Rating: 
Summary: The Best Gets Even Better
Review: Microsoft has outdone themselves this year by offering Money 2002 Deluxe, H&R Block's TaxCut Tax Preparation Software, and a practical Home Legal Help software in one package. These items bought independently would cost much more than the advertised prices, plus if you already own a previous edition of Microsoft Money, you can get a $20 rebate! Now that's value. Most reviews up to this point by professional magazines and newspapers rate Quicken and Money very evenly against each other, but Microsoft Money more seamlessly intergrates with the Internet Explorer Browser, the Windows operating system, and most features that every computer has standard these days. I have used both in the past and Money wins the ease of use award in my personal opinion. The Best Personal Finance Software just got Better!
Rating:
Summary: Runs Fine on W2K
Review: Recommend folks igonre Bluto. Clearly he's just not setup his user account with Admin privliges and is getting hit by a typical NT/W2K issue. I'm running Money 2002 (and have been running 2001) fine on W2K. Bluto, learn how to operate your system before you dis someone's software. Sheesh. Go into Computer Management in control panel and just add your self to the Admin group. You'll find that many (most) programs won't install correctly under NT, W2K, or XP if you are not an admin.
Rating: 
Summary: Pretty much the same except for a few annoying features
Review: I upgraded from Money 2000, and most of the differences are cosmetic. It does have some nifty features for keeping track of your portfolio, i.e., click on the + symbol next to the stock to drill down investment activities. It also shows mutual fund daily gains/losses (Money 2000 did not). The Money homepage also shows more detailed information about your portfolio (information that in Money 2000 could only be viewed by running a report). In general the product just looks better. It gets three stars because of some very very annoying features. First, you have to "sign in". You can skip the sign in if you like, but it will continue to ask until about the third for fourth time you open your money file. (Sign in uses your hotmail or passport account to gain access to your file.) The next feature is MoneySide which is a button on your browser's toolbar. When you shop at a website, the MoneySide sidebar pops open and begs the question "Is this purchase in your budget?" I quickly disabled this because 90% of the time I'm only browsing for items and not actually buying them. If you have Money 2000 or higher, then this upgrade may not be worth it. If you have Money 99 or lower, then I would definately upgrade.
Rating: 
Summary: Not compatible with Win2k - BEWARE
Review: Although this product will install under Win2k, it is not *certified* as Win 2k compliant and so, it will not run properly under Win2k. Only Microsoft could produce a product that doesn't run right under their own O/S. Incredible. You must be logged in as "Administrator" or someone in "Administrator" group in order to run this at all. See MS knowledgebase article Q273815 for a detail of the problems you may encounter (this for Money 2001, but it holds true for 2002 too). I bought 2001 and was burned by this incompatibility and had to revert to Money 2000. Don't buy this if you run Win2k unless you want to make a charitable donation to Microsoft. MS says they have no intention of making Money Win2k certified as Win2k is a "business" O/S and Money is a "consumer" product. Caveat emptor.
Rating:
Summary: Worth the Upgrade
Review: Finally, a financial software program that does the work for you! I owned Money 2000 but never really got the most out of the product because I would fall behind and it would get to be a pain to update and balance everything. Well, Money 2002 solves all that by automatically updating all your financial accounts for you keeping all your accounts and transactions up to date. Forget the nightmare of balancing a checkbook and grab a copy of Money 2002 instead!
Rating:
Summary: Worse than you think
Review: Being a MS Money user for the last seven years, I thought that the new version will improve my ability to track my personal finances, just as the previous versions did. Instead, I had to cope with the disappearance of my budget and, worst of all, an annoying Passport log in, which seems to have a serious security issue. Two days after installation and the first Passport log-in, I had two on-line charges on a credit card I've never used on the Internet!!!Fortunately, I found my Money 2000 file backed up and restored normality by removing this threat from my system.
Rating:
Summary: Don't waste your money
Review: The only major thing I learned about money from Money 2002 Deluxe is that buying it is a waste of money. It is user unfriendly, has a confusing layout and the "automatic" retrieval of information from the internet worked for less than half the accounts I put in the software.
Another "fun" thing was that the first time I set up all my accounts, budget etc., the Money file was saved to a folder on the LAN network - even though I was not connected to it at the time. I should have realized this, of course, but I didn't. Next time I tried to access the file it was not found, neither on the network, nor on the hard drive.
Money 2002 Deluxe is good for two things:
Cardio exercise - because it will definitely raise your blood pressure and heart rate whenever you use it, and
It will make your wallet a lighter and more comfortable fit in your pocket..
Rating:
Summary: I'm in love with this program
Review: I have been using Microsoft Money since about 1996. I upgraded to 2002 in the beginning of 2002. I am amazed at what this program can do. It is such a time-saver. I am using the background banking. Even when Money is closed it automatically pulls in my transactions for my credit card and broker account. I was delinquent in reconciling my checking by 5 months. After I imported the transactions (took about 2 minutes), I was able to reconcile all 5 months in about 2 minutes flat. Somehow, it seemed to know which transactions to associate with the month I was reconciling. The hard part was finding my statements to balance to. If only my credit union would sign up for the direct banking so that I could use background banking. I love the ease of using the reports. They are easily customizable. Also, if you want to see the transactions behind a certain category you can right mouse click to see the detail. I cannot understand why so many people are unsatisfied with this product. I find it an intuitive program that contains a powerhorse of tools. It seems like I am constantly discovering new things it can do.
Rating:
Summary: Superior to Quicken. Quicken users should switch.
Review: As people who have used both programs know, Money and Quicken are effectively the same as for substantive content. Money has a slightly sleeker look-and-feel to it, consistent with Microsoft products, if that is important to you. The reason I give it such good ratings is that, as a Quicken-user since 1997, I finally got sick of the ever-dreaded Quicken-crashes. I upgraded to Quicken 2002, which is probably the most unstable code Intuit has audaciuosly relased to the market to date. I have found Money *so* much more stable that it WELL WARRANTS the short learning curve frustrated users of quicken will have to make the switch. The common complaint about Money is the ubiquitous advertising. However, these can be turned off under Tools...Options and never heard from again, so I consider a bit of a non-issue (besides it being slightly obnoxious that Microsoft would try to pass them off in the first place). Conversion from Quicken is really quite easy. Even Quicken-purchased checks work seamlessly.
Rating:
Summary: Why do so many people hate this?
Review: I was amased by the number of bad reviews and almost did not buy this program. I have used previous versions of Money, but in the Deluxe version, and find 2002 Standard an EXCELLENT program. I do not use this accounting software for any online functions and find that it has everything I could want out of a HOME ACCOUNTING software package. I HIGHLY RECOMMEND THIS PURCHASE.
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