My Net Worth for June ended up in the red. I managed to spend less than I earned and increase my cash position but due to a drop in the market, I had an overall decrease for the month. I don't expect the market to experience any huge gains anytime soon so I need to take steps to save as much cash as possible to try and makeup for any losses in my investments.

I usually manage my monthly budget and cash flow using a self-created Excel spreadsheet. This method works great but I am a reports and graphs kind of guy. The biggest drawback of using my spreadsheets is that I'm not been able to create detailed reports in just a few clicks as I would with a financial software program. I heard about Quicken Online and decided it to give it a try.

What do I like about the program so far?

• Brand Name. No offense to the other online financial programs out there but Quicken has certainly been around awhile. This is certainly important for a program that will be downloading transactions from your bank account. Quickens maintains your financial data in-house and does not subcontract aggregation to a third party.
• Automatic Downloads. Once you input all of your banking information, all of your transactions are downloaded automatically. Quicken Online is connected with over 5,000 banks and credit unions so there's a good chance your bank is connected.
• Ease of Use. If you are new to financial software programs, the program is pretty self explanatory. If you want to see where your income came from for the month, just click on the Income box. You are also able to view your checking, savings and credit card accounts all on one screen.
• Security. Quicken Online uses 128-bit encryption to protect your privacy. This is the same technology used by most major financial institutions in the world.
• Bill Alerts and Reminders. The service offers bill reminders via text message or via email to help you remember your bill due dates.

What don't I like about the program so far?

• Fees. Quicken Online is free for 60 days and then $2.99 thereafter. I haven't used the service long enough to determine if I am willing to pay the fee but even so, $36 a year is not outrageous. These days, most people spend alot more than that on just a tank of gas. You are required to enter your credit card information during the free trial sign-up but you are not billed until after the trial period ends. Once you sign up, your trial end date is displayed. Make sure you make a note of this date if you plan to cancel after the trial period ends.

Here are a couple of screenshots from the program (click picture to see them bigger):

Here is the main screen once you log in:

Bill Reminder Screen:

If you are looking to get better control over your cash flow and your finances overall, consider signing up for Quicken Online. If anything, take advantage of the free trial to see where your money goes.

Reminder: If you haven't done so already, please subscribe to SingleGuyMoney.

I received an email from Quicken today. They are running a special that really caught my eye and I thought I'd pass the details along to you guys. I usually don't encourage you to spend money but this time, I'll make an exception.

If you want to get a better handle on your finances and and get a better idea of where your money goes, you should consider the Quicken Personal Money Management Software. Right now, if you purchase and download Quicken Deluxe, Premier or Quicken Home & Business you can also download a free copy of Quicken WillMaker ($79 value).

This actually sounds like a pretty good deal and I may take advantage of it myself. I need to do a better job of managing my rental property expenses so I am looking into the Home & Business version.

Looks like this deal is good thru May 31, 2008.

Use your economic stimulus check to purchase the software and not only will you help to stimulate the economy; you'll also stimulate your finances.