If managing your personal or household finances was something your former spouse used to handle, but it has since become one of your own responsibilities, don’t fret. Keeping track of bills, managing your checking and savings accounts, and overseeing your credit card expenditures has never been easier when you use personal financial management software, such as Inuit’s bestselling Quicken Starter Edition 2008 ($29.99) for PC or Quicken 2007 ($69.99) for Mac.            

These software packages will most likely work seamlessly with the online banking features of your existing bank or financial institution. This eliminated the need to do a lot of time consuming data entry, plus insures that the financial records stored on your computer stay up-to-date and accurate. By managing your checking and saving accounts using Quicken, you can pay your bills online, or print checks with ease from your computer, plus keep track of which checks have cleared through your account.            

To get started using this software, you’ll need a PC or Mac-based computer with Internet access, as well as a current version of Quicken. Access to a printer is also recommended. Upon installing the software onto your computer, you’ll be promoted to set up your personal banking, credit card and loan accounts. If you’re not familiar with basic accounting principles or how to balance your checkbook, there is definitely a learning curve associated with setting up the software with all of your personal account details.

To save time, consider having your accountant or personal financial planner do this. After one of your accounts is set up properly, you can later add each of your other checking, savings, and credit card accounts, plus your retirement account(s), loans (mortgage, car loans, student loans, etc.), and investment accounts, until all of your accounts are accessible and manageable through the Quicken software. Initially setting up the software is much easier if you have a defined starting date for each account, such as the first of the year (January 1, 2008) or the first day of any given month. Have your monthly statement for each account, displaying the ending balance from the previous month, in hand as you attempt to set up the Quicken software, and allow several hours to complete this initial set-up process.

Entering your account information and categorizing your recurring expenses is a task you must do just once as you’re setting up and customizing the software. After that, handling new and ongoing financial transactions, such as writing a check or paying a bill online, takes just seconds and the process is very straight-forward.