What's New in Microsoft Money Plus
Microsoft Money Plus is here and packed with more features than you can click your mouse at.
Well known for its innovative financial planning software, Microsoft recently announced an updated version of its popular Microsoft Money application. There have been several significant changes, the most noticeable of which being the new Insights feature. This new option lets users keep necessary financial data right at their fingertips on their desktop, rather than needing to continually open Money to retrieve that information. Microsoft promises the "plus" in Money Plus is well deserved, thanks mainly to this revolutionary advancement in convenience.
The Insights feature has three subcategories--bills, cash flow and spending--all of which claim to be intuitive and user friendly. The Bills Insights feature, as you would guess, alerts you to bills that haven't been paid or are late. Cash Flow Insights gives you a glimpse into the frequency of your deposits and withdrawals, letting you get a better view of your spending patterns (and maybe even help you figure out where to sew up that hole in your wallet). Spending Insights opens up a kind of financial community, in the form of up-to-date news from MSN Money experts and message boards to discuss topics with other Money Plus users.
Alongside this new Insights feature, Money Plus integrates seamlessly with the MSN Money Web site to bring you constantly updated stock tips, online financial tools to help you keep track of your portfolio and investment advice. The product's Tax Estimator and Deduction Finder (found in the Money Plus Premium version) makes April 15 just another date instead of a looming deadline. Users can now also attach important links to their online information, such as a scanned receipt or image of a check, making sure all their important tax and insurance records are there at the touch of a button. That's a much better option than searching through your filing cabinet for that single receipt that always seems to hide right when you need it.
Microsoft is currently offering a free trial of Money Plus for 60 days, letting you choose between their Essentials (which is not part of the Money Plus family), Deluxe or Home & Business package. The Microsoft Money Plus Deluxe software is $49.99, while the Premium version is $79.99 and the Home & Business version is $89.99.
Victoria Scott