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6 Alternatives to Quicken on the Mac

Filed under: Applications

I’ve been searching for an alternative to Quicken for Mac. The following are what I have been able to find sprinkled about the interweb. Over the next two weeks, I’ll download them all, put them through their paces, and report back. If I’ve missed any, please feel free to leave a comment pointing me in the right direction.

Cashbox (Free - Open Source)
“Cashbox was designed from day one to be a quick and simple to use application for managing personal finances. As it has evolved, it has become more feature packed while keeping with the original goal of simplicity.”
cashbox

iBank (Free Trial / $39.99)
“iBank2 is an intuitive full-featured personal and small business financial manager. iBank 2 is designed to manage bank accounts, credit cards and investments, analyze income and expenses with live updating charts, and plan your financial future with budgeting and forecasting. Wrapped in a beautiful Aqua interface, iBank 2 is a robust financial application able to meet the needs of casual spenders and online day-traders alike.”
iBank

Moneydance (Free Trial / $29.99)
“Whether you want to organize your finances, manage your budget, track your portfolio, or just automatically balance your checkbook, Moneydance is the solution for you.

Moneydance’s simple, intuitive interface makes taking care of your finances a breeze. Save time and money with online banking and bill payment. Moneydance makes it easy to set and trace budgets, and reminds you of upcoming bills to keep you up-to-date.”
Moneydance

Ledger (Free - Open Source)
“Ledger is an accounting tool with the moxie to exist. It provides no bells or whistles, and returns the user to the days before user interfaces were even a twinkling in their father’s CRT. What it does offer is a double-entry accounting ledger with all the flexibility and muscle of its modern day cousins, without any of the fat. Think of it as the Bran Muffin of accounting tools.”

Checkbook (Free Trial / $14.99)
“Keeping tabs on your finances is a lot of work. Maybe you’ve tried using a paper check register, but it can’t keep up. Maybe you’ve invested a lot of time and energy in Quicken®, but you’re tired of the clutter and advertisements. Why endure these medieval torture devices? Introducing CheckBook, the quicker, more intuitive personal finance manager.”
checkbook

Cha-Ching (Free Trial / $14.95 Beta Pricing)
“Cha-Ching is a fun and easy to use money manager, done Mac OS X style. A tag based database lets you organize and search for your incoming and outgoing transactions your way. With Cha-Ching, you can also organize pending transactions, so you can keep track of the the cash you owe the electric company as well as the cash others might owe you–and with iCal integration, you’ll never forget a payment. Cha-Ching also offers fun little doodads you may have not expected–you can keep a photo inventory of your purchased items for insurance and tax purposes, or just for fun.”
cha-ching

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Daily Links

Filed under: Links

The Worst Credit Card Ever - $29 application fee, $150 annual fee, $6.50 per month for the priveledge of having the account and an interest rate no less than 19.50%. All for a credit card that starts with a limit of $300. Why? Because many people with poor credit can not break the credit/debt cycle.

Five Millionaires Tell How They Did It - Feel good success stories, all with a common theme: goal setting.

3 Ways to Save on Taxes in 2007 - Geared more to the small business owner, but some good advice that tends to get overlooked.

Consumerism Commentary is giving away a copy of The Maui Millionaires (@Amazon) - Just leave a comment answering “Who you would pay $30,000 to meet?”

Want to Get Rich? Get in Shape - Healthy people are more productive, the cost of unhealthy habits, and focus on the long term.

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Six Day Financial Makeover from ABC’s 20/20

Filed under: Debt Management

If you watched 20/20, America in Debt, the author featured in the first segment was Robert Pagliarini and his book, The Six Day Financial Makeover, available on Amazon.com.

From the show, Robert’s equations for a quick glance into your financial health are:
1. If your outgoing monthly debt payments are more than 1/3 of your monthly pre-tax income, you have a debt problem.
2. As a percentage, you should be saving 1/2 of your age. For example, a 36 year old should be saving 18% of his/her income.

Also featured was Dave Ramsey, author of The Total Money Makeover, which I’ve featured previously in Becoming Debt Free.

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Daily Links

Filed under: Links

2007 Personal Finance Calendar from Morningstar. Features Monthly and Quarterly tips to keep your financial planning house in order. (tip o’ the hat to Get Rich Slowly)

Yahoo Offers Personal Finance Site. The site is geared away from their core investment-focused offerings of finance.yahoo.com and looks to expand their reach through nine content categories: Banking & Budgeting, Career & Work, College & Education, Family & Home, Insurance, Loans, Real Estate, Retirement and Taxes.

Reminder: Americans Drowning in Debt tonight on 20/20, 10:00 pm Eastern, 9:00 Central on ABC.

Related:
Debt in America
Simple Ways to Start Saving
The single greatest obstacle to building wealth

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Links Around The Web

Filed under: Links

One of the things I’m trying to do in 2007 is post more often. To this end I’ll periodically be posting links from around the web. Here is today’s installment.

Free Retirement Checkup - Information for getting a free checkup on your retirement planning from Kiplinger Personal Finance and the National Association of Personal Finance Advisors.

Generation X Finance - Helping a unique generation achieve financial independence.

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Debt in America

Filed under: Debt Management

On Friday, January 19, 2007, 20/20 on ABC will have a segment on Debt in America. Dave Ramsey, among others, are part of the interview group. Broadcast time, 10 Eastern, 9 Central.

I’m supposed to receive an advance transcript, but I’d recommend watching or setting your DVR to record.

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