Microsoft Money Deluxe 2005 [Old Version]

by Microsoft

Product Features

• Personal finance solution with award-winning Portfolio Manager
• Automatically consolidates online bank and credit card information
• Essential tools for improving credit and organizing taxes
• Provides current account balances and transactions in one place
• Set up a full budget, or compare actual spending to financial plan

Product Details

• Shipping Weight: 10.4 ounces
• Shipping: Currently, item can be shipped only within the U.S. and to APO/FPO addresses. For APO/FPO shipments, please check with the manufacturer regarding warranty and support issues.
• ASIN: B0002DOE7K
• Item model number: 860-00336
• Date first available at Amazon.com: June 4, 2004
• Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (14 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #8,138 in Software (See Top 100 in Software)
• Discontinued by manufacturer: Yes

Product Description

From the Manufacturer

Microsoft Money 2005 Deluxe is the personal finance solution that helps improve your financial picture by automatically consolidating your online bank and credit card information and providing essential tools for improving credit and organizing taxes.

Features:

• Stay up-to-date on accounts and transactions: Microsoft Money provides you with your most current account balances and transactions from different financial institutions in one place.
• Get help with credit and debt: the Credit Center helps you protect and improve your credit, reduce high-interest debt, and learn more about your credit rating.
• Make taxes easier than ever: Money automatically tracks expenses, finds hidden deductions, estimates taxes, and provides reports to help make tax time easier.
• Your budget, your way: track spending in a few categories--like dining out and utilities--set up a full budget, or compare your actual spending to your financial plan.
• Follow the market and your portfolio: MSN Money’s award-winning Portfolio Manager puts all your investment information at your fingertips.

Product Description

Microsoft Money 2005 Deluxe includes everything in Money Standard; plus, it gives you all the help you need to improve credit and reduce debt, organize taxes, and automatically consolidate all of your transactions in one intuitive place. With online connections to thousands of financial institutions, Money 2005 Deluxe makes balancing personal finances effortless. And with Money’s customizable Home Page, you can easily see the finances that matter most to you--from current account balances to where you're spending your money to your cash-flow forecast. The new look of Microsoft Money 2005 makes managing your finances effortless and ensures that you get quick answers to your financial questions. Now it’s easier than ever to personalize Money to focus on the information that’s most important to you. If you just want a top-line view of your finances, then check out Money’s new Essential features: the Essential Account Register, the Essential Budget, and Essential Report and Charts. If you like working through all the details, then Money’s advanced features are for you. And Money 2005 automates more of your tasks, so you can spend more time balancing your life, not your accounts.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Save your cash, don't upgrade., September 26, 2006

By 

K. Thompson (Seattle, WA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Microsoft Money Deluxe 2005 [Old Version] (CD-ROM)

I have been using Microsoft Money 2000 for years and figured it was time to upgrade. The 2006 & 2007 versions got low marks so I decided on 2005 because it offered updated online services.

This product is the same as 2000 but with more graphics. Not only that, but it still cannot download csv files which are used at most major financial institutions (Fidelity). When I was able to download data, it only picked up the last 90 days when I had years of data online with my broker. Because it didn't download detailed transactions from beyond 90 days the cost basis and gains calculations were completely off. And if you create an online account for an account where you already have transactions entered (going back years), there is a merge function, but it only allows you to keep the new account and you lose all of the history! Why not allow us to pick which accounts we want to merge and what data to keep?!?

The budgeting module is muddled and confusing. I get a regular paycheck, yet for some reason it decided to only pick up 20% of my income and I couldn't edit it. Plus it defaults to showing the budget by month so if you have an annual expense it shows up for the month and makes it look like you are running a negative budget. The budget module in 2000 was much more simplistic, yet it allowed the user to make more edits and review the data easily by month and by year.

Also, they decided that you no longer need a subcategory for expenses so you can no longer create multiple categories under one heading. For example, I like tracking all of my food under one category, but I want a subcategory for groceries and a subcategory for dining out so I don't have to manually add two categories together when analyzing spending. I guess Microsoft thinks people are too stupid for that. Because of the missing subcategories tracking things like rental property is next to impossible.

