TIA!

Love Val

First off - I love my Quicken, LOL. I couldn't keep track of all our accounts without it. I do all the financial stuff in the house, except Jon's biz account, so it's a lifesaver, esp. since I can download transactions from our bank, credit cards, etc. right into it and keep things constantly on track.

You can use it to balance your checkbook, keep track of credit card use, etc. I even have my car loan in it. You can print out all kinds of reports to track your spending, make a budget, etc.

You can also use it to track investments like stocks, 410K, etc.

I downloaded mine directly from their site as a upgrade, so it was cheaper than buying it in the store (at that time). I recommend you take the time to research prices, etc. to save yourself some bucks!

I use Quicken for home stuff and Quickbooks for my business accounts. The thing I like the best is that when it comes time for taxes, our TurboTax just pulls all the data from them and VIOLA! our taxes are done! I am also a report junkie and love to play with those! :p

We love, love, love Quicken! We have all of our accounts set up on it and all of our scheduled transactions are projected 2 months ahead so I can see when things are going to be a little tighter and when we can put more into savings or pay more on debts, etc.

A lot of computers come with MS Money which I guess is very similar. Since we use Quicken I've never bothered to look at Money but I know it is along the same lines.

I love tracking our expenses and Quicken has so many great ways to track everything, even allowing splitting of transactions between categories (think splitting grocery bill between food and non-food).

We recently switched from Quicken to MS Money. Maybe the newer versions of Quicken are the same, but for us it added the ability to hit our bank's website and automatically download our debit card transactions and enter them into Money's check register. No more entering receipts for dh! Saves him about an hour per week. (He just has to check amounts now) We don't do a paper check register anymore, just record the few checks we write and then transfer the record to the computer.

Would this work for a family that is not always making what we need to to make it? Is it on line? Is there a way I could get a "tester" version perhaps for a month or two to see if I like it before I spend money on it?

Sorry for all the questions but I would love to find out if one of these would help us keep better track. We were so tight last year that I did not order carbon copy checks... and that was dumb of me. lol... becuase now when I write a check I do not have a copy of how much it is or what it was for until it clears. That is a lot to remember for this mama. So most of the time that is where our errors lie, and then there are the times when Don does not have work... and that makes things even tighter. I just am not sure it would work until we are making a living wage again. You know?

Love Val

Hello Bluerosemama,
I was wondering if you write down the check #, how much the check is for and who it is to in the front of your checkbook? (-- Is it called the register?) It seems like this could be your record--at least until the check clears. You can also list atm withdrawals and debit card purchases in this register. That way you would have a running total of what was in the bank--or not in the bank, as it were. My mother and grandmother made "toting up" into an art. I have a distinct memory of my mother declaring, quite triumphantly: "THE BANK IS WRONG" after working over her register and bank statement. The funny thing was that the bank was wrong. But perhaps you do all this and I just misunderstood your post.

Catherine

I still think you would benefit from Quicken Val. And our version of Quicken (2000) allows us to download transactions from credit card and bank websites. I still prefer to enter them myself because the download doesn't always give the store name. Sometimes it just gives the store address. :rolleyes:

We do use duplicate checks but more importantly I put all receipts in my purse or wallet and enter them every evening so we stay on top of things. Our bank has a website so I can essentially "balance my checkbook" whenever I like.

I think Quicken is even more important when things are super tight and you are having problems making ends meet. It gives you a very detailed picture of where every cent is going.