Customer Reviews

Microsoft Money 2004 Deluxe (Old Version)

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(9)
3 star:		(7)
2 star:		(8)
1 star:		(17)

 

 

No matter whether you are a current user or interested in becoming a new user, you may want to try this program out, before you buy it.
Microsoft has on its website a 60 day trial version of Money 2004 Deluxe. This should give you enough time to try it out. Since the file format changes every year you won't be able to use the Money 2004 file in your current Money version, if you're a current user, so either do double maintenance with both programs for a while or determine very quickly, if the new version is worthwhile getting.

I've been a user of Quicken 2001 and this year decided to upgrade. After reading all of the negative reviews on here, I decided to first try MSN Money 2004. It works great, but I wasn't as comfortable with the way things are presented, so decided to also try Quicken 2004 Deluxe. Here are a few thoughts on the two programs:

1. Presentation-wise, I like Quicken better. On the view pages, boxes are lined up with each other, while Money just positions them as there is room. I also like Quicken's graphs and charts a little more, and the fact that Quicken's options allow you to see your net worth on the first page, while Money just shows account values on the first page so you have to click to another screen to see your net worth).

2. On investments, I think Money gives you a lot more information, including information about your best and worst performing investments, etc.

3. I think Money also has a bunch more features than Quicken might, and you get a lot of free options like MSN bill pay, free subscription to Money Magazine, etc.

All said, I think either program is a decent choice. After using Quicken for 3 years, I think I'm just a little more partial to Quicken just because it's more what I'm used to. Otherwise, Money I think gives you more bang for the buck.

Just to let you all know, I haven't had any bug issues with either program. Not sure if the other posters screwed things up on their own or just got early versions of the software that were buggy, but things have been smooth with respect to both programs. I also haven't experienced a bombardment of advertisements as some users are reporting.

I was new to the personal finance software area when I bought Money 2003 Standard. I love that product! In general it is extremely easy to use and really powerful. I track everything in there.

I downloaded the trial version of Money 2004 Deluxe and was completely unable to find any new features except the Credit Report thing that really isn't integral to Money, its just a way for Experian to get more customers.

I noticed that in 2004 Microsoft stripped Money Standard to be much more bare--just personal finance tracking. No tracking of Investments! Now only Money Deluxe and up support it.

If I were you, I would highly recommend saving some cash and buying Money 2003 Standard. With 2003 Standard, you can track your finances, your investments, you assets (e.g., your home), your liabilities (e.g., your mortgage) and do essentially everything that 2004 Deluxe can do. You will get all the same features at less than half the price!

I have been using Money 2003 Deluxe for almost two years and found it to be a very helpful program. Because I was so happy with this program I decided to upgrade to the 2004 edition.

This is where I get unhappy with the product. Unlike the 2003 version I couldn't get the 2004 version to update my stock prices. I contacted Microsoft's technical services which told me that if the portfolio you are trying to update contains American Depository Receipts (ADRs), because of some bug your portfolio will not update. BTW, I don't think all ADRs are effected, just the ones that trade Over-The-Counter or on the Pink Sheets.

This astounds me. How could a previous edition do something perfectly and the updated version not? This is also not a small bug, since I can't be the only one trying to use this program with ADRs in my portfolio. In any event,I uninstalled 2004 Deluxe and reinstalled 2003 Deluxe. Now all fine, but for the fact I am out of the money for costs of Money 2004.

Go ahead, ask me if I'm going to buy the 2005 version?!?!

I have been using checkbook software for over fifteen years, starting with the Mac and Quicken, moving on to various versions of Quicken on the PC. I switched to Money from Quicken at the turn of the year for three reasons: frustration with Quickens bloating features and pop-ups (too much getting in the way), Intuit's policies with Turbo Tax (a protest), and Quicken BillPays interfaces and clunky operation.

Big mistake. Money 2004 was even worse.

I download my statements from my bank using a web and .qif file interface. Money is abysmal at this - it makes almost random matches, it tries to match electronic downloads with DIFFERENT amounts, it does not read or use the information in the .qif file such as payee, and more. It makes more work trying to clean it up than it saves. Not using the data in the .qif file (like payee name) is TOTALLY INEXCUSABLE.

Reconciling is also tons of fun. Reconciling is an important task, since Money's statement download is so prone to errors. First, it tries to clear everything Ihave downloaded for me - have to go through and manually unreconcile everything then start over.

The Help file does not appear to be written for this version of Money - the information just does not match what I see on the screen.

The Payee list gets unweildy and there is no efficient way to prune it - deleting payees you have used only once more than a year ago, for instance.

The list goes on. In a nutshell, Microsoft has ignored the basics of good design needed to maintaining a number of accounts in favor of useless features, strange sound effects and confusing glitz.

I am looking for a replacement ....

You already have Money 2003 Deluxe. First, I have to say I love the MS Money product(s) and I would give it 5 stars to any new user. I use a lot of the features, but not all of them of course. Of the features that I use, I have yet to see a major reason/difference between the 2003 and 2004 version.The one interesting feature is the on-line credit report from Experian. Once you register, you get their credit score (not to be confused with a FICO score) and credit report. That was kinda cool.

