Microsoft 'Money' Have you used it ?

[Deleted User]

I don`t download statements either, for exactly the same reason as copperplate. I must say that I quite like doing it all by hand, as I get to see exactly where the money is going

NeoVR2k6

In the latest version of money (that i use) it will train iteslf for payees..

Eg after a few weeks it will automatically presume anything with "shell" in the name is to do with fuel, and you can change the displayed-name of the payee if you want too..

CopperPlate_2

Yes, I saw that it had been updated. I suppose I'd need to go through the rigmarole of backing up my current file, and using a test file to see how it went. I've been there before where I've 'tinkered' and ended up having to start the whole thing again from scratch :eek:. Had some near misses where years of information could've gone up in smoke - it's easy to lose track of the changes you are making and then realise that, ooops too late, it was probably better off the way it was before I started :rotfl:

techno_geek

I'm a student and I'd be totally lost without Microsoft Money!!!

It's simple enough for me to use without having to think too much (great for when I've got a deadline looming), and it warns me about overspending etc. - it's annoying that more UK banks don't support background banking, but downloading statements manually works fine.

Finally, a useful Microsoft product that doesn't cost the earth!! :beer:

CopperPlate_2

Mine seems to have a bug in it. It always seems to show less in the account as you get to the end of the month, but I never seem to remember buying anything wild or extravagant, so I guess it's just one of those glitches...:rolleyes:

Debt_Free_Chick

NeoVR2k6 wrote:

I used money... then stopped using it, and im about to start again

the biggest PITA with it i find is you cant start a "month" on payday... im used to working that way with a old excel spreadsheet..

It shouldn't make any difference if you look at the Cashflow forecast. This shows you what you should have in your account, after known (entered) transactions, bills/deposits and budgeted expenditure, which Money assumes will go through. You can look at your cashflow forecast for any period, up to about a year.

My other gripes with it are more my fault.. i wasnt very diciplined with the catagories.. i originally started using it to try to get perspective on what i was managing to spend my salary on.

You can edit and/or delete the categories, so give them names that you are familiar with. Add new categories, if you wish, but you can end up with a huge list ... and some overlap.

also the fact it doesnt support UK banks automatically - more a irritation really, i did move from cahoot to A & L so i could download my accounts

To be fair to MS, it's the fact that some banks don't support MS Money. They don't give you the option to download or open a file in OFX format.

That said, I think it's better that you don't download. If you can get into the habit of entering everything in Money, then you are more likely to spot a mistake or a fraudulent transaction. If you just download from your bank, you will download the mistake/fraudulent transaction and you might simply enter it.

HTH

CopperPlate_2

You can set the cashflow forecast for more than a year which I find useful now and again. Just click on the 'custom' dates option.

I've had to apply some judicious pruning to the list of categories I used to have. I did think I was being a little bit anal breaking the FOOD category down into sub-categories like BREAD, MILK, COFFEE....:rotfl:

Turning_into_scrooge

Debt_Free_Chick wrote:

It shouldn't make any difference if you look at the Cashflow forecast. This shows you what you should have in your account, after known (entered) transactions, bills/deposits and budgeted expenditure, which Money assumes will go through. You can look at your cashflow forecast for any period, up to about a year.



You can edit and/or delete the categories, so give them names that you are familiar with. Add new categories, if you wish, but you can end up with a huge list ... and some overlap.



To be fair to MS, it's the fact that some banks don't support MS Money. They don't give you the option to download or open a file in OFX format.

That said, I think it's better that you don't download. If you can get into the habit of entering everything in Money, then you are more likely to spot a mistake or a fraudulent transaction. If you just download from your bank, you will download the mistake/fraudulent transaction and you might simply enter it.

HTH

You can fiddle about and change things in your setting so it converts the file downloaded into the format you need. Ive done it but i can't remember how.

CopperPlate_2

Ah, that's where allowances come in handy..."£20 a month cover you for clothes this month dear?" :rotfl: