Poll - Do you use Quicken?
- abuss368
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Poll - Do you use Quicken?
How many Bogleheads use Quicken?
Do you use it for Windows or Mac?
What are your thoughts with the whole investor to Admiral share conversions? Has this been improved with some new "mutual fund conversion" feature that I am reading about?
Do you use it for Windows or Mac?
What are your thoughts with the whole investor to Admiral share conversions? Has this been improved with some new "mutual fund conversion" feature that I am reading about?
John C. Bogle: “Simplicity is the master key to financial success."
Re: Poll - Do you use Quicken?
Mac. I have no problems with conversions. My register shows Admiral Conversion In and Admiral Conversion Out as the two sides to the conversion. Now maybe you want to do something other than know your account values and have a record of what has happened, but that's all I need. Quicken records my spending: in my checking accounts, my credit card accounts, and my Vanguard accounts. It does what I want.
P.S. Mine was an Out, not an In, from the point of view of the Admiral.
P.S. Mine was an Out, not an In, from the point of view of the Admiral.
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Re: Poll - Do you use Quicken?
No because I don't care about tracking personal spending and Excel is excellent for handling my investment accounts.
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Re: Poll - Do you use Quicken?
I use Mint to track spending.
Re: Poll - Do you use Quicken?
Windows 7
Re: Poll - Do you use Quicken?
No, no need for me.
Chaz |
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“Money is better than poverty, if only for financial reasons." Woody Allen |
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http://www.bogleheads.org/wiki/index.php/Main_Page
Re: Poll - Do you use Quicken?
I used Quicken for years but switched to iBank three years ago.
Re: Poll - Do you use Quicken?
yes , been using for over 10 years
- pennstater2005
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Re: Poll - Do you use Quicken?
Nope. Unnecessary for myself.
“If you think nobody cares if you're alive, try missing a couple of car payments.” – Earl Wilson
- abuss368
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Re: Poll - Do you use Quicken?
We used it for 10 years and overall we liked the program. However, we have been "Quicken Free" for 5 years. At the end our frustration was growing and the inability to convert Investor shares to Admiral shares resulted in us pulling the plug.
Now as the multi year transition away form Windows to Apple continues (as products break or are replaced) I was curious if we should look at a different software of Quicken for Apple (assuming we use personal finance software again). I am seeing a lot of "iMoney" comments on the board over time but am unfamiliar with the program.
Now as the multi year transition away form Windows to Apple continues (as products break or are replaced) I was curious if we should look at a different software of Quicken for Apple (assuming we use personal finance software again). I am seeing a lot of "iMoney" comments on the board over time but am unfamiliar with the program.
John C. Bogle: “Simplicity is the master key to financial success."
Re: Poll - Do you use Quicken?
Windows 7 for my Quicken platform (Premier 2013). I had a conversion to admiral shares a year or so ago that took a little extra effort to figure out (I think I had to void a transaction that I messed up upon first attempt). Looking back, I had to do the "add/remove" shares function, but was somehow able to keep the correct cost basis in my file. I see now that there is a "mutual fund conversion" option, which may be the correct way to do this (not sure if this option was in my version of quicken at the time of my admiral conversion).
Being an accountant, I use Quicken to basically manage our household finances like a business. It has helped tremendously to get a handle on things in much greater detail and plan for our future. That being said, it does take some *effort* to learn how to best use the program for your needs, as it is not quite a simple plug-and-play operation, like Mint basically is. However, once I got Quicken setup to my liking, it now only takes me about 5 minutes or so each day to run updates. Much easier than keeping track of everything manually via spreadsheets, in my opinion.
Being an accountant, I use Quicken to basically manage our household finances like a business. It has helped tremendously to get a handle on things in much greater detail and plan for our future. That being said, it does take some *effort* to learn how to best use the program for your needs, as it is not quite a simple plug-and-play operation, like Mint basically is. However, once I got Quicken setup to my liking, it now only takes me about 5 minutes or so each day to run updates. Much easier than keeping track of everything manually via spreadsheets, in my opinion.
- yellowjacket
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Re: Poll - Do you use Quicken?
I have used Quicken for personal and some business tracking for over 20 years. I do NOT use automatic update from Vanguard or Fidelity, but rather make each transaction manually so that I can understand just what goes on.
YellowJacket
Re: Poll - Do you use Quicken?
No; we don't track personal spending and don't have a budget. We check our investments and checking account once a month, and that's sufficient for us.
Re: Poll - Do you use Quicken?
I still use Quicken but only to maintain the basis for taxable investments. I could probably convert to a spreadsheet and probably before I would do another upgrade. Most of our taxable basis was consolidated in the great TLH of '08-09 so it would be much less onerous to convert to a spreadsheet now.