I thought 2000 was extremely simplified but did the basics (yet I'd like more online features that are simple to use and retain historical data), and I thought this would be an improvement, but I'm going back to the old version.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Great program., June 2, 2006

By 

E. Little (Acworth, GA United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Microsoft Money Deluxe 2005 [Old Version] (CD-ROM)

I can't say enough about this program. It's really easy to use.

You can download your account from your banks internet site. That way you are always up to date on your account. Pay bills online. Print out monthly reports. Track your monthly spending.

Great program.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Excellent upgrade BUT do read fully (esp. 2007 yr.), September 21, 2006

By 

Baivab Mitra "Save a tree, one at a time" (NJ) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Microsoft Money Deluxe 2005 [Old Version] (CD-ROM)

I have extensively used 2004 (Premium) and decided to opt for 2005 (Deluxe). We're now in 2007. Many may wonder why (a) I downgraded from Premium to Deluxe (b) Why I didn't buy 2006 or 2007. Here's why:

Premium functionality essentially revolves around providing a more complete tax-saving/calculation work platform. Other than that - deluxe vs. premium are the same. I use online and/or specialized tax products which are almost always free and upto date and available just before the tax-return period. Those I found are better to a huge extent.

Next, post extensive evaluation (thru reviews posted by others, MS itself) I realized that 2006 is essentially a wash-out by MS, in terms of re-packaging the same software with a diff. name. All it did was to address some glitches, etc. in 2005 version. Additionally, patches available today for 2005 already addresses these glitches. Now - 2007 is a diff. ball-game altogether. The problem is that it requires a NEW type of login called LiveID; which I find quite frustrating and un-neccessary. The additional 2 new budget capabilities are very small enhancements to worth the dough. Net effect - I got the 2005 today for USD 9.00 whereas I would have shelled out additional $40.00 if I had purchased 2006 or 2007.

REVIEW OF THE SOFTWARE - Well, it's definitely a BIG, BIG plus to be able to have online and constant updates directly from Money. That's a big plus. Certain banks like BOA charge for that service (9.95) while for others it's free (ex.: Citibank). The number of banks, credit-card companies are EXTENSIVE. Money 2005+ uses Yoddle Inc. for these online services. The general look and feel is also much better than 2004. They removed sub-categories; but there's a patch available (registry entry) which re-introduces it. Quick navigation, speed, etc. are another plus. They also removed MoneyExpress - which was actually a bad thing for me; since I didn't have to open the whole Money to enter in registry. Referring to MS web-site it seems that there were too many complaints and issues (but I personally never faced any).

The portfolio manager has been tremendously revamped and is really powerful. Not upto the capabilities of any dedicated investment software; however those cost also a ton! The budget/report/etc. are un-changed but useful.

MS should seriously start thinking of supporting foreign banks too. That's a big minus for Money 2005(+) and it's the same for all versions.

In terms of bad points - (a) Even after online update, the next day the same transactions re-appear as requiring reconcilliation. That even if I mark them as Cleared/Reconcilled/etc.

(b) Transfer of funds between bank accounts - generally always have a delay (lag-time between debit at 1 account, credit to another). That should be an option to introduct by user. Otherwise, the statements start to mis-match, esp. when online updates. You change the date in 1 - the other gets also affected, etc.

(c) The budgets/etc. when you attempt to build bases itself on avg. monthly income. That's a very, very wrong way since I may be having a standard salary coming in every month but I also have a bonus once an year. If I add that bonus (estimated); what Money does is it breaks that in 12 months immediately and adds to the overall monthly pool. Also, it starts the budget from the date you built the budget. What if I have a special reason to start a budget and follow it (say) from 1st. of March 20xxx. That's not possible.

(d) The insurance types are incomplete (life insurance section).

(e) MSN Bill Pay services take Helluva long time to deliver the draft.