Quicken Subscription (Page 3): I've never downloaded "data" from any financial institution, other than the PDF account statements, which I use to balance accounts, the old fashioned...

Longshadow Loc: Audubon, PA, United States

sodapop wrote:

Quicken periodically give me a deadline to buy the upgrade, or I will no longer be able to down load from my bank. Wish that there was an alternative to it, I don't do budgets or stocks etc. just want to keep a record and have easy lookup of my transactions. Is there any good alternative to Quicken?

I've never downloaded "data" from any financial institution, other than the PDF account statements, which I use to balance accounts, the old fashioned way, with a pencil, ticking off matches, and putting a "c" in the cleared column in Quicken.

budjordan1 Loc: Pittsburgh, Florida

sodapop wrote:

Quicken periodically give me a deadline to buy the upgrade, or I will no longer be able to down load from my bank. Wish that there was an alternative to it, I don't do budgets or stocks etc. just want to keep a record and have easy lookup of my transactions. Is there any good alternative to Quicken?

I think there is a free program called MINT. you might want to check this out.

Ron 717 Loc: Pennsylvania

jerryc41 wrote:

Last year, I reluctantly paid $32.39 for Quicken f... (show quote)

I am using Quicken 2015, so far no issues. Refuse to pay yearly fee for it. Too many other apps out there that are free or only a one-time purchase.

ecobin Loc: Paoli, PA

I'm the treasurer for a local Mac users group and have used Quicken for over a decade for that purpose. In 2020 I moved to Moneyspire which is a one-time purchase with free updates forever. I was able to import all years of Quicken and am very satisfied with Moneyspire. Check it out.

ecblackiii Loc: Maryland

Excel can do anything Quicken can. Learn a new skill!

Longshadow Loc: Audubon, PA, United States

ecblackiii wrote:

Excel can do anything Quicken can. Learn a new skill!

If you really want to make a useful program to work with accounts like that,
use Access. Much better than Excel for database applications.

47greyfox Loc: on the edge of the Colorado front range

I’m using Quicken 2011 with W10. I don’t ever intend to update it. If it ever dies, I’ll find another application or start using a spreadsheet. I have cared about or used the online services.

ecblackiii Loc: Maryland

Longshadow wrote:

If you really want to make a useful program to work with accounts like that,
use Access. Much better than Excel for database applications.

Access is a relational database program. Excel is an electronic spreadsheet. Either will work for the purpose, but for me, Excel is easier to use. I've been doing all my financial record keeping, resource allocations and financial planning on Excel for the last decade with no problems, and like the complete visibility of every entry and calculation.

bobforman Loc: Anacortes, Washington State

Personal Capital, Moneydance, Mint are decent alternatives. PC is connected to a financial operation and they'll want you to do business with them for your finances. Moneydance is from Scotland but their customer service is good. Getting your Q files over to these new ones is not particularly easy but can be done.

John_F Loc: Minneapolis, MN

I had Quicken a long time ago and never upgraded as I didn’t think it was very useful. I don’t remember what it did.

BboH Loc: s of 2/21, Ellicott City, MD

I muse the on-line. Find it quite helpful to have bank transactions as well as brokerage accounts downloaded

jerryc41 Loc: Catskill Mts of NY

HamB wrote:

I've been using Quicken since it came on floppy discs.
It is a valuable tool for managing personal finance.

The change to a subscription model really pi**ed me off.

I guess they lured me in with $30 and then wanted $50. Now I have a red and yellow notice on the top of the program reminding me that I haven't paid. It seems like I can keep using it without the occasional updates.

Longshadow Loc: Audubon, PA, United States

ecblackiii wrote:

Access is a relational database program. Excel is an electronic spreadsheet. Either will work for the purpose, but for me, Excel is easier to use. I've been doing all my financial record keeping, resource allocations and financial planning on Excel for the last decade with no problems, and like the complete visibility of every entry and calculation.

Yes it is. So is Quicken, albeit a dedicated database application.
Excel might be easier to use, as a spreadsheet, but it's much more cumbersome to replicate database functions in a spreadsheet. It depends on what you want/need the application (Excel) to do.
I use spreadsheets a LOT, but I've also programmed in Clipper, Access, and my favorite was dBase-IV (& V).
So I know how they differ.

bobforman Loc: Anacortes, Washington State

I used MS Money for years before they sold it to Quicken. Surprised that transaction wasn't challenged by the Feds. My dependence on the download portion is to update prices in my portfolio. It's a real hassle to do that regularly manually.

markngolf Loc: Bridgewater, NJ

jerryc41 wrote:

Last year, I reluctantly paid $32.39 for Quicken f... (show quote)

Many moons ago I used Quicken. However, for the past 16 years, I've used online banking. Everything financial, except income taxes, goes through my checking account or credit cards. I see no need for record keeping since 2005. If my credit card company and my local bank both fail, I'll not be able to check or verify payments. I cannot imagine that world. Yes, it is a risk, but so is walking from my car to shop at a store. I'm 84 and too old to begin worrying about all the "what iff's" in life. I have found that worrying about impending doom provides two things in life:
1) you get to worry and 2) you get older while worrying.

I'll just stay happy!
Mark