Comments on: Online Account Aggregators Vs. Financial Management Software

By: Bill Winterberg

Bill Winterberg — Sun, 07 Jun 2009 18:02:37 +0000

Recent updates to Quicken and MS Money allow the systems to log in to online banking and credit accounts to download transaction detail and balance information. Credentials are stored in the management software but should be protected behind a master login to the software.

One advantage of management software until recently was the ability to track investment portfolio information. Now that Mint.com offers this feature, the advantage is less clear.

Still, I think the comprehensive reports and tax tracking features of local programs are better than those of the online counterparts. Perhaps there are reviews of the reporting differences that can demonstrate how capable the online tools have become.

By: Shawn

Shawn — Fri, 05 Jun 2009 01:19:00 +0000

I used to use money as well, but lately a good old Excel database has been doing the trick quite nicely.

By: The Happy Rock

The Happy Rock — Thu, 04 Jun 2009 16:11:19 +0000

I used Money for a few years, switched to Quicken and am not happy with either. They were both decent, maybe Money was a little better.

I think I will do some tests with Mint and the like, but I don’t think they will give me everything I need.

By: Kelly

Kelly — Thu, 04 Jun 2009 14:55:33 +0000

I don't think there's as much risk as you think on online PF managing sites. They don't actually store your info. If someone hacked into the system all they would get was random people's account balances and such, and no knowledge of who the person is, or what their usernames and passwords are. At least that's my very non-tech analysis of what I've read. I use Wesabe since I like the customization aspect of their site, and the community rocks. Where else can you ask the developers to add a feature, or talk to the CEO? Kelly’s last blog post..around the web: estate planning edition

By: Paul @ FiscalGeek

Paul @ FiscalGeek — Wed, 03 Jun 2009 23:45:26 +0000

I used Money for quite some time then they switched to the synchronization option linking to your Windows Live ID and storing that sync information online. I hate that idea with a passion. I’m already skittish about bank security due to my daily interactions at my day job. I have opted to go offline entirely and use the option to import transactions from my bank and that works great, a couple of more steps but is much more controllable.

I also have a definite need to budget and as such Money and Quicken fall flat in that area so I have found “You Need a Budget” to be a great program centered around the budget rather than tracking my money. Yes it does some graphing and what not, it’s not nearly as flashy as others but it’s a small one-time fee, not recurring and I have full control.

By: Mike Leone

Mike Leone — Wed, 03 Jun 2009 15:49:28 +0000

Years back, I used MS Money. Then I used nothing for a few years. (yeah, I’m an idiot). Now that I finally paid off all my credit cards (in an non-efficient method, BTW; told you I was an idiot …), I am going to start using GNUCash. So I have no files to import. I’ve only set up all my cash and savings accounts so far, remembering that I have to make a separate savings account for things I am putting a reserver aside for. In my case, I put money aside each week in ING Direct for my real estate taxes and insurance, so I had to create a separate savings account entry in GNUCash for these reserves, separate from my “regular” savings.

And I’ll have to remember my old accounting principles, since GNUCash apparently makes you close accounts each month, just like business accounting. That’ll be an interesting experience.

Have no investments (yet) to track, and haven’t told it to schedule any transactions automatically (such as the reserves mentioned above). Live and learn …

By: Jason R Fisher

Jason R Fisher — Wed, 03 Jun 2009 14:31:20 +0000

Thanks I have tried Mint and am looking to try GNUCash on your twitter recommendation. I don’t think the aggregation give me everything I need so it is between GNUCash.

By: Bible Money Matters

Bible Money Matters — Wed, 03 Jun 2009 14:27:51 +0000

I use both! I use mint.com aggregation for when I’m on the go and need a quick snapshot of where we are financially. We use Microsoft Money for the nitty gritty day to day budgeting.