Wedding Blog

I love MS Money…. not sure if it works on Macs, but it is so helpful for me to keep track of various accounts + budgeting!

try http://www.mint.com - it’s web based, secure and really helpful

I bought quicken - but fall back on my custom spreadsheets I’ve used for years I need to commit to making the change and learning all the functionality of quicken - but my custom methods don’t seem to exactly fit into the application.

Along the lines of budgeting and finances - My new hubby and I just completed Dave Ramsey’s Financial Peace University class. It’s was a great learning experience. Even if you don’t agree with everything he says, follow all his principles, or share his religion (it does have a Christian background) - it is an excellent course to attend with your finance or husband. He touches on a lot of things that I feel are overwhelming for new couples. (finances, debt, insurance (life, disability, etc), retirement, college saving, identity theft protection, wills etc) It has us on track together and super excited for our life together knowing we won’t be stressing or fighting over finances! It is peaceful knowing you have all the bases covered. I recommend it!

My dad has used Quicken for years. He got me hooked and I carried the use over to my marriage. In my opinion it’s worth investing in the software.

QUICKEN. most quicken users swear by it - you can track every single/joint account you have, every credit card, every student loan, every expense by category or by payee, every investment, just everything. its simple, it imports your data directly from the site so you dont have to do the legwork - whereas with my personal excel sheet i had to write in everything! you can create schedules, monthly bills, budget way into the future, etc.

it is worth the expense. obviously i am a fan =)

We use quicken. I used to hate it, but FH showed me how to use it- he used to be the major money party in our relationship, but now using quicken, I am…
There is a budget feature, a check register, even a pay down credit plan (to work on those student loans or credit cards!!). It connects with the internet to download transactions from your online banking system and you accept them into your register. You give each item a catagory (utilities, rent, clothing, dining, entertainment, etc). We love it because you also can make pie charts and what not to see exactly where and what you are spending your money on month to month. Seeing that pie chart to show you that you are spending a fat chunk of $$ on something (other than wedding stuff) definately helps to reel that spending back in. At least it does for FH and I!

I gotta second (or third?) Dave Ramsey and Financial Peace University. DH and I are totally geared up and excited about our financial future. In fact, we just recently celebrated becoming completely debt-free! It is our goal to never incur any debt except for a house, and have that paid off in 15 years. Being of one accord with our financial goals has brought us that much closer!