Online Financial Software: Is It For Me? (And You?)
October 27, 2008
Quicken has recently announced that it's online software will now be available for free, and it has me thinking. I've been really, really slow about moving to software to help me keep track of my money. I still use self-made Excel spreadsheets and notebook paper to do my budgeting. I feel pretty sure that a software solution would give me better results. I did try Quicken once, and after hours of trying to get my checkbook balance and its checkbook balance to match, I gave up.
The new generation of financial software works online. This makes me very nervous - I don't really want all my financial information, including passwords, on some hackable website. Of course, I do all my banking online already, so I'm not sure this is a different concern.
So I went off in search of financial software to try. I found this clear, understandable article at Slate, but it deals with both online and offline software. However, it's two favorites were online: Quicken and Mint. Now I'm trying to decide which one to try. Maybe I'll try both and report back, but it seems like plenty of people have already done that for me.
So, do any of you have experience with online financial tools? Which ones do you use? Are you concerned about security? Let me know - I'm really curious!
I've used Mint and I haven't had any problems with it. I was even able to get it to track my TSP.
Posted by: Tyler | October 29, 2008 at 07:18 AM
Thanks, Tyler...that is great information to know. I appreciate your comments!
Posted by: Kate | October 29, 2008 at 11:06 AM
Cool article Kate. I'm a big fan of Mint (along with plenty of others, I think its quickly shooting up to the #1 online personal finance tool out there). The interface is great, and it gives you a ton of info on how and where you spend your hard earned dough. It even suggests ways you can save money, or you can compare your spending habits with the rest of your local area, state, or even country.
Posted by: Shiva | October 29, 2008 at 03:37 PM
I NEED TO KNOW MORE BEFORE SUBSCRIPTION COMES UP
Posted by: ADIGIZI ARAKU | October 30, 2008 at 01:18 PM
I have been using Quicken Online. I was very happy with it until a recent upgrade which removed some of the key functionality that I used. Supposedly some of this will be back in the next upgrade in "a couple of months".
And for comparison purposes, Quicken Online allowed me to add my TSP account as well.
Posted by: Amanda | November 25, 2008 at 10:28 AM