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20-08-2019, 11:43 AM
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Which? - Best personal finance software

https://www.which.co.uk/money/money-...W_EM_190819_NL

Personal finance software helps you keep track of your money and make smarter financial choices.

The programmes allow you to monitor your bank accounts, credit cards, loans and investment balances in one place, as well as log your income and outgoings – giving you an in-depth picture of your position and helping you set goals for the future.

Which put nine personal finance software packages to the test, to find out which are best at helping you manage your money:
  1. You Need A Budget
  2. Moneydance
  3. AceMoney
  4. Buxfer
  5. Banktivity
  6. BankTree
  7. Home Accountz
  8. GnuCash
  9. HomeBank

Has anyone used any of the above .....

I've tried other personal finance software in the past but stayed with MSMoney (now long out of date) ....
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20-08-2019, 12:41 PM
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Re: Which? - Best personal finance software

I am still using M$ Money. Couldn't bear to change but such a program is getting unnecessary because a bank app on your phone gives you your current account situation in real time.(well, with in minutes anyway)

When I started using Money the first you knew of your actual financial position was the monthly statement which was out of date by the time you received it so keeping a track on expenditure and income was essential but, as I say, with modern banking and their apps now no longer necessary. I still keep Money up to date but it really is a waste of time my phone is always up to date and accurate.

I did try gnuCash briefly purely because I am a big believer in open source software but ended up sticking with M$ Money
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20-08-2019, 01:54 PM
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Re: Which? - Best personal finance software

I'm pleased to learn that it's just not me and MSMoney .....

Although I've been using MSMoney for over 20 years, somewhere along the line I lost all my early data so I've only got 7 years worth now, but, even so, when I tried out some alternative software, exporting and importing was far too time-consuming and the end result on new software was not entirely accurate or satisfacory .....
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20-08-2019, 05:09 PM
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Re: Which? - Best personal finance software

I did once dabble with Money, but now I use the tried and tested method of pen and paper! In fact, another member was so impressed she has followed what I do.

What do I do? I have a yearly cash diary, in which I enter at the beginning all my direct debits. Below that are my pension incomes. On the next page will be the car expenses, and then the quarterly utility bills. Amounts entered as and when.

On the next page I will start, from the first of the month, all DDs (I enter all these at the start of each month so anything left in the account afterwards is mine), debit card entries, pension payments, and any transfers from a savings account. Further in the book I will set aside pages for the other accounts (e-savings and e-ISA), my Visa credit payments, if any, and then at the back maybe a running total, in pencil, of what I currently have. And a page for the amount of premium bonds held.

And separately, I use a small spiral notebook for the monthly spend. Every penny that goes out will be entered in that book.

I've been doing this for so many years now I find it hard to break out of the habit, and go into a panic if I haven't entered any daily spend for a couple of days and 'forget' what I've spent.
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21-08-2019, 03:16 AM
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Re: Which? - Best personal finance software

Originally Posted by Jazzi ->
I did once dabble with Money, but now I use the tried and tested method of pen and paper! In fact, another member was so impressed she has followed what I do.

What do I do? I have a yearly cash diary, in which I enter at the beginning all my direct debits. Below that are my pension incomes. On the next page will be the car expenses, and then the quarterly utility bills. Amounts entered as and when.

On the next page I will start, from the first of the month, all DDs (I enter all these at the start of each month so anything left in the account afterwards is mine), debit card entries, pension payments, and any transfers from a savings account. Further in the book I will set aside pages for the other accounts (e-savings and e-ISA), my Visa credit payments, if any, and then at the back maybe a running total, in pencil, of what I currently have. And a page for the amount of premium bonds held.

And separately, I use a small spiral notebook for the monthly spend. Every penny that goes out will be entered in that book.

I've been doing this for so many years now I find it hard to break out of the habit, and go into a panic if I haven't entered any daily spend for a couple of days and 'forget' what I've spent.
It might be easier to use a common or garden spreadsheet to do this rather than pen and paper because it will do exactly the same thing both as a layout and as a record, even better it will do all the sums for you. And it will cost you absolutely nothing and reduce clutter
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21-08-2019, 03:38 AM
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Re: Which? - Best personal finance software

Originally Posted by Omah ->
I'm pleased to learn that it's just not me and MSMoney .....

