Description:
Microsoft Money has helped individuals organize and streamline their financial dealings for a half-decade. The latest iteration, Money 2003, may be the most impressive upgrade in some time, with several new amenities designed to make your personal status even clearer, and your decisions and future planning even easier. Before you invest in Microsoft Money 2003 Deluxe, you should ask yourself if you really need it. If you're fortunate enough to have a simple financial environment with few delinquent payments, and if you've already arranged a comprehensive investment and online banking routine, you may find it redundant and superfluous. However, if you're constantly asking yourself where your latest paycheck went or simply don't know how to best make your money work for you, the program may well seem indispensable. Sporting a wealth of online and offline tools, numerous instructional videos, and a series of supportive verbal prompts, Money 2003 is much more than just a simple debt and asset tracker. After a little familiarization and an hour or two with its excellent Setup Assistant, you'll soon be banking and paying bills from one convenient online interface, initiating and managing your investments, intelligently forecasting future expenditures and savings, and accurately estimating your taxes. The 2003 edition also allows you to research investments, initiate stock reminders and alerts, track equity and index options, and even customize interfaces. Furthermore, Money 2003 Deluxe features several intriguing additional perks not found in the Standard edition. Beyond the $20 mail-in rebate, Microsoft has included one year of complimentary online bill payments through MSN, one no-charge H&R Block tax filing (2002 or 2003), a variety of sophisticated portfolio management and tax tools, and much more. Potential customers should be advised that many of the program's services are functional only if you have an Internet connection and a Microsoft Passport. Fortunately, the latter is free of charge. Microsoft Money 2003 is a broad offline and online financial planner and record-keeper that will make quick work of any and all budgetary issues. Its slick presentation may even make the usually laborious job of managing personal finances downright enjoyable. --Gordon Goble
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