Personal Finance Software?

[sallysue]

What is the best kind of personal finance software these days?

I started using Quicken (on a Mac) in 1993 and loved it. Updated a few times, and then in 2003 got a PC, so switched to Microsoft Money. Was able to import all my accounts and data from Quicken into MS Money. Still using MS Money 2003 on my PC, and like it, but recently I got a Mac again.

I'm ready to get some new, updated software for my new computer, but I can't figure out what to get. Quicken has a version for Mac, but it seems to be a slimmed-down version of their regular product. I don't know if it will have all the features I like in MS Money, including EXTENSIVE budgeting and reporting options. Also, it doesn't import data from older MS Money versions like mine.

Meanwhile, Microsoft has discontinued MS Money, not that I would expect to be able to use it on a Mac.

I've heard that some people use online software, which sounds appealing, but a quick check of Mint doesn't say anything about importing data from old software. I'd really rather not lose 18 years of data now.

What are people using these days? Any suggestions?

Thank you!

[stuboyle]

I'm aware of basically just 2 choices, Quicken or Mint. I think Intuit bought Mint. Mint is online. Quicken has pretty much run everyone else out of business.

[Kestrel]

How simple is Quicken? All I want is the ledger with household accounts that I balance with our checking account each month. I've done ours the old-fashioned pencil and columnar pad way for about 35 years (I used to do simple bookeeping) ... but I want to get into the 21st Century, and DH keeps bugging me. I know, if I were to get it, I'd find more ways to use it ...

[Alan]

I'm a simple kinda guy and prefer a simple spreadsheet. I love Excel, but Open Office, an open source (free) suite has a great spreadsheet program as well, even for the Mac.

[catherine]

I have it all: I have Mint, I have Alan's Excel spreadsheet, I have Dave Ramsey's budget software, I have YNAB [You Need a Budget].

Mint:
Pros:
Good for a snapshot of assets/liabilities
Good for reporting
Good for categorizing transactions
I assume it will be good for seamlessly integrating with Intuit/TurboTax
Good for bill-paying reminders
Great for synching your bank/credit accounts
Free

Cons:
Bad for budgeting (not intuitive and it doesn't "give every dollar a job")
I think of this as mainly a snapshot of finances, not as interactive or active a program as TMMO or YNAB. But I'm sure the Mint folks would tell you it can be as interactive as you want it to be.

Excel sheet:
Pros:
You can set it up easily to fit your needs
It's free

Cons:
You can't typically export it easily to tax software

Dave Ramsey TMMO
Pros:
Complements TMMO program
Budget is pretty customizable
Very easy to use/set up/maintain

Cons:
Budgets don't roll over from month to month.
Doesn't integrate with intuit/tax software
You have to pay for it

YNAB
Pros:
Tied in with a philosophy (The Four Rules)
Very sophisticated software
Takes into account cashflow into the next month, overspending, debt reduction.\
Pretty intuitive, but not as intuitive as some (I had a hard time finding out how to locate my transaction in a certain category

Cons:
I felt like I had to go deeper into accounting principles than I wanted to go, but once you do that, it does pay off in terms of accuracy of accounting.
You have to pay for it.

[pcooley]

I use Moneywell on my Mac. It's based on envelope budgeting, and it works great. Because I'm paranoid about keeping track of things, I also use Moneydance. A third good choice for the Mac is YNAB, which is another envelope type budgeting/accounting software. Please note that both Moneywell and YNAB (I believe), are geared more toward budgeting and don't do such things as track investments. I've been very pleased with Moneywell, and their support is good.

[Greg44]

I've used Quicken for years - does everything I need it to do. Though I have never properly setup my 401K I just do an adjusting entry each month. I don't have it interact with any of my accounts online - I just would rather do it myself.

I usually post our purchases every couple days and it is very easy to keep current.

[daisy]

We have used Quicken and Microsoft Money, but once we switched our home computers to Linux, we started using gnucash (http://www.gnucash.org/), a free open source financial package. It's not as slick as Money, but we've been using it for 5 or 6 years now and have been happy with it.

[sallysue]

Thanks, everyone! Very helpful info. I started a free trial of Moneydance. Will also look into Moneywell and Ynab.

Thanks for the suggestions!

[Zoebird]

i'm using xero.com because it does my taxes for me, and then one of my students exchanges accounting checks in exchange for yoga (she makes sure the information is correct), and it works out much nicer than having an accountant redo all of the work for me ($56 per month vs $196 per month).

it's great for business and personal use, and it has great budgeting and projection processes.

[softweave]

I switched from Quicken 2007 for the Mac to SEE Finance when Mac OS X Lion came out. It's still pre version 1.0 and has some rough spots as far as convenience features. However, it flawlessly imported several years of Quicken data, which some of its competitors failed to do.

[Denverstudent]

Hello all,

We are a group graduate students who are preforming market research on personal financial software for a class project. Please answer the quick ten question survey about personal finance and help us for our project. Thank you. This survey can be found at he following link: http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/N7K6X97

Thanks!