| In the good old days, personal finance for most | | | | have all your information seamlessly transferred into |
| people meant simply balancing their checkbook once | | | | your electronic account register. |
| a week and making sure they had enough money in | | | | The two powerhouses of financial software are |
| the bank to cover the monthly bills. Of course that | | | | Quicken from Intuit Corporation and Microsoft |
| was long before the days of multiple credit cards, | | | | Money. Both companies offer several versions of |
| electronic fund transfers, PayPal, and the dozens of | | | | the program and generally offer the same features. |
| other complicated financial transactions made by | | | | The interfaces are slightly different and one's |
| even the average person on a daily basis. These | | | | preference will likely come down to which one |
| days, keeping track of person finances can be quite | | | | appeals to you most. New editions are released |
| a chore and can often overwhelm you, leading to a | | | | each year to account for changes in banking and tax |
| less than perfect financial situation. | | | | law and owners of the previous year's edition will |
| Modern life has created additional headaches in our | | | | receive discounts to upgrade. |
| daily lives, but fortunately it has also provided new | | | | Another option that is growing in popularity is |
| tools to use to control them. Personal finance | | | | software that is kept entirely online. You never |
| software is the best option for keeping one's | | | | actually download a program to your computer and |
| personal finances organized and up to date. | | | | can access your information from any computer |
| Personal finance software comes in many varieties, | | | | connected to the Internet, including smartphones. |
| each offering a specific set of financial tools. The | | | | This is referred to as "cloud computing." Some |
| simplest forms simply keep track of multiple bank | | | | websites offer a low monthly fee to use the |
| accounts, including credit card accounts. The most | | | | software and other sites are free and entirely |
| complete versions offer tax tracking, investment | | | | advertising supported. Some people prefer this |
| tracking, budget analysis, electronic banking and a | | | | method for its convenience and other people stay |
| long list of other features. How much you need | | | | away from these programs due to security fears. |
| depends on your situation and how closely you want | | | | Once you begin to use personal finance software |
| to track your finances. | | | | you'll wonder how you ever managed your finances |
| Most banks now offer free electronic banking to | | | | without it. People become addicted to seeing the |
| their customers. Make sure that whichever program | | | | computer generated reports of exactly where their |
| you choose, it is capable of taking advantage of | | | | money goes each month. They often find this |
| electronic banking. The vast majority of programs | | | | makes it easier to create a budget and stick to it. |
| offer this feature as standard so you shouldn't have | | | | Even if you simply want to keep your basic checking |
| to look hard. With electronic banking, you can easily | | | | account up to date, personal finance software is |
| check your balance, automatically download | | | | worth the small price. |
| statements, transfer funds among accounts and | | | | |