Posted: May 23rd, 2011 | Author: Joe | Filed under: Reviews | Tags: Quicken, Reviews, Software | 1 Comment »
Intuit, the makers of TurboTax, have released this year’s version of their popular personal finance software: Quicken.
Here’s a review of Quicken Deluxe 2011, available in stores and download from Amazon
.
The many flavors of Quicken.
I’ve been a fairly heavy user of Quicken for about 6 years now. I’ve only ever used the Deluxe version, though the product comes in many different flavors (Deluxe, Premier, Home & Business, Essentials and now there’s even a Rental Property Manager!). I’ve only ever used the Deluxe version and when I was researching the 2011 version I discovered that the majority of people who buy Quicken buy the Deluxe version anyway. Some 85+% of shoppers buy Quicken Deluxe. So, that made it easy to review since my product choice also happens to be the choice of most shoppers.
But if your situation is more specialized (i.e. you have rental property or a home business) then you may want to investigate the other flavors that Intuit has to offer.
As for the Deluxe version, here’s what it features:
- Money management and budgeting tools that enable you to track your spending and increase your savings.
- Save time categorizing your spending with auto-categorization.
- Download your financial data and manage all your accounts together in one place.
- Helps you stay on top of bills and create a budget.
2011 vs 2010.
What’s new.
One of the nicest features of Quicken since I’ve been using it has been the ability to download your account transactions online – right from the Quicken program itself. They call it “One-Click Update” and if your financial institutes allows for it (i.e. they’ve partnered with Quicken) then you get your transactions automatically downloaded to the correct account in Quicken – retirements accounts, bank accounts, credit card activity, auto loans and more.
This has at times been a draw back for me if my financial institution was small and not partnered with Intuit. With the 2011 version, Quicken Deluxe now automatically downloads transactions from over 12,000 banks, brokerages and other financial institutions–including PayPal.
The “guided setup” wizard has also been revamped, in an attempt to make learning to use the features of Quicken a bit easier too.
Intuit has also worked to increase the integration between Quicken and their other popular product: TurboTax Your financial information in Quicken can be imported into Turbo Tax, making tax time preparation a bit less painful. This ability has been around for a few years now, and I haven’t tried it myself yet. My taxes just haven’t been that complicated to begin with, though I think I may be giving it a try next year.
Perhaps due to pressure from online competitors, Intuit has made Quicken 2011 more “socialable” by integrating Quicken Live Community, an online forum for advice and interaction with other quicken users. This new community forum is integrated seamlessly into the program itself (you can view the online community from right inside Quicken).
Quicken 2011 does a better job of categorizing your spending automatically, and it’s much quicker for situations where you need to enter the category yourself. Often times, simply typing the first few letters of the category is enough to accurately select the proper category. This alone can be a major time saver.
They’ve done a nice job redesigning the cash flow feature, improving the graphing and making it easier to project your future savings or shortfalls.
The layout of the program has been redesigned in an attempt to make commonly used features easier to access. This will likely be helpful for most people, but may be annoying if your most commonly used features don’t match what “most people” commonly use.
They claim that transaction updates for account downloads are faster, though I didn’t see a noticeable difference. That could be dependent on your connection or your institution’s connection speed as well.
System requirements
Here are the system requirements to run Quicken Deluxe 2011:
Processor: 1 GHz
Operating System: Windows XP SP2+, Vista, Windows 7 (32- and 64-bit)
Memory: 1 GB
Hard Disk Space: Up to 450 MB free space; up to 1 GB if .NET not installed
Display: 1024×768 or higher resolution
CD-ROM Drive: Required
Internet: 56 Kbps (broadband recommended for online services)
Printer: Any printer compatible with Windows XP SP2 or later
Additional Software (included in Quicken installer): Microsoft .NET 2.0 or later;
Windows Installer 3.1;
Internet Explorer 6.0 or later
Why buy.
As I write this, you can buy Quicken Deluxe 2011
at Amazon for $39.99 (33% off!)
