I’ve been beta-testing Quicken Home and Business 2008 for the past few months. Despite common sense, I’ve been using this development version for managing my real, active financial data.
I have found the 2008 version to be an improvement over last year’s. I particularly like being able to download PayPal transactions for easy reconciliation, at least in theory. I also like some of the new categorization options.
There are new navigation options, and the locations of some functions have changed, so long-time Quicken users may find that it takes some time to adjust. Intuit calls the navigation “smarter,” but with more options in different places at the top of the window, I feel it’s more confusing.
Quicken Premier Giveaway
The company has provided me with five free copies of Quicken Premier 2008 in the form of secure download links. Quicken Premier is identical to the Home and Business edition, save for the functions necessary to track a business in addition to your personal finances. I will give away one copy at a time, the first to a lucky commenter who expresses interest in the software in the comments below (and the more creative, the better).
When it comes to the Quicken vs. Microsot Money battle, I switched from Money to Quicken in 2003 and miss the monthly reporting features, but I’m otherwise happy with the switch. In general, I’d have to say the two pieces of software are on equal footing. My past thoughts about Quicken are documented here on Consumerism Commentary, including reviews, tips, and hacks.
For a chance to win this new version, don’t forget to leave a comment below. Leave a valid email address; the winner will be contated by email and expected to respond within 2 business days. If there is no response, a new winner will be selected.
Update: The giveaway is now closed and winners are being notified.
Updated February 6, 2012 and originally published September 12, 2007. If you enjoyed this article, subscribe to the RSS feed or receive daily emails. Follow @flexo on Twitter and visit our Facebook page for more updates.
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Sounds interesting, could I get a copy??
Sorry, I guess that wasn’t that interesting.
I’ve used Excel to track my finances for a long time and have been considering purchasing a product with more financial intuition and capability. This would be a great opportunity that you could provide me with! Thank you!
I would love to upgrade from 2005. I’ve used Quicken for years. Other than its horrible budgeting features, it is great software.
We have been using Money 2004 my wife got free with a laptop. I would like to convert before I lose all ability to import past data. Thanks.
I want one.
Moneydance works ok, but I still can’t bring myself to pay for a personal finance program.
Excel can be great, but I end up spending days on end trying to make a perfect budgeting spreadsheet, only to scrap it after a few months.
If I don’t win this, how else will I be able to budget myself so I can buy a house for my move at the end of the year?
Help!
Been using Quicken for many a long time. Excellent product and helps keeps finances in order. Huge fan of the product.
Would like to have a free copy, rather than spend $80!
I finally started tracking my finances with an older version a few months ago and would love to try out ’08.
I want to win the new Quicken 2008.
I love Quicken and would be delighted to try out the 2008 version. Thanks for sharing. =)
i started using quicken in the late 90s and other than the forcible regular updates could not be happier with the product. I have a far better handle around my financial situation and every time they make it easier to download transactions my life and process get one step easier.
The Paypal link should be terrifically useful! However what did you mean by “in theory”? Does it not work?
I love quicken! Getting a free copy would certainly help my budget out!
If you want something Creative, then I’d recommend a Zen Vision:M!
Slightly more seriously, I’ve been using Quicken since the DOS days, switched to Money about 6 years ago, but I’d love to give Quicken a spin again. And I hope the data converter is more reliable now!
never used this type of budgeting software and would love to try it out.
Id like to check out Quicken 2008 to see if they’ve added any automated catogorization features. Ive always found that part to be a pain.
If you think positive.. positive things will happen. I’m positive that I will be selected for a Quicken 2008 Premier copy.
Signed,
Thinking Positive
thank you for the chance to receive some great software. keep up the outstanding work on the site.
I need this so badly. My business is in the toilet. Literally. I dropped my business receipts while I was in the bathroom.
It would be interesting to give this a go. :-) Does it have all the ads for mutual funds and the like?
I’ve been wanting to upgrade my 2005 Deluxe to 2008 Premier, but I’ve heard of issues with large data files. I have data back to 1994 when I used DOS versions of Quicken.
As a beta tester, can you give any tips on how to get on their program? I’ve applied a couple of times and never really heard from them.
Thanks for all of the great blog entries and chances like this.
I’ve been using an Excel spreadsheet (actually OpenOffice calc document) for as long as I can remember.
A few months ago, I opened a Wesabe account to get a better categorized view of where my money goes. I thought my wife and I had a hole in every pair of pants we own, but this proved my theory wrong. We have been able to selectively identify certain categories where spending reductions can be made, and this has helped us increase our 401k contributions in 2007.
Wesabe’s price (free) is great. My only issue with Wesabe is the lack of reporting options. You associate each transaction with one or more tags, then you can view a bar chart using one tag at a time. That’s it. For example, everything food-related I tag as “Food” and something else. “Groceries” for groceries, “Dinner” for restaurant-purchased dinners, “RWork_Lunch” for my lunches out with work peers. I would love to be able to see a monthly trend of multiple combined tags. Also, it would be nice to be able to filter out based on certain merchants or locations. But alas, “you get what you pay for” in the end.
If it’s in the cards, I’d love to have a copy of Quicken 2008, particularly because I use Paypal money market services. That account does not work with the Wesabe Uploader desktop utility.. I have to download an OFX file from Paypal and manually upload to Wesabe every week.
Thanks!
Reagan
I’d like to upgrade from Q2005 but won’t pay for it!
Does the new version include better downloads from financial providers?
