When it comes to finances I am not a wizard! I even convinced my school counselor in High School that I didn’t need anymore math.  I only took a semester of Geometry and no Algebra.  So when it came time to budgeting and balancing a check book I wasn’t great.  About eight years ago I got a free copy of Quicken with my Turbo Tax.  I downloaded it and found that it would balance everything for me.  I later bought Quicken Home and Business. This helped me keep track of all the business expenses and income that I received as well as my family finances!

Why buy Quicken Home and Business?

Are you wondering why I am sharing this with you?  I am getting to a point.  My accountability partner Angie Newton and I were talking a few weeks ago.  She shared with me how behind she is in balancing her check book.  This was such a burden on her.  As we talked I could feel the weight on her shoulders to get it done.  I told her about Quicken.  These are some of the things I shared with her:

• With Quicken I don’t have to worry about putting in every receipt because it is connected to my Credit Union.  I press a button and Quicken Home and Business will update all the recent transactions.  Then all I need to do is match them up with what I have already recorded.
• I can keep track of when my bills need to be paid.  I also can include all your bills, such as: utilities, cable, internet, mortgage, insurance, etc.  When it is close to the date these are due I will get a reminder within Quicken.  I can even set up a reminder on my desktop.

More features of Quicken Home and Business:

There are other things about Quicken that has been very helpful.  For instance it memorizes the transaction and if you go to record a new transaction it will fill in the entry slot with the memorized information.  This makes things very quick.

This is a feature I have not used really but you can set goals for saving and getting out of debt.  Quicken will track your progress so you can have birds eye view of how you are meeting those goals.  You can also create graphs and reports to see how you are spending your money and where you income is coming from.

The business portion of Quicken helps to keep track of all the expenses you are incurring and income you are receiving!  I have recently started using Quick books for my business and then I very quickly stopped.  For my business the Quicken Home and Business has been able to keep track of everything I need to remember and track.  One last benefit I have seen is that you can import everything from Quicken to Turbo Tax when you do your taxes each year.  This saves loads of time.

After my conversation with Angie she decided to buy Quicken Home and Business.  After having the burden of balancing a check book she is done!  Quicken has been my life saver in so many ways.  I don’t forget to pay my bills and I know how much money I need for the upcoming bills.  I always know how much I have to work with and with my husband we can set financial goals for our family and my business!

Success,

PS. Right now if you purchase Quicken Home and Business you can get a great discount on Turbo Tax Home and Business!  Check it out!

PPS. If you just want to start with the beginner Quicken as I did that works too.  There are many different versions to fit your needs!