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Quicken 2012 Review With Video

This article was written by in Software. 34 comments.

For the last few days, I’ve been testing the new version of Quicken Home and Business. While most people who track their finances have moved to online services like Mint.com, some of us are holding out until the online software offers the same advanced features as the desktop Quicken software. I enjoy my ability to track my investments, create and customize reports, export information into Excel, and look into the future with planning tools.

Quicken 2012 is set to be released on October 10, 2011 and offers several new features, particularly in that last category. The programmers at Intuit have refreshed and improved the Budget Planner and the Debt Reduction Planner, available in all flavors of Quicken 2012.

Quicken 2012 Budget Planner

The new Budget Planner is a combination of the budget planner from previous versions of Quicken and the spending planner. When creating a new budget, you have two choices. The “Automatic Budget” looks at your recent spending to determine the five most important categories for budgeting. Quicken estimates the amount for each category on a monthly basis and presents its suggestions to the users for customization. The “Advanced Budget” invites the user to select the categories to be used in the spending and income plan.

Each line on the budget is configurable by period. You could, for example, assign a budget of $300 a month for Food and Dining (overall, which includes specific categories like Groceries and Restaurants) and set a budget of $10,000 per year for Property Taxes. If your annual salary is $60,000, you can enter this. Automatically, Quicken will assign the average monthly budget in this category to $5,000, but if you are paid bi-weekly, you don’t receive the same amount of income each month. You can edit the individual months if you like.

Quicken 2012 Budget PlannerOne drawback to Quicken’s budgeting tool is that it does not include a rollover feature. For example, if you budget for an expense of $200 in groceries each month, but you only spent $150, the extra $50 is lost. In real life, and in other budgeting software, that $50 would be available to add to the following month’s spending on groceries, but Quicken does not automatically handle surpluses. Rather than focus on these details, you could change the budget view in Quicken from monthly to quarterly to get a better overview of how you spend when expenses cross months. This is also helpful for those infrequent expenses that are often forgotten when you look at a budget on a monthly level.

Each Quicken file can contain multiple budgets, so you and your spouse could maintain separate measurements of spending, even including the same accounts.

If you’re just getting started with budgeting, consider these resources:

Quicken 2012 Debt Reduction Planner

The new Debt Reduction Planner in Quicken 2012 has been completely redesigned. The focus here is on credit card repayment, but the planner can be easily configured to include student loans, a mortgage, and any other debt that is destined for elimination.

Quicken 2012 Debt Reduction Planner

If your credit card issuers support it, Quicken downloads the interest rate and minimum payment information directly through the internet. If all the information isn’t available for automatic download, users will need to enter it manually from the latest statement or by accessing the account online. The interest rates and minimum payment amounts are important because Quicken needs this information to calculate the payoff plan.

Quicken 2012 Debt Reduction PlannerQuicken’s programmers have decided that the Debt Avalanche method of paying off debt is the most appropriate philosophy for prioritizing debt. This means that the Debt Reduction Planner advises users to pay minimum payments to all debts, and any left over cash available for debt repayment should be directed to the one loan or credit card with the highest interest rate.

This is the fastest, cheapest, and most efficient way to pay of debt. The Debt Reduction Planner creates a chart and reminders to keep borrowers focused on paying the correct amounts to the appropriate debts.

Although Quicken defaults to prioritizing debt by interest rate, any user who prefers to follow the Debt Snowball approach, where debt is prioritized by size to payoff the smallest debt first, taking advantage of the psychological “quick win,” can apply this philosophy with one click. Furthermore, if there is a reason to customize the order of debt accounts due to some other reason, such as the desire to eliminate a low-interest loan from a family member before tackling an otherwise important credit card debt, users can easily manipulate the list.

Quicken 2012 Debt Reduction PlannerOnce users and the software agree on priorities, Quicken uses a visual approach to illustrating the debt payoff plan. This slider can be moved back and forth to represent the total cash available to pay off debt. While moving the slider, Quicken updates the target date for complete debt repayment and the total amount of interest paid over time.

The screen also includes a monthly chart to show the payment amounts that should be directed to each debt to stay on track. I’ve included a video capturing how the new Debt Reduction Planner feature in Quicken 2012 works, in action.

