Good home finance software for Mac? - Page 3

Guess nobody saw this/:
http://kensegall.com/blog/2011/12/quicken-stuck-in-a-timehole/

A guy worth following if you don't already. I never heard of him till Gruber linked him tonight.

My wife was using iBank 2 on a daily basis.  It broke under Lion -- I upgraded her to iBank 4, and she angrily stopped using it, complaining that it had become way too complicated, messed up her old data, etc.  I played with it trying to get info downloaded from Amex, Citibank, Chase, etc. -- painful, didn't work in a fully automated fashion, you needed a paid monthly subscription for some institutions, etc.  A mess.

 

I am probably going to write her a dead simple budgeting app from scratch to keep her happy.  But suggestions a greatly welcome for something with a CLEAR, UNCLUTTERED, simple to learn, painless to use UI.  Fully functional downloads would be great as well..

Sam - I really didn't need another feed in my RSS 

 

Ted - If you're starting from zero, how about using Excel or Numbers?

 

Even Quicken 2011 on Windows doesn't import universally and flawlessly. It seems to depend on the financial service.

 

I'm disappointed MS left the market. I liked MS Money and used it for 10+ years. And it annoys me to support Intuit...suckiest bunch of sucks that ever sucked. But they're the best program around if  you can run Windows.

My wife loved Money the best as well. I was really surprised MS left the market gave they had the best tool. 

Wow I had no idea Microsoft killed Money.  This is really a bizarre area: I just don't get how Quicken doesn't make good Mac software. I have heard from a number of indie developers with cross platform software who are making way more from the Mac version.  These days the entire > $1000 PC part of the market (read: people who spend money on software) has gone Mac.  Intuit's actions are just bizarre.  Maybe they make most of their money on tax software and don't really care about Quicken.

 

As for using a spreadsheet -- we tried a likely Numbers template, it didn't do what she needed.  Obviously it could have been fixed, but if I am going to be programming something, I don't want to waste my time on Numbers templates, I want to spend it on Ruby on Rails, or Cocoa where I am improving my marketable skills.

 

 

Killed it off around 2009. Too small a market so MS quit.

 

I'm not a fan of spreadsheets for finances...but many people who want something simple go that route :) And would beat out re-inventing the wheel. But I understand why it didn't' work. But since you've got professional / hobbyist motivations, good luck! Maybe you can sell your app on the AppStore!

i have used quicken on my mac for the last 10 years and can recommend it

If you use it in combination with Turbo-tax as well are you guaranteed a tax refund every year - I have always got a least 1 K back every year and that in itself has been worth the $ 50 price tag

Good luck

It's no longer a good recommendation. It's six years out of date and won't run on any new or updated Mac running ; Mac Quicken 2007 doesn't work in OS X 10.7.

Awesome! Nothing says success like killing the new product and re-releasing the six year old version.

It doesn't sound like they're killing the new product: "New Quicken customers should choose Quicken Essentials for Mac to get started."

They may not be killing it, but it's obviously not successful, if they're resurrecting its outdated, abandoned predecessor.

What does this have that Essentials does not?

I don't have the full list of grievances that most Quicken "power" users had against Essentials...something along the lines of lack online payments, lack of check printing and limited investment tracking. In any case, I long ago moved on and will be sticking with Essentials, which suits my needs just fine.

Not in Essentials:

 

Investment Buys & Trades & Evaluation reports - you only get basic summaries.

Direct Bill Pay from within the product is not supported from Quicken Essentials

Does not support QIF

Will not track multiple properties, rental income, or rental maintenance cost

Monthly/Yearly Forecaster function not included

Life savings planner not included

Tax Planner not included

Home Inventory not included

Cash Flow Forecast not included

Debt Reduction Planner not included

Check Printing offers more limited choices

 

 

Those are the differences.

Thanks. Since I have nothing at all now would I miss those if I started using Essentials?

If you want to track investments, you'll notice it. It looked inadequate to track basic 401k stuff. Last I looked, I also thought it couldn't handle a mortgage, but don't quite me.

Also, note, I'm a bit crazy on the topic.

That said, I don't know what else I'd recommend. The products from the smaller shops have their merits and fans, but none thrilled me either.

I'd say try the demo and see if it does what you need.

I have no problem tracking my 401k investments in Essentials.

Tracking it isn't a big issue; that's a basic function.   Meanwhile, it has no real predictive method, forecaster, tax planner to use more then a report that you could get from your 401k holders website.

Then again, I'm just debating cashing out my 401k to stuff my mattress.  (JUST KIDDING!)

Sorry for the wrong info. I've got the various apps and Mint muddled up in my head now

And I've got a crackerjack investment idea. It's round. You know, for kids.