End of Microsoft Money 2005, Are You Affected?

The earliest version of Microsoft Money was way back in 1991, under the the Windows operating system version 3.0.

Since then, 17 versions of the financial software have been made. Managing personal finances was easy with the use of graphical interfaces Microsoft products are known for, and the constant support from Microsoft brought users to

Microsoft Money as a preferred tool for managing their investments, portfolios and expenses.

However, last December 31, 2011, Microsoft officially ended supporting Microsoft Money.

In the interim, Microsoft is encouraging all users of Microsoft Money to use Microsoft Money Plus Sunset, an application that can still open, read and edit Microsoft Money 2005 files with no problem.

It can also assist to keep the financial records of users still readable, and perhaps convertible to other formats now that Microsoft Money 2005 has come to the end of the line.

What’s Next for Microsoft Money 2005 Users

While it may be a sad thing for some to say goodbye to a Microsoft product line that lasted 20 years, the good news is that many kinds of software for financial purposes do a much better job than Microsoft Money 2005, with more features as well.

Some programs you have to buy and install on your computer, much like Microsoft Money 2005, and other financial software are already available on the web, and all you need is a decent browser with really good security to access the cloud-based application.

You can try out Quicken – it organizes all sides of your financial identity, from investments, personal and business finances, your properties owned, leased or rented, and even helps you set some financial goals in the process.

Quicken is a program you install on your computer, but Intuit, the company behind Quicken also has a web-based application called Mint.com, where you can do most of what Quicken does, with even more added features.

Mint.com, as the name implies, is on the cloud, so no installation is necessary – just an Internet connection.

Another recommended application is AceMoney – and with this program, you can open your Microsoft Money 2005 files, and continue documenting your financial history without missing a beat.

AceMoney is an installed program, and the good news is that it runs not only on the Windows operating system, but also on Mac OSX and Linux distros.

The Real Issues with Financial Software

The features and the capabilities of financial software is just icing on the cake. The real issues with financial software is how much one can depend on them – your private financial history and decisions have incredibly increased in value in the last decade or so.

Some financial applications make it clear in their Terms of Service that your information will not be saved, stored or used in any other way in the application – on the other hand, some financial software, in order to keep their services free, do keep the information in some way for further analysis or to glean more information in the data set of all users.

Some software are forthright in their intent to sell your information to other parties, and then again, some might not even tell you that they are selling your information.

You are going to miss Microsoft Money 2005, if only for the fact that for the last 5 years or so, you could leave your financial information with a trusted source.

But all good things must end – besides, even Microsoft Money 2005 must have features too old to be applicable today, the same way many situations today cannot be contained in even a useful tool such as Microsoft Money 2005.

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