October 14th, 2008
Poll: Best personal finance software?
A little while ago, before the massive recession threw everyone into the depths of their portfolios, I thought it would be prudent to graduate tracking my expenses from pen and paper to software.
My parents have dabbled with Quicken, and I wasn’t really impressed with Microsoft Money. After I saw a post about the site Mint.com — and liked what I heard and saw — I gave the online service a whirl. It’s clean, intuitive and polished — no spreadsheets necessary.
Just yesterday, I came across a great head-to-head finance software showdown in Slate by Mason Currey, which somewhat justified my choice. In it, Currey pits Quicken Deluxe against Money against Mint against Wesabe against Quicken Online. The verdict? Quicken Online over Mint by a hair, with noting that Quicken Online’s very existence (and much of its features) is owed to competitive startup Mint.
Which got me thinking: Now that the market turmoil has everyone re-examining their 401(k) and their banking accounts, what’s the best way to go?
As tech-savvy ZDNet readers, what do YOU use to track your personal finances?
So far, Mint’s been relatively good to me, even though it’s had trouble loading in my 401(k) and it strangely counts my savings account as a checking account. The graphical interface is top-notch (ING Direct users, rejoice!), the e-mail reminders are helpful once you’ve got more than a month of finances entered into the system, and most of all, it’s useful enough for me to want to check it on a regular basis.
On the downside, Mint requires you to upload you account information, which is a scary prospect for security-minded users out there, and it doesn’t update balances and pending charges as quickly as I’d like. Also, it counts my long-term savings account as money on hand, which though true, is something I’d like to have the choice to factor out of my running total (same goes for student loans!).
But I’d like to hear the pros and cons of Quicken, Money, Mint, Wesabe and other sites from readers who have tried them. Not just for me, but for the benefit of the entire ZDNet community.
With whom do you trust your finances, and why? Tell us in TalkBack.
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Andrew J. Nusca is an associate editor for ZDNet and SmartPlanet.
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