Microsoft Money Plus (2008) Review (Part 1)

Date September 11, 2007

note: don’t forget to read part 2 (link below).

I just upgraded my Microsoft Money Home and Business 2007 to the new Microsoft Money Plus (a new name for Money 2008). I got the Home and Business version as well and so far it looks identical. I actually had to go the help > about screen to confirm that I was running the new version. That’s how similar they are.

Oh wait, there is a difference, the “improved” background banking uses a huge chunk of CPU power (look at screen shot below). I had to kill the task and restart Money. To be fair the windows sidebar was using the other 40% and had to kill that too. But I haven’t had that problem before installing Money, so it’s safe to say that it is related to MS Money.

image

One thing I was hoping would be improved is speed/performance. Unfortunately, it’s the same problem as in 2007. For example, when I go to the business tab and click on Time Tracking, it is still dead slow in refreshing the screen - very frustrating.

Unless, I am missing something, I can’t see the reason to upgrade. I would say, save your money (real money). I am still going to buy it out of habit - I have been a Money user since 1995.

What do you think? Is it worth the upgrade? Do you plan on upgrading?

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Viewing 8 Comments

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    According to Microsoft, here is a list of what's new and improved in 2008 (plus):

    # NEW! Insights, with alerts customized by you, keep you in the know about the information you need most, even when Money isn’t open!
    # NEW! Bills Insights alert you when bills are overdue or due soon
    # NEW! Spending Insights keep on top of the spending you care about most
    # NEW! Cash Flow Insights gives you a fast convenient view of your spending and deposits, as well as your account balances
    # NEW! Attach links to important files such as check images or scanned receipts right from transactions in the Money account register
    # NEW! Get the top 10 daily update from MSN Money StockScouter
    # NEW! See Morningstar ratings in the popular MSN Money ETF center
    # NEW! Rate favorite stocks and challenge Wall Street gurus yourself as CAPS tracks their stock picks on MSN Money
    # ENHANCED background banking helps keep account information up-to-date
    # Check out articles from the experts on MSN Money to help you improve your finances in a particular area
    # Share your ideas and hear ideas from others on our spending message boards
    • ^
    • v
    There is also a review of Quicken 2008 at The Tech Brief
    • ^
    • v
    I had been using Microsoft Money 2004. I liked the user interface, and knew how to quickly get to the features I wanted to use. When I got close to the date when the online updates feature was about to expire, I purchased Money Plus Deluxe. While it works okay, it seems like a lot of features that were quickly accessible in the 2004 version have been buried in Money Plus. For example, I always have a hard time finding the list of payees. It used to be a top-level menu item, now I have to remember where the heck Microsoft buried it. I would have rather kept using the 2004 version, and I'm pi**ed off that Microsoft put a built-in expiration date into it just to force users to "upgrade."
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    • v
    I just upgraded from Money 2006 to Money Plus Deluxe. I too have had my CPU frozen by Money. Better yet, when you close the program the mnybb.exe and mnybbsvc.exe continue to hold all CPU resources hostage. The program itself has changed very little. You can allow a new program called Insights to run in your task tray. However it is simply a reminder service using mnybb.exe - again using all CPU. My CPU is an AMD Athlon 64 3500+ (2.2 GHz) and I have 1 GB of RAM. Computer resources should not be an issue, but MS has figured a way to use them all. I guess I will have to go back to Money 2006 and see how long the online updates remain available.
    • ^
    • v
    I was looking to upgrade my 2007 Small Businses to 2008 Home&Biz for only two reasons:

    1. CPU performance Issues.
    2. Money hanging when reconciling electronic transactions downloaded from my Bank with those which were setup as recurring loan transactions (Such as a Mortgage or Auto payment). This requires TaskManager->End Task and Microsoft's recommendation is to clear all scheduled bills and re-enter. That works for about a month or so...
    3. (Business) Time Tracking screen refresh.

    So far, it looks like none of these are resolved. I think it's about time to move away from Microsoft Money... I do have the last 8 years of data in Money, but I think for the next fiscal year it's time to switch to a product that a company actually puts effort into maintaining...

    Also, can someone enlighten me on what is 'Enhanced Background Banking?"
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    @Jared I have been very disappointed with performance too. Unfortunately, I feel stuck and unable to move all the years of data anywhere else.

    A friend told me that he archives his data every year which keeps his file small and improves performance. I did that and it improved performance but not as much as I would like.
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    I am disappointed in their strategy to cut off online update access to force people to upgrade. But then .... if you are not really making major improvements year over year in your product, I guess you have to create a compelling reason (howevere obnoxious/arrogant/underhanded it may be) to force users to upgrade. If they were capable of putting out enhancements which were enticing enough, they wouldnt have to resort to such underhanded tactics to force people to upgrade. It is very disappointing. Its time to look at Quicken.
    • ^
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    has anyone tried to upgrade from Money 2006 to Money Plus (2008) and had trouble with your reports running? I have tried every "trick" that support techs have suggested with no luck. My online features have now expired, so I need to fix this quick or switch to another software....

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