How to Use Quicken to Budget & Get Out of Debt
Quicken is Intuit's personal finance software, which enables users to efficiently manage and track their money. Some of Quicken's features allow for automation of retrieving data from the individual's bank, credit cards and lenders, in order to conveniently manage balances and payments. One of Quicken's most beneficial features for those wanting to get out of debt, is its budget section. The budget section allows individuals to either automatically create a budget based on existing financial data or manually create a budgeting plan.
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Instructions
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Open Quicken on your computer by either double-clicking on the Quicken icon on your desktop or by clicking on the link in your programs list.
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Click on the "Planning" tab.
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Click on the "Other Tools" button.
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Select the "Budget" command.
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Click on the button that says "Automatic" if you want the program to create a budget based on existing data. Otherwise, click on the "Manual" button. Even if you select the automatic option, you will be able to select the date range, budget method and some options for how it determines which data to include.
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Click on the "Create Budget" button.
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Choose the categories that you want to budget and click on "OK."
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Enter the budget for amounts in the "Income," "Expense" and "Savings" tabs. For the expense tab, include the amount that you plan on paying for each bill so that you can get out of debt. Remember, that you usually have to pay above the minimum payment in order to see faster progress in getting out of debt, as the extra payment goes directly to your principal instead of toward the interest.
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Click on the "Options" link in the upper-right corner of the Budget window. Go through this menu to further customize the options for your budget to fit your unique needs, and then exit this menu.
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Click on the "Summary" tab to view a summary of your income and expense budgets. Monitor this tab periodically to ensure that you are staying on budget.
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Tips & Warnings
If you are not currently using Quicken to manage your personal finances, then you can install the free trial from Quicken's website and follow its installation wizard to set up your accounts.
References
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