I would like one. I am on a budget and currently using MS Money 2003. I have heard all the arguments, MS Money or Quicken but never have tried Quicken.
Until I win the lottery, I will have to settle for a free copy or a 5 year old unopened box of Quicken. In this case, that means I have to wait till the year 2013 to try this version.
Thank you for the chance to get a copy. Here is my plea for the free copy:
I used Quicken for year on the PC format and loved it. When switching to a mac almost 2 years ago the transition was move painful that a stubbed toe on a cold morning. With the mess that it created I set about a quest to find a satisfactory substitute, behold, I am still on my quest. I have tried SO many that I almost have memorized all the small details of every account I have from setting it up so many times! (That is not something I ever wanted to do.)
I find myself tempted to go back to Quicken for Mac and give it one last shot. From what I hear it has greatly improved with this last update.
If I were chosen for a free copy (as long as its a mac version) then I will even provide you with a review in return if you want.
Thanks again, love your blog.
Quicken
Useful,
I
Can
Keep
E-Bills
Nice!
I’ve tried a few different options:
MS Money
Quicken 2007
Wesabe
Other Web 2.0 Apps
Homebrew Excel Sheets
Nothing has delivered an absolutely excellent experience so far. Having a knack for anything analytical, and seeing true value in reviewing financial analytics, I have been consistently let down by the aforementioned offerings. Hopefully Quicken 2008 has made a few changes to that! We’ll see. In any case, I’d love to have a go at the software and see what I can find!
Thanks for the great posts, Flexo.
I would love a copy of this. I will find it primary useful to track my Paypal accounts.
I have been reading your blog for about 2 months, and I am now convinced this is the best way for me to graduate from my daily post-it-note financial tracking system.
I would love to have Quicken for my boyfriend so he can spend less time making crazy excel spreadsheets to balance his budget, and more time with me! ;o)
I have been a personal financial management software user since the early days of Tobias’ Managing Your Money DOS version. I was than forced to upgrade to MYM for Windows when BofA stopped supporting the DOS version. I finally migrated to Quicken and have been using it every since. I recently read the review of Quicken 2008 on PC Mag and didn’t think there was much there to warrant an upgrade from my Q2007 Premier. I think Q2007 does just about everything I need it to do pretty well. I do have a paypal account and find it annoying that it is difficult to keep Q2007 in sync with that account. I like the way Q2007 supports automatic update of web connect accounts. One feature that intrigues me w/ Q2k8 is the rollover savings options. Have you tried that yet? I find it annoying how Q2k7 sometimes does not properly match my downloaded transactions. A little more intelligent matching would be a desirable upgrade. Cheers, Sam
Quicken 2008. I was wondering when it would come out. After 3 years of pestering my bank they finally have the Quicken hot-sync feature working Quicken, so now I’m a happy camper….although I do like the simplicity of Excel on occasion.
Anyone who has read my blog knows I need a better system. I am trying to get out of debt and I am tracking and tracking but still I am making mistakes and giving myself headaches figuring out how to make everything reconcile. I’d love something more powerful and more intuitive that would give me less headaches and more peace of mind and an accurate idea of how much I have left every month to pay down debt with.
Save my brain! Give me Quicken. Make me a convert. :)
Very interested in a copy. Currently not using anything to help me keep track of how much I am spending (wasting?) on my “stuff.”
my comment.
I’ve been using Mvelopes, but I’d love to go to a program that isn’t so spendy! My site is called Being Frugal, and Mvelopes isn’t too frugal. Makes me feel like a hypocrite.
Now if I were to use a FREE program that I WON, I could still call myself Frugal. :)
I really want the free program. This blog rocks!
I switched from Money to Quicken in 2004 and consider it one of the best financial decisions I’ve ever made. I never found Money to be very intuitive. I’m hoping that the Quicken 2008 portfolio tracking improvements are noticeable. I submitted some requests for changes two years ago and am hoping they were incorporated…
I want one! I want one! seriously, I think one thing that could improve ms money and quicken is to integrate yodlee functionality. Oh yeah, I want one!
I would appreciate a copy of Quicken. I’m new to attempting to pay down debt and I’m new to the blog scene. I beginning to read blogs, such as this one and others, that offer advice. Most say to adopt software, either MS Money or Quicken or Excel, so this would give me an idea on where to start. I appreciate this opportunity and thanks for the advice.
Hook me up!
May I please be the winner?
I’m a big Quicken user, and would love a chance for an upgrade. Thanks!
Sounds cool. I am using premier 2005 so definitely would be nice to have an upgrade!
thanks so much.
Su
i track all of my finances in my checkbook and my head at this point. i have been wanting to start using some software for this, but could never justify the high cost of software.
i also have a small business, owning a couple of rental properties.
this would be greatly beneficial on both fronts and i would appreciate being considered.
I would love to upgrade my version from 2001 to the latest. How can the 08 version be ready when we are still months away and probably a few tax changes away? Oh well, my version works but it really is time for a new version. Thanks for all the great posts each morning.
I have necer tried one of these programs but I would like to start to get organized. I look at Flexo’s statements and I would like to be as organized as he is. Anyway, I think that will be my next year’s resolution.
i’d like to be entered into the contest, please.
i just upgraded to 2007 earlier this year because i was forced to. will this release of 2008 require me to upgrade once again?
I’m glad to see some positive Quicken 08 comments. I’ve been a big fan and user since 1998!
I’ve been using Quicken for a while and wouldn’t mind an upgrade.
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