| |
| |
|
Mahavir Information |
| ||||||||
|
Do You Really Need the Power of Money Management Software?
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. For FREE help with debt, and credit, subscribe today to Douglas Hanna's free email newsletter "8 Simple Steps to Debt Relief" at http://www.all-in-one-info.com
MORE RESOURCES:
Acne - Google News |
|
|
|
RELATED ARTICLES
How To Protect Yourself Against Identity Theft Identity theft is a serious crime that continues to grow. If you become a victim of identity theft, you may spend months, or years, trying to repair the damage. Save Money Off Your Home Utility Bills Many don't realize that our basic utility bills provide the perfect money saving opportunity for practically every household!Especially with today's energy crisis so prevalent throughout many of the states, you've probably heard this term - conservation.Guess what, conservation really means "using less". How To Reap The Rewards With Rewards Programs Recently, many of these loyalty rewards programs have come to the realization that they must change how they put these programs together if they are going to increase their share of the market.One way that has changed over the years is how reward programs have started linking up with various partners to offer more types of rewards for it's members. Budgeting -- The Critical Flaw That Causes Most Budgets to Fail Budgeting. It's a word we're all familiar with. How to Balance Your Checkbook - Get a Calculator and Pencil and You are Ready To Go! Despite how easy it is to balance a checkbook, very few people take the time to do it and the few who do, don't always do it the right way. If you write down in your checkbook ledger what should be deducted and added, you are on the right track - if not, start there and follow these nine easy steps to a balanced checkbook. Strategies for Success Holy Shenanigans! More STUFF?Loosing one's business due to lack of personal control is a sad thing. I've watched many people do just exactly that. The Joys of Address Labels Address labels are many things to many different people. If you are a huge fan of address labels, you aren't alone. Personal Loans For Homeowners - One Of The Numerous Rewards For Being A Homeowner You no longer look at the pictures of homes cause you yourself bought one. Well, you know how you got that, it was a huge investment. Why You Should Seek Professional Help With Asset Management Everyone needs to maintain their lives. What I mean by that is that we all need to take certain measures to make sure that we have a home, transportation, food, entertainment etc. Eight Ways To Sink Yourself Financially 1. Don't focus on your finances. Do You Know What Tomorrow Will Bring? I've been sharing the following idea with people for a few years now, and realized recently that I had never written specifically about it. So here it is:"I cannot predict the future. Safely Save for Your Childs University Studies Using An Education IRA! This investment retirement account (IRA) is useful to you as an investor to understand because it may be a good way for you to save for your kid's education AND save on taxes. These plans are now called Coverdell Education Savings Accounts in honor of the late U. Save Money on your Clothing Budget. Tame the Closet Monster! Reducing the clothing budget was a serious challenge for me. Two pre-teen girls and a teenage girl certainly didn't make life any easier. How to Save Money in a Grocery Store Now there are ways to save money in the grocery store, and they may or may not take much effort on your part to learn some great ways to save money. Your greater savings can often be found in the perishable departments of a grocery store. UK Graduates Looking Short-Term At Their Long-Term Financial Responsibilities With almost two thirds of university entrants from England and Wales who applied for maintenance grants for this year being unsuccessful, and the average graduate owing £13,501 when they leave, according to Barclays, combined with a survey by High Fliers Research showing that only 21% of students were confident of managing to enter a graduate-level job this year, it is not surprising that there is a feeling of gloom hanging over many UK university entrants.According to a survey of students from 30 institutions; 63% believed there are not enough graduate jobs for everyone leaving university this year, with a fifth stating that they felt that there were only limited jobs available. 10 Tips To Save Money When Dining Out Here are some tips that can help you save money when dining out. Keep in mind that these tips are intended to help you save money when dining out at a restaurant type setting. The Benefits of Banking Online How many drawers did you have to look through to find a bank statement the last time you needed one? Chances are you did not lay your hands on it as readily as you would have liked. If that is a familiar scenario in your home, help has arrived in the form of online banking. Risky Business: You May Not be as Daring as You Think I thought I was through with exams when I finished college. Then my financial adviser (a. 10 Quick And Cheap Ways To Cut Your Heating Bill When you received an energy (heating) bill last winter, were you afraid to open it? Granted that we have a home with a lot of really big windows, but we saw energy bills last winter in the hundreds of dollars. Your bill probably wasn't that bad but I'm guessing that it was a lot higher than you would have liked. Budgeting Tips to Save Real Money Sticking to a budget can be difficult, but with so many demands on your finances you have to be extra cautious. TV ads are constantly bombarding the airwaves with messages that you need to buy this or you must have that.
|
||||||||||||||||
| Home | Site Map Copy Right 2006 Mahavir.com |
| NISL | Herbal Acne Solutions | Promotion Factory | Web Design | Online University Degree | College & University | GtpInfo | VPayU |