Don't trust me, look it up. https://www.irs.gov/forms-instructions-and-publications
- Crimsontide
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Re: Poll - Do you use Quicken?
No, I do most everything in Excel.
Re: Poll - Do you use Quicken?
Have used Quicken for over 10 years to track spending -- credit cards, checking and cash. Use Excel to track investments and for portfoloio management.
Re: Poll - Do you use Quicken?
I use Quicken but acknowledge it could all be done in a spreadsheet. My wife does not know how to use Excel so I continue to use Quicken just in case.
Re: Poll - Do you use Quicken?
22 years,it is an integral part of my financial life
"One does not accumulate but eliminate. It is not daily increase but daily decrease. The height of cultivation always runs to simplicity" –Bruce Lee
- TimeRunner
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Re: Poll - Do you use Quicken?
deleted - obsolete
Last edited by TimeRunner on Wed Dec 12, 2018 11:52 am, edited 1 time in total.
One cannot enlighten the unconscious. | "All I need are some tasty waves, a cool buzz, and I'm fine." -Jeff Spicoli
Re: Poll - Do you use Quicken?
I use Mint for spending, SigFig for investment monitoring, and Excel for net worth tracking over time. I tried Quicken years ago on my Mac, but it seemed overly burdensome since every single thing had to be categorized manually. I'm sure I'd love it, but I've been using my system for so long that I have no motivation to switch.
"An investment in knowledge pays the best interest." - Benjamin Franklin
Re: Poll - Do you use Quicken?
No, I use a number 2 pencil and a spiral notebook to track our assets.
For tracking expenses, I GPS my wife's car.
For tracking expenses, I GPS my wife's car.
"..the cavalry ain't comin' kid, you're on your own..."
Re: Poll - Do you use Quicken?
I used MS Money for many years. Finally when the end came I switched to Quicken. HATED IT. I found Money infinitely better for investment tracking/returns. Not as visually interesting as Quicken but much greater functionality (IMHO). I now use the free sunset edition of Money, which works on Win7 (good for 5-6 more years). I will use an Abacus before I will go back to Quicken.
Re: Poll - Do you use Quicken?
I used Quicken for years. I switched to Mac a few years back and Quicken for Mac does not have a very good reputation so I converted to Moneydance. It mapped over all my Quicken data so I have my history as well.
It works very well. I would highly recommend it to anyone; Windows or Mac user.
If you want to read what other Bogleheads have said about Moneydance then use the search feature. There have been many threads on it and Quicken in the past.
It works very well. I would highly recommend it to anyone; Windows or Mac user.
If you want to read what other Bogleheads have said about Moneydance then use the search feature. There have been many threads on it and Quicken in the past.
Re: Poll - Do you use Quicken?
Used to but not anymore.
- bertilak
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Re: Poll - Do you use Quicken?
The first paycheck that shows up in my Quicken data is January 1991. That's over 23 years ago.
Pretty much every income or expense since then has gone into Quicken.
I also back-filled major expenses to 1985. For example all mortgage and tax payments.
I'm not sure how I could stop since nearly everything is now on autopilot. All income and every expense except a few cash payments and some rare or one-time payments to places that don't take cards and want cash (or check) on the spot. For example septic tank pumping. I have a lawn guy now who likes physical checks but I haven't had him long enough to establish a mail-in payment which I could then automate in Quicken.
MANY things go on my AMEX. I only need to fill in the expense category the first time. One Quicken sees it it is automatic from then on.
Pretty much every income or expense since then has gone into Quicken.
I also back-filled major expenses to 1985. For example all mortgage and tax payments.
I'm not sure how I could stop since nearly everything is now on autopilot. All income and every expense except a few cash payments and some rare or one-time payments to places that don't take cards and want cash (or check) on the spot. For example septic tank pumping. I have a lawn guy now who likes physical checks but I haven't had him long enough to establish a mail-in payment which I could then automate in Quicken.
MANY things go on my AMEX. I only need to fill in the expense category the first time. One Quicken sees it it is automatic from then on.
Last edited by bertilak on Mon Jul 21, 2014 12:55 pm, edited 1 time in total.
May neither drought nor rain nor blizzard disturb the joy juice in your gizzard. -- Squire Omar Barker (aka S.O.B.), the Cowboy Poet
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Re: Poll - Do you use Quicken?
Former Quicken user. Now I use YNAB for budgeting. Mac
Re: Poll - Do you use Quicken?
Nope, spending and budgets tracked with Mint. Investments and big picture stuff tracked in Google Sheets.