Although I've been using MSMoney for over 20 years, somewhere along the line I lost all my early data so I've only got 7 years worth now, but, even so, when I tried out some alternative software, exporting and importing was far too time-consuming and the end result on new software was not entirely accurate or satisfacory .....
I am probably the same I originally got it as part of M$ Works which came with the early versions of Windows 3 (1990ish?), then a super version came with Win95 which I used for many years (I still have the disk) until it ceased to work in a later version of Windows (forget which). I had to buy a 2003 OEM version on Ebay and have been using that ever since.

I still have my original files dating back to the 1990s but the thing I do remember was that when I first loaded the earlier .mny file into the 2003 version it asked if I wanted to convert it to the new format. Of course I said "yes" and a file of a few KB suddenly became one of several MB for no apparent reason.

How long I will continue using it is a moot point now that banking is nearly cashless and instantly available on my mobile phone but habit might just keep it going a while longer. It is useful to remind me of future payments to ensure there is enough in my working account to cover the payment.
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21-08-2019, 01:08 PM
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Re: Which? - Best personal finance software

I've never tried a personal banking programme. Financial life is quite simple these days. I know exactly what I have got and where it is. Day to day banking is all on line and I deduct all the direct debits at the beginning of each month. I can run off a copy any time I want. I also have a little book which I keep records of my savings and investments in, which along with the related documents are kept in a little safe. I have credit cards, but usually only use the M & S Visa one which I buy on line stuff with and clear completely each month. The only thing I should keep a closer eye on is the housekeeping and what I call "running" money. I pay for most things direct debit and don't keep much tabs on it at all. I think I would feel too restricted if I had to account for everything I spend from my "running" money. Generally, I never overspend and from time to time when the current account balance gets too big, I sweep it out into an existing saving account or open a new one. Pretty simple - I can remember most of it and all the savings are on line. Everything else is in my little book. Housekeeping does need attention - perhaps next month, I'll have a go at monitoring it a bit more, maybe set a fixed amount to spend and see how I go.
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24-08-2019, 09:48 AM
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Re: Which? - Best personal finance software

Originally Posted by Bruce ->
It might be easier to use a common or garden spreadsheet to do this rather than pen and paper because it will do exactly the same thing both as a layout and as a record, even better it will do all the sums for you. And it will cost you absolutely nothing and reduce clutter

I've just started looking at a method of converting my M$Money stuff to Excel.

If it works OK I'll stay with Excel and work from there.

The guidance is here:-

https://smallbusiness.chron.com/conv...cel-43428.html

I'm starting with a cobbled together version of Money with a cobbled together set of transactions.

If it works OK, only then will I expose my full M$Money files to it.

I'm still amazed that Money was scrapped! Maybe it couldn't be made secure enough?
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24-08-2019, 09:59 AM
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Re: Which? - Best personal finance software

Originally Posted by Jazzi ->
I did once dabble with Money, but now I use the tried and tested method of pen and paper! In fact, another member was so impressed she has followed what I do.

What do I do? I have a yearly cash diary, in which I enter at the beginning all my direct debits. Below that are my pension incomes. On the next page will be the car expenses, and then the quarterly utility bills. Amounts entered as and when.

On the next page I will start, from the first of the month, all DDs (I enter all these at the start of each month so anything left in the account afterwards is mine), debit card entries, pension payments, and any transfers from a savings account. Further in the book I will set aside pages for the other accounts (e-savings and e-ISA), my Visa credit payments, if any, and then at the back maybe a running total, in pencil, of what I currently have. And a page for the amount of premium bonds held.

And separately, I use a small spiral notebook for the monthly spend. Every penny that goes out will be entered in that book.

I've been doing this for so many years now I find it hard to break out of the habit, and go into a panic if I haven't entered any daily spend for a couple of days and 'forget' what I've spent.
I have a large notebook in which I keep track of all of our expenditure - not as sophisticated as your scheme though Jazzi but it works for me.

Spreadsheets are a mystery to me although I know that one of my sons swears by them even to the extent that at his wedding the best man referred to the wedding spreadsheet in my son's pocket during his best man speech!
 

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