I'm done with Quicken! - What else?

[Katsmeow]

I use YNAB. I spent a lot of time looking into these but YNAB was the best. It is a subscription model now but worth it to me. There is a free 30 day trial. I either tried or researched pretty much all of the options mentioned here.

[ERD50]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Luck_Club Super old school I use my check register and the back of an envelope. I've tried those accounting packages in the past, but always thought they were way too much work, and didn't tell me anything I didn't already know. My taxes are too high and my income is too low.

Heck, I just use the back of an old envelope. I don't write enough checks to bother with the check register.

On the back of an envelope, I have a round # current balance, add in the routine monthly, automated deposit from my brokerage account, subtract mortgage and HI payments.

When Credit Cards are settled, I enter those amounts, plus any actual checks of significant amount (rare), or other transfers. A few entries every month is all I need to know I've got sufficient balance in the checking account. Not even worth a spreadsheet.

-ERD50

[Luck_Club]

Quote:

Originally Posted by ERD50 Heck, I just use the back of an old envelope. I don't write enough checks to bother with the check register. On the back of an envelope, I have a round # current balance, add in the routine monthly, automated deposit from my brokerage account, subtract mortgage and HI payments. When Credit Cards are settled, I enter those amounts, plus any actual checks of significant amount (rare), or other transfers. A few entries every month is all I need to know I've got sufficient balance in the checking account. Not even worth a spreadsheet. -ERD50

I know what you mean.

[RetireAge50]

Golf? Or maybe tennis it is cheaper.

[Jerry1]

Been using Quicken for a really long time. Looks like at least since 1994. What frustrates me about it is the need to be connected to the internet for it to work. I figured out a way around that and will never upgrade again. I'm in agreement with the group that the next version will probably be subscription. No way!

My needs are pretty basic, but I have no interest in learning another program or going through the hassle of trying to upload the data into another program. The problem will be when the version I have is no longer supported for whatever operating system I'm using. At that point, I'll probably take a laptop and set it up for only that purpose and run it as long as I can. Hopefully something will happen before that.

[Bflotomny]

I used Quicken for almost 20 years, I always purchased a few year old version on Ebay. I recently migrated to a Mac and looked at Quicken for Mac and really couldn't justify the cost so A-shoppng we will go. I found CheckBook. It may be just what you want if your a Mac user. Simple check register like set up. It has some Q type options but I have never looked into them.
Good Luck

[Jerry1]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bflotomny I used Quicken for almost 20 years, I always purchased a few year old version on Ebay. I recently migrated to a Mac and looked at Quicken for Mac and really couldn't justify the cost so A-shoppng we will go. I found CheckBook. It may be just what you want if your a Mac user. Simple check register like set up. It has some Q type options but I have never looked into them. Good Luck

The main thing I would want is to keep my history. I don't know how much it's worth, but from time to time, DW and I will go back and look for the price of what we bought or who we bought it from. Other than that, I just use it as a check register (all manual entry) and a way to summarize my finances. Simple and since we have a pretty uncomplicated life, not too difficult to handle manually (hour a week?).

[gayl]

I used MSMoney for years but when it was no longer available I just used my USAA account. I enter future transactions as a manual entry and back that out when the scheduled one shows up. The only problem is you can only enter transactions that will happen in the next 12 months. I can review my goals, budget, and planner in the app. It also auto updates my investment accounts on a daily basis. That's close enough for me

[someguy]

I would probably stick with Quicken even if they go to an annual subscription model -- assuming of course they don't jack up the effective long-term price too much. However, if they also go full cloud and expect all my detailed data including transactions to go into their cloud, I will probably bow out.

[easysurfer]

I used to use Quicken religiously many years ago. But saw the light, and trying to have an all in one program for all my finances wasn't the way to go, at least for me.

Instead I use several different things to provide the info what Quicken did.

checkbook - old fashioned paper register that comes with checkbook.
checkbook balancing - spreadsheet for balancing against monthly statement and register
budget - program that only does budgeting. No checkbook, no subscription.
investment summaries - most of investments are in Vanguard, so use their summary.

[GalaxyBoy]

There was only one short mention of AceMoney above, and I’d like to hear more feedback from someone who migrated from Quicken. I’ve been a Quicken user since it ran on MS-DOS but I’m feeling the pain of upgrades etc., like many others.