Re: Poll - Do you use Quicken?
Quicken 2014 Windows 8.1 Update 1 on Surface Pro 2 here.
OAG=Old Army Guy. Retired CW4 USA (US Army) in 1979 21 years of service @ 38.
Re: Poll - Do you use Quicken?
Sunset also works on Win 8.1.Rob5TCP wrote:I used MS Money for many years. Finally when the end came I switched to Quicken. HATED IT. I found Money infinitely better for investment tracking/returns. Not as visually interesting as Quicken but much greater functionality (IMHO). I now use the free sunset edition of Money, which works on Win7 (good for 5-6 more years). I will use an Abacus before I will go back to Quicken.
OAG=Old Army Guy. Retired CW4 USA (US Army) in 1979 21 years of service @ 38.
Re: Poll - Do you use Quicken?
Similar to bertilak, I have also been using Quicken since 1991. First version I used was Quicken for DOS 4.0 I believe.
I use it for tracking spending, account reconciliation, tracking investment cost basis and transactions, loan/mortgage tracking, tax record keeping, etc. I think my wife would rather do everything on paper still but I don't think she realizes how much of a time saver Quicken can be. It's not perfect but has served me pretty well overall. The only financial things I do outside of Quicken are my asset allocation (Excel spreadsheet and Morningstar Portfolio Tracker) and long-term retirement planning (Excel spreadsheet).
I use it for tracking spending, account reconciliation, tracking investment cost basis and transactions, loan/mortgage tracking, tax record keeping, etc. I think my wife would rather do everything on paper still but I don't think she realizes how much of a time saver Quicken can be. It's not perfect but has served me pretty well overall. The only financial things I do outside of Quicken are my asset allocation (Excel spreadsheet and Morningstar Portfolio Tracker) and long-term retirement planning (Excel spreadsheet).
- tuningfork
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Re: Poll - Do you use Quicken?
I answered no. Like others, I started with Quicken in the early 90's. Around 1998 I upgraded to the latest version of Quicken, and a month later got a telemarketing call from them trying to sell me the upgrade. "WTF, you're interrupting my dinner time when I already bought the upgrade a month ago?!?!?!" I immediately switched to Microsoft Money. For the most part I liked Money better than Quicken. I rely on automatic downloads, so when MS dropped support for Money I switched to MoneyDance. I've been reasonably happy with MD.
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Re: Poll - Do you use Quicken?
I started using MoneyCounts (Parsons Technology) in 1987 and found it to be a great product that fit my home accounting needs, while running under DOS (I didn't use Windows at the time).
Quicken bought out MoneyCounts (Parsons Technology) in 1994 and provided a simple way to port the MC entries into the then current Quicken software.
I guess you can say that I've been using Quicken or one of its predecessors for 27+ years.
- Ron
Quicken bought out MoneyCounts (Parsons Technology) in 1994 and provided a simple way to port the MC entries into the then current Quicken software.
I guess you can say that I've been using Quicken or one of its predecessors for 27+ years.
- Ron
- TomatoTomahto
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Re: Poll - Do you use Quicken?
I use Quicken on Windows for tracking cost basis, investments, credit cards, bank accounts, etc
I'm surprised that Excel is so widely used. I've written elaborate applications in Excel and VB for Apps, but why would I jump through hoops to do what Quicken does out of the box? I guess if you've got only a few accounts, few mutual funds, few credit cards, etc it might be okay, but I only roll my own if there isn't a fit for purpose solution available for a few dollars to amazon.
YMMV
I'm surprised that Excel is so widely used. I've written elaborate applications in Excel and VB for Apps, but why would I jump through hoops to do what Quicken does out of the box? I guess if you've got only a few accounts, few mutual funds, few credit cards, etc it might be okay, but I only roll my own if there isn't a fit for purpose solution available for a few dollars to amazon.
YMMV
I get the FI part but not the RE part of FIRE.
Re: Poll - Do you use Quicken?
Microsoft Money Sunset Edition. Yes, I have to enter updates manually, but I have 14 years of income, expenditures, and appreciation all in one program. Use Open Office spread sheet for quarterly gains and losses for investments.
Greg
Greg
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Re: Poll - Do you use Quicken?
I have never used Quicken but can it aggregate various investments into allocation types and perform a rebalancing analysis?TomatoTomahto wrote:I'm surprised that Excel is so widely used. I've written elaborate applications in Excel and VB for Apps, but why would I jump through hoops to do what Quicken does out of the box?
- TomatoTomahto
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Re: Poll - Do you use Quicken?