Quicken 2012 bugs

Since upgrading to Quicken Home & Business 2012 from the 2011 version, I’ve noticed that the “One Step Update” frequently doesn’t complete without causing the application to become unresponsive. This was an occasional problem with all prior versions of the software, and forcing the application to close and restarting the program usually solved the problem despite the inconvenience. With Quicken 2012, more often restarting the program does not fix the problem.

I can avoid this problem by avoiding the One Step Update function and downloading transactions for each account separately. I’ve always liked the convenience of downloading transactions across all accounts at once, so I would like to see this fixed in one of the many patches Intuit is sure to release.

If you discover any additional problems with Quicken 2012, such as calculations that don’t seem correct, let me know by leaving your comments below.

Other questions

In addition to the above, Intuit has been busy adding more financial institutions to the “Direct Connect” or “Express Web Connection” features, so transaction information can be downloaded directly into the software with as little manual entry as possible. With Quicken 2012, I’ve found that the software much more intelligently assigns categories to new transactions.

Quicken 2012 offers a new feature, good for users with high-definition screens. A toggle allows users to switch to a larger font, making the information much more legible. This follows the design trend leading towards larger text on the web. You may find the large text more appealing. Also, the account bar now features new icons, supplementing the familiar red flag. The new icons help to identify whether there are downloaded transactions to accept into the register, upcoming reminders or bills, or any other issue needing attention.

The latest development of Quicken is available only for computers running the Windows operating system. Apple users with the Mac OS will need to continue using Quicken Essentials for Mac for the near term, or use the Windows version in a virtualization.

Buy Quicken 2012 today

EditionPurchase
Quicken Home and Business 2012Buy CD-ROM $74.95Download $74.95
Quicken Premier 2012Buy CD-ROM $69.95Download $69.95
Quicken Deluxe 2012Buy CD-ROM $44.95Download $44.95
Quicken Starter Edition 2012Buy CD-ROM $29.99Download $29.95
Quicken Rental Property Manager 2012Buy CD-ROM $148.20Download $149.99
Quicken WillMaker Plus 2012Buy CD-ROM $43.95n/a
Quicken Essentials for Mac 2010Buy CD-ROM $32.67n/a
Mint.com

{ 34 comments }

My Varied Job History

This article was written by in Career and Work. 17 comments.

For some people, finding the right career is easy. During formative years, perhaps one skill outshines all others, directing someone to develop that skill over time. Perhaps there is one particular area that develops into a passion, and the only choice is to follow that passion regardless of the income potential. In my formative years, I found myself interested in a wide variety of things, any of which could have developed into careers, some of which could have been very lucrative.

I can no longer recall the order of my earliest jobs. One of the first, while I was in high school, was as a computer programmer for a small consulting firm that developed custom applications for clients. I fumbled my way through the VisualBASIC programming language, which was fairly new at the time, after several years of hobbyist programming in BASIC. My assignments were relatively easy, but they gave me a chance to learn a skill that could prove to be useful — if I were to keep up with programming and turned it into a career. I studied C and C++. I spent hours of my own time writing and rewriting software for my bulletin board system that hundreds of people accessed by dialing with their computers’ modems. If I had wanted to, I could have taken my computer programming knowledge further by studying in college, but I had other plans.

Radio ShackAnother early job during my high school years was working at Radio Shack. I didn’t know much about electronics other than computers, and I didn’t know anything about sales. I left the job knowing that I had no interest in working in retail again. Customers were generally unhappy. Although the company’s catchphrase at the time was, “You’ve got questions; we’ve got answers,” a phrase I was required to utter every time I picked up the store’s phone, occasionally people asked questions for which I didn’t have an answer. Compensation was partly commission-based, and the main goal seemed to be to push the TSP (Tandy Service Plan), which even as a teenager I could see that was almost always a bad deal for the customer. I didn’t want to push extended warranties, and I didn’t want to bother every customer by asking them for their phone number. Eventually, whatever break from school I was on that allowed me to spend time at this job was over, and I left retail never to return.