[W2R]

A lot of us do not use a canned program like Quicken, but instead just use Excel or one of the Excel-like freebies, such as Open Office (which I use), or Libre office. We did a poll on that once, and IIRC spreadsheets were a popular option.

I actually bought Quicken back in 2010 because so many forum members that I respect use it. I tried and tried to like it, and absolutely HATED it. So I uninstalled it, threw the disk in a drawer, and went back to Open Office.

Personally I much prefer being able to do what I want to do, in the way I want to do it, and if you are like that then you might love a spreadsheet approach.

[bobandsherry]

Quote:

Originally Posted by bUU I haven't found anything that delivers all the features of quicken that i rely on.

Agree with that. I've looked and nothing comes close to offering the features and functions that I want and use in Quicken. And I've looked at all the options currently available including Money Dance, Personal Capital, etc.

[bobandsherry]

Just remember the old sayings "out of the pan and into the fire" and "I'd rather deal with the devil I know than the one I don't". Look around and you'll find people encountering issues with alternative programs. Quicken has very large user base so much more visible.

[pb4uski]

One of the most valuable features of Quicken to me are the Retirement Planner to see if I am staying on track and the projected cash balances that I use for cash management and I don't think AceMoney of some of the others mentioned other than MS Money provide that functionality.

I'll probably stay with Quicken even if they go subscription as long as they don't overprice it or require that I keep my data in their cloud.

[24601NoMore]

I also have a love-hate relationship with Quicken and wish there was something "better" out there.

Have looked at MoneyDance a couple of times but have never had the time to fully evaluate it. Looks OK so that might be one of the better options for monthly income/expense management, which is my main need.

For investments, I found an absolutely awesome program called FundManager (https://www.fundmanagersoftware.com). Everything about it works the way you'd expect, and so far it's been nothing but flawless. Blows Quicken out of the water when it comes to managing your investments. I can do things with FM that I never in my wildest dreams thought I could do with Quicken, like get ACCURATE period-to-date (monthly, yearly, custom, etc) return data, lots of charts, graphs, asset allocation reports and more. It reminds me how we "used" to develop software (I'm an old IT guy) - fast, accurate, elegant, not "bloatware". Can't say enough good about it..

[zinger1457]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jerry1 Been using Quicken for a really long time. Looks like at least since 1994. What frustrates me about it is the need to be connected to the internet for it to work. I figured out a way around that and will never upgrade again.

What version of Quicken or features are you using that requires it to be connected to the Internet to work? My experience is that once it's installed and registered I can use Quicken (make manual entries, etc.) without an Internet connection.

[rodi]

I got into the password dance with quicken a few days ago. Unfortunately my quicken H&B 2016 seemed to think it should still connect to intuit - so it kept taking me to that site. I finally manually logged onto quicken.com (no intuit in the url - so *not* quicken.intuit.com). Selected investment portfolio in the drop down - created a new password... and voila - I'm able to one step update again in quicken.

It was painful, frustrating, and I was pretty ready to get rid of quicken. Unfortunately, I have so many things in quicken (20 years of transaction history, my QLP budgeting, etc) that I'm reluctant to switch. The 20 years of history has been useful to pull up records as needed on old home repair projects, figuring out how old an appliance is when deciding repair vs replace, etc...

I really hope the subscription model does not come to pass. I was told last year that it was coming, like it or not... and the annual subscription is going to be similar to the old purchase price (which lasted for a few years.) That's a big price bump over time. I avoid subscription software whenever possible just out of principle.

[W2R]

Quote:

Originally Posted by rodi I avoid subscription software whenever possible just out of principle.

+1000

For photo and image manipulation, I still use the 1997 version of Paint Shop Pro. That is what I use to make my many avatars, for example, and to fiddle with other images that I use here.

In those days, when you bought software, you owned it. So, I actually own the copy that I bought back in 1997 or maybe 1996, whenever it was brand new and the latest and greatest. IIRC it cost me around $30-$35 or so, so I have got my money's worth out of it over the past 20 years. I really like it and as you might imagine, I am quite accustomed to it by now.

I would be very happy to pay good money for a non-subscription upgrade, but it doesn't exist and I'm not paying for a subscription. Besides, what I have is good enough for what I do.

[Rustic23]

I found this link when working with a friend. It has 11 programs mentioned other than Quicken.

Good-Bye, Microsoft Money! 12 Powerful Personal Finance Programs