I was a bit surprised when I recently found out that Microsoft Money has been discontinued.  I found the program to be one of the better personal finance software packages.  Wanting to get back on track with my personal finances, I started looking for an alternative solution.

I did a bit of online research which pointed me towards Mint.com, Rudder.com, and Quicken Online (all free).  I created accounts with each of these to test them out.  Honestly, they all seemed fairly decent, but none really seemed to fit what I was looking for.  I continued my hunt until I found Yodlee.com.

Now I know why MS Money is no more.  Yodlee’s free online MoneyCenter is very slick.  Even if you love Mint or Rudder or whatever, it is worth creating an account to see what you can do with MoneyCenter.  Once you signup, be sure to use the beta version of the software.

Accounts Overview Menu

Yodlee Account List

One of the features that Microsoft Money had that I loved was the ability to forecast account balances (taking into account bills, expenses, etc.).  Yodlee’s MoneyCenter takes it a step further with a fully incorporated calendar that plots out income and expenses for any given day past, present and future.  They definately got it right.

The Yodlee Financial Calendar

Yodlee Projected Balances

There are tons of really cool features MoneyCenter, but the best of all is that you can automatically link just about any financial account you can image for automatic updates.  For instance, all my banking, 401k, and brokerage accounts are linked to MoneyCenter.  Additionally, I was able to link my utility accounts (Comcast, TMobile, etc.), mortgage, 529 plan, home value tracking (via Zillow).  The odd-ball accounts like my home owner’s association still had to be manually added, but this is to be expected.

Below are some screenshots from Yodlee’s MoneyCenter.  You really must check it out if you use personal finance software – especially if you are paying to use it.  I can’t believe this is free – life is good!

Yodlee Transactions Menu

Yodlee Bills Reminders

Yodlee Spending Reports Menu

Yodlee Manage Accounts Menu

**Please note that I did modify the pictures a little – added some focal points and removed any personal information.

Take care, Dan

In attempts to save as much money as possible on household expenses, I had decided to use my cellphone exclusively and drop my land line service.  I had used Vonage in the past, but didn’t want that recurring payment either.  In the first two weeks, I ran into a couple of problems with this strategy.

The first issue I encountered was poor signal reception – no bars, low bars, and dropped or missed calls. There were areas within my house that I dared not take my cellphone; these areas I came to call “signal-slayers.” The second problem was that I truly did not feel comfortable that my young children did not have a way to dial 911 should I drop dead in the backyard (or if some other emergency occurred). It was at this point that I determined that I had to have a backup home phone.

These are the requirements that I had for the new backup home phone service:

• The actual phone had to be a standard telephone (not a soft-phone or pc-based phone) that my children could easily operate.
• I did not want to have my computer on 24/7 in order to utilize the phone service.
• The phone service had to offer 911 (or E911 at the very least).
• The service had to be VERY affordable (the cheaper the better).

Based on these requirements, I investigated the following options…

VOIP Services like Vonage

Having used Vonage in the past, I felt the service worked well.  Though this service is cheaper than most standard phone lines, it still included taxes and fees that I found annoying.  I received a discount for paying annually, but I was still paying about $220 per year, and I wanted to pay less than that.  Vonage VOIP was not the right answer for me.

Other VOIP like Skype

Skype is more affordable no doubt, even with the $60 annual fee to have a dedicated phone number.  The problem, for me, was that the service would require my pc to be on at all times in order to make / receive calls (or a WIFI phone can be used, but that seemed too pricey for me).

Basic, Traditional Land-Line Service

I contacted ATT and the cheapest option they would offer me was $12/month + $7 tax ($19/month or $228/year for local service only – no long distance or local toll service included).  This option was clearly too expensive for the very limited service provided (and I hate paying all those bs taxes).

The Solution…

After reviewing my options, none really seemed to fit what I wanted.  I continued my search…  Eventually, I found a VOIP service called “Ooma.”  I had never heard of the service prior to stumbling upon they’re website.  Ooma has a business model that sets it apart from all the other VOIP services I found out there.  With Ooma, you pay only for the equipment; the service is free.

The one-time, upfront expense averages about $240.  This cost was comparable to all the other options that I had reviewed with one distinct difference – I never had to pay another dime for the service.  There are no monthly fees or access charges at all going forward.

I will continue in the near future with a review of the service after using it for a month.  I will also provide some information about Ooma’s features at that time.  Please check back soon!

Ooma Phone System