Money and both were needlessly complicated. I settled on the online solution Mvelopes, which costs a bit month-to-month, but is dead simple to use and encourages the envelope spending approach to budgeting. The web application is high quality, they offer 24×7 live online support, and connect to thousands of financial institutions — probably using the Yodlee backend system — to automatically pull in your transactions for quick categorization.

There are quite a few up and comers to watch out for as well… Mint for one.

]]> By: Chris http://www.thesimpledollar.com/2007/09/11/the-good-and-bad-of-microsoft-money-and-quicken-and-why-i-usually-point-people-towards-a-spreadsheet-instead/comment-page-1/#comment-70120 Chris Wed, 12 Sep 2007 13:35:22 +0000 http://www.thesimpledollar.com/2007/09/11/the-good-and-bad-of-microsoft-money-and-quicken-and-why-i-usually-point-people-towards-a-spreadsheet-instead/#comment-70120 I'm still using Quicken 99'. At the time so few institutions had account details available that I never bothered to set up access, my wife just enters stuff manually. When/if I decide to leave it I'll probably go with GNUcash. I’m still using Quicken 99′. At the time so few institutions had account details available that I never bothered to set up access, my wife just enters stuff manually. When/if I decide to leave it I’ll probably go with GNUcash.

]]> By: Martin http://www.thesimpledollar.com/2007/09/11/the-good-and-bad-of-microsoft-money-and-quicken-and-why-i-usually-point-people-towards-a-spreadsheet-instead/comment-page-1/#comment-70109 Martin Wed, 12 Sep 2007 13:02:07 +0000 http://www.thesimpledollar.com/2007/09/11/the-good-and-bad-of-microsoft-money-and-quicken-and-why-i-usually-point-people-towards-a-spreadsheet-instead/#comment-70109 Good point about the time consuming nature of entering information. I downloaded both and decided to go with Quicken because of prior experience. Initial set up took a while as expected but the tedious aspect of entering all that information drove me back to my old method of just keeping a spreadsheet with general category titles for expenses. Spreadsheets are simple and easier to maintain. Good point about the time consuming nature of entering information. I downloaded both and decided to go with Quicken because of prior experience. Initial set up took a while as expected but the tedious aspect of entering all that information drove me back to my old method of just keeping a spreadsheet with general category titles for expenses. Spreadsheets are simple and easier to maintain.

]]> By: Jeff http://www.thesimpledollar.com/2007/09/11/the-good-and-bad-of-microsoft-money-and-quicken-and-why-i-usually-point-people-towards-a-spreadsheet-instead/comment-page-1/#comment-70105 Jeff Wed, 12 Sep 2007 12:56:29 +0000 http://www.thesimpledollar.com/2007/09/11/the-good-and-bad-of-microsoft-money-and-quicken-and-why-i-usually-point-people-towards-a-spreadsheet-instead/#comment-70105 I traveled the same journey as you over the years with Money. I gave up a few years back and have not missed it. I now use an Excel spreadsheet for budgeting, and it does everything I want with none of Money's restrictions and annoyances. I miss the net worth tracking, but one of my financial sites has a very similar feature that is close enough for me. I traveled the same journey as you over the years with Money. I gave up a few years back and have not missed it. I now use an Excel spreadsheet for budgeting, and it does everything I want with none of Money’s restrictions and annoyances. I miss the net worth tracking, but one of my financial sites has a very similar feature that is close enough for me.

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