I am trying to better manage my personal finances. What software programs would you suggest to use?
I have Quicken on my old computer. I heard of Microsoft Money Plus. Are there any other programs and which is the best. My finances are not too complicated (2 mortgages, few credit cards, car, insurances, condo dues). Any suggetions are greatly appreciated.
Use Quicken. The newer versions are excellent for personal finace mangement.
Quickbooks is somewhat similar to Quicken, and is great to use for personal or small business.
I’ve never used MS Money Plus, because it isn’t a widely used product…
Stay away from Peachtree and similar products.
References :
I just use Excel. One page per month; one file per year. At the beginning of the month, I enter my expected income and deduct my known payments. I have on-line banking, so I go ahead and arrange the payment for the right date. I balance the account every couple of days. I always know how much I have. It works fine and I’m not constrained with all the rules other programs make you follow. I also have a page with my estimated taxes so I know how much to save for that.
-MM
References :
Excel is the best way to do this. Create a template and update is as you like.
Spending money on software to help you store and work on finance seems redundant. Besides, many companies use Excel as their financial / billing software anyway. 🙂
References :
Ditto Excel. Mine is organized a little differently from the previous poster. The first tab is a summary with the expenses/categories along the sides and the months broken out into budget/actual/variance across the top. Then I have separate tabs for categories (i.e. gas, groceries, entertainment, shopping, misc) that link to the summary tab. I like this structure because it’s easier to see how you’re doing from one month to the next without switching tabs.
References :
I also use Excel to keep track of my money. It works fine for me. Also get on-line banking as that can be helpful so you always know where you are with stuff.
References :
Use Quicken. The newer versions are excellent for personal finace mangement.
References :
I have used Quicken for 10 years.
The software that I recommend for my clients is MVELOPES.
Courtney Kostelecky
Founder DebtFreeNews.com
References :
http://www.mvelopes.com
http://www.debtfreenews.com
Like most, I have a simple Excel sheet, which I find to be most effective. What I’ve done was create a simple sheet that has my account balance…and under that…line after line that either deducts or credits money into my account. Thus producing me with a new balance for every transaction.
What’s so great about it, you ask? If left on a USB port or some memory stick, it can be accessed at home, at work at anytime…without the need of your online banking account or the internet at all.
How do I use mine?
In my Outlook at work I’ve marked all the dates my bills are due in my personal calendar…as though it were another meeting or conference call. So, say I get paid every other Friday. I’ll go into my account and begin doing what I consider "PROJECTED SPENDING"
Example: Let’s say that my net was $1000. I’ll first take out half for my rent ($500…because the other half will be deducted in the next check). Now, because I’ve listed the dates of my bills, I know that by the time I get my next check, I’ll need to pay my Sprint bill ($75), my school loans ($150) and my insurance ($100). Now, I have $175 left.
With that, I’ll begin my ‘projected spending’. I’ll write down money for gas ($50) for the next two weeks and money for groceries ($50), which leaves me with $75. I’ll highlight those cell blocks so that I can remember that I’ve not actually spent this money, but I’ll be needing it in the near future.
With that $75, I’ll put away as much as I can bare into my savings account…so, let’s say $40. This means that I have $35 left to blow on whatever I want until my next check.
I understand that this does not account for every bill…but I’m simply trying to get across the idea of the ‘projected spending.’ This will really help when you want to make long trips and you don’t want to come back home to any surprise credit card bills…because you knew what you were expecting to spend before you began the trip.
This idea is really helpful when you want to manage your money because you’ll have to plan out your grocery budget before you ever go to the store…and you’ll know what you can and cannot afford once you get there.
Again, this is very, very brief, but you don’t need any complicated program that complicates matters…simply a program that can help you plan, not what you’ve ALREADY spent, but what you also PLAN to spend. Thus the accurate title of budget PLANning.
Let me know if this helps.
References :