The Lemon Fool

I currently used MS Money and have for years, but I understand that the free version is no longer available to download. As I am thinking of replacing my PC, this would be a disaster at not being able to keep track of everything using Money. Has anyone any experience of using JioSoft as a replacement. Or any other suggestions?

granretire wrote:
I currently used MS Money and have for years, but I understand that the free version is no longer available to download.

As I am thinking of replacing my PC, this would be a disaster at not being able to keep track of everything using Money. Has anyone any experience of using JioSoft as a replacement.

Or any other suggestions?

The links on this post are still working...

https://www.lemonfool.co.uk/viewtopic.php?f=9&t=11163&p=131837#p131837

Cheers,

Itsallaguess

I'm not sure how the installation works, but is it possible to download and save whatever is needed to a computer then save it somewhere (Dropbox, memory stick etc) in case it's needed in the future and the links such as IIAG found do disappear?

It’s a bit of a learning curve (well, I found it to be), but this will always be free: https://www.gnucash.org/

I used to love MSMoney back in the day, and was very sad to see it go.
Yes, you can download the UK (or US) versions, but I let go of it and went for a more modern and maintained tool, YNAB.

Yes, I have to pay for it, but I find it very useful, and to me worth the cost.

I wish it did investments too but sadly it's only useful for budgeting and expenses.
So I still have to maintain a spreadsheet, which I keep simplifying to reduce that burden.

Microsoft have release Money for Excel, but it's nothing like MSMoney and I gave it 2 minutes before getting rid of it.

granretire wrote:I currently used MS Money and have for years, but I understand that the free version is no longer available to download. As I am thinking of replacing my PC, this would be a disaster at not being able to keep track of everything using Money. Has anyone any experience of using JioSoft as a replacement. Or any other suggestions?

I faced a very similar issue a few weeks ago. I replaced my XP desktop with a Windows 10 laptop and wanted to retain 20 years of MS Money data.

In the end it was a doddle to keep MS Money. I used the link in the thread that IAAG references a couple of posts up from this one to download the free software. I then copied the 30Mb .mny data file using a USB stick. Opened MS Money, everything was there: accounts, closed accounts, categories, subcategories, reports, favourites, the lot.

The new version has slightly better reporting but otherwise looks and functions identical to my old version. Before I did the changeover I did quite a lot of research, and posted on the subject on this board last December. I actually wasted quite a bit of time unnecessarily - imagining it would be complicated - and I should have just have given it a go, as it was so easy in the end.

Thanks IAAG for the link. My daughter had told me that she couldn't download Money - just shows you can't believe everything one's daughter says!! I have copied the .exe to a stick for use in case I lose the link. Hopefully I will be able to install from that.
I had had a look at gnucash, but unless I'm mistaken, it doesn't deal with shares/funds/etc.

GrahamPlatt wrote:It’s a bit of a learning curve (well, I found it to be), but this will always be free: https://www.gnucash.org/

Thanks for the reminder, Graham. I tried GnuCash many years ago - and failed to get any transactions to post! And I write as someone whose career has been in accounting, and then financial software implementation and support.

Perhaps I need to try again but it's difficult to find the motivation when MS Money does the job so well. IMHO, it's one of Microsoft's best products, and it's a shame it's no longer being developed.

Watis

granretire wrote:Or any other suggestions?

I use Microsoft Money 2000(!) to record all my portfolio transactions and it still suits my needs well, particularly the various customised reports I have setup and the budget planner for income tracking. Since it now has >10 years' of data I take care to keep that backed up and still have the original CDs also backed up.

But here's a left field thought if you occasionally replace PCs, move house etc. - you could setup a "virtual PC" on Amazon Web Services (see https://aws.amazon.com/free). I did this last year out of a professional curiosity and realized I could use a Windows "instance" to install and backup all the critical applications I use. The free tier gives you 12 months free usage, after which the pay as you go costs look very very low, provided you keep your "instance" switched off when not using it. And you get the added bonus of being able to use it from anywhere in the world with an internet connection.

I use Quicken XG (2004) running on Windows 10 in Windows XP compatability mode. I have all my accounts including bank, savings, credit card, Mortgage, OEIC and stock broking accounts going back to 1987!

I regularly back up to QIF files which are delimited text files so I have the raw data in case of "emergency". I am a software developer by trade so I know I can cope if Quicken ever stops working but it does worry me a little.

I can't see a reason to jump to something else unless I really have to because of the learning curve, so for now I am sticking with what I've got but it is reassuring to see there may be some alternatives. I suppose another option would be to keep an old machine disconnected from the internet on Windows 10 if I have to, but it would be somewhat inconvenient.

I have a new computer with Win 10
Quicken 2004 installs and runs fine in XP compatibility mode
The only function that doesn’t work is Backup
Annoying because on another Win 10 setup of mine all functions work fine
xxd09