Dueling Fools
June 16, 1999

The War of 99:
Money v. Quicken

Microsoft Bull Argument
by Bill Barker ([email protected])

As you may or may not know (but certainly should know in any event), one of our little Foolish mantras around here is that "We bring an uncompromising honesty to all our endeavors, great and small." In the spirit of uncompromising honesty, I need to tell you that until about two days ago, I had never encountered Microsoft Money, so it's just possible that I'm not the most qualified Fool around to review this product for you. I certainly cannot bring the depth of experience with this product that my fellow Fool, David, can regarding his longtime use of Quicken.

Nevertheless, after finally succeeding on my fifth attempt to download a free 90-day trial copy of the Money 99 Financial Suite (which retails for $65), and having played around with the software for several hours, I can honestly say that there are at least three entities that should be seriously worried about what Money 99 provides: Intuit's Quicken, Wall Street, and the Fool.

It is standard operational procedure for Microsoft to rush a product out to market that really isn't very good, and then quickly improve on the original in subsequent versions. Such has been the case with Money. A recent review that now gives the nod to Money 99 over Quicken admits upfront that "Money 98's financial-planning tools were, in a word, pathetic." Such is no longer the case, as Money 99 provides a dazzling array of calculators (17), portfolio account options, advice (250 articles), and online banking support.

The introduction to Money asks a series of questions designed to introduce the user to his or her primary needs -- debt reduction, home purchasing data, how to plan for retirement, etc. There are ways to separate all your accounts, from banking to 401(k)s to Employee Stock Option Plans, or to condense them to see your total net worth. There is such a cornucopia of options for you to enter in data that the only real problem with the program may be that it initially provides too much.

However there is a lot for most to learn about their personal finances, so the exercise of inputting all the data is a worthwhile experience. From how to structure a budget to how to calculate what you're likely to have in the 13th year of your retirement, the Financial Planner calculators are great toys and powerful tools.

The Planner tools are supplemented by the articles in the "Decision" portion of the program. In Decision, a reader will find a staggering amount of information on savings, taxes, investing, education, travel, insurance, retirement, estate planning, and more. Indeed, it is hard to imagine that any Financial Consultant working for one of Wall Street's Wise full-priced brokerages is likely to be one quarter as learned as a reader of Money 99 would be.

Thus, it is only a matter of time until the greater populace comes to understand that the new flat fee accounts being offered by Merrill Lynch, et al. for a $1500 minimum cannot possibly provide the same level of helpful advice that the $65 Money 99 program does. Wall Street's Wise need to be afraid, very afraid, of the power of this program to undermine the message it is putting out that its Financial Consultants are necessary and useful in this day and age.

Lest you think that I'm just going to contort this into yet another tirade on the Wise, in the spirit of uncompromising honesty, I have to admit that what Money 99 provides in the way of tools and analysis is better than that which is on this website in many instances. First, and perhaps foremost to some, there is the speed of the program. Moving between the various articles in the Decision section is a snap, and one can move quickly between reading "Providing for a 'Special' Child" to how to buy a car online to "Do You Really Want an Active Fund Manager" to "Buying Stock Through DRIPS and DSPs."

The multiple calculators are a delight to play with, and far easier to find than on the Fool site. While the Fool offers more information on topics such as cars, investing, and taxes, Money 99 leaves us in the dust on such topics as estate planning, travel, and (for the moment) home buying. The integration with the Microsoft MoneyCentral website is virtually seamless, and very helpful for conducting all sorts of research on individual stocks and, to a lesser degree, mutual funds.

Which is not to say that Money 99 does everything right. It may educate pretty well, and using all the financial planning tools is enriching, but, let's face it --Microsoft is not an amusing company. Unless you find that Excel paperclip entertaining, you're not likely to find yourself laughing along with too much of the editorial content here.

Still, we're taking note. Money 99 raises the bar on what's out there and easily affordable to the do-it-yourself investor. Do yourself a favor, spend the time necessary to download it, and start clicking around. Like me, you'll be glad you did.

Next: The Quicken Bull Argument