2 Programs That Make Personal Finance Easier
The latest versions of two personal finance management software programs make it easier to do budgeting, create charts and graphs and juggle money between various types of accounts.
Intuit (800-624-8742) recently released Quicken 6 for MS-DOS and, in October, is expected to release Quicken for Windows Version 2. The company also offers a Macintosh version.
Meanwhile, Meca (800 288-MECA) recently introduced version 9 of Managing Your Money (MYM) for MS-DOS. There is also a Macintosh version.
Quicken is, by far, the most popular personal finance program on the market. At a suggested retail price of $69.95 and a “street price” of less than $40, it has always been an excellent value.
More complex versions of MYM cost more than $200. The new version is easier to use and, at a suggested retail price of $79.95, it is much more affordable.
Both programs give you several ways to pay your bills. If you don’t like writing checks by hand, you can order special blank checks designed for either a laser or dot matrix printer and instruct the software to print out your checks.
Both companies also allow users with a modem to pay their bills via CheckFree, an electronic bill paying service based in Westervile, Ohio.
Both Quicken and MYM are great when it comes to keeping track of your various accounts. Pay your American Express bill, for example, and either product will automatically deduct the money from your electronic check register and apply it to the register that tracks your American Express account. Both programs can tackle investment accounts, including stocks and mutual funds.
The most impressive new Quicken feature, called IntelliCharge, automates the process of keeping track of credit card expenses. To use this feature, you must apply for a Quicken Visa Gold card from Primerica Bank. The card has no annual fee, but you have to pay $3 a month to get your statement by modem or $4.50 to have the bank send it to you on a disk.
The new version of Quicken has some features that you used to get only with MYM, including special financial calculators to help with loans, investments and retirement and college planning. Another new feature, QuickZoom, lets you quickly zoom in on financial details listed on a summary report on the screen.
Managing Your Money is now easier to use and works with a mouse. Although MYM 9 is an MS-DOS program, it has pull-down menus that give it a Windows or Macintosh-like look and feel.
Besides the basic personal finance tools, MYM also has features that might interest small-business people. For example, it can print invoices and help track accounts receivable and payables.
MYM also has some built-in tax planning and estimating tools. It can forecast your tax liability and allows you to play “what if” games with tax-related decisions. It cannot be used, however, to prepare a tax return.
