kml wrote:
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if you don't pay the bills, you don't know where all the money goes. (I'm trying to remedy this by getting up to speed on one of the computer programs like Quicken, so I can have an easy way to show him where our money goes every month).
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( you would be surprised to see where your money goes especially if you put a code to items and add up you spent over the year in each group)
KML, I use "Quicken Premier" (year). There are 4 or 5 levels of the program, depending on what you want to track and how much you want an intigrated financial worth statements. You type in a name or ES (ES first last names) once and the next time all you do is type in ES and the program fills out the rest of the name or vendor. Same with checks you write. Type in (MHC Mental Health Center) the first time and every time you type MHC from then on it types in the full name (Mental Health Center) in the pay to line. This can be over ridded if you need to. (Quickbooks 99)
Quicken Premier allows you to track several groups of similar items. I like the Premier version because of it's investment tracking features. I reinvest several dividends and that makes knowing what a particular share of stock actually cost more difficult to determine. With Quicken Premier, I can determine what a stock cost, which shares to sell first or last, (semi tax advice and financial planning tools) and several other options that are for people more investment savy than me.
I think there is one version above Premier that you can input a lot of simple business information for a small or home business. I have QuickBooks business software for the business I run out of my home. I need a program that tracks inventory and Quicken does not have an inventory tracker.
Advice is to buy the version with all of the features you think you might use, even if you do not intend to do it now. I rarely up-grade, maybe every 4 to 6 years. Some of the newer versions are almost new programs that require a fair amount of re-learning. Some of the up-grades are mostly a sales pitch. I do download the patches.
If you buy a newer version and convert your old data to run on the new version, once data is converted to the new version you can't run it on the old version of the program. Data conversions go up only, never back. I am using QuickBook 99 for my business. I bought it used for about half it's former retail price when it was two years old. Some of the newer programs have tricky install, serial and activation numbers. Without the numbers, the programs will not work for more than 30 days.
Karen, Reading your post too. No advice for now. I relate to several of your feelings.
I see you listed Retirement Plan Specialist. I am deciding if I want to retire early. Worked a lot of hours since I was 17, dont excatly know what I want to do when I retire.
Some of my customers are mortgage brokers on commission. The good ones / hustlers make a lot of money while the average ones get by.