It will categorize investments based on what is downloaded for securities that are not one type only; I'm not sure of the source of the data, but mutual funds can be called "mixture" type (e,g., 10% international equity, 20% international bond, etc.). I don't know what you mean by a rebalancing analysis, but there are many charts and reports available that probably satisfy most people's needs. If the reports need additional tweaking, I sometimes import them into Excel and pivot to my heart's content.placeholder wrote:I have never used Quicken but can it aggregate various investments into allocation types and perform a rebalancing analysis?TomatoTomahto wrote:I'm surprised that Excel is so widely used. I've written elaborate applications in Excel and VB for Apps, but why would I jump through hoops to do what Quicken does out of the box?
I get the FI part but not the RE part of FIRE.
Re: Poll - Do you use Quicken?
Yes. It pools all accounts and reports the portfolio weights on large cap, international stocks, domestic bonds, small cap, cash, other asset class.placeholder wrote:I have never used Quicken but can it aggregate various investments into allocation types and perform a rebalancing analysis?TomatoTomahto wrote:I'm surprised that Excel is so widely used. I've written elaborate applications in Excel and VB for Apps, but why would I jump through hoops to do what Quicken does out of the box?
Re: Poll - Do you use Quicken?
I'm pretty good with Excel. But I use quicken because
1. 1-click update accounts
2. can input gross income and split into many categories, which helps income tax planning
3. net worth report
4. monthly income/expense report
5. update investments using the latest prices
1. 1-click update accounts
2. can input gross income and split into many categories, which helps income tax planning
3. net worth report
4. monthly income/expense report
5. update investments using the latest prices
Re: Poll - Do you use Quicken?
Eventually Microsoft will probably sunset the sunset as they are prone to do, and transferring all your data to another program has presented some real hassles for many. Be sure to use the backup facility.gks wrote:Microsoft Money Sunset Edition. Yes, I have to enter updates manually, but I have 14 years of income, expenditures, and appreciation all in one program. Use Open Office spread sheet for quarterly gains and losses for investments.
Greg
Re: Poll - Do you use Quicken?
used Quicken for many years but for the last 10 years, I have not needed it.
"Earn All You Can; Give All You Can; Save All You Can." .... John Wesley
- pennstater2005
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Re: Poll - Do you use Quicken?
Has anyone here used AceMoney before?
“If you think nobody cares if you're alive, try missing a couple of car payments.” – Earl Wilson
Re: Poll - Do you use Quicken?
I use Quicken for our personal expenses and portfolio. Tried Money Dance after hearing about it here, and it seemed more trouble than it was worth to get the data cleaned up. I was attracted to the ability to use an app to record checks, and then found that Quicken had finally added an app with this feature as well, so there was no benefit to cleaning up the MoneyDance file to play with it any longer. My records go back about 20 years, so that might have been a big part of my frustration with MoneyDance as it really scrambled a lot of historic entries.
The retirement planning section in Quicken is pretty good, and I've used it for years to confirm I was on track for retirement. Now I lean on the Fidelity tool as my primary source of evaluation because it is much more sophisticated and it is time to get down and dirty about the details as we approach retirement.
Years ago I used an excel spreadsheet. A boyfriend watched what I was doing and bought me a copy of Quicken for Christmas and helped me get it setup. So I've used Excel as well.
For new folks, serious about investing, I'd still recommend Quicken for the analysis tools that happen automatically as you populate your data. There are tools I don't use to track expenses to your budget, and other interesting tools to get and keep you on track. When the money gets serious, then it's worth investing the time to populate data on Fidelity's tools or some other big kid analysis tool.
I do like being able to update all accounts with one step, as I'm all about avoiding data entry.
The retirement planning section in Quicken is pretty good, and I've used it for years to confirm I was on track for retirement. Now I lean on the Fidelity tool as my primary source of evaluation because it is much more sophisticated and it is time to get down and dirty about the details as we approach retirement.
Years ago I used an excel spreadsheet. A boyfriend watched what I was doing and bought me a copy of Quicken for Christmas and helped me get it setup. So I've used Excel as well.
For new folks, serious about investing, I'd still recommend Quicken for the analysis tools that happen automatically as you populate your data. There are tools I don't use to track expenses to your budget, and other interesting tools to get and keep you on track. When the money gets serious, then it's worth investing the time to populate data on Fidelity's tools or some other big kid analysis tool.
I do like being able to update all accounts with one step, as I'm all about avoiding data entry.
The mightiest Oak is just a nut who stayed the course.
Re: Poll - Do you use Quicken?
ditto.placeholder wrote:No because I don't care about tracking personal spending and Excel is excellent for handling my investment accounts.
- bertilak
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Re: Poll - Do you use Quicken?
