NWA-PCUG Newsletter Article
Quicken 2002 Deluxe
A Review by Betty Davis, February 2002
bdavis@cox-internet.com
(click to email author)


BACKUP!!!! BACKUP!!!! BACKUP!!!!

Now that I have your attention, let's carry on here. And yes, there is a reason for that warning. Read on and you'll find out why.

Q2002 is not a major revamp of older versions, but it has some features that make tracking finances much easier.

First of all it was easy to install. It offered to uninstall Q2001 and saved data to a special file. This is a picky area, and the reason I called for backup. I don't know why or how, but the saved file can't be used to restore data to a previous version. In my case, this was crucial because I use Q2001and when I reinstalled my own version I would NOT have been able to use the data to restore.

The interface is similar to Q2001 in most cases, so I didn't feel lost in a "new" program. It opens directly to a list of checking accounts which saves time. Oddly enough, my investment account wasn't shown, but clicking on Accounts above the toolbar opened everything. Double clicking on the account, or clicking on Open in the upper left-hand corner brings up the whole account page.

One of the things I like about Quicken is that there are usually a couple of ways to get to the desired information. It's just a question of playing around with it to find what is best and easiest for you.

Setting up accounts is a painless process. They walk you through it screen by screen, and it isn't written in stone. You can go back later and change whatever you wish.

I went whole hog on the hypothetical portfolio. I am now almost a millionaire, but I didn't realize how hard it would be to get there. I was buying stocks by the thousands of shares and finally quit at about $850,000. Anyone want to borrow some hypothetical money? Unfortunately, I neglected to set up a checking account to handle the money so my fortune wasn't reflected in some of the totals and graphs and charts. The hypothetical checking account and money market accounts weren't big enough to handle that. Ordinarily the graphs, charts and summaries are very helpful in normal usage.

One feature that I spent an inordinate amount of time with was the toolbar, believe it or not. I thought it was something new until I realized later that I had it on 2001, also. Click on Custom above the toolbar and you get a list of 120 (yes, I counted them) subjects that can be added to your toolbar. Want to check your Capital Gains, etc., click on the toolbar. Tax implications? No problem. That should be a real time saver, but since I have more time than money I never used it in Q2001.

Budgeting is a bit expanded in Q2002. You can set up alerts for when you go over budget. The first screen told me "You won't have enough money to cover all your expenses". So? I knew that. I tried this area in Q2001 but not for long. I just buried my head in the sand and got on with life. However, it would be very helpful for families who want to track individual spending.

Planning has a lot of options: Retirement, College, Home Purchase, Debt Reduction, Save More, and Special Purpose. With each, there are guides to setting up different scenarios for use. Feed your data into the blanks and get some pretty solid advice on what to do. If you don't like the outcome, try different data until you come up with something that works for you. The guide nearly crashed when I said I was already retired but wanted $500,000 a year income.

Q2002 has more options for banking online and using Quicken.com for research and general information. One area I wish I had paid more attention to, but skipped over and planned to come back to (and didn't) was a menu that included account payable, receivable, employee checks, and things of that ilk. It sounded almost as though I might use it for a very small business.

There is also a Portfolio Analyzer that gives you faster and better tracking of your portfolio. Research is expanded and Stock Evaluations enhanced. You can even do things "the Warren Buffett" way, rebalance your portfolio, compare taxable or tax exempt yields, plus there is an Asset Allocation Guide.

The tax area is improved and Q2002 includes the new tax laws. It allows you to figure the tax break on investment losses, check your withholding amounts, and gives you tax estimates based on your income.

In summary, I've used Quicken for several years now and find it more than adequate for my needs. The only caveat is saving the old data to a non- restorable file, as I mentioned above. That's why a good backup is needed.

McKatz Brothers have provided special prices on various Quicken products for user groups just for this review meeting. See http://www.mckatz.com/specialoffers/ Also, order forms will be available at the meeting.

Now about that backup I mentioned earlier. I use an external USB Zip drive plugged into a 4-port USB hub. I hit the Panic Button after I reinstalled Q2001 and tried to restore my data. I was informed that my E: drive was not available. Ten years of data down the tube! I disconnected the hub and plugged the Zip drive directly into the USB port on the computer and voila! Instant Restore. So I'm back in business but on a considerably lower financial scale than I was in Q2002. Easy come, easy go.

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