Customer Reviews

Microsoft Money 2006 Deluxe [OLD VERSION]

5 star:		(11)
4 star:		(11)
3 star:		(9)
2 star:		(9)
1 star:		(25)

 

 

1 - No difference that I can find over 2005. Funny thing is that I said this with my 2005 from 2004 version purchase! I guess I will never learn, I'm a sucker for the lastest and greatest Money software. Really, you do not need this if you have 2005, you can live without backing up to CD/DVD.
2 - I have not found any bugs. You are thinking, Ya, so? If you were an early adopter of 2005 (the buggiest POS that MS Money put out), you would have seen this a huge achievement also.
Summary - nothing really exciting over the previous 2 versions, wait for the free offer with your tax software next year. If you are new to personal finance software, you really need to get this.

I am glad I read the reviews before buying that told me to run the trial before buying. The program does not offer anything additional from the Money 2004 Deluxe I am currently using for budgeting, expense tracking, investment tracking, and planning. I am a loyal Money user for over 6+ years. I will stick with Money 2004 even though 2006 can be had for free after rebates.

Pros:
-Installed without a problem and seems to run pretty smoothly/fast without consuming a lot of CPU resources.
-Converted my file without a problem (Make a copy of your file if you are just trying out the program. Keep your existing data file safely away so Money 2006 cannot corrupts it by accident.)
-Nice new interface. Fresh new colors. Navigation not made more difficult...does not mean navigation is easier.

Cons:
-NO NEW useful features! I use Money 2004 to do a lot of tracking, trending, and analysis. As far as I can tell after playing with 2006 for 3+ hours, there is no new functionality that is of use to me.
-Tighter integration with the web. You cannot easily tell what data is coming from the web and what data is local. Some people might like this, but I do not!
-Reports not processing for multiyear income/expense. A couple months work and current year works, but when I do no more than that, the program thinks forever. I am running a P4 so I do not know what the problem or fix is. At least it did not lock up windows or money completely...I could hit the back button and the computer would stop thinking.
-Reports selection laid out in a more confusing manner than with 2004.
-Data display for viewing and configuring reports is more cumbersome and difficult than with 2004.

As a long-time Money user I bought Money 2005 Deluxe and had to return it for a refund, because it refused to read my Money 2004 data file.
With Money 2006 I'll be smarter and take advantage of the fact that Microsoft offers a 90 day trial version on their website. So before you buy or upgrade, download the trial and check for yourself, if Money 2006 is for you.
BTW if you upgrade from a previous version, keep a backup-copy of your old file, because once you convert your file to Money 2006, an older version of Money won't be able to read it. For the same reason, consider parallel installations (and double data-maintenance) of the Money 2006 trial and your older version for a while, until you've determined to upgrade to M2006 or ditch it.

I ordered this item, and before the CD arrived, I downloaded it from the msn website to try it out (Thanks to the advice given one of the other reviews here). The software installed well, but would not let me log in because it would not recognize my 'passport'. I went over my passport ID, changed it, etc, and ... well, the same problem. I then created a new email ID, new passport ID, and .. well, it still would not let me log in. I cannot understand the logic of selling a piece of software whose functioning is linked to something outside. What is Microsoft thinking?? Do they want everyone to start using Hotmail (and other MSN services) merely because they want to get Money? I tried all the tricks suggested on their passport website (turned off my cookie/pop-up blocker, etc), but still no luck. I tried logging into Money after a day, in case the passport ID needed some time to be recognized - still no luck. So, I actually spent a total of 2+ hours, trying to get in to try the software, and it would not let me. So, frustrated, I un-installed the software, and then cancelled my order. I am amazed that Microsoft would allow such a situation to be created - but then, knowing how dysfunctional MS office and Windows can sometimes be, I am not surprised. My advice - PLEASE download the trial software before you place an order here.
I wish I could give my experience a negative score (minus 4 seems appropriate for what I went through).

