Home Financial Software

As our lives become more and more crowded and complicated, our home financial picture becomes more detailed and often out of control.

How much to budget for food and necessities? Can we afford a new car? Why did I miss my last payment on my credit card? How much are we spending? How much are we making?

Grasping the details of our home financial picture is more and more difficult. As Microsoft says "There's so much more to life than managing finances." There are software packages that can help you understand your overall financial health as well as where the money is going. Plug in "home financial software" and you will find over 15 million web pages full of vendors with programs to help you get a handle on your finances. Which is the best solution?

Industry clear favorites boil down to just two: Intuit's Quicken and Microsoft's Money. Although there are other software packages, including MoneyDance, these two programs provide, in various versions, pretty much all you will need in handling your money.

But before looking at the two leaders and pulling out your checkbook, first ascertain just what you need. If it is basic budgeting, you may find your computer system already includes some ready installed software (even the basic versions of Quicken or Money) that can give you just what you need at an easy and elementary level. Check your programs that came with your system for some kind of bare bones home financial software and see if it will meet your needs.