Good personal finance software can help you create a budget and stick to it. It can help you set goals and meet them. After all, if you don’t know where your money is going and you wonder why there isn’t much left of your paycheck at the month’s end, how can you save for the future?
Beside the basics, good personal finance software can help you find extra savings or eliminate expenses you forgot you had. It can help you manage your money more effectively and help to pay off debt quicker or save for the big things like retirement or a new home or a new car.
Is Quicken Deluxe the best personal finance program out there? That depends on how you use it and what you’re using it for.
I honestly can’t tell you how it stacks up against online sites like Mint because quite frankly the idea of putting all of my personally identifiable financial information out on the web frightens me a little. But I know millions of people don’t have a problem with it. That’s your call.
Also, I’ve been using Quicken for years now, and I don’t particularly like the idea of re-entering my information and starting over with a new product.
Bottom line: Quicken Deluxe is a great program if you are looking for personal finance software that is not web-based, or you’re looking to replace Microsoft Money.
Why not to buy.
So those are the reasons you may want to buy Quicken Deluxe. Here are some of the downsides (or why you might not want to buy it).
Intuit has made the unfortunate choice to include advertisements in their product for their partners as well as other Intuit products. Advertising for your other products is nothing new, but the way in which Intuit does this in their Quicken products can become tiresome, at best. It is possible to ignore the banner-ad style product placement for Quicken Loans, Free Credit Reports and the like but it’s frustrating to have to do so in a retail product.
If you’re a Quicken 2010 or even a Quicken 2009 user you may not want to upgrade just yet. Many of the improvements are relatively minor and may not be worth the full price of the 2011 version.
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Posted: December 5th, 2009 | Author: Joe | Filed under: Insurance, Reviews | Tags: AccuQuote, Insurance, Review, Reviews | 6 Comments »
As I mentioned in a previous post I used AccuQuote.com to comparison shop for life insurance policies online for my wife and myself a while back. I had actually compiled a list of notes while going through the process with the intent of writing an Accuquote review. While it may have taken a while to finally get down to write, here is that review. I hope you find it useful.
Accuquote review.
For those unfamiliar with the concept of AccuQuote.com, it’s a one-stop shopping site for life insurance quotes. It allows you to search and compare offers from various insurers based on your own criteria.
Using the web site is really quite simple. For example, to get started, you simply go to the web site and click the “Get a Free Quote” button.
You then enter basic info like your first name, last name address, phone #, email, as well as your gender, DOB, height and weight.
Next, select the amount of coverage desired. (read: Life insurance: how much do I need?) and select type of insurance (read: Life insurance: what kind should I buy?). Then specify whether you’re looking to buy new coverage, additional coverage, or a replacement policy.
Next comes the most involved (and personal) part of the Accuquote process – your health history!
You’ll have to answer the following questions:
- Do you use nicotine?
- Do you take prescription medication regularly?
- Have you ever been diagnosed with diabetes, cardiovascular disease, cancer or depression?
- Have you had any major surgeries?
- Did any of your parents or siblings have cardiovascular disease or cancer, prior to age 60?
Then there are some questions that aim to gauge your lifestyle risk:
- Do you engage in any hazardous activities such as private piloting or scuba diving?
- In the past 10 years, have you had any DUI’s, or have you had more than 2 moving violations in the past 3 years?
- Have you ever been convicted of a felony?
- In the past 5 years, have you filed for bankruptcy?
It’s important to note that you would be asked these questions by any reputable insurance agent regardless of where you went to purchase life insurance, it’s not just Accuquote.
After the health history and lifestyle questions, you need to select your desired rate class: Preferred Plus, Preferred or Standard Rated.
The Accuquote site has plenty of easy to use references for how best to answer the questions, and how to decide the amount and type of insurance you need. These are interesting and helpful, but you should definitely do your own research before using the first value you see.
At the end of this section, all that’s left is submitting your information. After you click the submit button Accuquote reviews your application info. Next, you will be contacted by email with a list of 5 or so insurance providers detailing their rates, terms and conditions.