I purchased from another store, so I'm not able to answer the main rebate question from Amazon that I had - Are there 2 $$ in-box rebates? However, there is one additional rebate that I did not know about. In the box there is a card to get a free year's subscription to Money (or Fortune or Business 2.0) for a year. Or, you can mail in the card for a $$ rebate/refund.

In summary, I would not get 2004 Deluxe if you have 2003 Deluxe. Unless, you get it a great price (like free with rebates, which may happen at tax time). Or, you really need the credit report and can justify this feature for the cost.

I have Microsoft Money 2003 Deluxe so I was looking forward to Microsoft Premium to optimize my finances. At the store, I scrutinized the features on the Microsoft Money Premium Edition box and thought paying the extra [money] for "capital gains" and "tax information" was superfluous. Mind you, it was a difficult decision. First, Money 2004 Deluxe is simple to install and seamless to update from previous editions of Money. This may sound confusing to the layman, but the product was so seamless to update from my Microsoft Money 2003 information, that after my update was complete, I thought I was still running Microsoft Money 2003! I closed the application down and restarting it thinking there must be an error. Then realizing it wasn't, I recall saying to myself optimistically, "okay...they must have changed something". I proceded to attempt to ascertain the upgrades from 2003 Deluxe to make myself feel better for having spent [money] on 2004 Deluxe. There are some changes I discovered, although you would really have to search for them and I can honestly say it is nothing noteworthy at all. Just my opinion. No easier to use budget setup or dramatic enhancements to the investment portfolio. In fact, the interface is pretty much a replica of Microsoft Money Deluxe 2003. I guess I should not have expected much since it had only been a year but I admit, I am a sucker for these products.

One thing I was happy about was that there is some financial service products available to buyers of Microsoft Money 2004. Good services too. I opened an ING Direct savings account yesterday and today I have already received [money] credited for free to my account (and there are no minimums/fees attached); established Experian's credit manager and was able to obtain my credit report; checked out a handy Bank One credit card advertised in the packet of information that boasts 1 mile for every [dollar] spent going to any airline; and mailed in my [] Microsoft Money 2004 Deluxe rebate to New Jersey. I felt the financial services were the best part of the package which goes to tell you that the product, at least as an upgrade to Microsoft Money 2003 Deluxe, isn't all that great.

I used to be a big Quicken fan, but switched to Money a long time ago. The connectivity and richness of the interface just can't be beat. The auto statement download features make it worth the money.

I bought the 2004 version to replace my 2003 version, but the only draw back is that there isn't much to justify the cost. It is more of an incremental upgrade. But what I would recommend is replacing every 2 years, or hold out for a very substantial rebate offer.

This program has been helpful, though I am still adjusting. As I learn the new functions, I am liking it more and more, but the interface is not quite as simple as Money 98. 98's account listing page listed each account as an icon kind of like the Microsoft Windows Explorer hard drive view. You could select the "file" you wanted and it would open. Another feature that is no longer there is in the bill pay area. In the old version, I could select every bill I was going to pay, and see what my new balance would be. In this version, I can only forecast my balance one bill at a time, so I still have to write down all my bills on paper, add them, and make sure they are less than my account balance before I send them off.

The '04 version has some upgrades that I really like though. It is able to predict my future spending in it's graphs much more accurately. It looks at my past spending history and extrapolates it out forward.

For example, the charts worked well for my checking account. I had monthly bills set up to be paid, and paychecks to be received, and in a six month forecast, it could tell me approximately what I would have, relatively accurately. However, for my credit cards, it was not so good. A six month forecast simply flatlined, because I don't have any scheduled payments on my card. '04 is able to look at my past history of say gasoline purchases and see that I buy gas about once a week, and show me that at the end of next month I'll probably owe about $100.00, but it also includes all purchases, and is pretty close to what I owe on the card at the end of each month.

It also has some good features on the online side of things. The program comes bundled with a rather extensive listing of Banks that have online services, and you can do a good deal with them. I work for a community bank in the San Francisco Bay area, about $2 Billion in assets, but nothing like a Wells Fargo or a B of A. I didn't expect it to be in there, but it was. So was my credit union that is only for employees of schools in the San Juaquin Valley in California.

The online feature is able to download my statement from my bank and compare it to my entries in Money so that I can reconcile differences much more easily, and sooner, than if I use my mailed statement.

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Final Thoughts:

The 2004 program is a very good, feature functional system that I have been using for about two months after upgrading from Money 98 which I used for 5 years. I am getting used to the differences and am growing to like it more and more.

I've tried to use Quicken for a numnber of months and have not really gotten anywhere. I have found that Money's documentation is more robust, and, once you understand its logic and how to navigate its menu paths, it is easier to set up. I also like its abundance of reports and customized views that allow you to slice and dice your financial data in many different ways.

Finally, because I like to be able to use financial data in Excel to build financial models of investments, I like the fact that I can easily export data from Money to Excel. (I'm sure Quicken has a similar feature, but I am not sure how to use it.)

The thing that frustrates me about both Quicken and Money is they are both vague on how to set up your financial accounts to download into the program. I have figured out one financial institution's process because I found a link on their web page that gave me instructions. If either Quicken or Money developed a feature that would point a user to the exact place on a financial institution's web page where there were such instructions, or where a customer service email/phone number was, I would give both programs 5 stars.