Comments on: Software for money management

Question: Software for money management

chef_boyardee — Wed, 03 Oct 2007 18:43:16 -0800

Help me micromanage my household money! What software program should I use?

What Windows software programs are out there that will easily help me import bank statements (such as .qif files) and combine that with debts, small bits of stock holdings, etc, to show my equity and how it's doing? I'd also like something that can help me set budgets. Graphs and visualizations are great.

I have a copy of Quicken 2000, which will probably work okay, though it's a bit on the side of bloatware and a bit kludgy to use, so I'm seeing if maybe there's a better approach to this that I've missed.

I suppose setting up a spreadsheet is the other alternative, though that might be tough filling in 100 bank transactions a month.

By: jclovebrew

jclovebrew — Wed, 03 Oct 2007 19:04:15 -0800

Quicken changed my life. I started using it around 1998 or so. It made me see how badly in debt I was, so I started paying everything off. When my net worth finally stopped being negative and reached $0.00, it was cause for a celebration. For whatever reason, I stopped using it a few years back, but I think using it somehow contributed to some good money management habits.

By: smackfu

smackfu — Wed, 03 Oct 2007 19:10:00 -0800

Quicken or Money. Although your copy of Quicken is 8 years out of date, so you might want to buy a new one.

By: Xazeru

Xazeru — Wed, 03 Oct 2007 19:18:37 -0800

Skip Microsoft Money. I've been using it for years, and it keeps getting buggier every release.

I've never used Quicken, so I can't say it's any better.

By: Chuck Cheeze

Chuck Cheeze — Wed, 03 Oct 2007 19:33:34 -0800

Ya we still use Money 2002 because it gets so bad each time we trial a new one.

You might first want to check out Mint, a new free, secure tool that will help analyze your spending and find you ways to save. Its fun to use actualy.

By: crinklebat

crinklebat — Wed, 03 Oct 2007 20:09:53 -0800

Quicken Online is in beta right now, so it's a good time to give it a shot for free. May as well request an invite, right? I've also heard good things about Mint.

I haven't tried it yet, so I can't vouch for its quality - I hear it's easy to use but a bit rudimentary compared to desktop Quicken. Full disclosure, I work at Intuit. However, I don't work on Quicken and don't know anyone who does.

By: crinklebat

crinklebat — Wed, 03 Oct 2007 20:29:04 -0800

Mm, the antecedent to "it" in the first sentence of the second paragraph isn't clear - I'm not referring to Mint, I'm referring to Quicken Online.

By: davejay

davejay — Wed, 03 Oct 2007 22:02:17 -0800

Get hold of Linux, and install and (attempt to) use GnuCash.

Will you stick with it? Probably not (although I do); it's serious accounting software (even though it's free.) It's not very friendly, and you have to understand real accounting.

But, at the same time, this is why you should learn to use it -- the learning curve is steep, but the documentation they provide is terrific and extensive. By the end of it, you will understand what real (double ledger) accounting is, and you'll be glad.

Then, going forward, even if you use Quicken, or even a notebook and a pencil, you'll have a much better grasp of how to move your finances around.

By: the number 17

the number 17 — Thu, 04 Oct 2007 00:09:28 -0800

Seconding Gnucash, I've been using it for a few months. The point davejay makes about the documentation is right on the money.

I don't think you need Linux to use it, there is a Windows port. Check the Gnucash website, details on the Windows version here.

By: a robot made out of meat

a robot made out of meat — Thu, 04 Oct 2007 04:09:16 -0800

My bank (and credit cards) allow me to download my activity to csv format for a spreadsheet. I like the power of being able to combine it with whatever other functions I want, for example what if * is deductible. What if these two things trade off.

By: Mr. Gunn

Mr. Gunn — Thu, 04 Oct 2007 07:15:05 -0800

There's a company called Yodlee which has provided back of the house features for online account management to large banks and brokerages for many years. The reason I'm telling you this is that they now have a free, beta consumer product you can sign up for which collects all your account information for a whole range of banks and other companies and presents it in a unified interface. It's an easy way to see your account balances, credit card balances, upcoming bills and due dates all in one place without having to do any manual data entry. What really sold me was that it automatically categorizes all your transactions for you, so reports can be generated instantly on whatever you want. It's the best product for hands-off money management, and it's free.

You do have to be comfortable giving all your passwords to a website, but remember that almost all online account managers use Yodlee, so if you're going to download transactions in any way other than individually going to each bank or biller website and downloading the .csv individually, you're already giving them all your info via the third party, so you might as well cut out the middleman.

Someone's going to mention Mint, which is a reduced feature set version of Yodlee that they actually charge money for, and have financial data mining a la Adsense marketing schemes planned for.

In summary, if you're paranoid, use Excel, and get one of the premade spreadsheets available online. Make sure that every bank you have an account with lets you download .csv files. If you want a hands-off approach, use Yodlee.

By: niteHawk

niteHawk — Thu, 04 Oct 2007 09:35:08 -0800

After being a Quicken user for years, I found MoneyDance, which is the best $30 I spent.

It does everything that Quicken did for me, and it's cross platform.

By: JohnYaYa

JohnYaYa — Thu, 04 Oct 2007 13:32:52 -0800

I'll put in a plug for Mvelopes, which I've been using for a couple of years. It's more proactive than Quicken, and it can download your transactions to simplify data entry.

I also use Yodlee Moneycenter mentioned by Mr. Gunn, and while it's a great product, I like the proactive features of Mvelopes better for budget and cash-flow management.