Quicken or MS Money

[Renob]

I have never used any money management software and was curious what you all thougth about Quicken and MS Money.

I dont care which one cost more, just need some software to start tracking where my is going, it does not need to track my investments, just my normal house/living costs.

 

[Zim Hosein]

Originally posted by: Renob
I have never used any money management software and was curious what you all thougth about Quicken and MS Money.

I dont care which one cost more, just need some software to start tracking where my is going, it does not need to track my investments, just my normal house/living costs.

What OS do you plan on using either software on Renob?

 

[paulney]

Quicken is a pile of sh!t Intuit craps out every year. While Quickbooks is of better quality, the bugs in Quicken are just atrocious.
I tried to use th eval for 30 days and quit after one week. Integration with banks works just as bad as 3 years ago when I first tried Quicken.

MS Money is a little better in terms of bugginess of code, but UI is worse than Quicken.

 

[natto fire]

I have only used Money and even then only for a while. I just took a step back and realized that my money flow was not that complicated, I was just trying to make it so. Not sure if that fits in your situation, but in my experience keeping a paper record in a little notebook did just fine for me.

I still believe anything below a home/regular business should not need software like this, and it only puts a fancy polish on what can easily be done "the old fashioned way" in 5-10 minutes a day, tops.

 

[WildHorse]

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[Renob]

What OS do you plan on using either software on Renob?

I dual boot both XP and Vista 64

I still believe anything below a home/regular business should not need software like this, and it only puts a fancy polish on what can easily be done "the old fashioned way" in 5-10 minutes a day, tops.

Hmm maybe I could just set up a little spreadsheet.

 

[njmodi]

I use MS Money - have for the past 8 years... works fine for me... either package - it gets to be a PITA once you have enough accounts (bank, credit, investment, 401k, company stock purchase, roll-over 401k, etc.) to track.... and also depends on if you want to track each transaction or just month to month balances, etc.

 

[CrookBloke]

I've been using personal finance software since Dollars & $ense on the Apple //e. Quicken and Money are really the worst examples of this type of software I've ever seen.

1. The more advanced any given feature on either of these pieces of crapware is, the more bugs it has. As mentioned by someone above, the UI for MS Money is awful, awesomely so.

2. Quickbooks is better than Quicken, but it's still tied into a business model that does its best to get you hooked on a "subscription" basis for upgrading (the last I checked, which was a while ago).

3. GnuCash is an OSS alternative under development for Linux and Windows. (Works fine for me on Vista SP1 and Ubuntu 7.10.) It is still unfinished, but all features that a regular personal user would need are already functional. It has a very different way of looking at things than Money and Quicken. Absolutely everything is an account in GnuCash -- none of that "category" crap to confuse the issue. I love it. It still has a few rough edges, but it is better in its unfinished state than Money and Quicken are in their (ahem) "polished" state.

http://www.gnucash.org/

4. There's another new alternative called YNAB (You Need a Budget), which combines a budget system with some newly-added basic accounting capabilities for keeping track of account balances and such. Anyone looking into planning a budget and keeping track of simple accounts for personal use should take a look at this software. It has a solid and enthusiastic support forum, too. And the basic "rules" under which it has you develop a budget are an outstanding guide to maintaining a healthy cash flow and savings plan for your family.

http://www.youneedabudget.com/index.php

All other things being equal, and they usually aren't, the more advanced the accounting software, the more determined you will have to be to learn it and make it work for you. You have to "buy in" to the model your chosen software uses. Going half way with accounting software can be a recipe for disaster, unless you really know what you're doing.

Nothing is more frustrating than already-complicated software that is further complicated by huge numbers of functional faults and horrible design decisions. If you are in the least bit fastidious about the software you use, save your sanity and avoid Quicken and Money like the plagues they are.

 

[BlueWeasel]

How about online and free? Mint is great

 

[PowerEngineer]

I used Quicken for a few years before switching to Money. IMHO they're pretty equivalent.

I suggest you check with your bank to see which of these two they support with on-line updates, and pick that one.

 

[OBoneJacoby]

I agree with BlueWeasel, Mint.com is the best free option for money management. I started using them this year and they rock.

 

[GeekDrew]

I'm a very big fan of Quicken. It works flawlessly for me, and it has for years. I also use PocketQuicken, to keep a copy of my recent finances w/ me at all times, and to update them on the road.

I have no intention of trying online services, because they just aggregate bank information... they don't allow you to enter transactions, match transactions, and keep a ledger balance separate from your current balance (from what I've seen, reading about them).

 

[WildHorse]

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[MrChad]

Originally posted by: GeekDrew
I'm a very big fan of Quicken. It works flawlessly for me, and it has for years. I also use PocketQuicken, to keep a copy of my recent finances w/ me at all times, and to update them on the road.

I have no intention of trying online services, because they just aggregate bank information... they don't allow you to enter transactions, match transactions, and keep a ledger balance separate from your current balance (from what I've seen, reading about them).

Agreed. The online services are ok, but lack some of the features I am used to with Microsoft Money. I recently switched from Money to Quicken, and now that I've worked most of the kinks out it's running smoothly.

 

[corkyg]

First of all, Microsoft has terminated production of Money. I used it, and it does everything I need -the 2006 version. It works in XP, Vista, and Win7. I had a complete top line version of Quicken - ended up giving it away and got money.

Anyway, the version of Money that is on the shelf right now is the last one, and it will not be updated. But - that is not important to me. M<y old 2006 version does everything I need so updates are somewhat irrelevant.

 

[coolVariable]

Originally posted by: BlueWeasel
How about online and free? Mint is great

No historic data => mint is crap imo
can't even set the price you bought your stocks at.
tss, tss, tss.

 

[gizbug]

MS Money was buried years ago.Time to move on...Quicken.

 

[capeconsultant]

Um, MS Money is discontinued. QUICKEN FTW!