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Your Take: Do You Use Money Management Software?
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When I started working five years ago, I tracked my spending down to the penny. I wrote about my “Budget Bible” before when talking about financial leaks. I felt that tracking my spending down to the penny was a great way for me to identify the areas I was spending and gave me an opportunity to review those areas. I didn’t realize it but that Excel spreadsheet was my first foray into money management software!
Back in 2003, there weren’t many personal finance tools out there. The tools that did exist were young and untested. Nowadays, there are plenty of personal finance tools available to help you manage your money! You have the beautiful, feature-rich, venture-backed Mint.com, you have the big branded cash flow focused Quicken Online, and you have the relative gray beard of the bunch, Yodlee, all at your disposal.
Of the three, I’ve played with Mint.com and Quicken Online and use them sparingly. My question for you, on this fine Friday, is – Do you use money management software? Either online or offline? If so, which one? If not, why not?
As for this week’s bribe, I have a copy of Quicken Premier 2009 to give away to one lucky commenter. You don’t have to say you use Quicken or that you’ll try Quicken Online, you just need to leave a comment and share which software you use or if you don’t use any at all! Contest closes in one week, February 27th, and it’s void where prohibited. Good luck!
(Photo: paulworthington)
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I’m a hardcore Quicken user. I’ve been upgrading the software annually, which means I’ve been paying for the same software over and over. I started using mint a while back and strongly prefer the budgeting tools over Quicken. It has caused me to try beating my spending goals month over month. I also like how I can get to it from any computer. It’s a nice supplement.
I currently use GNUCash to manage my finances and track my investments, it is open source so it is free and it allows me to track down to the penny, create budgets and track my investments.
I use mint and love it. It tracks my spending automatically, lets me look at all my accounts in one place, and sends me notices when it’s time to pay a bill.
(I imagine that the other products/services do similar things, so I’m not saying that Mint is better per se, just that I’m a big fan.)
I think I am where you were five years ago … my only software is a Google Docs spreadsheet that tracks income more than anything else. I’m just getting serious about personal finance, so some legit software that knows more than I do would be awesome!
I use Quicken in my office. For my personal use I use Mint.com … but, I have a hard time keeping up and editing all the transactions which invariably fall into the wrong categories. I do like it overall though… just having difficulty keeping up. I do well for spurts then I fall off.
I have been using Yodlee Money Center for about a year now and I think it’s pretty good. It doesn’t have a fancy UI like Mint but it has got all the basics right.
It gives a nice snapshot of your networth (based on all your accounts that it tracks). It can also track expenses into categories. Which I use every once in a while to get a point in time picture of where my money is going.
I use Mint.com to manage my finances. I don’t have much income at the moment as I am a student working a work study job, but I wanted to start tracking my finances to see where my money goes. Mint.com fit the bill really well!
Mint.com
It is a million times better than a few months back. It now can track mortgages, investments, and has inputs for asset values (house, cars, art) which all added together give you your net worth. Only thing it doesn’t allow for is a manually inputted loan (if your bank is not supported or a loan from the parents)
Pretty awesome stuff.
I’ve used Quicken since 2001, and have recently tried both Quicken Online and Mint.com. I’ve found both of the online systems very user-friendly and simple to use, but I quickly missed the customization that the desktop version provides. I think one of the biggest pitfalls of Quicken desktop is the up-front complexity that comes with the package, but the beauty of the program is that you can customize it to your heart’s desire. I’ve cut down my categories, and set up simple, effective reports to let me know what’s going on.
I use Quicken & Mint.com. I tried Yodlee but the UI for Mint and Quicken seem much better
I use You Need a Budget currently. I absolutely love it, but I’d love to get a new copy of Quicken to try.
Mint, it has been much improved in recent months.
I’ve been using Mint.com for several months now. It is an excellent (and cost effective way) to track your spending. I also use an excel spreadsheet for tracking my debt snowball and my progress on it.
I am a HUUUUUGE Wesabe fan. It’s simple, and once you get your tags all set up, it takes about 5 minutes a week to take a peek at your finances. I especially love that at the start of the new year when I am making my new budget, I can shoot out a report of what I really spent on groceries, gas, etc. It makes my budget much more realistic.
