Checkbook Software such as Quicken??

[JudyJB]

I am getting tired of entering amounts in my paper checkbook (mostly debit transactions and automatic bill pay withdrawals) and then entering my travel expenditures in a spreadsheet. So I am thinking of buying Quicken. Has anyone used it??

I asked one DIL who is a financial analyst and she uses a software program that is a lot more complex than I want to use. The other DIL does not balance her checkbook!

[SoCalGalcas]

Judy, one of my daughters, and two of the grands do not bother to balance their checkbooks....I couldn’t live with myself if I didn’t balance my check book to the penny!!! Lyn

[Bethers]

I go online and check my accounts daily... Easiest method for me. I only write down actual checks written in my checkbook.

[avalen]

I'm like Beth, I checked k my account online pretty much daily and go through each debit. I only write one check a month.

[monik7]

I have used Quicken for years. I too have to balance my account to the penny. I still have to enter each check (I don’t write many anymore) or auto payment and quite often put that off for 3-4 months. Then I get mad at myself for doing that and swear never to let it go beyond one month in the future - only to do it again. I do like the reports I can make for doing my taxes. I’ve always itemized on my taxes and the reports are great for that. I don’t know if whether I itemize will change with the new tax plan. Will have to figure that when doing 2018 taxes.
Sandi

[elkriverrats]

Have used the business version (Quickbooks) for years at work and home. I have used Quicken as well. My mom wants to computerize their accounts so I'm getting her the software for a Christmas gift (and a homemade "coupon" to get them all set up haha). I download our statements monthly but you can put them in manually. I love it at tax time for itemizing. It is easy to use and I don't think you will have any problems if you go that route.

[Acadianmom]

Kelly, can I have a coupon? I'm an accountant and I think I used up most of my accounting want to. After the hurricane destroyed the computer and printer I had set up I just don't want to do it again. The CPA had to threaten me so I would stop doing extensions. Since I moved the file box within reach of my desk I am managing to keep up with my filing. Not much hope for me.

Martha

[snowball]

I am one of those who puts the debt transactions as well as the automatic withdrawal and checks into my register I check them off as I look at the account typically daily other than Sunday usually don't as they aren't open and I don't usually purchase anything then anyway...do I know to the penny nope but have a fair idea of what I have and how much more is to come out..works for me
sheila

[elkriverrats]

Martha, throw in some boudin and I'm on the way!!!!

[OregonLuvr]

I dont even use a check register. I do all my banking online. I check my accounts every couple of days. I dont buy that much so it is easy to do. I use Bill Pay online for everything except my Medicare supplement and drug program. I can put it in categories and pull them up anytime. I am a control freak when it comes to my money so I dont have any automatic deducts from companies except for the medicare supplements. I rarely write a check so no need for a check register LOL

[MandysMom]

I used Quickbooks for a decade while we owned a business but quit once business closed and we retired and online banking started. I use Bill Pay for a few things but now with mortgage paid in full I won't have much bill pay there. Our utilities and phone are paid online and withdrawn as echecks. I check our online several times a week monitoring for both what I expect and what might be unexpected and keep our credit card paid each week to avoid interest. I have even taught Mel to photo scan the rare check we get into the banks secure website so rarely visit the credit union these days.
Velda

[BirdbyBird]

I use Quicken but don’t connect it to my bank. I like to use it as part budget watcher. I enter all expected monthly expenses. Those that are stable and those that have some variation go in as estimates and I run the numbers out several months ahead. I know immediately when the expected monthly deposit will not cover and can transfer from savings as needed.

[Cudedog]

I am a computer geek, and I DON'T do online banking. At all.

Why? Three reasons:

1. None of the IT (Information Technology) professionals I used to work with would ever consider online banking for themselves.

2. If U. G. Government IRS servers can be hacked (and they have been), with supposedly "top of the line" government security measures in place, so can my bank's servers.

3. A while back, my bank was strenuously advocating for online banking, to the point that whenever I was visiting the bank one employee or another would suggest that I "sign up". I finally asked that if my online account was hacked, and all of my funds "disappeared", would the bank reimburse my missing funds. The answer was a resounding "no".

Thus no online banking for me. People might want to check with their bank to find out what their own individual bank's policy is on this. . .

Anne

[Lopo]

Judy, I use Quicken because I need to keep track of my. Usiness expenses. I don’t worry about balancing my account — I check my account online regularly — but at the end of ea h month, I have a few bookkeeping tasks with Quicken that makes filing taxes much easier. Here’s what I do:
As soon as my bank notifies me that my statement is available online, I sign in to my account and download it as a PDF.
THen I “export transactions” for the previous month, having i itially set up Quicekn for access to my accounts, which includes a couple of credit card accounts, too. That puts another file on my Desktop. I relabel each with the name of the month.
Then from Quicken, I select my bank account from the list on the left, and import the .qfx file I just downloaded.
Then I update my credit card accounts (which, already set up, accesses my card accounts and imports all transactions since my previous import.
When my checking a cout is updated. and all transactions “sucked in,” Quicekn has attempted to categorize them, ut this is the part that needs tweaking. I check each category, and with the page of my PDF statement, I review the few hand-written checks that are usually small photos om the statement, and enter the payee and correct category.

If I’ve kept up with this all year, then it’s eassy to view and print reports for each category of deductible expenses, ready to enter into whichever tax form you use. Other than allowing for the learning curve for Quicken, after 30-plus years of needing category reports for deductible expenses, it works well.

[SoCalGalcas]

Well, LOPO, hi! Glad you are still reading us if not posting! Hope all is well with you. Happy New Year lyn