Financial Software

[Like2Plan]

I was wondering what type of software everyone uses in keeping track of personal finances. I currently use a really, really, really old basic version of Quicken and I am beginning to thnk maybe it is time to upgrade.

I would love something that would
1. keep track of the basis of individual stocks and allow me to model what selling a particular stock would do tax wise.
2. Keep track of the value of savings bonds (and allow me to model the best time to sell a particular one)
3. Keep track of everything in one place to be able to keep a better eye on things.


Is there a nice, user friendly software program like that out there?

[boefixepa]

I don't know if this will do what you want as far as the tax ideas.

I use mevelopes and I have all my account tied to it. I spend on one CC hubby spend on another and the banks do their thing. I track my mortage and it shows on their system too. I have 3 (soon 4) different investment accounts - long term savings, two IRA's, Simple IRA (my work) and soon his 401K - all linked to it. I see their values on the net worth page, but it doesn't allow me to do the stock thing you are askeing about. It receives all my e-bills and I pay all my bills through them. It take me two seconds to tell you my net worth on any given day and I can easily see the monies I have set aside in different categories without worrying about if it in my checking account or savings account. It allows me to use and develope a 'living budget' and I can see day to day how much I have left in any category. Any trasactions that have cleare the CCs or the bank or dropped in their categories instatly.

It works for me, but you may have to find something different to manage your stocks, if you did chose to use it. It also is a paid service...some don't like that. To me is saves me WAY more than it costs.

[poundwise]

I use Quicken and my own Excel spreadsheet. Mvelopes looks like a good system, though I, personally, question its value in consideration of its cost ($129.60 per year).

You may to check out a program like YNAB or an online service like MySpendingPlan.com.

[Like2Plan]

Originally Posted by boefixepa

I use mevelopes and I have all my account tied to it.

Thanks for the info. I have a different on-line bill paying service (I don't receive any bills at home--once a year I order a CD for a copy of all the bills), but it isn't as elaborate as mvelopes-I'm going to check it out.

[Like2Plan]

Originally Posted by poundwise

You may to check out a program like YNAB or an online service like MySpendingPlan.com.

poundwise,
Thanks for the links.

[mwgr5]

Quicken and MS Money are good financial software programs.

[Newbie]

I use Yodlee Moneycenter. You can link all your financial websites (banks, credit cards, loans, 401k and even rewards) and view everything in one place.

It lets you see your net worth, emails bill reminders and has many spending reports to use. There is also a billpay feature. Very handy site...


Here's a demo:

MoneyCenter Personal Finance Management Demo


Main site: www.yodlee.com/

[FrugalIII]

I've been using Quicken for 12 years now and love it. It has helped me so much I just can't describe it. I update it every two years for the newest version. The changes they make aren't drastic, but I like keeping up. I tried ms money once, but for me Quicken is the best.

[Magicman]

SmartMoney.com — Investing, Saving and Personal Finance is a good resource for people who like to keep track of their stocks.

They offer a stock portfolio monitoring service for free. Just set up free account. They will keep track of daily changes in the stock prices in your portfolio. All the accounting is done for you. I have used it for years and would highly recommend it.

[Broken Arrow]

I love my PocketMoney. It's a complete, self-contained personal finance software that goes with me wherever I go, available whenever I want it. I've balanced my finances this way for years, and frankly, I still find this method superior to many of the more sophisticated softwares and websites out there.

[jmjj215]

I use YNAB for the daily management of cash flow, and Yodlee's MoneyCenter for Big Picture stuff.

[Like2Plan]

Wow! I am glad I asked this question. There is a lot of cool websites out there.

[Schadenfreude]

Is anyone here beta testing the upcoming mint.com?

I currently use the full version of AceMoney, but need something updated with more dynamic updating and customizable reports.

[myself]

Originally Posted by Like2Plan

I was wondering what type of software everyone uses in keeping track of personal finances. I currently use a really, really, really old basic version of Quicken and I am beginning to thnk maybe it is time to upgrade.

I would love something that would
1. keep track of the basis of individual stocks and allow me to model what selling a particular stock would do tax wise.
2. Keep track of the value of savings bonds (and allow me to model the best time to sell a particular one)
3. Keep track of everything in one place to be able to keep a better eye on things.


Is there a nice, user friendly software program like that out there?

Quicken has been able to do #1 and #3 for years now (I started using it some 14+ years ago).
It also has a household inventory portion, in addition to customizable reports.
I'm not sure if it does #2, but I don't own more than a few savings bonds anyway.

Sometime around 2001, I archived off everything I had up to that point, and my current data file is about 15M in size (but then again, we're talking all financial transactions that occurred in my life since then ... including every single stock transaction).