In college during the year, I occasionally allowed myself a job, but my schedule was usually overloaded with courses that prevented me from taking too much time to do anything other than academic. Additionally, I preferred to take leadership positions in several campus organizations rather than use that potentially free time to earn money. Of course, it helped that loans, scholarships, and my patient parents helped me afford my education. I also had a few office jobs during breaks to help pay, but during the semesters, my attentions were elsewhere. I spent one break working for the university’s music department library, an easy job hat gave me some quiet time to myself as the library was rarely visited.

Also, at the time I was in college, the World Wide Web was new. I developed a few departmental websites, including taking photographs of the staff, scanning various photographs in one of the university’s computer labs, and programming in HTML. I was paid for this work from the departments’ budgets. I also consulted for professors who wanted to develop their own “home pages,” teaching them how to use Netscape to design their own websites without having to teach them much, if any, HTML.

All this time, I was studying music education with the intent to teach. Despite my heavy involvement with computers, my desire had always been to teach music, preferably at the high school level. Somewhere along the way, I changed my mind, but I was the last to know.

In addition to the above, I spent breaks from school in cubicle environments. I usually worked with a temp agency, and impressed with my skills, they lined me up with jobs in corporate environments. With my computer skills, I tended to qualify for some of the more advanced entry-level jobs, sometimes working with computer databases or designing presentations.

After college I worked as a long-term substitute in a middle school while looking for a full-time teaching job that I liked. The middle school teaching experience was one of the worst experiences of my life. My next stop was a non-profit arts organization, managing projects. I had previously worked for the organization as an intern, a requirement of my music management minor. It was a nice organization to work for, except that the organization was practically bankrupt and I was losing money just by working there.

Part of the year, the job required an intense work schedule, which was fine when I was younger. But more and more, executives used cult-like techniques for rationalization of the work. Towards the end of my career there, they invited me to attend the “bring-a-guest” portion of a cult-like re-education seminar, complete with obvious plants talking about how their lives were changed after going through the program. The executives strongly encouraged to sign up for the full program. I wasn’t buying it.

My varied interests led me all over the map in terms of jobs, and made it somewhat difficult for me to focus on one particular career. I suppose one positive thing I’ve taken away from my experiences is that I can do things my way and succeed rather than following a path that’s laid out for me by tradition or common practice. After my first horrible experience teaching, I didn’t want to accept another job unless it was exactly what I wanted — and that eventually led me away from teaching. People chided me for claiming I never wanted to work in retail after a mediocre experience as a Radio Shack employee. The truth was that it wasn’t horrible, and I could have gone back to retail if necessary, but I’ve made that decision work for me so far.

If I’ve drawn any conclusions from my experiences, it would be that I’d much prefer to drive my own career, as long as I can find a profitable way to do it, than rely on employers to be concerned about my financial needs.

{ 17 comments }

Sales Tax Holidays, 2011

This article was written by in Consumer. 9 comments.

For several years, many states offer sales tax holidays, several dates set aside during which merchants will not charge customers sales tax. Each year, the dates and the participating states change. I’ve updated this list for 2011 as we’re approach the back-to-school shopping season. Consumers should take advantage of the few days their state offers a break from paying sales tax on needed items, if the state is participating.

The benefit of not owing sales tax on a purchase can add to typical sales and discounts. In some cases, the sales tax holiday has enabled retailers to neglect offering discounts they otherwise would have offered, so make sure you watch the prices of the items you plan to buy. Retailers may schedule sales to end at the same time the sales tax holiday begins.

Each state that offers a sales tax holiday sets its own qualifying dates and products. Qualifying products vary by state, but most who have a tax holiday offer school supplies as qualifying purchases. Others include Energy Star products, computers, weather preparedness items, and in one case, hunting equipment.

Here’s a list of each state’s sales tax holiday this year.

