• Windows Me
• Windows 2000
• Windows 98
• Windows 95
• Windows XP

With checkbooks going the way of the fax machine, money-management programs are becoming an increasingly popular addition to personal software collections. Whether you're creating a monthly budget or planning a complex investment portfolio, Microsoft Money 2002 Deluxe offers a compelling solution for everyone from stockbrokers to soccer moms.

The first thing we noticed after launching Money 2002 Deluxe was how happy everyone in Microsoft land seemed. Images of beautiful people sitting around in loungewear floated across our screen, beckoning us to join the ranks of content Money users. Happily, we complied and began entering our personal finance information, including bank accounts, credit cards, monthly expenses, etc. While the setup wizard made getting started extremely easy, take note that many features require users to have a Microsoft Passport account. Without this account number, users are unable to access some of the cooler Web features available in Money 2002. Disabling this feature is complicated, and ignoring it is virtually impossible as you are constantly being asked to sign in to Passport.

That said, many of the new features that make Money a worthwhile upgrade revolve around better Web integration and online services. The new MoneySide bar follows you around as you surf the Web, providing you with access to your financial data as you shop, invest, or pay bills. You can also synchronize your Money data with MSN Money, which allows for up-to-date investing, banking, and financial planning information. Other improvements show up in the areas of report and chart creation, as well as the ability to send these reports via e-mail. Finally, a new Bill Setup and Edit feature offers a central location for tracking your bills and making electronic payments.

One of the great things about Money 2002 Deluxe is that you can use it as much or as little as you like. For example, if you just want to see how much a vacation will affect your monthly budget, the program offers a one-time expense feature to use during that month. If, on the other hand, you'd rather create a six-month plan to purchase a new SUV, Money 2002 will help you set up a budget to account for this expense over time.

The Best Software I Own

I just balanced my checking account in 3 minutes so I felt compelled to put up a review proclaiming how great MS Money is.

First off, I was shocked to see that the overall rating for Money is so low. I tried to use Quicken Deluxe 2001 a while back and aside from hating the UI I just never felt that it worked very well. Things like balancing my account and paying bills online were awkward and I eventually gave up.

Money, on the other hand, has a beautiful, intuitive UI, makes balancing my accounts simple and sometimes automatic, and provides incredibly smooth online integration. The epay feature lets me pay all of my bills through money and they automatically get entered into my credit union's online bill pay system. Anytime something goes wrong, for example if I enter a date that's too early or if I haven't entered an address to send the bill, Money handles it smoothly.

I should note that my experience with MS Money is limited to entering and categorizing all of my transactions, electronic bill pay, and balancing my accounts so I can't comment on any of the reporting or budgeting features.

I noticed that a few of the negative reviews are from people that say they have a hard time managing their finances and it's not surprising these people would be let down. Money can't do everything for you and I spend a significant amount of time making sure everything is kept up to date. However, if you are willing to invest time to track your finances Money is definitely an application you should consider.

Not Impressed (Quicken User)

I just installed Microsoft Money 2002 Deluxe yesterday. I'm not impressed at all. I've been using Quicken for a couple of years now (2000, 2001 versions). I like Quicken's register much better. I bought Money hoping that it would have better integration with the web via MSN Money. I'm highly disappointed. It allows you to enter transaction via the web(just like Quicken 2001), but it doesn't have what I'm looking for which is associate the transaction with one of my bills. One should be able to just click on the bill and enter in as a transaction just like you're using Microsoft Money, but on the web. MSN Money has some neat features such as managing all your accounts in one page, but I was able to do that using CitiBank's MyCiti for free ... I believe they are using the system anyway. I see that there's a way to link MSN Money accounts to Money accounts, but have yet to see how they actually sync up. As a starter at Money, I'm not impressed with the product. Hopefully they will provide updates that will give me more functionality.

Worse than you think

Being a MS Money user for the last seven years, I thought that the new version will improve my ability to track my personal finances, just as the previous versions did. Instead, I had to cope with the disappearance of my budget and, worst of all, an annoying Passport log in, which seems to have a serious security issue. Two days after installation and the first Passport log-in, I had two on-line charges on a credit card I've never used on the Internet!!!

Fortunately, I found my Money 2000 file backed up and restored normality by removing this threat from my system.