I use Quicken Premier 2007. I’ve been with Quicken since 1998. It’s a powerful tool, and I use it to track everything from income and expenses, to taxes and retirement accounts. It also tracks the value of our home and cars. I like it, but am frustrated with how often Quicken forces you to update in order to maintain its online functions. I’ve been thinking about giving Mint a try next time Quicken forces an update. At this point, I’m not sure that it would track everything I want, though.
I am a big Yodlee fan. Although it can be a bit frustrating at times getting where you want to be, it has a lot of power. That and it was the first one I tried which did mostly what I wanted so I stuck with it…
I used to use Managing your Money by Andrew Tobias way back in the day. It was a great program. I’m using Money now. It’s OK, but renewing every few years is getting old.
I use Mint.com and have for about 9 months now. I like it, but I’ve had a couple small problems with it. It’s something I go to once a week, rather than every day. It definitely saves time as opposed to manually entering in a spreadsheet, but I do have to spend substantial time recategorizing expenses. Someone else might not find that this is important to them.
Using both spreadsheet because it allows me to capture cash transactions but use Mint for monitoring bills and budgets.
I took a look at Mint and Quicken Online, but since my CU wasn’t on the lists (and still isn’t) it became of minimal value to me.
I’ve found that iBank from IGG Software is one of the best products out there that is Mac-compatible…nice interface, easy-to-use, and with enough features for most (but not all) users…
I actually use an excel sheet (with monthly tabs and ever growing complexity) that I originally started up years ago. It was just a way to track expenses in different categories of my life, and since become a reliable tool for understanding my net worth. The system is just so second-nature now and currently satisfies all my needs that I haven’t looked elsewhere for tracking my finances.
I’ve used Microsoft Money for 10 years and really like it. I just hope that Microsoft continues to support it.
It seems like the online tools are really just for income, expenses and budgeting and are not built for investments like retirement accounts, stock options and restricted stock units.
I’ve been using Microsoft Money since…at least 2004. It’s not perfect, but I’m still hung up on keeping my centralized financial data on my own machine.
That being said, I’ve played with Wesabe, Quicken Online, and Mint. I’m not sure if it’s my ingrained familiarity with MS Money, but I find myself disliking things about all the online services, from small things (how Mint splits transactions into seperate line items, rather than keeping them grouped under the original transaction) to large (a lack of real good support for reconcilable “future” transactions, though Wesabe and QO are both coming closer).
I think I’m getting used to Mint, and I’m considering that for future use, especially given the lack of a MS update for Money this year.
I fiddled with Mint but was not happy with the data output (so much juicy data, only very few crappy graphs) and felt very weird leaving my online banking IDs with a 3rd party. So I got out again.
But I use excel, still the best money mgmt SW out there. I created a huge spread sheet – even predicts my taxes – way over-engineered, but it suits all my needs.
I have used them all including online and offline varieties, but can’t get by the simplicity of Yodlee. It’s online and available all the time. It’s free. The interface isn’t pretty, but neither are finances really. I have had a few hiccups with it, but they always work out after a few days.
I use mint. Not all financial institutions are supported. But it’s great money management tool.
I use an OpenOffice.org spreadsheet for my budget that has become more and more complex over time. I also use Yodlee. I have tried Quicken Online and Mint, but Yodlee has some features that I think are really cool. Their layout is more practical than the other two, and their charts to follow net worth and investments over time are just great.
I’ve used DayTimers planning system for accounting for many years – pen, ink and brain. Every expense is logged, along with income, and I add it all up at the end of the month.
I looked at Mint and thought it looked cool, but can’t help but feel uncomfortable at the thought of giving out all my financial info to a website.
I’ve been using the desktop version of Quicken since I graduated from college. It meets my needs pretty well, although its budgeting features are quirky for me at times. I’d like to try some other online software but don’t want to move since I like having all my history in one place. I really wish Quicken online synced with the desktop version.
Currently I use Yodlee Money Center combined with Microsoft Money to attempt to keep track of things.
It just takes a lot of time to keep up to date with everything so I end up using money center as my crutch.
