• The TUGBBS forums are completely free and open to the public and exist as the absolute best place for owners to get help and advice about their timeshares for more than 30 years!

    Join Tens of Thousands of other Owners just like you here to get any and all Timeshare questions answered 24 hours a day!
  • TUG started 30 years ago in October 1993 as a group of regular Timeshare owners just like you!

    Read about our 30th anniversary: Happy 30th Birthday TUG!
  • TUG has a YouTube Channel to produce weekly short informative videos on popular Timeshare topics!

    Free memberships for every 50 subscribers!

    Visit TUG on Youtube!
  • TUG has now saved timeshare owners more than $21,000,000 dollars just by finding us in time to rescind a new Timeshare purchase! A truly incredible milestone!

    Read more here: TUG saves owners more than $21 Million dollars
  • Sign up to get the TUG Newsletter for free!

    60,000+ subscribing owners! A weekly recap of the best Timeshare resort reviews and the most popular topics discussed by owners!
  • Our official "end my sales presentation early" T-shirts are available again! Also come with the option for a free membership extension with purchase to offset the cost!

    All T-shirt options here!
  • A few of the most common links here on the forums for newbies and guests!

Budget/personal finance programs?

suesam

TUG Member
Joined
Jun 14, 2005
Messages
562
Reaction score
13
Points
378
Location
Iowa
Anyone use a personal finance or budgeting computer program they really like and would recommend? After 20 years of no budgeting my eldest is going to college and I am feeling the need to have more control over our finances. I need to have money left over for my vacations! It needs to be very user friendly.
Any suggestions?

Sue
 

Kal

TUG Member
Joined
Jun 6, 2005
Messages
4,385
Reaction score
493
Points
469
Location
Redmond, WA
I did a side-by-side comparison of three different programs to determine which one was best for me. For 30 days I entered every bit of data into each program and used all the tools and reports available for each program. The programs were Quicken, Microsoft Money and another one. Quicken was a real pain as it had little or no flexibility. Money was by far the favorite as it allowed lots of flexibility, but more importantly the report generation and charts and graphs were exactly what I wanted.
 

LUVourMarriotts

TUG Review Crew: Veteran
TUG Member
Joined
Jun 20, 2007
Messages
1,638
Reaction score
169
Points
424
Location
Apex, NC (The Peak of Good Living)
Resorts Owned
MFV (P) 2002
MSU (G) 2006
MOW (P) 2018
Enrolled in DP +++
We also use Microsoft Money. It is extremely easy to setup. My wife enjoys setting monthly limits and then showing me a report of how I went over the limit. :D
 

Icarus

TUG Member
Joined
Jun 6, 2005
Messages
4,095
Reaction score
0
Points
271
I use quicken. I've always used quicken. Quicken integration with Turbotax works very well.

I think I tried MS Money when it was in it's infancy and you could get it for free and didn't like it. I'm sure it's gotten better since then. Either one will work.

The thing to keep in mind with Quicken is that it's not necessary to upgrade to the latest version every year. I upgrade about every 3rd year.

-David
 
Last edited:

Rose Pink

TUG Member
Joined
Jun 6, 2005
Messages
6,291
Reaction score
1
Points
36
I've been using Quicken for years and years. I don't use all the fancy functions but I do enter every cent I spend. It's a ritual for me. I like being able to set up categories and subcategories for anything I want to track. It can be quite eye-opening to see how much I've spent dining out or on junk food. Of course, no program is going to keep you from spending too much. It just gives you hard numbers to make you feel guilty. ;) :rofl:
 

lprstn

TUG Review Crew: Veteran
TUG Member
Joined
Sep 14, 2007
Messages
2,655
Reaction score
22
Points
423
I second that. I just use MS Excel, don't do charts just put it all on the form. I do use macros to do the math, but it is a bit daunting to see how much I spend on eating out (which is my largest expense) besides traveling :D .

Heck after keeping my budget, me and DH always joke that we have to discipline ourselves better and not travel to much...but then we justify the importance of it..and just get a p/t job to pay for the travel cause it aint no way we are giving that up unless we physically can't go anywhere :eek: I shudder to think...
 

suesam

TUG Member
Joined
Jun 14, 2005
Messages
562
Reaction score
13
Points
378
Location
Iowa
Thank you all for your input! I went to WalMart and Staples yesterday and they only had Quicken, so that is what I bought. I am excited to get started on this project. Frankly a major motivator for me is that I want to make sure I have enough money for my vacations. I will have kids in college for the next 7 years, at least, so the money needs to really stretch!! There is not a chance I am giving up my vacations! I would much rather give up food, dining out, etc. etc.

Sue
 

Brett

Guest
Joined
Jun 6, 2005
Messages
9,163
Reaction score
4,823
Points
598
Location
Coastal Virginia
I've been using Quicken for years and years. I don't use all the fancy functions but I do enter every cent I spend. It's a ritual for me. I like being able to set up categories and subcategories for anything I want to track. It can be quite eye-opening to see how much I've spent dining out or on junk food. Of course, no program is going to keep you from spending too much. It just gives you hard numbers to make you feel guilty. ;) :rofl:

seems like a lot of work but I suppose if you can import credit card expenses and electronic bills paid into the program that would save time.
You would definitely get a real sense (cents?) of where the money is going
 
Top