MS Money or Quicken?

[taco_truck]

I'm wondering if one is better than the other, and if it will really help. I just need some organizational tools. And would like to track $ we spend by category or something like that, and would like to budget.

[hegemony]

I use excel or the free openoffice spreadsheet to track my stuff. I tried to use both money and quicken before but never found them that helpful.

[taco_truck]

heg, Does excel track due dates? I don't know how to use excel very well.

[TheDrewbert]

I've used Quicken since 1998. I find it much easier to use than Money. It's most useful when you can link your accounts to it electronically.

[Ryan43110]

yodlee.com, can always access it online and its free .. I prefer it over Quicken and MoneyCenter

[hegemony]

with excel you have to build your own workbooks.

[taco_truck]

with excel you have to build your own workbooks.

well THATS a sure way to mess something up

[pepsidave14]

I use excel or the free openoffice spreadsheet to track my stuff. I tried to use both money and quicken before but never found them that helpful.

I'm the same. I made up a pretty nifty spreadsheet(s) for myself in OpenOffice. I don't have a whole lot of experience with either Quicken or MS Money, but my spreadsheet does everything I need it to, and (I imagine) it is easier to use and cheaper than either of the above.

 

OpenOffice is free, but if you don't have any experience with it, it may take some time to find useful functions. It's almost identical to MS Excel, except it doesn't cost money.

[Bob The Boozer]

yodlee.com, can always access it online and its free .. I prefer it over Quicken and MoneyCenter

 

Isn't money center yodlee?

 

I use yodlee for the reminders and the email and sms update. I use quicken to balance my accounts since sometimes you can't trust what the bank shows online and I would rather not carry a checkbook everywhere I go. And because I haven't found better accounting software for OS X

[Q]

I use Quicken too. Takes awhile to get it to do what you need it to do but it works wonders for me.

[BlackandBlue]

I LOVE QUICKEN! I find it fairly easy to use. In one month of spending you can easily see where all your money is going. You can create a budget and it will show how much you can save per month and year.I tried money and did not like. I tried to start with Excel but it was WAY to much work. With quicken you can start off just buy putting in your account balance and then pay a bill. It will ask you or you can add it as a reaccuring bill and every month it will remind you. It can help you reach savings goals or pay down a mortgage or car payment. Can't say enough about it.

[jst300z]

I have and like Money.

 

j

[Cleaning_Credit]

I use Quicken. It does take time to setup all the accounts if you have a lot of bank, credit card, investment and other accounts. You can create all kinds of tailored reports and have your expenses and income broken down. It does take discipline to update all of your accounts regularly. Great way to give you a snapshot of your financial standing.

[Cactus Flower]

I'm wondering if one is better than the other, and if it will really help. I just need some organizational tools. And would like to track $ we spend by category or something like that, and would like to budget.

 

 

I've used both, and I prefer QUICKEN ...

 

I only use it to track my bank accounts & credit card ccounts in (I don't use any of the 'paid' features they offer like the Billpay and I don't track my retirement/stocks etc in it).

 

It really helps me out immensely, and while most of these programs can be time consuming to set up initially, in the long run.. they will save you time! It does take almost daily diligence, as it's most useful if you reconcile your accounts on pretty regular basis.

Oh ! and I also bought the Versa Check program and can print paper checks (free of charge**) -- for those rare times I have to mail a check. ** meaning Quicken does not charge for this, but the Check Paper sold at Office Max or Staples costs $$$.

 

Just be sure to back up regularly to a CD, disk or thumb drive............

it can be a real b!tch if your computer crashes.** edited for typos !

Edited October 3, 2007 by Cactus Flower

[Cactus Flower]

heg, Does excel track due dates? I don't know how to use excel very well.

 

Excel is a spreadsheet program.. if you don't know how to use it... you would find it useless for tracking your budget.

 

I use my Calendar in Windows XP to send me reminders for things like my rent.

 

You can even purchase & download Quicken & Money right from the internet, no need to even go to the store....

 

or check on Ebay or somewhere and buy a used copy of it. I used the 2002 Quicken edition for 4 years before I upgraded to 2006.

Maybe someone that bought the newer version is selling their older version.

[trying_to_fix]

I've used MS Money for 8 years. I keep track of all transactions in money but then I have a spreadsheet in Excel that I call "My Bills" that shows the balance of my bank accounts as well as outstanding items that need to be paid.

 

The system has worked quite well for me and I'm happy with it. I know where every dollar goes and can reference anything in the past when it comes to tax time or just plain curiosity.

 

I still use Money 2003 so I don't know what newer versions have that mine doesn't. Mine works just fine for what I need it to be used for though.

[TrevorHere]

with excel you have to build your own workbooks.

well THATS a sure way to mess something up

 

Actually using excel to build your workbooks is a sure way to customize sheets that match your own needs. It just takes some time to build. However it may be continuously be modified without scrapping the entire sheet.

 

But if you're comparing quiken or ms money I'd pick ms money. There's virtually no flexibility with Quicken.

[romadant]

i've used Money for years and LOVE it! i tried Quicken (rec'd it free once) but Money is a lot more user friendly IMHO. it links well w/ online accts and has tons of customizable reports to track everything. buy and old version (2004 or 2005) used on Ebay or Amazon for likee $10... you can stick w/ that version or upgrade if you really like it...