Microsoft Money Software Discontinued

[mmkad4]

Well, I might just be the last person on Earth to be finding out about this. Microsoft has discontinued Microsoft Money!!!!!!!!!! Although the software will continue to function, its automatic bank updates will no longer function after January 31, 2011.

To say I am heartbroken is putting it mildly. Since 2000 I have relied heavily on the software to keep track of my mortgage payments, bank accounts, retirement accounts, budget, lifetime planner, tax reports... the list goes on. I can't see how I would ever get by without some sort of finance software. Excel spreadsheets just wouldn't cut it.

So, now I find myself looking for other options. Does anyone use Mint.com or Quicken? I don't know how I feel about having all my financial info online through Mint.com. Also, since it's free, I don't know that the features compare with those I currently have through Microsoft Money.

Quicken sounds like a viable option, but will I be able to import my Microsoft Money file into Quicken and retain all the information I've stored for the past 11 years? Will all the categories I have set up in Money transfer to Quicken? Has anyone made the move from Money to Quicken recently?

[Deleted]

I have used Quicken for ages and I love it. I looked at my Quicken 2011 and it said that I had to have Microsoft Money 2007 or 2008 installed on my machine before I could import those MM files into Quicken. HTH!

[mudflap81]

I've had Quicken for a year and I'm still upset. Quicken 2010 is inferior to MS Money 2007 in every single factor.

Mint.com is pretty cool, the intuit purchase hasn't hurt it. It even has a smartphone app.

[moneywhisperer]

What is a reasonable cost option? We looked at Quicken last month & it was over $200 to buy the software.

[mudflap81]

What is a reasonable cost option? We looked at Quicken last month & it was over $200 to buy the software.

Which version are you looking at? Quicken starts at $60.

[mmkad4]

@luckystar - thanks for the input!

mudflap81 - that's exactly what I'm afraid of --- that Quicken won't live up to what I'm used to. Just looking at screenshots of the home screen in Quicken already has me disappointed. As far as I can tell, it does not give me a comprehensive view of my accounts and net worth all in one page like Money does. Although it may seem silly, I'm actually kinda sad. Any tips to make the move smoother or to make the software work more like Money does?

Oh well, no sense in whining about it, I guess. I'd better just accept it and move on.

[Deleted]

I did the switch last year. I also loved MS Money and had everything in there. The import for Money to Quicken was very easy however I have all these guesses in the software for my security prices which drives me nuts. I have also gotten a corrupted price file a couple times which is apparently a bug in the software, pretty easy to rebuild.

Overall, I give quicken about a C but I am getting better with it so I hope that helps. Money I found much easier to be honest but there aren't any other options out there anymore.

[mmkad4]

mudflap81 - One more question: Do you use Mint.com and Quicken concurrently?

[mmkad4]

@daveandjen29 - What do you mean you get "guesses in the software for my security prices"? When you update your accounts, doesn't it automatically download security prices like Money does? Why are there "guesses"?

[mudflap81]

Oh well, no sense in whining about it, I guess. I'd better just accept it and move on.

That's about the best tip I can give. You just have to move on, time wounds all heels. Also, don't touch the budget feature, you will want to throw your computer. It's probably not horrible, but it's like going from an iPhone to the Zach Morris phone. Yes, they're both cell phones, but it's still different.

The import was actually very easy, they did good with that.

[mudflap81]

mudflap81 - One more question: Do you use Mint.com and Quicken concurrently?

Yes an no. I used mint a lot less as last year moved on (was home more and and able to use my computer instead of iPhone) and I know I'm not using them to their full potential.

[mmkad4]

mudflap81 - Great! I just set up a new budget in Money about 2 weeks ago and was looking forward to following it this year.

By the way, I was just reading another thread and someone mentioned another software called "Moneydance." Looks interesting and it's a free download at moneydance.com. I might download it tonight and take a look... although, I'm not sure I can import my Money file into it, in which case it would be worthless to me.

[moneywhisperer]

Home & Business - And I see that it is a ton cheaper on line than it was at Costco.

[telephus44]

I'll be doing this in the next month too. I used Quicken back in the late 90's when I was a college student, but went over to MS Money one year when it was free with Tax Cut. I actually remember liking Quicken better, but then I was a college student living on campus and now I'm a married home owner with several investment accounts. I think that's what worried me most about switching, is how the investment accounts will go over. I don't use most of the budgets and reports, just the checkbook register and the portfolio tools.

[mudflap81]

Home & Business - And I see that it is a ton cheaper on line than it was at Costco.

I bought online, they had a "switchover" sale and the second level ended up cheaper than the bottom level one.

[mudflap81]

I think that's what worried me most about switching, is how the investment accounts will go over. I don't use most of the budgets and reports, just the checkbook register and the portfolio tools.

Don't go with deluxe, which is for some reason the basic version. You'll need premiere for investment info.