I began with Excel & pivot tabled into charts & graphs. I’ve used Mint & Quicken before, but for the last 2 years I have used Microsoft Money. There is no limit to how many accounts I can have, and I can look at all my accounts from various institutions, including CDs, Stocks, bonds and loans (with amortization). It does take some effort, but it is the best fit for how I want to track my money & debts.
Yodlee may be the gray beard, but it’s definitely the fullest-featured.
I have been using Quicken for over ten years and it has been pretty good. I currently has 2006 and need to upgrade to continue the online functionality – I have looked at Mint but have not switched – per the comments above it may be something to consider.
I’ve been using Microsoft Money since 2002. I’m just using it for the basics, but if I wanted to do more, I’d look for something else.
GNUCash here.
It’s Free, it’s detailed, and after a little practice its easy to use, especially if you have ever taken an accounting 101 class. If you haven’t the FAQ’s are really helpful. I’m currently a pay check to pacy check guy (Working diligently to move away from that) and GNU Cash allows me to set up sub-accounts (mock accounts so to say) and set aside money without actually going online to my bank and transferring money.
It is helping me trick myself tremendously.
I’ve been using Microsoft Money since 2002. I’m just using it for the basics, but if I wanted to do more, I’d look for something else
I actually use Microsoft Money. I learned on QuickBooks though because my parents had their own business and I was the book keeper for them.
I would love a copy of Quicken 2009.
Thanks for the great blog.
I use Ms Money. I’ve tried converting to Quicken, but the process wasn’t easy and seemed to be just too much of a hassle.
I don’t like the idea of using a service such as mint. It’s mostly because I like to control where my data is. If a site just vanished one day, I still want access to all my data.
I use Quicken and I like it a lot
At the end of the day, it doesn’t really matter which tool you use, just as long as you use a tool, whether it is formal or in-formal. You have to be able to know how much money you are making, and where you are spending it. From there, you can figure out how to make financial goals and meet them.
I’ve used computer software, spreadsheets, and even just a plain book – depending on what is going on in my life, different tools meet different needs – the important thing is that you are conscious of your spending habits.
I use an imac, and while quicken will play with apple, my credit union won’t.
Tried Mint, but it won’t include my credit union, even though I requested it.
I gave up.
No online software. Late husband used quicken on the PC and was not happy with it.
Old school Quicken for me, not Quicken Online. I don’t do alot of the budgeting stuff, I mostly use it as a glorified check book register – I like that I can set payments up months in advance so I can see when I can pull money into my ING savings account and when I need to put it back into my checking. I also have it set up to download all of my transactions automatically, and see what checks have cleared, etc. Since I’ve been using it for so long, almost all of transactions are automatically categorized, so it only takes me a few minutes a week to keep it updated.
I use microsoft money along with mint.com and some excel spreadsheets for good measure! Little of everything. I still prefer Microsoft Money, but am liking mint.com more and more for when I’m on the go.
Hey there, just found your blog, got here from Money-Guy.com. I love your content, will definately become a regular!
As far as money managment software, I use Mint.com. I really love the flexibility of it, and of course the price doesn’t hurt either
My only complaint its lack of a Bill Management feature. It tells me when I have a credit card payment to, but I don’t think there is a way to schedule reminders or anything for Utilities and the like.
Hope I win!
-Dan
I actually don’t use money software. I have it all up in my head and on my computer in several places. It would probably be nice to switch to one of these software products to start better managing my money to make sure I know where everything is going down to the penny.
I take issue with the idea that there were few money management tools in 2003. I have been using Quicken since at least 1990.
I’ve taken a peak at Quicken Online and Mint and they both look OK. But I still much prefer my Moneydance. I like that it’s offline – and cross platform. I can share the file back and forth between my Mac and my husband’s PC as necessary.
Not as snazzy as Quicken or Money – especially in the reporting section – but it’s great for tracking and categorizing spending. And the price is hard to beat for desktop software $39.99. http://www.moneydance.com
I’m a big fan of Quicken. I don’t track to the penny, but I do use a cash account to manage big ticket items and each year during tax time it makes it so easy to just run reports and see exactly where the money was spent.
Mint. I love the layout. The program has been invaluable in getting organized to pay my debt down.