State 2011 Dates Items Max Cost
Alabama Aug 5-7 Clothing $100
Computers $750
School supplies $50
Books $30
Arkansas Aug 6-7 Clothing $100
School supplies
Connecticut Aug 21-27 Clothing and footwear $300
Florida Aug 12-14 Clothing and books $75
School supplies $15
Iowa Aug 5-6 Clothing $100
Louisiana Aug 5-6 Tangible personal property $2,500
Louisiana May 28-29 Hurricane preparedness items $1,500
Louisiana Sep 2-4 Firearms, ammunition, hunting supplies
Mississippi Jul 29-30 Clothing and footwear $100
Maryland Aug 14-20 Clothing and footwear $100
Maryland Feb 19-20 Energy star products
Massachusetts Aug 13-14 Tangible personal property $2,500
Mississippi Jul 29-30 Clothing and footwear $100
Missouri Apr 19-25 Energy Star products $1,500
Missouri Aug 5-7 Clothing $100
Computers $3,500
School supplies $50
New Mexico Aug 5-7 Clothing $100
Computers $1,000
School supplies $15
North Carolina Aug 5-7 Clothing $100
School supplies $100
Instructional material $300
Computers $3,500
Other computer equipment $250
Sports equipment $50
Oklahoma Aug 5-7 Clothing $100
South Carolina Aug 5-7 Clothing, school supplies, computers, other
Tennessee Aug 5-7 Clothing $100
School supplies $100
Computers $1,500
Texas Aug 19-21 Clothing, backpacks and school supplies $100
Texas May 28-30 Air conditioners $6,000
Other Energy Star products $2,000
Virginia May 25-31 Hurricane preparedness items $60
Generators $1,000
Virginia Aug 5-7 Clothing $100
School supplies $20
Virginia Oct 7-10 Energy Star products $2,500

I’ll update this list as we become aware of official changes.

{ 9 comments }

Reverse Foreclosure: Man Seizes Bank of America’s Assets

This article was written by in Real Estate and Home. 14 comments.

Imagine this: You, accompanied by the sheriff’s deputies, walk into your local Bank of America branch. You tell the sheriff to remove cash from the tellers’ drawers and seize the branch’s furniture and computers. It’s like a dream come true, especially for someone who has been on the receiving end of a bank’s foreclosure.

Now imagine this: You and your wife pay cash to buy your house, never taking out a mortgage. Bank of America, however, believes you do have a mortgage and that you haven’t made any payments. This is not like the issue where a bank can’t prove it is the true owner of a mortgage due to securitization, a situation where someone with a mortgage might be able to get out of paying an obligation because the mortgage can’t be traced to a real creditor. This is a case where a mortgage never existed, but somehow, Bank of America believed the house was owned by the bank. The bank initiates the foreclosure process, forcing you to hire an attorney despite the bank not having any legal standing. Although the court ordered Bank of America to cover your thousands of dollars in attorney fee expenses, the bank doesn’t pay. For months.

A good course of action is to initiate foreclosing proceedings on the bank, and that’s what a couple in this position did. $2,500 may be enough for a bank to repeatedly ignore, but that amount is worthwhile to a household. The sheriff invasion resulted in a check from the bank within an hour, and the check covered the attorney’s fees plus another $3,000.

It is difficult to stand up to banks, even if you know you’re in the right. Large financial institutions have what seems like endless money to throw at problems they want to go away, and another bottomless trough for money to help them maintain a good reputation in the media. While not all consumers need to battle with the financial industry, some do, and those who do are facing long odds.

TIME Moneyland

{ 14 comments }

Silent Inflation Is Destroying Your Net Worth

by Flexo

According to the government’s figures, inflation was a modest 2.7 percent over the twelve months ending in March. The Consumer Price Index (CPI) is the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ popular measure of economic changes affecting typical consumers in the United States. It’s a figure we often compare to after-tax savings interest rates, reminding us that our ... Continue reading this article…

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Seven Great Gifts for College Graduates

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If there is a college graduate in your life, he or she is about to receive a number of gifts. The first gift will be the realization that it can be difficult to find a job in this economy right now if the goal is to get a job in the same field of study ... Continue reading this article…

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The Power of the Coupon Compels You

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My birthdate is public knowledge. I’ve entered it on credit card applications, brand loyalty program forms, and websites like Facebook. Computers all over the world know when my birthday is coming, and companies use this information to help fake a personal relationship. It’s not a bad approach, but it certainly is fake. No individual marketing ... Continue reading this article…

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Tax Tips When Looking for Work is Your Job

by Leigh Mutert

About the author: This is a guest article written by Leigh Mutert, CPA. Leigh is the manager of the H&R Block Get it Right Community, a blog that focuses on breaking down complex topics for taxpayers, and the manager of social media, corporate relations for H&R Block. Leigh was a recent guest on the Consumerism ... Continue reading this article…

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