I
have been a loyal
user of Quicken(R)
for more years than
I can remember. But
a conversation the
other day with my
youngest son started
me wondering whether
or not I really need
money management
software.
The
difference is what
most banks have done
with their online
banking in the past
few years.
It
used to be that the
only way you could
keep track of your
spending online, pay
bills and determine
where you had spent
your money was to
have a money
management program.
However, today you
can get most of that
information you need
from your bank. For
example, we have two
accounts at a bank
I'll call First
Denver National.
When I sign on for
online banking, I
have a choice of
Account Summary,
which shows me how
much money I have in
each account. Bill
Pay or Transfer.
If I
select Account
Summary and then
click on the name of
the account, I can
see a list of all my
deposits and
withdrawals for the
past 30 days.
When
I click on a
hyperlink titled
“Spending Report,” I
can see exactly
where I spent money
for the past 30 days
by category such as
utilities or
groceries.
If I
choose Bill Pay, I
can pay a bill once
or create a
recurring payment.
Naturally, I have to
set up payment
information for each
of my creditors but
I have to do this
only once. In my
case, I have
provided payment
information for six
of my creditors,
including our local
power company,
satellite TV
provider, telephone
company and so
forth. I have not
established any
recurring payments
as all our bills
vary from month to
month.
When
the monthly bill
comes in from, say,
our local power
company, I open my
online account,
select Bill Pay, and
then tell my bank
which day I want the
bill paid and for
what amount. This
all takes maybe 30
seconds.
Now,
my money management
program does offer
many features that
are not available
through my bank. For
example, I can
quickly generate
reports such as “Am
I saving more or
less?,” “Has my
spending changed in
this category?,”
“What am I worth?”,
“How are my
investments doing?,”
and “Did I meet my
budget?” In
addition, my program
provides a lot of
tax related
information.
The
problem is, I don't
use these reports. I
would guess that at
least 90 percent of
the information I
need on a daily
basis is available
through my online
accounts.
Don't
get me wrong.
Programs like
Quicken and
Microsoft Money(R)
are powerful
programs with a bevy
of great features.
However, before you
invest in one of
these programs, you
need to ask yourself
whether or not you
really need all that
power. Do you have a
lot of investments
you want to keep
track of? Do you own
a business? Do you
use a tax program
such as TurboTax? If
the answer to any
one of these
questions is “yes,”
you probably need
money management
software. On the
other hand, if you
answered “no” to all
three, you may be
able to get by with
just the free
information
available from your
bank.
Before you make a
final decision,
there is one other
factor to consider.
In our case, the
bank charges for
both online banking
and bill pay. The
charge is about $10
a month or $120 a
year. In comparison,
a program such as
Quicken Basic 2005
costs only $29.99
and includes both
bill pay and online
banking.* This means
that if your bank
changes you for
either of these
services, you might
be better off buying
a money management
program – even if
you never use many
of its features.
*Some
banks my charge for
online banking even
when you use a money
management program.
Be sure to talk with
your bank before
making a final
decision.
(R)Quicken
is a registered
trademark of Intuit
Corp.
(R)Microsoft Money
is baa registered
trademark of
Microsoft
Corporation.
All other registered
names are the
property of their
respective owners.
About the Author
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Article Source:
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