Tech News and Commentary

Dave and the team discuss Windows update problems, Google's smart contact lens project scrapped, Facebook's CEO is not stepping down, Google Assistant updates, YouTube originals for everyone, the projected growth of AR and more.

Jeff in Rockwell City, Iowa listens on KVFD and asked: "I've been using Microsoft Money 2005 for quite a few years now and I'm ready to move on to something new. What are some good options to replace it?"

 

Jeff, if you’re looking for software specifically, the most popular option is probably Quicken, but you’ll find out very quickly that whatever option you with they’ll all try to push you to use online services.

There are benefits to using online services, when your budgeting software can connect to your banks and credit card accounts, it can automatically reconcile everything for you in real time. Having said that, many people don’t feel comfortable typing in their bank account’s username and password on a third party app.

If that’s not the case for you, you may be open to some free options like Mint, which will try to figure out your budget and upcoming expenses and send you alerts so you’re aware of your current and upcoming expenses.

Mint is a website, you can manage your account via smartphone apps, but it’s a cloud service. That means that you will need to trust your information to their servers.

You Need a Budget is another online service that will try to figure out your true expenses and budgetary needs, but unlike Mint it’s not free.

Another option in the world of paid online budgeting tools is Mvelopes, which takes the traditional practice of placing your cash for upcoming expenses in labeled envelopes and takes it to the online world. Mvelopes are labeled either with an expense or “discretionary spending”.

 

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