Microsoft Money 2008 Review
I bought the latest version of Microsoft Money a few months ago. I believe it is the 2008 edition, but it doesn’t say on the site that it is. I was going to buy it in the store, but I decided to instead just download it from the website. Well, you can’t just download it. You have to pay for it. They offer different tiers from $19.99 - $59.99. I think those are the after rebate prices though.
One may want to note the fine print for Microsoft Money Essentials ($19.99). “For Money Essentials, online services are available for one (1) year after activation of Microsoft Money Essentials or September 1st, 2008, whichever is earlier.” If you were planning on getting essentials and using online services, I would recommend waiting for next year’s version to come out. This way you will actually be able to use the online services for more than just a few short months.
I ended up getting Microsoft Money Plus Deluxe. It is advertised for $29.99, but that is including a $20 rebate that you have to send it. I forgot to send mine in until it had expired. I sent it in anyways, because I figured that the most I could lose would be $.41 (it was a forever stamp) for postage. A few short weeks later I had a $20 check from Microsoft waiting for me.
As far at the program as a whole goes, it is decent but leaves a lot to be desired. For starters, it is the same Microsoft Money that we have all been using for the past ten years. Nothing has really changed that much at all. I guess there isn’t a whole lot that you can change and add for a personal finance program, but it would be nice to see a few updated for my $30.
The interface is a lot cleaner and more modern looking, so I will definitely give them a pat on their back for the effort there.
…well I had written a bunch more, but for some reason it was unable to post and now it has deleted a bunch of it. At this point I don’t really feel like redoing it. Maybe later I will fill in the rest of what I had to say.