Money vs Quicken vs other

[Reel]

I had never considered using one of these money management software things because I thought they were too much effort and I can keep track of my money in my head. However, now that I am on my own financially, I think there is some benefit in the automated reports that they can generate.

Along with my laptop came Quicken 2004 New User Edition. I have been using that for about a month. I like that it pulls my bank statements and credit card info off the internet. I also like that it automatically classifies my expenditures. However, I don't like the approve transactions system. It seems to mess things up occasionally or not match regular expenses/incomes with the actual transaction.

I have noticed a lot of sales for Quicken + Money this time of year and I am thinking that I will purchase one. Is there an advantage to buying the 2005 edition if I have the 2004 edition? Will my 2004 edition shut off tonight at midnight? Will Money have the pros of Quicken in the above paragraph and/or will it fix the complaints with Quicken?

What do you use/recommend and why?

Thanks.

 

[mugs]

I don't know the answer to most of your questions, but I don't think there's an advantage to buying a new version. My Money 2002 still works fine and does everything I'd need it to do. I don't use it though, I wrote my own money management program in PHP.

 

[Bonesdad]

you can keep using your 2004 edition if it has all the features you want. It will continue to work. I used Quicken 98 until I had to upgrade due to Y2K. Quicken has gotten pretty bloated over the years, they seem to think that everyone craves new features every year. Its more complicated to use now, and I ignore about 2/3 of the features available.

 

[jadinolf]

I'm using Quicken 1999. Works for me.

 

[PowerEngineer]

I used Quicken until two years ago. When there was that installation fiasco with TurboTax, I switched over to Money/TaxCut. I found they were a bit different in "look and feel" but seemed to have pretty much the same functionality. I did upgrade this year to Money 2005 Deluxe (from 2004) because the upgrade is free when purchasing TaxCut. I have not found any significant changes. I will say that Money's (and Quicken's) banking download interfaces are a lot nicer now than they were a few years ago. I would seriously consider an upgrade if I were running either at 1999!

As far as which one to choose, you might want to see which one your bank prefers. I recall that Bank of America specified Quicken a couple of years back.