Tech Talk

Yeah, seems like today is a day of #fail for me.  I realize today scanning over my blog content that I’ve all but abandoned my new buddy Moneywell.  Its very close to a month since I used it last and although I really like the software, its different and I’m having troubles with that.  I am still finding myself relying on Microsoft Money and its darned running balances.   Habit is hard to break.

Now, a month later, I have a lot of reconciliation to do to catch up in Moneywell.  The thing I am struggling with most in the software are duplicate transactions and how to easily find them.  Running balance is how I’ve always been able to check and make sure everything is on track from day to day, and although the daily totals are in Moneywell, I’m finding it hard to find errors.

And, part of this is self-inflicted (see, really sensing a theme here).  I like to prepopulate my transactions in my financial program and so there are transactions for up to a month in advance in Moneywell.  So when the real transaction downloads and the dollar amounts don’t match from my guestimate transaction, my balances go wonky.

The other thing I miss from Microsoft Money is my bill reminders – my recurring transactions in Quickbooks speak.  I’ve used these to remind me of annual and quarterly bills, plus my monthly transactions. Its kept me honest with the trash company and even helped me make sure I never overdraw the account on a month-to-month basis.

So, back to the drawing board.  I need to carve out some time this week in the evening to get things caught up in Moneywell.  I really believe the software has a lot of promise for me and for my family’s finances.  I need to give it an honest try!