Quicken Online is FREE!

I just discovered that Quicken has an online version of their software that is 100% free! It tracks all of your accounts in one place and you can set up budgets and it will also show you trends. You can also set up alerts to be sent to you via e-mail or text message.

I also love this as they have a free iPhone app where I can see where I stand before making a purchase or if I am on the road in real time. I no longer have to drag out my laptop and startup some slow software then wait for it to update. Big thumbs up to Intuit for this one!

I think this is a great solution for everyone. With the demise of Microsoft Money and the evolution of smart phones and the internet it is time to go online with our financial tracking. Quicken online takes us to the next level where we can see and manipulate numbers in real time without logging into each account.

It is easy to set up but takes a little up-front work. I just signed up today and had to add all of the login information for all of my various financial accounts. It is good at pulling transactions over (done automatically every night) and has some good graphs. A couple of my accounts were not available so I requested them to be added. It supports loans, investments, banks, credit cards, cash, mortgages, and most other financial accounts.

Once you have all the accounts added you will have to categorize your transactions (in some cases). This is a manual process to start but the site "learns" where you put them and will do it automatically for you next time. You can always change them manually if it is not correct. I am very impressed with this feature as it saves tons of time and energy and generates more accurate reports.

It also has lots of great graphs and a "trends" section where you can see how much you are spending and where. It also tells you if you are living beyond your means or if you are getting ahead. You can set budgets by category and also get alerts if you go over. Very nice!

This service is similar to mint.com where you can create budgets and the like. I love the added bonus of SMS/e-mail alerts and a free iPhone app that makes this an all around excellent product, especially for FREE! Feel free to comment on your experiences with it!

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