I was a Quicken user for many years until Intuit decided to drop QIF import after Quicken 2004. My work 401k institution and local bank do not offer OFX/QXF download. Since I'm not willing to switch job or bank for Intuit, I switched over to MS Money instead. I download a trial version of Money deluxe 2006 and converted my Quicken File without any problem. After the conversion, all the transactions since 1998 from every account showed up in Money and I can import QIF file from my 401k and bank. I purchased Money Premier 2006 and being happily using it for 2 months. Once you set up your accounts for online update, money updates all of it in one shot, cool feature. You can download and try MS Money for 90 days before you buy. Unlike Quicken, that makes you buy the product and give you a refund if you don't like it.

Reviewed all other reviews re MS money but since I'm Microsoft certified for 8 years and live with their software daily etc... have ignored bad reviews. However after hours of trying to setup online bill pay...and hours on the phone with MS, I have learned that the online bill pay has been disabled and no longer works. This applies to all Money 2006 products. Call before you buy to see what else may be wrong in their advertising*****...MS Money 2006 online bill pay does not work.... save your time and buy something else.....this software sucks................ I must add that they told me they can refund your money hopefully before June but no guarantees.....

Number 1 Concern: why do they need you to sign into Passport everytime? There is absolutely no explanation for it except for a vague and disturbing "privacy policy". I downloaded the trial version and was extremely disappointed. Absolutely nothing worked and I am very knowledgeable about software and all it's quirks. PLEASE do not waste your money.

I was a loyal Money user for quite some time and hadn't used Quicken since the DOS days. So when I found out that I could have a trial version of Money 2006 till the beginning of the year I went for it.

My hopes were immediately dashed on this version after setup. Why does Microsoft make you sign in to MSN? What is the point of that? This version is so bloated you will be lucky not to pull your hair out after a weeks worth of use. I tried to have this thing running on my new Dell laptop and it's performance was ridiculous. Online updates took forever and just pointing and clicking seemed to slow this program down.

After 2 weeks of putting up with this program, I PURCHASED, yes purchased Quicken 2006. I knew I couldn't take it back; that's how upset I was with Money.

Quicken loads in half the time on my laptop and the features are above and beyond what Money offers. Did you know you can save the digital image of your cleared checks in Quicken? Click on a check number and if you choose, bingo, there is the actual check at your fingertips. You can also do that for any receipt or payment! Fantastic!

Money is the more "polished" looking program, however, it is so burdensome on my system, I just couldn't deal with it anymore.

The software is easy to use and interfaces well with my bank. I also like that the home page can be customized to show different views of your accounts - very nice.

My only complaint and, ultimately the reason that I won't use the software, is that it wants to connect to the Internet every time I open it. You are able to turn off the preference to connect to the Internet but the program still requires you to enter your .NET username and password when you begin. I also had to select "Work offline" each time you opened the program and I became uncomfortable that I would forget one day.

I used the product for a week and decided that the risk was too high that I might forget to keep the program offline and have my banking information uploaded to a "secure" Microsoft site.

So I tried this and Quicken 2005 Premier Home and Business and I must say, Quicken, I sold back at Ebay. Reasons:
1. The interface is great. Very friendly and the stats are presented in a very manageable way. Quicken presented me with a much less innovative way of showing the data. I guess this is all Microsoft trying to show off their .Net stuff, but hey, it works. If you are gonna be working hours on a piece of software, it might as well be easy on the eyes.
2. Data import capabilities. Quicken screwed me over. I couldn't import the .QIF files that my bank offered for free, nor the .CSVs because they were meant only to "store addresses" and not financial data. Money was also able to connect to my PayPal money market account and keep that data updated. Try to beat that.
3. Tracking investments. The charts are great + They take into consideration comissions and other fees before telling you that you've earned or lost money.
4. Articles and advice. Money integrates REALLY well with MSN Money, and so, lots of informative articles and information are available. Really neat stuff if you need some basic advice in regards to your investments.

I know points 3 and 4 might not make references to Quicken in comparison to Money, but they are definitely strong points in the software.

It takes a lot for me to approve of something M$ made, mainly because of my technical background, but I must say, this is one nice piece of software, worth all the money.