We Need A Budget

I’ve been using Microsoft Money since 1998 (yes, incredibly after all those years), and though Microsoft stopped supporting the application, I’ve still persisted with it.

When I switched from a PC to a Mac I took MS Money with me, by running VM Fusion and maintaining a Windows platform on the Mac, just for this one program.

I’ve tried Quicken, iBank, MoneyWiz, Easy Books and a few more, but I kept coming back to MS Money because none of them seemed to be a suitable replacement. I wanted a financial package similar to MS Money, but I wanted it to run on the Mac without the use of the added Windows platform.

And so the years went by, and I stuck with MS Money; until recently, that is. Along came a programme for the Mac called You Need A Budget, and not only did it match MS Money, but it completely beat it.

I created three accounting files with this new-found software. The first one (which I called ‘Old File’) I used to export my accounts from MS Money to the new software via a memory stick, and then I uploaded it directly into the new software. I now had a complete record in the new software of all my accounts since 1998.

I then created a second file within the new app for the continuation of my old files. The reason I did this was because within You Need a Budget, you can indeed budget, in addition to having all your accounts, such as keeping track of your checking account or credit card accounts. You give everything a category, just like you would have with MS Money. You can download statements directly from the bank and you can agree to accept each transaction (or not, as the case may be), or you can do it manually alongside your online bank account. Really handy!

All your transactions are allotted into the budget automatically as you enter them in. You can reconcile and clear with simplicity, and it’s far easier than MS Money. Set up accounts for checking (current) account, credit cards and savings accounts as before. The third file I created was for business accounts.

So, I have my old accounts for reference, because that’s what they’re really used for; I have my new accounts that carry on where my old accounts stopped; plus I also have my business accounts.

But here’s where technology has moved on from the days of Microsoft Money – I have You Need A Budget set up on my iPhone and iPad, and my