In the next couple of days I received a phone call (my preferred type of notification) during the time which I specified was best to reach me. The person on the other end was my AccuQuote agent. He discussed the options available to me and actually recommended the one I had independently chosen – and it was NOT the most expensive! It was the 3rd most expensive option, but the cheapest option with an AA+ rating (in fact it was cheaper than some A rated companies!)
The company rating was important to me because I wanted to be sure that if my wife and kids ever needed the insurance (i.e.: in the event of my untimely demise), they would receive payment in a timely and hassle-free manner.
After selecting the insurance company and policy I desired, it was time to prove that I was really as healthy as I said. This meant blood work. I was expecting to have to drive 20-30 minutes out of my way to the nearest hospital lab. I was wrong. AccuQuote employs local visiting nurses to drive to your home (or place of work if so desired) and do that vampire like voodoo that they do so well. So, a couple of CC’s (it felt like pints!) of blood later, I was on my way to work and verified preferred plus a couple of days later.
After all of that, they mailed out the application and once I signed it and returned it, I was fully insured in the event that I shuffled off this mortal coil. Provided, of course, that it was not by my own hand within 3 months of completing the process. Suicide, it seems, is only covered after the 3 month grace period. Who knew?
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Posted: November 6th, 2009 | Author: Joe | Filed under: Reviews, Saving | Tags: Rate Brain, Rates, Reviews, Saving | 2 Comments »
Look no further than Rate Brain.
Let’s face it, interest rates on savings accounts, CDs and checking accounts are near historic (if not historic) lows. With interest rates so low, it’s almost not worth the inconvenience of keeping your money in a bank instead of under the mattress. Almost.
There are a lot of great deals to be had on CDs and checking accounts, but the best have strings attached. For example, a high yielding CD is likely to be a 5-year maturity, in which case you run the risk of locking your money up at today’s low rates and missing the bandwagon should rates begin to rise before your CD matures. In the case of high yielding checking accounts, you often have to have direct deposit on the account, or make a certain number of purchases on your debit card per month to qualify for the high rate.
But with sites like Rate Brain, you can peruse hundreds of banks for the highest rates, and the terms that suit your situation. All results are available nationwide and federally insured by the FDIC.
There database is updated daily, so you can always get the latest rates.
You can subscribe to get email alerts on the 5 highest rates of the day, or on a specific bank or CD. There’s also a cool past rate graph option, so you can get a visual indication of the direction of the rates, and the speed at which they’re heading in that direction. This could be helpful in avoiding banks that lower rates too frequently.
The results page shows the bank name, type, and current rate as well as the trend – whether it’s above or below yesterday’s rate, and what that rate was. This is helpful to get a quick idea of whether the bank raises or lowers its rates in small or large increments.
The results link directly to the page describing the offer on the bank site, so there’s no run around to some affiliate site.
If you’re looking for a quick and easy way to check the latest rates, and keep aware of changes check them out. Hey, it’s free so why not?!
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Posted: July 31st, 2009 | Author: Joe | Filed under: Reviews | Tags: Banking, Reviews | 1 Comment »
Looking for a new bank? Want the best local bank with the highest interest, or overdraft protection or online bill pay? Try http://www.findabetterbank.com
This handy site lets you search by zip code and filter banks on a range of features:
- 24-hour automated telephone banking
- Email Alerts for balances, transfers, payments or deposits
- Download activity to Quicken or MS Money
- Debit Card Reward Program
- Free additional linked deposit account(s) (i.e., savings, money market, checking)
- Free or discounted check-printing services
After ranking the available features, you are asked to answer a few questions about your average monthly balance, credits and debits to factor into the fees you would likely incur under the various banks.
Once that’s done you get a very nice list of banks that fit your criteria, and a summary page of the fees, features and perks of each.
If you’re looking for a new bank, give them a try. It could take hours off your comparison shopping.
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