[Deleted]

@daveandjen29 - What do you mean you get "guesses in the software for my security prices"? When you update your accounts, doesn't it automatically download security prices like Money does? Why are there "guesses"?




This link below is what I have been experiencing.

quicken.intuit.com/support/articles/using-quicken/managing-accounts/4677.html


They are called placeholder entries and I can't seem to get rid of them. When I go to the report that is supposed to show them, it is blank, so I just kind of gave up trying to figure it out. I probably said it incorrectly but the prices and quotes download just fine.


Below is also an issue I have ran into a couple times since having the software.


quicken.intuit.com/support/articles/using-quicken/investment/2820.html



When I bought from the intuit site they were running a deal where you got willmaker for free that has a bunch of estate planning tools. Might want to check if they still have that deal going too.

[RoadToRiches]

MS Money is free now. At least it was few months ago. I used it and I liked it. There are good things about Quicken and good things about MS Money. One thing I didn't like about Money is that I couldn't create new categories, so if I had weird sub-category that I created, I would have to put it under "Misc" category. That would really throw off when I ran some scenarios because it would show amount in "Misc" categories.

I loved how easy it was to setup budget in MS Money. In Quicken, it's little weird when you look at your budget, but I do like when you have all your bills setup in Quicken, it's really clear and right in your face what you have coming up and what you have to pay or paid already.

I don't use any of them to actually pay my bills through them or download statements, since I just do everything manually (pay bills via my bank) but I do like to track my money through the software.

[mudflap81]

Also, Quicken won't let you organize your budget into the "60% solution"

articles.moneycentral.msn.com/SavingandDebt/LearnToBudget/ASimplerWayToSaveThe60Solution.aspx

[thyme4change]

I'm going to try Moneydance. I am unimpressed with Mint.com - so I don't want to spend $90 on Quicken (Premiere - so I can track investments) only to find out I don't like it for the same reasons I don't like Mint. At least Mint is free - so if it works for you, stick with that.

The reviews have moneydance on par with Quicken Premiere, with a few missing things - like being able to download to excel. It is more like $45. If you wait another week, I'll let you know how my set-up went.

[Kung Fu Panda]

Downloading OFX files and whatnot from all the sites and importing it into MoneyDance was not a solution for me. Maybe I have too many bank accounts...

[mudflap81]

I'm going to try Moneydance. I am unimpressed with Mint.com - so I don't want to spend $90 on Quicken (Premiere - so I can track investments) only to find out I don't like it for the same reasons I don't like Mint. At least Mint is free - so if it works for you, stick with that.

Keep us updated, I'd love to get rid of quicken! I'm particularly interested in the budget feature.

[Kung Fu Panda]

BTW, I never heard of the 60% solution...but amazingly...I am there!

[thyme4change]

Jan 4, 2011 15:54:40 GMT -5 Kung Fu Panda said:

Downloading OFX files and whatnot from all the sites and importing it into MoneyDance was not a solution for me. Maybe I have too many bank accounts...

I thought MoneyDance had the "reach out" feature? No??

Crap - back to the lousy drawing board. Does Quicken have the reach out feature or so I have to stick with stinky mint?

[mmkad4]

Quicken Premier is around $60 at Sam's Club. I'm about to bite the bullet.

[localtrav]

I'm anxious to see how it behaves after the 31st. I don't use it to update my bank accounts so I won't miss that capability. But I do use it for stock prices and I'm not sure that that feature is going away. Does anybody know? I too have been using MM for the last decade and hate to have to give it up.

[mudflap81]

I'm anxious to see how it behaves after the 31st. I don't use it to update my bank accounts so I won't miss that capability. But I do use it for stock prices and I'm not sure that that feature is going away. Does anybody know? I too have been using MM for the last decade and hate to have to give it up.

The reason I got rid of it is because money management software is a big target for hackers and Microsoft will no longer be working on protecting the software (and your banking info).

[telephus44]

You can get both Quicken Premier and Turbo Tax with State and eFile for $95 at Amazon. That's the best pricing I've found so far. Of course, this assumes you're going to buy Turbo Tax, too.

[Kung Fu Panda]

Quicken has a new cash flow graph for 2011. Certainly not as detailed as my excel version but it might actually do.....I may check it out

[mmkad4]

So far, I absolutely HATE Quicken. It split up all the cash accounts that were associated with my investment accounts. When I transferred money from my checking account to my IRA, for example, the money would sit in a cash account associated with my IRA and decrease as I used it to buy equity investments. That's information that I would like to keep because it shows how much principal I've contributed to my IRA over the years. So now I don't know what to do. Can anyone here provide a solution?

The interface is also not as intuitive as Money's. When categories for a transaction are split, Quicken shows the split right in the account register. In Money, I'd have to click the transaction in order to view the multiple categories.

I am completely annoyed right now because I have to figure all this out. I could almost kill Microsoft (if that were possible) for discontinuing Money. ARRRRGH!