All that is nice but there are two other things I would put at the top of my list:acegolfer wrote:I'm pretty good with Excel. But I use quicken because
1. 1-click update accounts
2. can input gross income and split into many categories, which helps income tax planning
3. net worth report
4. monthly income/expense report
5. update investments using the latest prices
- Integration of automated bill paying with automated record keeping (including account reconciliation). One action (usually automated except for a one-click OK by me and sometimes updating the amount) does both. I almost never need to write out a physical check nor stamp an envelope nor cart it out to the mailbox (or forget to and be late in payment).
As a bonus, the only reason I have needed new checks since 1991 is when I moved and my address needed updating. - By setting all those scheduled transactions (deposits and payments) to be automatically entered 35 days in advance (but not actually initiated) I always have a good handle on my upcoming cash flow for just over a moth in advance. This is a fantastic management tool. I can keep an eye on the float to see if anything needs "topping up."
Last edited by bertilak on Mon Jul 21, 2014 7:38 pm, edited 1 time in total.
May neither drought nor rain nor blizzard disturb the joy juice in your gizzard. -- Squire Omar Barker (aka S.O.B.), the Cowboy Poet
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Re: Poll - Do you use Quicken?
I started using Quicken in DOS days, it seemed a treat. Over the years it started to get overloaded and when various financial sites allowed me to enter "outside investments", I ditched Quicken. Never was one to budget or track expenses, spend what is needed, save the rest.
Fast forward eight years or so and I am now retired, with only vague ideas of what I spend and for what. So I have re-installed Quicken and will use it for the next year or so to see what I spend and where I spend it. Might ditch again once I am reassured that our savings are sufficient to take us to the end.
Running Windows 7 on a ThinkPad
Fast forward eight years or so and I am now retired, with only vague ideas of what I spend and for what. So I have re-installed Quicken and will use it for the next year or so to see what I spend and where I spend it. Might ditch again once I am reassured that our savings are sufficient to take us to the end.
Running Windows 7 on a ThinkPad
"Every time I see an adult on a bicycle, I no longer despair for the future of the human race." H.G. Wells
Re: Poll - Do you use Quicken?
Yes, since 1998, but only for personal expenditures; we use Excel for everything else. We have Quicken Deluxe 2004. (I suppose I should upgrade, but it works fine for us the way it is.) We don't do any direct downloads; everything, including all cash, is entered manually. We have PrimeMM as one of the accounts, but mainly because it's where the Vanguard cash sweeps go.
It's also a log of our life, with lots of details in the memo field of what we did, when, and where. What was the name of that restaurant? How many times have we taken visitors on the Boston Duck Boat tours? Which credit card did we use in the UK last year? Where did we spend Thanksgiving in 2003?
Eric
It's also a log of our life, with lots of details in the memo field of what we did, when, and where. What was the name of that restaurant? How many times have we taken visitors on the Boston Duck Boat tours? Which credit card did we use in the UK last year? Where did we spend Thanksgiving in 2003?
Eric
- WingsFan4Life
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Re: Poll - Do you use Quicken?
I use You Need A Budget (YNAB).
Re: Poll - Do you use Quicken?
For free option, Mint will suffice for most folks. Although Quicken budget capabilities are a bit better, but I don't think it would matter much.
Another paid option, if you want manual control (and not share bank info), would be YNAB.
Another paid option, if you want manual control (and not share bank info), would be YNAB.
Re: Poll - Do you use Quicken?
Been using Quicken since early 1990s. Originally on Mac, now on PC. I only upgrade every other new version. Seems to get more complicated every upgrade -- and documentation is practically useless. Fear of what will happen if I need to convert another account to Admiral shares makes me inclined to avoid adding to the account. I've screwed up so badly trying to convert accounts I've probably lost a bunch of historical information. Ugly, ugly stuff. But we know that the folks at Quicken don't really care what we think.
Re: Poll - Do you use Quicken?
The admiral shares conversion was a hassle (I'd forgotten about it since it happened years ago). Unfortunately I bought TSM and had dividends reinvested. I knew I needed to get the number of shares right for each lot in order to maintain cost basis properly. I ended up building a conversion spreadsheet and essentially had to re-enter every purchase.
I don't hold this against Intuit/Quicken; it is a quirk of a single mutual fund vendor (Vanguard). I don't expect Intuit to build a custom conversion tool to support one company's peculiar processes.
I don't hold this against Intuit/Quicken; it is a quirk of a single mutual fund vendor (Vanguard). I don't expect Intuit to build a custom conversion tool to support one company's peculiar processes.
Warning: I am about 80% satisficer (accepting of good enough) and 20% maximizer