Microsoft Money 2002 Deluxe

The first thing we noticed after launching Money 2002 Deluxe was how happy everyone in Microsoft land seemed. Images of beautiful people sitting around in loungewear floated across our screen, beckoning us to join the ranks of content Money users. Happily, we complied and began entering our personal finance information, including bank accounts, credit cards, monthly expenses, etc. While the setup wizard made getting started extremely easy, take note that many features require users to have a Microsoft Passport account. Without this account number, users are unable to access some of the cooler Web features available in Money 2002. Disabling this feature is complicated, and ignoring it is virtually impossible as you are constantly being asked to sign in to Passport.

That said, many of the new features that make Money a worthwhile upgrade revolve around better Web integration and online services. The new MoneySide bar follows you around as you surf the Web, providing you with access to your financial data as you shop, invest, or pay bills. You can also synchronize your Money data with MSN Money, which allows for up-to-date investing, banking, and financial planning information. Other improvements show up in the areas of report and chart creation, as well as the ability to send these reports via e-mail. Finally, a new Bill Setup and Edit feature offers a central location for tracking your bills and making electronic payments.

One of the great things about Money 2002 Deluxe is that you can use it as much or as little as you like. For example, if you just want to see how much a vacation will affect your monthly budget, the program offers a one-time expense feature to use during that month. If, on the other hand, you'd rather create a six-month plan to purchase a new SUV, Money 2002 will help you set up a budget to account for this expense over time.

Overall, Money 2002 Deluxe is a strong and dependable tool for managing your money, which can only lead to financial gains. --Gisele Toueg

Amazon.com Product Description
Microsoft Money 2002 is an easy-to-use personal finance management software application that helps you manage your personal finances, includingbalancing your checkbook, budgeting, reducing debt, planning for thefuture, and managing your investments and taxes. Money Setup Assistantwalks you through initial setup and gets you up and running within minutes.Money Help, the Money user guide, and how-to videos make it easy to getthe most out of Microsoft Money.

You can recover accidentally deleted transactions, mark transactions with a"follow-up" flag, and view date ranges. There are improved online bill payment features, an improved setup wizard, and an enhanced Pocket PC Detector that makes setup and synchronization easy. You will enjoy a personalized Web experience with tight integration with the MSN network and other Microsoft partner affiliate Web sites. There is also automatic connection to banks, withongoing, automatic updates to account registers, even when you are notworking in Money.

Fortunately, I found my Money 2000 file backed up and restored normality by removing this threat from my system.


More bugs than Windows XP.   June 11, 2003
 1 out of 1 found this review helpful

Bought this when it first came out to replace Quicken (too slow).
More fool me - ghastly interface. More bugs than an ant hill and now it won't let me edit or view downloaded info and I've now got 78 items on one account needing 'previewing'.

I'd move the file back to Quicken but guess MS Money has now ballsed up my accounts so badly I'd be better off starting again.


Don't waste your money   November 16, 2002
 3 out of 4 found this review helpful

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..


I'm in love with this program   October 25, 2002
 4 out of 4 found this review helpful

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.